Veritatem facientes in caritate. Proclaiming the truth in love. Ephesians 4: 15.

Article in The Priest Magazine

2012-01-31T09:41:00.001-05:00

The New Translation
Reflection after three months
By Father Matthew J. Albright - The Priest,
3/1/2012
Among the inspirational scriptural and theological allusions brought into
greater clarity by the new translation of the Roman Missal is a multi-faceted
phrase in the second Eucharistic Prayer. During the epiclesis, the priest prays
for the Spirit to “descend like the dewfall.” This poetic reference might be
unusual to ears accustomed to spreadsheets, kids’ homework and the daily paper
(and some have even openly criticized the use of this particular phrasing), but
poetry makes sense in prayer. Behind the gateway of poetry is a fascinating
journey into the love of God.
One of my fondest childhood memories is of working with my family in our
garden. We have always valued fresh homegrown vegetables and the accomplishment
of cultivating our own garden. It is no coincidence that it has been said that
“he who plants a garden is close to God,” for the image of a garden plays a
significant role in the Scriptures. Life itself begins in the Garden of Eden,
where also the treachery of sin is revealed.
The love story between God and His people, between the Lord and the human
soul, told through the metaphor of a bridegroom and his bride in the Song of
Songs, includes the image of the soul’s secret garden into which she invites the
Lord to dwell and which is fruitful in love for others. In the fullness of time,
God send His only Son, and Jesus accepts the burden of the world’s sin in the
Garden of Gethsemane. Creation and redemption begin in a garden — a place of
anxious growth and the blossoming of new life. The seeds of a garden are
nourished by water, a basic element of all life. They grow in mystery and
produce beauty and delight beyond our explanation.
Each morning of summer when we awake, something new has transpired. Nature is
always renewing itself, as grace is always renewing us in our human needs. Thus
we can relate to the 19th century Gaelic hymn “Morning Has Broken,” which
praises the dawn of a new day as a reminder of the newness of creation.
In verse two we sing: “Sweet the rain’s new fall, sunlit from heaven, like
the first dewfall on the wet grass. Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden,
sprung in completeness where His feet pass.” The wet grass and garden plants in
the first hours of daylight are uniquely beautiful: the sweet wetness serves as
a reminder of the providence of God, who sends mysterious moisture to nourish
the soil and mysterious grace to enliven the souls of human persons. The first
dewfall and the daily dewfalls throughout the world call to mind the goodness of
God.
As the dewfall appears upon the leaves in the morning without our beholding
its coming, so too the grace of God descends through the sacraments and in other
mysterious ways to touch and nourish our lives. In the Consecration of the Mass,
the Spirit descends through the ministry of the priest to transform bread and
wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
The Spirit’s descent is inexplicable and unseen but very real. The altar is
the place where the fullness of God’s presence in Eden and the salvific action
of Christ begun in Gethsemane are made present. Jesus Christ is truly present,
Calvary is re-presented and His redeeming love flows over us in abundance. Like
the sweet and mysterious dewfall, the Spirit descends in hidden majesty to bring
God’s love into our lives. The God who is creator of the unseen descends to make
himself present to us in our every need, and the Church’s Eucharistic
celebration becomes like so many drops of water to cleanse parched souls.
Providing food for another is a great sign of love. Parents work to provide
food for their children, and chefs delight in new culinary creations to thrill
the appetites of diners. The Eucharist is the ultimate feast, the ultimate
feeding. It is a banquet in which the host is the food, the priest is the
victim. Jesus Christ nourishes us with His very Body and Blood, and we become
one with God. The Eucharistic banquet was prefigured in the Old Testament when
God fed the Israelites with manna in the desert.
When the Israelites, who had fled from bondage in Egypt, lamented their
starvation in the wilderness, God promised to “rain bread from heaven” (Ex
16:4). It came to pass that “in the morning a dew lay round the camp. And when
the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like
thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground. . . .And Moses said to them, ‘It is the
bread which the Lord has given you to eat’” (Ex 16:13-15). The appearance of
bread from heaven to satisfy the hunger of the wandering Israelites coincides
with the dewfall at dawn, emphasizing the mystery and delicacy of the Lord’s
precious gift. In the dark of night, He showers on them the bread they need and
desire. They gather the bread, not knowing how it came to be.
The true Bread of Life
In the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus takes the gift of bread from
heaven to a whole new level as He teaches the crowds that He is the true Bread
of Life: “I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness,
and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may
eat of it and not die. . .and the bread which I shall give for the life of the
world is my flesh” (Jn 6:48-51). How fitting it is, then, that we should pray
for the Spirit to descend like the dewfall in the Consecration, since Jesus
places His Eucharistic presence in the context of the manna that descended with
the dewfall. Having freed the Israelites from slavery, God fed them with manna
along their journey in the desert. In the Eucharist, Jesus himself feeds those
whom He has freed from the finality of sin’s darkness on their journey toward
union with God in their true homeland in heaven.
In addition to the Exodus story, Strong’s Concordance lists 34 appearances of
the word “dew” in the Scriptures. Notable in the context of the Eucharist is the
exhortation in Proverbs (3:19-20) to be wise: “The Lord by wisdom founded the
earth; by understanding He established the heavens; by His knowledge the deeps
broke forth, and the clouds drop down the dew.” The creation of the universe is
the result, not of circumstance or accident, but of an intricate plan of a wise
God. The clouds drop down the dew because the Lord’s wisdom has ordained it so.
Jesus Christ is the Word of God (John 1) and also “to those who are called,
Christ crucified is the “power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24), while
to unbelievers He is a stumbling block and folly. As disciples of Jesus, we
accept Him — His teachings, sacraments, example, and sacrificial love — as the
supreme wisdom, far beyond the folly of the world. By the wisdom of God in
Christ, the sacraments drop down grace like clouds drop down the dew, in mystery
and beauty.
Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist, through the words and ritual of the priest
during the consecration at Mass, is the fullest experience of God’s presence
known to mankind on earth. The wise working of God in creation and the rescuing
of the Israelites from slavery is seen manifest in the mysterious dewfall. Our
prayer in the canon of the Mass is that the Spirit once again descend in mystery
and sweetness upon simple bread and wine to transubstantiate them into the very
Body and Blood of Jesus, our food on the journey into God. The altar is the
garden of fruitfulness, where the dewfall of grace nourishes our gifts and
Christ becomes present in our midst. How fitting is this newly translated
prayer, and how rich in food for contemplation! TP
FATHER ALBRIGHT, a priest of the
Diocese of Youngstown, is religion teacher and chaplain at John F. Kennedy
Catholic High School in Warren, Ohio.
© 2011 Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. All rights reserved.

Articles

2012-01-29T19:18:00.002-05:00

Please check your local Catholic library for the December issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review and read my article on the New Translation of the Missal.

Please see my article on "Dewfall" and the New Translation three months hence in Priest Magazine, March issue.

A New Era...

2012-01-29T18:57:00.003-05:00

No more episcopal invertabrates! :-)

I am praising and thanking God for the clear and powerful messages of our U. S. Bishops regarding the new healthcare policy, which mandates immorality and violates the God-given right, and constitutively American freedom, of the human person to follow his conscience.

News story here re: several bishops: http://calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=3d619541-9d05-4335-a3d9-460cf2a84bf9

Search for YouTube video of Archbishop Dolan, President of the USCCB

Read statements by (arch)bishops of

Washington, DC: http://www.stmatthewscathedral.org/docs/2012/01/adw_priests_-_hhs_mandate_and_religious_liberty_-_final_corrected_-_pdf_-_012612_2.pdf

Peoria: http://bishopdanielrjenky.blogspot.com/

and Pittsburgh: http://www.diopitt.org/hhs-delays-rule-contraceptive-coverage

Bishop Campbell of Columbus calls for prayer and fasting in his letter!

Homily Notes Fourth Sunday of OT Year B 2012

2012-01-29T18:55:00.000-05:00

Homily Fourth Sunday of the
Year 2012

NB: NOTES do not reflect ad libitum delivery of actual homily

One of the customs of the late Pope John Paul II that was so
powerful to see as people throughout the world saw him on television was his
custom of kissing the ground when he visited a country. He recognized the beauty of every land and
people he visited.

He made over 100 trips to different countries because he was
committed to evangelizing the world and bringing the glad tidings of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ to people everywhere.

Today we have the option of celebrating a Mass of
Thanksgiving for the beatification of Pope John Paul II, which took place in
May.

We thank God for a pope of tremendous love, faith and impact
on the life of the Church. He gave us a
new Catechism of the Catholic Church, and so we have a resource to go to that
shows us how to live out the Scriptures and the teaching of the Magisterium in
our daily lives. He gave us a new Code
of Canon Law and a number of encyclical letters on every aspect of Church teaching. His emphasis on youth and establishment of
WYD brought a whole new generation into joyful relationship with the Lord. He helped the whole Church to learn the teachings
of Vatican II and make them bear fruit in sound teaching and sacramental celebration. His celebration of the Mass on the altars of
the world brought the living presence of Jesus to men and women of every race
and language. Crowds of millions sat in
stillness as they listened to his beautiful words.

For 28 years we were blessed to be lead and inspired by this
holy pope, who as a celibate priest and a holy man of God, was, in the words of
Saint Paul, “anxious about the things of God!”

John Paul taught us that being faithful to the Church is the
sure path to Christ, in whom alone we find salvation and in whom we are made a
new creation: brothers and sisters of Jesus and children of God.

We saw the beauty of God’s love radiant in the life of John Paul
II. We found in his smiling face and in
the brightness of his eyes the assurance that God loves us. In every trial and heartache and sin and
struggle we face…we can be certain that God’s love never fails. That’s what he taught us: to have confidence
that God always loves us and that Church is always here to help us draw closer
to the Lord.

He taught with authority…the authority of Christ as the
Vicar of Christ and successor to the Apostles.
As we face questions of faith and morals and life in our daily lives, we
can be confident on Christ’s love for us and thus remain strong in our defense
of what we believe, after the example of Pope John Paul.

The issue facing us today centers around health care. New government policy will require insurance companies
and hospitals, including Catholic and other faith-based institutions, to provide
coverage in their health plans for procedures that violate their beliefs, such as
contraception and abortion. This is a
previously unheard of, dangerous and destructive policy from the department of
health and human services. It would
require every person’s health insurance to cover these procedures, thus threatening
our hospitals and attacking the freedom of every human person to make decisions
on faith and life according to his or her own conscience.

Following the example of John Paul II, a prophet of God’s
truth and love, this is the time for us to stand up for our Christian moral
teachings and the God-given freedom of every person to follow God and live his
life according to his conscience.

Our bishops have spoken out against this policy and called
all Catholics to action. Archbishop
Dolan, president of the U.S. Bishops’ Conference is on YouTube speaking about
the issue. Others such as Cardinal
Weuhrl of Washington, D.C., have issued strong statements. They have called us to fasting and prayer and
urged us to write to our congressmen and senators, to encourage them to oppose
this policy and protect the rights of conscience.

Indeed, this is a time to pray that the hearts of all people
will be open to the grace of Christ…a vision John Paul dream of and worked so
hard to achieve.

This is the time of the new evangelization – a time of not
only opposing issues like the health care policy but a time of re-introducing
Christ to the world and, even more fundamentally, deepening our own faith so
that we have something solid and beautiful to share with others.

The new evangelization begins in the Church by helping each
other, and the next generation, to know the person of Christ and learn the
faith of His Church. We long for every
heart to know Christ, and so we remain committed to spreading the good news of
Jesus to the ends of the earth. We believe
that the Word of Christ has power to save and make us whole. Just as Jesus drove out the demon in today’s
Gospel and spoke with amazing authority to the people of His time, so we know
that the word of Jesus can heal and save and renew us and our broken world
today!

In the Eucharist we receive today in Holy Mass, we are given
the gift of the presence of Christ, who loves us and gives us strength to
continue learning our faith and defending what we believe in our world
today.

Blessed Pope John Paul II, help us by your prayers to love
Christ more fully, to deepen the knowledge of our faith and to be confident missionaries
of the new evangelization, proclaiming the good news of Jesus to the ends of
the earth!

Mass for Life 2012 Homily

2012-01-24T09:59:00.000-05:00

Mass for Life 2012

In the 2008 film Valkyrie,
Tom Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg,
the principal
figure in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler,
charged with
delivering the bomb, concealed in a briefcase,
inside Hitler’s compound.
As we know from history, everything went according to plan
except that the unique design of the
table at which Hitler was seated
protected him, allowing him to escape with
only minor injuries.
Despite their practical failure, at this
and every other every attempt,
the members of the various
conspiracies against Hitler remained convinced
that their consciences compelled them
to oppose evil
in
a time when it seemed like hell had been let loose upon earth.

Another such man was the leader of the Kreisau Circle
conspiracy,
a member of
the Prussian House of Lords
and the third-generation of an
illustrious military family:
Count
Helmuth von Moltke.
Von Moltke was convinced that the Furher’s devious plan had
to be thwarted,
and in the end
he surrendered his own life
as
the ultimate testament to the depth of his love for God and man
and
his firm commitment to defeating evil.

In October 1941, von Moltke wrote:
“…more
than a thousand people are murdered…every day,
and
another thousand German men are habituated to murder…
What
shall I say when I am asked: And what did you do during that time?”
And in another place he wrote:
“Since Saturday the Berlin Jews are being
rounded up.
Then
they are sent off with what they can carry….
How can anyone know these things and walk
around free?”

Hitler’s evil genius, his use of propaganda and manipulation
of the media,
as well as the
controlling force of the SS guards
allowed the tragedy of the Holocaust
to be perpetuated in darkness and made sure that his “final solution” raised
few eyebrows.

Indeed it was not until the Allied
invasion in 1945
and
the liberation of the death camps like Dachau and Auschwitz
that
the full extent of the atrocities was unveiled.

Today, the entire civilized world
looks back on the Holocaust, Hitler and the camps
as the very
icon of evil,
a window into what human beings at
their worst can accomplish.

It would be foolish to think that we have left evil in the
past.

By the time we are finished with this Holy Mass and our
luncheon,
and we return to the comfort of our
homes and routines,
a thousand people will be murdered
and a thousand mothers,
fathers, doctors and nurses
will be further habituated to murder.

The extermination of the innocent continues unnoticed by most
people
and unopposed by
a manipulative media and confused political leadership.

Unnoticed and unopposed…except of course by us!
We gather today as the modern-day
conspirators,
whose
Christian ideals and moral compasses tell us that all life is sacred
and
that the “Culture of Death” must be opposed.
Do we wish future generations to look
back on our day
as
we look back on Germany in the 1940s?

The questions von Moltke pondered could be addressed to us and our nation today:
First…what shall I say when I am asked: what did you do during that time?
Von Moltke could say that he gave
everything…until his last breath…
trying
to end the tyranny of the Third Reich.
What shall we say?

Secondly…how can anyone know these things and walk around free?
This latter question reminds me of a
Saturday, when, after praying on the sidewalk
for
the babies and mothers inside an abortion clinic
I
sat down to a lovely dinner and fine wine at a fundraiser.
And I thought to myself…
“How can I freely enjoy this dinner and go
about my life
knowing what has happened today?”
Of course, life must go on in many
ways…
but
do our daily routines
contain a constant devotion to prayer
and defense of human life?

The attack on life which we face impacts every phase of its existence.
Embryonic Stem Cell Research presumes to create, manipulate and destroy
human
life in the embryonic stage of development
for
research that is doubtful to even be of scientific benefit.
In order to flee from suffering and
quicken the peace of death,
men
and women today turn to Euthanasia,
forgetting that…even in age and infirmity…
we
are no less precious in the eyes of God and destined for greatness.
Capital Punishment, while not an act of intrinsic evil,
is
often employed unnecessarily
and
without respect for the value…and the soul of the convicted criminal.
Alexander, the
young man guilty of the attempted rape and actual murder
of
Saint Maria Goretti,
found
such inspiration in her forgiveness of him on her death bed
that
he became a devout Christian
and
lived to attend the Mass of her canonization.
Every human person is worth a second chance.

The dignity of life is threatened in
other ways as well,
by
poverty and every form of injustice
by
modern-day slavery, known as human
trafficking –
an
issue impacting our own Trumbull County in a uniquely sad way.

In a particular way, on the eve of
the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade
we
are mindful of the unparalleled destructive impact of abortion:
nearly
50 million babies lost…
and
untold stories of heartache for millions
more
Every human life is sacred,
from
the moment of conception when life begins and body and soul unite,
through
the complex journey of our earthly existence,
until
the moment God ordains to call us home.

Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel
that
our Heavenly Father never loses sight of the littlest of His children
and,
like a shepherd, seeks out and restores the lost.

Do we not long to be the hands and feet of Christ in the midst of our world,
seeking
out lost and forsaken lives and carrying them home to safety!
Our own local Bella Women’s Center has saved 18 babies
in
the first 6 months of the centers own infancy,
and
thus they have rescued and carried to safety
18
of God’s beloved children!

Each of us was formed from our mother’s wombs, Isaiah tell us,
as a singular delight in the
heart of God
with gifts and a purpose like no other.
I was destined from conception to be
a priest
and
to have the honor of sharing this message with you today.
You were destined for religious
vocations,
for
your spouses and for the care of your children –
all of us for something special God
had in mind.

No man or woman, no detail of God’s plan, is expendable,
and every human life cries
out for our respect and love.
As we renew our commitment today to embracing a deep love for life,
we
find an extra dose of strength in the many signs
of hope present in our day.

We find hope in Project Rachael,
Bethesda House of Mercy,
and
Bella’s post-abortion outreach –
all
devoted to helping women find healing in Jesus,
who
carries them close to His merciful heart to the safety of His love.

We find hope in the quiet consensus
among Americans that life is sacred.
70%
of local residents identify themselves as fundamentally pro-life.
79%
of Americans favor greater restrictions on abortion than any current law.
In
my 10 years of experience of travelling to the March for Life
I
have seen how love for life is fundamentally human,
transcending
every religious and cultural distinction.
I am convinced that people want to be pro-life…
they
need us to lead the way and show them how!

We find hope in our incredible young people,
whose
hearts are so naturally in tune with the beauty of life!
After a tour of Bella and pro-life
witness by Men and Women United for Life,
one of our
freshmen at JFK Catholic School wrote:
“My experience at Bella was magical,
because [before I went] I
actually didn’t care if women got abortions or not. When we were in the
ultrasound room, and I saw that little baby [on the screen], and how active and
alive it was ~
and to realize when you have [an]
abortion that this is what they are killing, this little baby that is so
precious and helpless, I wanted to cry.
When they passed around the models of
the babies at certain ages
it made me mad when I knew they kill
those babies
even when they are about to be born…
so now I’m against abortion.”

The media doesn’t want us to know any
of this. But the truth cannot be hidden!

Like the Servant of the Lord in Isaiah’s prophecy,
we,
too, have been called from birth, endowed with strength and hope in God,
and
sent forth as a light for all the nations,
bearing
the gleaming truth of the Gospel of Life!

On our shoulders are placed the lives of the lost and
forsaken,
the
littlest of God’s beloved, who depend on our love to bring them to safety.

We, like von Moltke and his comrades,
are few but strong,
for God is now our strength!

Filled with the supernatural
nourishment Christ gives us in the Holy Eucharist,
may
we now accept our destiny as missionaries for life,
and
rise glorious in the sight of the Lord
to
carry His love and truth to the ends of the earth!

Brothers and sisters…
witness
to life with your voices, your prayers…your good works…
all
for the glory of God!

Homily Second Sunday OT Year B 2012

2012-01-15T11:49:00.002-05:00

Today's homily... click on title for audio...
Pray for vocations!

Please consider attending the DOY Mass for Life. Visit www.doy.org for more information.

Christmas Homily 2011

2012-01-02T15:01:00.000-05:00

Homily Christmas 2011

2011 years ago, in the obscure village of Bethlehem,
merchants and
paupers, tax collectors and shepherds,
Romans in town
for the census and locals hawking their wares in the street,
guests of the
inn and children playing games,
passed casually by the same rustic,
crude little stable
without
ever giving it a second glance.

Perhaps some youth engaging in the perennial joys of
cow-tipping
or the
land-owner on his daily feeding rounds
had
cause to venture in…
but
even they would not have placed this stable in high regard.
Not one of the hundreds of citizens and visitors during the
bustling census time
could have
imagined that this stable
would
be the site of anything worth remembering.

Even less significant is the manger…
from which the
animals are gracefully nibbling their hay and grain.

When they left Nazareth, on their way to be counted in
Joseph’s ancestral village,
even Mary and
Joseph could not foresee that they would sleep in a stable,
call
these friendly beasts their friends for a few days
and
rely on the manger for a crib.

This humble little spot
was seen yet ignored,
alive with the activity of animals but of no significance
to man.
But so it came to pass, because there was no vacancy in the
inn, that
the stable
would be the Holy Family’s resting place
the animals
would be their companions
and the manger
would house the incarnate Son of God.

As God takes on human flesh and Christ is born into this
world,
the baby
Jesus, together with His loving mother and adoring foster-father,
the
hovering and worshipping angels,
the
awe-struck and bewildered shepherds…
are
all drawn to this simple stable.

There is no palace, parade or promenade for God made man…
only the
cooing of birds and the mooing of cows.

The incredible story of
the mystery of the incarnation,
the greatest miracle and most significant event in all of
human history,
is crowded into this crude little barn.

And before Mary lays her child…and her Savior…to rest...
she picks out
the dirty hay…
soiled
by the cooing birds and the slobbering donkeys…
and with a
swaddling cloth prepares a comfortable place amid the dirt
in
which to lay this precious child’s pure body.

As we gather for the Sacred Liturgy, we transcend time and space
and penetrate the
mysteries we remember and celebrate.

Christmas is not a past event.
It is a reality that gives us at
this moment a whole new perspective on life
and a closeness to Christ
greater than that experienced by the shepherds at
Bethlehem.

The Christmas scene…or,
rather, the scene before Christmas…
reorients our vision of Christian life.
We are rustic stables and empty mangers!

We are imperfect and sometimes darkened by sadness and grief.
We are rough around the edges, soiled and sinful.
We are crowded by the trappings and stresses of life.

At the same time, like the empty manger, we are ready to
receive Jesus!
We are available to Him and prepared by our Advent journey
for His coming.
We are eager to make a comfortable place in our lives for the
presence of Jesus.

The Lord bids us consider how we can, with the help us His
grace,
prepare the most warm and comfy and worthy place in
our lives for Jesus.

The Church remains today a strong and holy dwelling for the
presence of Christ…
His truth in
her teaching, His presence in her sacraments.
She has, with the new translation of the prayers of the Mass…
prayers which
more accurately convey the language, theology
and references
to Scripture that lie within our Catholic prayers…
made
our experience of the Mass
a
more worthy celebration of Christ’s dwelling with us.
How can we as individuals,
be more worthy for Christ to enter under our roofs?
…not
the roofs of stables…but of our bodies...

As the hay might make Jesus cry or scratch His skin as He
lies sleeping…
what might
offend Jesus in our lives?
What inappropriate behavior, language or activities
must we pluck
out from our lives
so we
can make a clean and comfortable place for Jesus?

Studying, learning and deepening the practice of our faith
also makes
room for Jesus to enter more deeply into our lives.
I invite and encourage all of you here today to take hold of
your Catholic heritage
and make it
your own – the cornerstone of your life’s endeavors.

For as Christians it is our calling, our purpose and our desire
to swaddle the
Lord deep within our every word, thought and deed
and love Him
passionately forever!

Imperfect as we are, we can open wide the doors of our homes
and hearts to Christ!

The same Jesus, who was
welcomed in Bethlehem so long ago,
is truly present as we welcome Him through the Eucharist
today.

The Eucharistic celebration is the experience of receiving
Jesus…
Body and
Blood, soul and divinity,
under our roofs, into our bodies and our
souls.
That experience, like no other, brings us into intimate
communion with the Lord.

Have you ever asked why we are told in the Gospels
about the
census and the journey to Bethlehem?
Other than its obvious practical purpose,
why is the
detail of Jesus being laid in a manger
even
included by Saint Luke in his Gospel account of the Nativity?
The story of the census provides corroborating historical
evidence
for the Bible
story of Jesus…but there is also a deeper meaning.
“Bethlehem” means
“House of Bread”
and a manger is a box from which animals eat.
Jesus is born in the
house of bread and laid to rest on a feeding trough
for He is the Bread of Life and the food of everlasting
salvation!

As we approach the altar, the ultimate feeding-place of God’s
holy people,
to receive the
pure body of this precious Jesus,
we are mindful
most especially of the need to be open and receptive,
cleansed
of serious sin and prepared by the one-hour fast and prayer,
ready
to accept Jesus into hearts aflame with love for Him!
This Christmas…be the manger…be the stable…
rustic,
insignificant in the eyes of man, maybe even a little dirty…
but accepted
and loved by God as His own beloved son or daughter…
and
chosen to be His dwelling place.
In you Christ will soon reside.
May you swaddle Him in each moment, each breath, each action
of your existence,
that the world
may be uplifted and renewed
by
the presence of Christ alive in His faithful people.

Homily Mary Mother of God 2011

2012-01-02T15:00:00.001-05:00

Chanted Gospel and Homily on Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.
Click on title for audio...

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve at Walsh

2012-01-02T14:59:00.001-05:00

Over 75 people gathered to keep vigil on New Year's Eve in prayer before Jesus in the Eucharist and in the celebration of Holy Mass. This is the reflection which set the tone for our holy hour.

Homily Advent IV 2011 Year B

2012-01-02T14:54:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the delay!
Click on title for audio...

Homily Advent III 2011 Year B

2011-12-11T18:37:00.001-05:00

Talk to Men and Women United for Life

2011-12-11T16:45:00.000-05:00

Men and Women United for Life
5 December 2011

1. In my family, being pro-life and
appreciating the beauty and dignity of every human person is second
nature. I grew up in a solidly Catholic
family and in small towns, so as a child and young adult I never faced the culture
of death head-on.

When I left home for the first
time, having turned eighteen just four days prior, I was entering seminary at
the Josephinum in Columbus. It was
August 25th, 1999. I had
graduated high school in the spring and, after two visits to the seminary and
many hours of prayer and conversation with priests, made up my mind to trust
God and give discernment of a vocation to the priesthood a serious
attempt.

Within a few weeks, in that first
Fall, I was approached by some of the older men from Columbus and Wichita
diocese, who invited me into their circle of established pro-life
activities. I went along with a group of
15 or so seminarians and priests on many Saturdays – warm or cold, rain or
shine – to pray the Rosary outside of the abortion clinic on High Street. When I was assigned to Saint Vincent
Seminary, I continued prayerful witness at the clinic in Pittsburgh. Six of my eight years in seminary I travelled
to Washington, DC, for the March for Life, sleeping on the floor at Theological
College in DC and walking in procession at the Vigil Mass in the National
Shrine. With my brother seminarians, I
was part of seminary social concerns committees and March for Life pilgrimage
planning. It was such an exciting
opportunity and honor to be part of this apostolate in defense of the
unborn!

It was a personal invitation by
other men discerning their call to the altar along with me that brought me into
the pro-life work of the Church. Since
1999, I have been able to attend the March for Life 10 times and pray in front
of abortion clinics in three different cities.
As a parish priest, I was delighted to support devout parishioners in
forming a pro-life committee, which completed phenomenal, literally
award-winning, work on behalf of the innocent and voiceless among us.

Because God does not let me sit
still for long, nor keep a great distance from the pro-life movement, in my
assignment as catechist at Warren JFK Catholic School, we have introduced
pro-life speakers, field trips and lessons into the curriculum. The Pro-Life Youth Congress honored me by
asking me to be their chaplain two years ago and the young people across the
country who are members of the PLYC chapters are my hope for the future of our
world. I have seen lives transformed,
babies saved, and men and women united in the cause of life. I have made friends and been blessed to lead
others in the pro-life movement myself.
God has blessed me abundantly indeed!

2. In my ten pilgrimages to DC for
the March for Life, I have concluded that, in spite of scandal and a general
decline in religious participation in the U.S. and Western Europe, the Catholic
Church remains a powerful force for good in our world. Hundreds of parishes, K of C councils,
schools and diocese come together for this epic battle against the culture of
death. The seminarians alone are
numerous enough to be extras in a Cecil B. DeMille film! The annual Vigil Mass tests the fire code and
organizational abilities of the Basilica staff, and the bishops’ homilies
proclaim without hesitation that God’s holy Church is unequivocally pro-life!

My experience has also showed me
that the pro-life fever displayed by the largest crowds that assemble in our
nation’s capital, and yet the most peaceful and joyful, extends beyond the
boundaries of the Church. There are
Anglicans for Life and Lutherans for Life and, one of my favorite Rally for
Life speakers, the Jewish Rabbis from New York, whose zeal are unparalleled on
the face of the earth.

Even outside of organized religion,
an understanding of the dignity present within each unborn child is found among
the Atheists for Life – a group that shows that being pro-life is so
fundamental it is possible without recognizing the existence of God.

3. The March for Life exemplifies
an inter-generational, cross-creedal consensus among Americans that life is
valuable and the protection of innocent life should be enshrined in law. Statistics and anecdotes from across the
fruited plain indicate that this consensus runs deeper and broader than we might
imagine. Human persons recognize, even
if incompletely, the evil of the murder of the innocent unborn.

I would even be so bold as to say
that being pro-life is intrinsically human.
To be created by God in His own divine image means that we are called to
self-giving love, in the image of God who shares His life in the splendor of
creation and gives His life for the salvation of the world. The human vocation to love necessarily
includes the love for the life and soul of every human person: we are made to
build up and not tear down the life of another human person. The Fifth Commandment and the wisdom of God’s
Word manifest this fundamental truth. To
kill is to forget and wound the very core of humanity within us. We want to see people built up: out of
poverty, holding down a good job, supporting a family and living in peace. There is something inherently wrong in
wishing a worse condition or death on another.
It is innately human to desire life and prosperity for our fellow man
and woman. To support the culture of
death means one has lost sight of one’s true human vocation to love.

Since Adam and Eve put themselves
before the law of God, there has always been, because of the influence of
worldly desires and the Evil One, violence against life. Yet, never before 1973 has a civilization so
advanced and prosperous as ours supported with its laws the death of the unborn
child. We are dealing with something
uniquely evil today.

4. It must be remembered that the cornucopia
of pro-life issues extends beyond the most numerous and heinous attacks against
life through abortion to include violation of the unborn child through ESCR,
termination of the lives of the elderly and infirm through euthanasia, unnecessary
implementation of capital punishment and execution of criminals, and the need
to work for justice in order to overcome poverty conditions for those less
fortunate than ourselves. Life from
conception to natural death demands our attention and our constant prayerful
and courageous witness.

At the top of the hierarchy of
values from the Christian perspective are intrinsically evil acts – those
actions which are morally wrong in every case regardless of the circumstances
in which they occur. In terms of life,
they are ESCR, euthanasia and abortion. These
can never be supported and must always be opposed.

5. For the moment, let us direct
our attention to the unborn child. Why
is it that 400,000 people of every race, creed and age – particularly tens of
thousands of young people – gather every January in the DC metro tundra to say
“No, thank you” to Roe v. Wade? And what
is our role in the pro-life movement?
How do we understand how our call to defend life intersects with the
reality of the prominent issues and sentiments of our day?

The March for Life displays a
deeply human truth: that life is precious and we are called to join together
and fend off attacks against the lives of our brothers and sisters. That truth is accepted by Americans from sea
to shining sea.

Carl Anderson highlights the quiet consensus on moral issues in America
in his book “Beyond a House Divided.”
Polls conducted by the K of C and
the Marist Institute for Public Opinion reveal a strong consensus among
Americans on moral issues: marriage and family, life and the role of morality
and ethics in public policy and the workplace.

Specifically, polls reveal that 8
out of 10 Americans favor restrictions that would limit abortion in our
country. I used to fear that the people
to whom I am called to minister were hopelessly divided and floundering on life
issues. I always desperately wanted to
believe that people deep down love life and are trapped in a cultural cyclone
against their deepest human desires – and now the polls show that is true!

79% of Americans would prefer
restrictions on abortion that would limit its practice far more than the laws
in effect today. Only 13% believe it
should be available to women at any time for any reason.
By a three to one ratio, Americans
believe that abortion should be limited to select circumstances – rape, incest
and to protect the mother’s life. And by
a difference of 82% to 76% women favor limiting abortion more than men. The maternal instinct that is part of the
beauty of womanhood demands that violation of the womb and the child be at
least limited.

Young people are increasingly pro-life
and, as they see their peers affected by abortion, the reality of its
destructive affects forms their opinions.
By a two to one margin, Americans believe abortion does not make a
woman’s life better but does more harm than good.

Stats locally show 70 % of people
in Mahoning valley are fundamentally pro-life.

Having been given the opportunity of
abortion on demand, Americans are seeing its wake of destruction and more and
more turning to better solutions to help women make better choices for themselves
and turn back the tide of bloodshed.

The experience of medical pregnancy clinics across the country attests to
the love for life deep in the hearts of mothers in crisis.
The medical community testifies
that life begins at conception. The
joining of egg and sperm and implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterus
begins a miraculous process of development that, unless acted on by evil
forces, ends in a new human life.

Science displays the reality of
life. The miracle of the ultrasound
technology allows us to see the baby developing in the womb – fingers, toes,
heartbeat, reactions to pain inflicted on him or her, and all the awe-inspiring
occurrences in the sanctuary of the womb that only God can fully grasp.

Women who see their baby on the
ultrasound overwhelmingly choose life!
“abortion minded” 50 %
“abortion vulnerable” 80 %

Where the abortion industry and the
media want women to believe when is growing inside them is “just tissue” and
“not viable,” when a well-trained sonographer shows a woman her child, she is drawn
to love him or her. And I personally
believe that loving one’s child is so fundamental to a mother that the
remaining 20% would choose life but are like oppressed by other circumstances.

Story – mother at 9 weeks and heartbeat on ultrasound

40 Days for Life: conversions, 61 clinic
workers – exhausted with keeping up the façade of abortion and pretending that
it’s good for women despite what they see first-hand every day.

Story: JFK Students transformed by one
visit to Bella and one day of talks by MWUFL...

My kids love you and love
life. See what you did in 2 days!

Story of girl who experienced
conversion: “I’m pro-life now!”

I see so much that gives me
hope! Young people, Bethesda healing
ministry, Bella, priests, MWUFL

My message to you is one of hope
and encouragement. The human desire and
the consensus of public opinion love for life!
6. I believe that human persons
naturally want to be fundamentally and unequivocally want to be pro-life but are
overcome in their decision-making by difficult circumstances and the attack of
the anti-life industry, which seeks only money and power.

So many women, while the phrase
pro-choice is used, face a situation that is not a free choice at all.
In the face of controlling spouses
and family, poverty and various struggles, they are desperate for help.

Elected representatives do not carry
out their work based on what people really need. They do not truly represent the values
expressed by Americans.
Mexico City Policy
Attacks on conscience clauses

Laws and judges
Anderson also points out in his
book the faulty constitutional law arguments on which Roe v. Wade is
based.

Media obscures the reality of
abortion…coverage of MFL inaccurate…
They report “tens of thousands” of
anti-abortion protestors gathered in Washington, and find three pro-choice
people with signs in order to juxtapose the two and claim “both sides” are
represented. It’s worse than P. T.
Barnum!

The pro-abortion agenda depends on
a series of lies – about what is good for women, when a baby is a person, what
people want and need, what is a good law for our country, that the sick and
elderly have no value, that revenge is the answer to crime, that abortion is a
viable solution to a young woman’s problems.
These lies do not in any way
represent the reality of what the culture of death does to people nor do they
resonate with what human persons really desire!

7. What is our mission, then?
Is it legislative – overturning
laws? Or educational – sharing
information about the development of the child in the womb and the fallout of
the culture of death for women and families?
Or evangelical – preaching to the ignorant and convincing others that
taking innocent life is evil? Or
boycotting media outlets and corporations that support the culture of death?

Where do we fit in to a country
that longs to be pro-life but faces enormous obstacles from government,
politicians, the media and liberal intellectuals?

Who is our enemy? The mothers, the absent fathers, the doctors,
the politicians, the judges, the media?

Saint Paul…
“The last enemy to be defeated is
death.”
“Death, where is your victory?”
Ultimately, our enemy is death and
Christ has won the victory. With Him, we
have the power to overcome the death of the innocent by revealing to others the
truth about life to everyone we meet.

There are instances that call for
boycotting.
There are elections that demand
efforts to oust destructive candidates and office-holders.
There are appropriate times for teaching
and preaching.
There are always valuable moments
of counseling and prayer is irreplaceable.

In every one of our efforts to defend the innocent and vulnerable, we
have the opportunity to tap into the human person’s intrinsic nature and
natural instinct: to love life! We can
remind others of who they are and of the truth about life’s dignity that lies
deep within us all, despite the efforts of the media and government to obscure
that truth.

Counseling moms, witnessing – no negativity,
condemnation
Pastors and teachers – positive,
balanced
Sonographer has the
blessed opportunity, with the ultrasound technology, to speak the truth to
women, open their eyes to the truth of life…like the story I shared earlier…

Friends, family, classmates,
coworkers…can show women in need that there are other options and say with
words and actions “Let me help you love your baby.”

Top 3 most valuable:
teaching young people that there are other options, the development of the
baby; being there to offer another way out for pregnant moms; being a positive
influence on the faith and values of every young person in your life – so they
never need to consider abortion, so we change their hearts…

Regarding other attacks
against life…what is the reason they exist?
Capital Punishment:
revenge, justice, closure…
Euthanasia: avoiding
suffering…
ESCR: selfish desire
to find a cure at the expense of another life…

Gently teach people
the truth of human person – to love, not seek revenge, lay down one’s life,
seek not own interests first…be a living example of love!
Anger we see in those
who have embraced culture of death and refuse even to dialogue is from the Evil
One. “Some of these can only be overcome
by fasting and prayer.”

Pro-life work is about
identifying and exploring the deepest human realities in those who do not, for
whatever reason, see the truth that lies within their own self.

Our constant internal
question should be: what is clouding the child of God in front of me from
seeing who they really are and the truth that lies within them?
We speak the truth in
love, in a way that is accommodated to their needs.

Pray every day and ask
God to open and change the hearts of all, and make us better instruments of His
truth and love, so we can help all people to see the truth that lies within
them and embrace it, despite the obstacles that stand in the way, and so build
up a culture of life.

First Sunday of Advent 2011

2011-11-28T10:07:00.002-05:00

Click on title for audio of homily...

The new translation went well at St. Mary's. I found the words of consecration in Eucharistic Prayer I to be particularly moving. It was like another "first Mass" in that I was reading the whole Mass from the Missal and discovering new prayers as I went along. What an enriching gift for all English-speaking Catholics!

Prepare the way...

2011-11-25T19:35:00.002-05:00

As tomorrow we begin anew the holy season of Advent, we prepare for Christ's coming: preparing for the celebration of His historical coming into the world as Mary's child; preparing to receive Him again at His second coming at the end of time; and personal spiritual preparation for His coming under our roofs in the Holy Eucharist. We have been preparing for some time to welcome with joy the new translation of the Roman Missal, the prayers of which leave behind banality and pedestrian vocabulary and are composed in language rich in theology, expressive of scripture and beautiful in their poetic language - and thus fitting for divine worship. May we prepare for Christ's coming among us with joyful, dilligent and reverent recitation of these newly translated prayers, and so welcome Christ with due honor in our worship. What a Christmas it will be when we sing the new Gloria! Blessed Advent to all!

Solemnity of Christ the King

2011-11-21T10:55:00.003-05:00

Click on title for audio file of homily.

Yesterday's Solemnity marked the final Sunday of the usage of the current translation of the Roman Missal. With Advent, on November 27th, we begin using the more complete and more beautiful prayers of the third typical edition. Praise God!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

New Translation of the Roman Missal

2011-11-15T19:27:00.000-05:00

Ancient Prayers, New English Words, An Opportunity for Holiness
Fr. Matthew J. Albright, M.A., M.Div.

1. Why a new
translation? All the texts of the
Church, prayers, teaching documents, laws, are written first in Latin and then
translated into the various languages spoken by Catholics throughout the
world. In 1969, the Mass was translated
into English from Latin because the Second Vatican Council decreed that the
vernacular should be used in the Mass.
That first English translation was done in a hurry to get the Mass out
in English so people could pray it. The
meaning of the text was translated but not the original Latin words and
grammar. Translation can be difficult
and theology needs to be transmitted precisely in our prayers because how we
pray reflects and shapes what we believe.
The translation we have been using is incomplete in certain ways. The bishops recently undertook a new English
translation of the original text of the Mass prayers in order to give us a more
complete experience of our worship.

2. What does the new
translation do for us as Catholics? It
gives us prayers that are beautiful in their language, deep in theology and
richer in references to scripture. It also
provides us the opportunity to understand the liturgy more fully and grow in
our relationship with God.

3. What is the impact for the
faithful? It will take time and effort
to learn new words and phrases but the Mass is well worth the effort. Most of the new translation affects the
priest’s parts.

4. Where will the faithful
see changes in the Mass? The greetings,
the Confiteor, the Gloria, the Creed, the response to the priest in the
Offertory, the Sanctus, the Preface Dialogue, the Sanctus, the response to the priest
at Communion.

5. Which changes are most
noticeable and meaningful? The “Big 5.”
1. Greeting. “The
Lord be with you. And with your spirit.”
“Spirit”
refers to the sacramental character of the priest, for this greeting is
exchanged between people and priest (deacon).
In saying this, the faithful express their desire for the Lord to bless
him in his priestly vocation. You want
me to be a holy priest!
2. Creed.
“I believe” because the creed is a personal statement of faith made in
the context of the Church’s communal worship.
“Consubstantial” means Jesus is of the same substance as the Father
(same as “homoousious” in Greek, the word chosen by the bishops at the Council
of Nicea when the creed was written).
“Incarnate” refers to Jesus’ conception when the angel appeared to Mary,
nine months before He was born.
3. Offertory. “My sacrifice and yours” – emphasizes that,
while priest offers the Sacrifice of the Mass, the people are not spectators
but offer their own valuable sacrifice of their lives and needs to God when
they come to Mass – symbolized by the people’s offering of the gifts of bread
and wine.
4. Consecration. “For many.”
NOT a theological change. Jesus
indeed died for ALL. Original Latin text
clearly says “multis” (many) and not “omnis” (all). Jesus says “many” at the Last Supper and
Isaiah speaks of the Messiah “taking away the sins of many” (Is. 53: 12). Jesus
says “for you and for many,” referring to the Apostles who are present with Him
and “the many who are not here who will be saved.” It is important to be true to the original
text and to the Bible.
5. Communion. “Behold the Lamb of God…Blessed are they who
are called to the Supper of the Lamb.”
This refers to Revelation 19, the wedding feast of the Lamb, an image of
Heaven where all are united perfectly to God.
Communion is union with God on earth.
In Mass, Heaven and earth unite.
“Lord, I am not worthy to enter under your roof.” This refers to Jesus healing the centurion’s
servant (Matthew 8:8). We express our
unworthiness to have Jesus come into our bodies and souls.

6. Greet the new translation
with joy and allow it to lead you though prayer to union with God!

Homily 31st Sunday of the Year October 30th 2011

2011-11-06T19:03:00.001-05:00

Click on title for audio file...

Homily 32nd Sunday of the Year November 6th 2011

2011-11-06T19:00:00.003-05:00

Click on title for audio file...

Homily 29th Sunday of the Year 2011

2011-10-17T14:43:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio file...Roman Missal "Big 5" in this homily...

Homily 28th Sunday of the Year October 9th 2011

2011-10-14T13:47:00.002-04:00

Click on title for the audio file.

Thanks to all who listen!

Homily September 18th 2011 25th Sunday of the Year

2011-10-01T15:10:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio file of homily from September 18th.

Sorry, no recording available for last week.

Beginning this week, I will be at St. Mary, Warren for Sunday Mass.

October 2nd: 8:00 am

Updates and Last Week's Homily

2011-09-14T20:09:00.002-04:00

Click on title of post for audio file of last week's homily. This is the only one you missed as there were two weeks I did not have a sunday assignment. :-(

September 18th: 9 am holy Name, 10:30 Sts Cyril and Methodius, Youngstown.

Please pray for Fr. Frank Pavone is his time of trial. He is a model of priestly obedience and love for human life. May he remain strong and return soon to the ministry to which God has called him.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/1103632.htm

Pray for all clergy, especially those who have been in the media for scandalous behavior or suspension. Remembering that they, too, are "priests forever, according to the line of Melchizedech," we pray for their growth in holiness and their eternal salvation. Prayerfully and enthusiastically support our valiant priests who daily give their lives in service of Christ and His Church. Thank you for your support of the priesthood!

Assumption Triduum Homily

2011-08-13T22:59:00.002-04:00

Assumption Triduum

Saint Joseph Parish, Randolph, Ohio

13 August 2011

Outdoor Grotto Mass and Rosary Procession

Sunday Mass at OLMC, Youngstown, 10 a.m.

Homily 18th Sunday of the Year July 31st 2011

2011-07-31T17:41:00.002-04:00

Click on title for audio. I am sorry for the delay in some publishing. I have been at a Catholic educators' conference at Franciscan (fantastic!!!) and helping rebuild a house on an Appalachian mission trip (outstanding!!!). God is so good. Please take time to read about Fr. Beiting's Appalachian Mission - he is a living saint!

Homily 16th Sunday of the Year July 17th 2011

2011-07-31T17:40:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio. I am sorry that the recordiing runs out before the last few sentences. :-(

Homily Fifteenth Sunday of the Year 10 June 2011

2011-07-10T21:11:00.003-04:00

Click on title for audio...

Homily Fourteenth Sunday of the Year July 3 2011

2011-07-03T13:27:00.002-04:00

Click on title for audio file...

France Pilgrimage Pictures...

2011-06-25T16:41:00.003-04:00

View pictures of the pilgrimage to France here...

photobucket.com/fatheralbright

See...Bordeaux, Lourdes, Avignon, Lyon, Ars, Paray le Monial, Lisieux and Paris

Pentecost Homily 2011

2011-06-25T16:26:00.000-04:00

Click on title for audio...

mass in ars

2011-06-23T13:29:00.002-04:00

on wednesday we visited ars a second day and celebrated mass at the altar of the relic of saint john vianney, beneath his body, using his own chalice. it was perhaps the most sacred and meaningful mass i have ever celebrated. it was deeply moving for both of us and the fulfillment of a long time dream. last night we came to paris for dinner.

today we took a day trip to lisieux, to see the remains and basilica of st therese. it is also a moving and beautiful sight. back in paris we visited the chapel of the miraculous medal.

i have been given so many grace filled moments and spiritual insights and opportunities for prayer on this pilgrimage. i pray that i can live the wisdom of god revealed in these holy places.

i have prayed for the intentions sent to me and fo all my family friends and brother priests at lources ars lisieux paray le monial lisieux and paris, in a number of sacred shrines and churches.

tonight is our last night on the town in paris and tomorrow we fly home. thanks for following our pilgrimage. keep visiting the blog forma link to pictures...i hope. ;)

god bless you!

Ars Mass

2011-06-21T17:25:00.002-04:00

today we also took a side trip to paray le monial to visit the tomb and basilica of st margaret mary. it was beautiful and i was able to offer prayers for my mother...margaret...and my family. her body is in the church where jesus revealed to her his sacred heart and she is the origin of the sacred heart devotion so many people love. this pilgrimage is incredibly exciting and grace filled!

tomorrow we will celebrate a private mass on the altar at the tomb of st john vianney at four a m est...ten here. a priest at the shrine said people can watch on the website/webcam of the shrine...arsnet...but i cant find it. youre welcome to try. please join us in prayer at ten/four and make a spiritual communion. god bless you!

Ars

2011-06-21T17:14:00.002-04:00

this morning we visited ars...the highlight and major purpose of our trip and a sacred place i have desired to see for over a decade. words cannot fully describe its significance nor that of the visit to me as a priest. it took us a while to find the tiny village...appropriate since vianney himself had trouble. :) when we arrived and almost life sized statue greeted us...i held the cure's hand and almost cried. i was finally in ars! i saw the confessional st john vianney used, touched the pulpit from which he preached and the cabinet where he vested, toured the house where he lived and saw the school he founded. we walked to the statue which commemorates the boy antoine telling the cure how to find ars and walked the road he would have walked into the town. i had a beautiful confession and we concelebrated mass in the basilica that is now built around vianney's original parish church. i also spent a good bit of time in quiet prayer. the nuns at the shrine and the people in the town are wonderful and seem to have absorbed vianney's spirit and keep his legacy alive. i beg god to be a holy priest like john vianney.

avignon

2011-06-20T16:33:00.003-04:00

yesterday and this morning we visited avignon...the city where the popes lived for a century when they moved from rome for largely political reasons. the papal palace is incredible! we ate our lunch on the rooftop...in a cafe built on what was once an audience reception area for the popes guests. avignon is still a walled city...as in medieval times. it is a truly beautiful and deeply historic place.

tonight we are in lyon and we drive to ars in our rented mercedes benz...a mistake in the resrvation got us a cheap upgrade because it was the only automatic tranny left! :) i canno wait to see ars. i have waited eleven years...ever since i heard of it from msgr farley at the pontifinium.

pray for me

leave comments

im sorry i cant post pics here...when i get home i will make them available.

god bless and good night!

candlelight procession two

2011-06-19T03:08:00.002-04:00

i apologize for the technical difficulties...

so we concelebrated mass at eleven pm in the grotto where bernadette saw mary! it was in italian so msgr was in his glory...especially reciting part of the canon. adoration flowed from the brief liturgy until midnight. what a spectacular day of peaceful prayer and devotion! i am imprssed by the reverence of the faithful and the devotion of the priests. it is wonderful to be catholic!

sunday...blessed trinity sunday!

today is the festal anniversary of my first mass.

we concelebratec in the upper church and are now preparing to head off to avignon...more there...

candlelight procession

2011-06-18T18:50:00.004-04:00

after attending mass we had pizza for supper and then joined in the nightly candlelight procession. i saw priests and a bishop up front so we we ran up and snuck in. what a blessing that we did. we were able to pray the rosary with our brother priests all around the grounds...and then sit up front on the church steps with the priests for the final prayers. the bishop invited all the priests to join in giving the blessing! its cool to be a priest! :) at the end i asked for the bishops blessing personally...again in latin. jube domne benedicere. it was deeply moving to see all the sick people being wheeled up for the blessing. what a testament to faith and hope that they come streaming in seeking healing! we visited the adoration chapel for a bit. then at eleven pm we oncelebrated mass...my third mass and second concelebration mof the day...but

saturday in lourdes

2011-06-18T11:41:00.003-04:00

yesterday after our delicious three hour lunch we boarded the train for lourdes. the countryside was lovely...dragging the fifty two pound suitcase now with a broken wheel from the cobblestones a mile to the train station was less lovely. :)

this morning i awoke and donned my cassock for a walk to the sanctuary of lourdes. the basilica is stunning and i concelebrated masst ten. it was in french but i know how it goes. :) when another priest pointed me to a station for communion i said the formula in latin...corpus christi. all the priests wave and smile at each other though we speak different languages and cannot talk when we meet on the streets or grotto grounds. praise god for the brotherhood of the priesthood. they made me feel welcome and beloved in the sacristy. i lit a candle at the grotto and prayed for all the intentions given to me by family and friends. i stood in the line with everyone else to tough the stone...and filled a bottle with holy water. what a glorious morning of prayer. msgr and i met up for lunch...a little nap...and then back to the shrine...

lunch friday...

2011-06-17T09:18:00.003-04:00

this morning we found saint paul church...beautiful mass...extraordinary music...thank god for the dominicans!!! it was a lovely liturgical experience. we walked a bit more in bordeaux and are having lunch at a wine bar...goat cheese...prisciutto...local vintages...just perfect!

thursday...day three...

2011-06-16T16:58:00.002-04:00

the five hour wine tour was lovely! we visited a few chateau and tasted exquisite bordeaux wines. im learning slowly how the french wine system works. the architecture here is so beautiful. we visited the cathedral of st andre...facade begun in ninth century and the rest completed in the twelfth...what an architectural difference...and what marvels faith can inspire without technology! lamb stew for dinner...provincial and delicious. walking the city is delightful. its a different world and its enriching to see how another culture lives. the wine tour guide and our british companions were lovely. i couldnt help but defend america against false impressions of how we do not appreciate the special relationship we have with england...america is not necesarily presented authentically by those who happen to represent us publicly. more later....

pilgrimage day one and two...

2011-06-16T03:27:00.004-04:00

internet access temporary and sketchy. small screen so please dont mind the poor grammar. i hope this keeps working...keep checking back... we left tuesday and the plane had one bad fuel pump. we sat for five hours...flew to ny jfk...then switched planes for the trans atlantic flight. allergies affected by the recycled air. with train all in all 21 hours of travel to reach bordeaux. the lord wants me to do penance for my sins. :) restaurant on the place de victoire was fabulous...steak and local red wine of course. today...thursday...had a good rest and breakfast...were leaving soon to walk the city and we have a five hour tour of wineries in the afternoon. the adventure continues... i am reading three books...two small...fifteen days with the cure d ars and reflections of msgr marini the papal master of ceremonies...and one big book...bonhoeffer. i went to a french bathroom and found sweedish toilets and british seat covers...truly a global economy! our delyed delta plane was shuffled between gates and then parked on the tarmac...we walked down steps to a bus...when the bus parked at the terminal they opened one of six doors...perhaps a bias against the americans who inconveniened their schedule

Homily Solemnity of the Ascension

2011-06-13T21:56:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio...

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-28T18:36:00.002-04:00

Masses: Saint Paul, North Canton, 10:30 and 12:00
Click on title for audio of homily from Sixth Sunday of Easter...

Article on John Paul II

2011-05-03T08:27:00.003-04:00

May, 2011, issue of Homiletic and Pastoral Review.

www.hprweb.com

Audio of Sunday's Homily...

2011-05-03T08:24:00.002-04:00

From St. Andrew, Sheffield; St. Joseph Calasanctius, Jefferson; Shrine of St. Paul, Cleveland.
2 copies one after another - morning Masses and Mass for Bethesda Healing Ministry in Cleveland.

Homily May 1 2011

2011-05-01T21:40:00.004-04:00

Homily 1 May 2011

Divine Mercy Sunday

Beatification of John Paul II

Christ is risen! Indeed He is risen!

Half way across the world today a sacred event is occurring

which is the most significant moment in the Church in this young century

and a watershed religious experience

for the contemporary Catholic generation –

whether anyone in particular realizes it or not.

I shall keep you in suspense for a moment and return to that later.

For the story of the mysteries we celebrate today

begins in 1933 with a wise priest named Fr. Sopocko,

assigned as chaplain to the sisters in a small convent in Poland.

One of his regular spiritual directees was a young sister named Faustina,

who shared with him that she had been receiving visions from the Lord

since Lent of the previous year

and who possessed tremendous spiritual knowledge and insight.

In a pastoral decision that has impacted the Church for nearly a century,

Fr. Spopcko directed Sister Faustina to keep a diary of her spiritual journey.

This one volume of a simple polish nun has touched the hearts & souls of millions

who find in its pages a treasury of divine love and spiritual wisdom.

Faustina died at the tender age of 33.

Despite Fr. Sopocko’s valiant efforts to promote her writings and spirituality,

the diary was banned from publication –

mostly because of misunderstanding and mistranslation.

Fr. Spopcko died in 1975, three years before the ban was lifted.

At the time Faustina entered her eternal reward,

a young man named Karol Wojtyla was graduating from high school.

Wojtyla, as cardinal, received the torch, as it were, from Sopocko

and was responsible for opening the way for the diary to be published

and read by Christians everywhere.

In 1978, Karol Wojtyla was elected Pope John Paul II,

and in 2000 he presided over the canonization of Sister Faustina.

He decreed that today, the Sunday after Easter, would be celebrated as

Divine Mercy Sunday – a day celebrating the mercy of Jesus

revealed in the Scriptures and in the life and writings of Faustina.

He universalized devotion to the prayers and the image of Divine Mercy,

revealed by the Lord Himself to Faustina in the privacy of her convent cell:

the image is of the Risen Christ

raising His right hand in blessing

and touching His chest with the left hand,

wherefrom emanates two rays: one red and the other white,

symbolizing the cleansing water of baptism

and the salvific blood of Christ

which poured forth from His pierced S.H.

Behold the incarnate God of mercy!

Jesus, risen triumphant from the grave, has destroyed the power of sin and death

and has opened the gates to the treasury of His merciful love.

No sin, no sorrow, no mortal wound can ever have the final word

for Christ has conquered

by the agony of the Cross and the glory of the resurrection!

How fitting that we should celebrate Divine Mercy this day,

for in the collect for this Sunday we prayed to the God of mercy,

whose Son has given us new life through the waters of Baptism

and redeemed us in His Precious Blood.

The feast of Divine Mercy is indeed an Easter celebration as well!

The Scriptures destined for this Sunday long before this feast was named

correspond providentially to its theme.

The mercy of the Lord, which endures forever,

has wrought marvels before our eyes that stir us to rejoicing.

In Christ the love of God takes on flesh and is made present to us –

God, whose mercy revealed in Christ has given us new life, new hope!

Christ is alive. He loves us passionately. He has put our sins to death on the Cross.

Thus we rejoice in the hope of life in Him on earth, and with Him forever.

John records in his Gospel the institution of the Sacrament of Penance.

Jesus entrusts to the Apostles the power to forgive sins in His Name,

sacred power handed on through apostolic succession to every priest.

Through the power of the Spirit and the ministry of the priest,

souls are washed clean and men and women set free from the chains of sin.

Divine Mercy Sunday is not a pleasant romp

through a meadow of Biblical platitudes about God’s love.

Today is an invitation to the Church and the world

to return to the Sacrament of Penance!
It is in the confessional – the antechamber of Heaven’s treasury –

that we hear the words of our sweet and merciful Jesus: I absolve you!

Fear not the confessional but cling to it as to a life raft in a storm-tossed sea.

God’s mercy is our hope and our salvation in a tempting and broken world.

The prayers of devotion to Divine Mercy are simply beautiful,

as is the Lord’s message to the world through Faustina:

He says: I love you. Trust in Me. There is nothing more powerful than my love!

Our Lord, who is merciful to the doubting Thomas, the woman caught in adultery

and to prodigal sons and daughters everywhere

will indeed be merciful to us, if we but call upon His Holy Name!

Wherever you are in life today, trust in Jesus,

whose merciful embrace envelops you

and whose flesh and blood will soon be united to yours.

This simple but compelling message would not have resonated so clearly

throughout the whole world,

had the trumpet not been sounded in Poland by one cloistered nun

and had one pope not wisely promoted this feast and devotion.

And so we come to the uniquely joyous event I mentioned at the beginning:

Today in Rome Pope John Paul II is beatified, the middle step toward sainthood,

and henceforth we shall call him Blessed John Paul II!

BJP’s institution of Divine Mercy Sunday is but the tip of the iceberg

that is the legacy of his papacy – a tremendous gift to the Church!

For 27 years, his heartwarming smile, brilliant mind and steel resolve

captivated the world and led the Church from confusion to renewed purpose

in the third Christian millennium.

On the shoulders of Popes John XXIII and Paul VI, who oversaw Vatican II,

John Paul stood as a giant in his own way

and brought the vision of the Council to fruition in countless ways.

The Word of God and the authentic and rich teaching of our Church

flowed constantly from his lips and his pen

as he invited the world into deeper relationship with Jesus.

In a new edition of the Code of Canon Law,

the first publication of a universal Catechism of Catholic faith since 1585,

13 encyclicals and innumerable homilies, writings and talks,

BJP’s ministry touched every aspect of doctrine and morality

and reminded the world what is means to be Catholic.

He visited 129 countries, never missing an opportunity to tell others about the Lord

and remind the world of Who truly loves them unto death.

His famous invitation to begin a new evangelization –

to open wide the doors to Christ

and to be not afraid as we preach by word, sacrament and example –

rings true for each one of us today.

Because of BJPII, we can know who we are as Catholics, as where we must go!

We accept his invitation and follow after his splendid example

as his legacy of sweet smiles and strong teaching

beckons, even compels, us to embrace and share Jesus Christ!

His legacy continues in our hearts and in our lives of study, prayer and service

as much as we celebrate the sacraments with devotion

and spread the Word of God, revealed to us in Scripture and Tradition.

Jesus Christ, our risen and merciful Lord was the first and greatest love

of BJPII – may He by diligence and grace be our greatest love as well.

On this DMS, the peace and mercy of God descends upon the whole Church,

as Providence declares blessed our beloved JPII

and in so doing confirms from on high

that in his ministry and teaching

are found the way and truth that lead to life.

Today is indeed the day the Lord has made; we rejoice and are glad!

May we go forth from this holy church,

nourished in body and soul with the living presence of Jesus Christ

to proclaim to the world

that the risen Christ stands in our midst to bring us peace!

May BJPII intercede for and inspire us as we newly evangelize

within and without the Church with courage

and open wide the doors of every heart

to the merciful love and glorious truth of Jesus Christ!

An Introspective Journey Through Holy Week

2011-04-18T10:07:00.000-04:00

Holy week is my favorite week of the year. Far more exciting than giving and receiving Christmas gifts, definitely more than celebrating another year of my earthly life, and even more than my priestly anniversary, is the annual return to the mysteries and events of our salvation. From the earliest memorable days of my childhood, I am aware of the unparalleled and intense joy I experienced in the liturgies of Holy Week. The gift of tears has even occasionally descended upon me as I soak in the sweet notes of the Church’s musical treasury and the rich prayers of her liturgical tradition, which is filled with particularly beautiful offerings during that sacred week. The priest who had the greatest single impact on my vocation story is the same priest who stirred in me a love for the Sacred Liturgy. His soaring chants and dramatic homilies during Holy Week were signs from God that I must be a priest, that I must enter into the sacred drama of worship and bring souls to the mysteries we celebrate! There is nothing so amazing as Holy Week – the love of God displayed in those historical events and the outpouring of grace experienced as we enter into the mysteries through the timeless and cosmic Liturgy of the Church.

Lest Holy Week become an annual history lesson or a mere celebration of sweet memories and moving stories, I invite you to consider a daily question that will unite the life of Christ in His final earthly days to the details of life faced by us His servants.

1. Palm Sunday – Do I praise Jesus in public, as the crowds did who welcomed Him to Jerusalem, and confidently allow everyone to see that I follow Him, or do I keep my spiritual life compartmentalized?

2. Monday – Do I seek to know Jesus, who came into the world to save me, more fully each day?

3. Tuesday – Do I seek to serve Jesus in the men and women around me who are in need, as the women washed the feet of Jesus days before His bitter passion?

4. Spy Wednesday (the day of the Gospel of Judas’ plot with the Pharisees) – Do I betray Christ by hiding my faith when it is not popular, by setting a bad example to others, or by failing to remain committed to my duties to the Church?

5. Holy Thursday - Do I have a deep and lively faith in the Eucharist, which manifests itself in reverence and time spent in prayer with Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament?

6. Good Friday – Am I willing to give my whole life for Jesus, who died for me, and sacrifice everything that stands between me and His love?

7. Holy Saturday – Do I prepare each morning in prayer to welcome the Risen Christ into my life anew and to serve Him faithfully that day?

This list in no way intends to exhaust the possibilities for reflection during the days of Holy Week. It is simply a guidepost to entering deeply into those seven saving days. Each day, spend an hour in reflection on the day’s question and reading the prayers and Scriptures for that day’s Liturgy. Look deep inside and ask Jesus to draw you into Himself. The love of Jesus in Holy Week redeemed the world. He did it for you! Make this Holy Week one to remember, a week that will change your life!

Homily Palm Sunday 2011

2011-04-17T13:39:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio file. Have a blessed Holy Week!

Fifth Sunday of Lent 2011

2011-04-10T21:32:00.001-04:00

Click on tite for audio file. Saint Anthony, 10:30 am on Palm Sunday

Homily Laetare Sunday 2011

2011-04-03T16:30:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio file...

Third Week of Lent

2011-03-29T13:59:00.002-04:00

Click on title for last week's homily. Sunday, April 3rd: 8:00 St. Jude, Columbiana 10:30 St. Christine, Youngstown

Second Sunday of Lent 2011

2011-03-21T12:43:00.002-04:00

Dear Friends,
Please enjoy this past Sunday's homily from Saint Stanislaus in Youngstown.

No decent quality audio file available of last week's homily.
Next week: 9 and 11 am at I.C. in Ravenna, Ohio.

God bless your Lenten journey!

Fr. Matthew

Season of Lent

2011-03-08T14:18:00.003-05:00

A blessed Ash Wendesday and Season of Lent to all!!!

First Sunday of Lent: March 13, 2011
Masses:
Saint Jude, Columbiana 8:00 am
Saint Anthony, Youngstown 10:30

Jesus Our Brother

2011-03-07T22:39:00.002-05:00

Lecture notes from Day of Reflection at Sacred Heart Parish in Rock Creek, Ohio.
Audio begins mid-sentence and is at times of poor quality but you may listen by clicking on post title...

Jesus our Brother

Story of Second Grade Christmas Play

Song: The Friendly Beasts

I sang the donkey verse

Jesus our brother, kind and good

Was humbly born in a stable rude

The friendly beasts around Him stood

Jesus our brother kind and good

I said the donkey all shaggy and brown

I carried His mother uphill and down

I carried her safely to Bethlehem town

I said the donkey all shaggy and brown

Indeed a simple, humble, crude stable and a manger, a feeding box for the animals, was the nursery of the newborn Savior and the not-so-triumphant welcome offered to Christ our King

This is humanity at its simplest and loneliest – parents away from home with no safe place to have their first-born son – a dirty stable with a family cowering in the cold darkness.

Humanity at its simplest is embraced by the infinitely loving Son of God.

The mystery of the Incarnation is the event which begins the saving plan of God in JC

It begins a trajectory of salvific activity that extends from the manger, through the Cross, and down through the centuries to the altars and homes of our own day.

The Incarnation is the gateway to all the other saving actions and mysteries of Jesus, the entry way into the human experience for the God-made-man.

The Incarnate Christ reveals both the infinite love of God and the perfection of humanity.

In the Incarnation…
John 1:14 – Word becomes Flesh

God becomes man and takes on the fullness of the human experience, except of course sin

Christmas Preface

“In Christ we see God made visible and so are caught up in love of the God we cannot see.”

Preface of OT

“…that you might see and love in us what you see and love in Christ”

Antiphon of Divine Office for MMG

O Marvelous Exchange –

Offertory Prayers – by the mystery of water and wine…

God sent His Son to take on flesh and enter our world so that He could save us from within.

Fathers… “The God who created us without our permission would not save us without our cooperation.”

He came to reveal God’s perfect love…humble and life-giving love

Philippians 2: Jesus did not deem equality with God…emptied…humbled…

He became one of us to know us intimately from within and to experience all we know in life – the shelter of the womb through an ignominious death. In so doing, He reveals what it looks like to be human.

The humanity of Jesus is filled with lessons, images and inspiration sufficient to fill a lifetime of reflection. We shall consider a few insights today.

The childhood of Jesus reveals the value of obedience…

Children…

In His earthly ministry…by explicit teaching and by sincere example…Jesus reveals the character of the life of the Church

Baptism – takes on sin…it clings to Him like water…so we can be cleansed…

Preaching – teaching what it means to be Christian

Healing

Sacraments

Calls the disciples and teaches what it means to be friends of the Lord – come

and see

Invitation…not oppressive demand…

Issues the call to conversion…meet…follow…rejoice!

This is precisely what the Church exists to do – to heal, to baptize, to call others to unity and conversion, to celebrate the Sacraments and to preach the word in order to bring about the salvation of souls and bring human persons in to deeper relationship with Jesus.

Come and see! See the incredible Christ!

Answer to your heart’s desire!

In addition to ecclesial ministry, Jesus shows us so much about the basic human experience and how we can realize it to the full and image the love of God in our lives.

1. Temptation – w/o sin

Paul – like us in all things but sin…

Original sin…concupiscence…we struggle and Jesus gives us the image of saying no to Satan, not testing God and relying on material comfort. We trust God and practice virtue.

2. Understands our weakness and struggles

Hebrews…we do not have a HP who

3. He is the model of compassion w/o hesitation

He connects with others and gives freely of His time

Woman at the well – John

Job…friends…

In Job and in Christ we see the value of human presence, even touch…just being there…

4. Image of sacrificial love…Cross

5. Righteous anger is valid in it proper place as a response to injustice

Tables in Temple

Short of sin

6. Value of prayer…deserted places…if JC…how much more us poor sinners…

7. Jesus understands our human sadness…loss and pain

He wept at the death of His friend Lazarus

He consoled Martha and Mary, not so much with words as with His presence

I am the Resurrection and the life

Jesus knows what it means to lose one He loved

Why weep? He had to know He would save Him!

Humanity and divinity in tension…both kept intact!

Good to weep. Remain and allow others to remain in the reality of their appropriate emotions. Cannot explain it away

Bring them to Jesus’ presence…scripture, Eucharist, Adoration, prayer, loving embrace!

Grief is a long process, as we know, different for everyone

Do not need answers but love. Need Jesus!

Funerals must address the reality of death and emotions that go with it.

Not a canonization but an acknowledgement of loss and grace

– for deceased and loved ones

PRAYER FOR THE DEAD!

All Souls’ Day!

November

Jesus understands us! Never forget that…when no one else does…

His Sacred Heart beats and was pierced for love of you…

Jesus shows us humanity at its best.

We are made in the image and likeness of God. Genesis

God is love. I John. God is a relationship of persons in love.

Made for love and relationship

The sympathetic heart, compassion, prayerfulness, virtue, and sacrificial love of Jesus form a living image of humanity in its perfection. What He shows us is possible for us with His saving grace.

As we prepare to enter into Lent…we consider how we might draw from the example of the living Christ some resolutions for virtuous living.

How might I embrace a more complete experience of the Church Jesus revealed – more sacraments, more study of the Church teaching?

How might I respond more fully to the call to conversion and become a closer friend of the Lord?

How might I be more appreciative of what Jesus has done for me and revealed to me?

How might I learn to imitate the love of Jesus?

How might I learn to be more understanding of others in pain?

How might I deepen my prayer life?

Thus the humanity of Jesus becomes more than the vehicle for the well-known mysteries of faith – Christmas and Easter stories. Ordinary Time becomes more than an intervening time when we hear a series of easily-forgotten stories of healings and teachings and not the seemingly “important” ones. It is anything but ordinary.

The humanity of Jesus is our life, too.

Who He is, is who we are meant to be!

Jesus, our brother, leads on the journey into God and into a complete experience of ourselves – our identity and mission as h. p. and children of God.

After three years of ministry and human experiences, Jesus, as recorded by Luke, turns His face toward Jerusalem and sets His heart on the destiny for which He was sent: the Paschal Mystery – His sorrow and our salvation!

In the PM…in His divinity He is God who saves us…because of His humanity He is able to embrace our worst experiences – our sins and the suffering and guilt they cause – and put them to death.

The garden of Gethsemane is the scene of transition from earthly ministry to Passion…

The wood of the Manger is the wood of the Cross - Fathers

See-saw…fulcrum…walk up until it shifts and you come running down…all has been building up since the stable and now suffering and glory rush onto the human scene

Jesus grapples and accepts God’s will

Jesus Christ Superstar - most poignant portrayal of emotions in the Passion account

Take this cup away from me…

Emptiness and agony…sweat as blood…

Jesus accepts the will of the Father and is obedient to His plan for our salvation

Phillipians – Jesus emptied Himself…humbled Himself…obedience leads to glory

Does not grasp at divinity as Adam grasped at fruit…accepts God’s will!

Paradox of the Cross – power in weakness, glory in suffering, triumph in death

Gives us a glimpse into a proper understanding of freedom

Not license as modern world

Chase Bank

Burger King

Not freedom w/o law or responsibility

Freedom in obedience

We accept our free will in responsibility

We pursue the best…the truth

We are free but we exercise our freedom within the truth our identity as human persons and the loving plan of God for our lives.

This we call…in the Christian moral tradition…freedom for excellence

Also helps understand relationship to law…

Today Church law perceived as negative, oppressive…

In fact, canon law, liturgical law, moral law and the Ten C are the guideposts for holy living and salvation.

People think the Church is always saying “no” and laying down rules.

Pope Benedict says that the Church is not about saying “no” but about saying “yes” to Christ

Just like marrying a spouse, when we say yes to Christ, we say no to counterfeit versions of love and evils that threaten to hurt us.

Paul – Galatians: use your freedom in loving service

We accept our freedom not for ourselves but in responsibility, in truth, and in obedience to God’s will

Why did God make us?

To know Him, love Him, serve Him, so we can be happy with Him in heaven!

Offertory prayer: …may we come to share in the divinity of Christ who humbled Himself to share in our humanity…

Man’s telos…his end…is union w/ God and a sharing in His life

All we do and are is directed toward Heaven!

The primary gift of love is a gift of self.

JPII: man is most fully himself when he makes a sincere gift of himself…

JFK: 50 years since inaugural address…

“Ask not…”

Are we living for ourselves, or in order to make a sincere gift of ourselves?

Jesus reveals the infinite love of God and the perfection of humanity.

Jesus our Brother shows us what it looks like to be a real human person, loving and self-giving, journeying forward toward the goal of union with the Father.

Hymn:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Reflect on the mystery of the incarnation and what Jesus has done for you, how you can more fully image the love of God in our world, and how we can together imitate the humanity of Christ.

Look to Jesus Christ, who leads us back to the Father and leads us into the realization of who we truly are.

Praise God for His love, revealed in Jesus Christ!

Changes...preparing for Lent...

2011-03-06T22:49:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends in Christ,

Explore the blog and enjoy the changes. If I've sent you to the site after a conversation or if you have stumbled upon it, please comment or e-mail and let me know what you think. If you've been reading for years, let me know your thoughts, too.

My notes and possibly the audio from my talk today at Sacred Heart in Rock Creek will be uploaded soon.

As we enter into Lent, may we all deepen our love for Christ by prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Please check back for Lenten homilies and reflections, material on the New Roman Missal, exciting ventures, and the usual fare.

Remember the concert with Tia Ciferno on April 3rd at Saint Michael, Canfield. Proceeds benefir the Family Fest. E-mail me for tickets and information.

Follow the links below for great stuff!

God bless you!

Fr. Matthew

Homily Eighth Sunday of the Year 2011

2011-02-28T08:38:00.002-05:00

Click on title for audio file...

Mass February 27th

2011-02-19T23:53:00.003-05:00

8:00, 10:00 and Noon
O L. Perpetual Help
Aurora, Ohio

Homily Sixth Sunday of the Year 2011

2011-02-15T12:13:00.001-05:00

Sunday, February 13th
Saint Jude and Saint Pius X Parishes

Click on title for audio file.

Homily Fifth Sunday of the Year 2011

2011-02-07T23:43:00.001-05:00

Click on title for audio file.

Masses Super Bowl Sunday

2011-02-04T11:36:00.002-05:00

8:00 Saint Jude, Columbiana
10:30 Saint Anthony, Youngstown

Go Steelers!

Homily Fourth Sunday of the Year 2011

2011-01-31T21:56:00.002-05:00

Click on title for audio file.

The Passion of the Innocents / Mass Times

2011-01-26T15:31:00.003-05:00

Please enjoy the reflection below.

This Sunday, January 30th, Mass at:
10 AM St. Brendan, Youngstown
Noon, St. Jude, Columbiana

The Passion of the Innocents

It is most ironic that, in a time when violent films are raking in huge profits and Call of Duty: Black Ops, a game for Xbox and PlayStation that boasts of the most vivid graphics and realistic violence, is gaining popularity, our society glosses over violence and pain when it affects us most personally. We like our destruction of human life to be kept at a distance.

Christians today tend to trivialize or whitewash the Passion of the Lord. In some parishes, sadly, the centuries-old Stations of the Cross devotion is eliminated or replaced by a cheap imitation of the original. In Catholic institutions the Crucifix is replaced by a peculiar combination of the Cross and a figure of the Risen Christ (the “resurrect-a-fix”), thus depriving the penitent or the sick person the soothing remedy of identifying with the Suffering Christ. I suppose some people do not like to ponder the pain of Jesus’ final days and prefer to focus on the glorious ending to the story. However, no matter how hard we try, we cannot escape the reality that there is no Easter Sunday without Good Friday. Our salvation is not possible without His suffering. It is vital to our growth in holiness that we connect with and reflect upon what Jesus really did for us and what His incomparable self-gift means as a model of life-giving sacrifice we are to follow in our own vocations.

The contemporary film by Mel Gibson titled The Passion of the Christ was a shocking reminder of the Passion’s physical and emotional horror for a society accustomed to a bland portrayal of the mysteries of our redemption. Our Lord’s torn flesh and pierced body was displayed on the big screen for the world to see: the ultimate best picture. The true physical and neurological pain of scourging and crucifixion is discussed in excruciating detail in a doctor’s study titled The Passion of Jesus: Jesus’ Crucifixion from a Medical Point of View by Richard Krejcir.

Through film and medical study, Christians in the 21^st Century have access to authentic and compelling images of the Good Friday events – events which shape our spiritual life and through which we have been given the promise of new life in Heaven. It was for Calvary that Jesus came into the world – for the wood of the death-bed of the Cross that He first lay on the wood of the manger. It would be a shame for any Christian to fail to contemplate the suffering, even bloody and agonizing, Jesus, for it is this Jesus whose love sets us free.

The most heinous cause of death in our world today is abortion: the direct killing of an innocent child in the sanctuary of the womb – an act of destruction which leaves in its wake a dead child, a scarred mother, and a broken family. The culture of death that supports and promotes abortion is based on a sandy foundation of lies. Abortion, we are told, is a valid and healthy choice and one that every woman deserves the freedom to make. In stark contrast, we know from the testimony of post-abortion healing ministries that most women who have abortions feel there is no choice at all, no way out of an unplanned pregnancy. We are also aware of the lifelong psychological damage done to a mother when her “pregnancy is terminated.” Every woman suffering after an abortion deserves the total support of the Church, which extends the merciful love of God.

What is more, the promoters of the abortion industry want us to believe that what exists in the womb is merely a “fetus” and not a baby, tissue that feels no pain and not a living person. More and more the world is coming to see through the lie, as medical science and ultrasound images reveal that the child in the womb has, for one example, discernable fingers and toes by 10 weeks of gestation. From the moment of conception, the unborn child is on a trajectory of development that, uninterrupted, will lead him or her to the life that God intended. We have clear evidence that the unborn babies who are being aborted do indeed feel pain and react to it within the womb (visit www.priestsforlife.org for more information on the various life issues).

Still, the culture of death depends on the lies perpetuated by the pro-abortion lobby, lies which whitewash the personal human pain caused by abortion. The world at large is numb to its realities and blind to its destructive effects.

The pro-abortion element in our country is becoming increasingly unhinged as the truth of medicine and real life is publicized. A recent book by a pro-life convert has blown the doors off the anti-life edifice and given new energy to the pro-life cause. Unplanned, by Abby Johnson, is the autobiographical story of a former Planned Parenthood chapter director who has become a staunch pro-life advocate after witnessing an abortion, performed with the aid of ultrasound, firsthand. Like The Passion of the Christ, the first chapter of the book cuts through the pleasantries and reveals the heartbreaking devastation of abortion. Like the doctor’s account of the Passion, it is a first-hand account with medical evidence to support it. Abby, called in unexpectedly to assist in a “procedure,” is shocked to see the pain experienced by the baby, the tears in a mother’s eyes, and a recognizable baby, not tissue, suctioned out of the uterus. What she witnessed changed her life, and her story is a remarkable testament to the impact of truth in one person’s life. The whole world needs to read this book. It is sad but true, and certainly compelling. No more can we say that abortion is anything but murder of the most evil kind.

As Catholic Christians, we place our faith in the mystery of the Incarnation: Jesus became flesh in order to reveal God in visible form, to know humanity intimately and to redeem the world from within. He experienced the womb, infancy, childhood, adolescence and manhood. At His Baptism, Jesus took upon Himself the sins of the whole world as He rose from the Jordan and the water clung to Him, so that He might carry the weight of human sin and sorrow along with the Cross and nail our sins to the Cross with His broken body. Among the sins He carried was the holocaust of abortion and, thus, among the sorrows He felt were the emptiness of the mothers and fathers and the agony of the babies. Like His own precious body, bloody from the whips and nails and thorns, precious infant bodies in the womb are scourged and torn asunder by the instruments of medicine which become the weapons of mass destruction. They are given to drink of the bitter cup of suffering.

Jesus was fully human except sin. He knows human pain from within. In the punishment of scourging, normally a separate punishment from crucifixion in Roman Law but endured in addition to the cross by Jesus, who took on all that He could for us, Jesus felt the prodding and slicing and wrenching inflicted upon the unborn. Blood was and is poured out. He knows. He loves. He is one with humanity’s greatest tribulations.

As followers of the Suffering Christ, we have the blessed opportunity and obligation to give thanks for the agony our Messiah endured for our salvation and that of the whole world. We must also defend the innocent unborn from the agony of abortion.

In prayer, lift up to our merciful Lord the innocent victims of abortion. Be witnesses to the sanctity of human life in every time and place. This coming Lent in particular, embrace a deeper contemplation of the agonizing Christ and behold the depth of His love. In every day, appreciate the blessings we enjoy in life and allow your heart to be pierced with Christ’s Sacred Heart for love of the unborn and sadness at their plight. May we never again gloss over the pain of the Passion and the passion of the innocents. They are one in Christ. The former is the instrument of salvation. The latter cries out for His mercy and our loving witness.

O Lord Jesus crucified, have mercy on us – mercy, for we have sinned against you and against those most vulnerable among us.

Homily Second Sunday of the Year 2011

2011-01-22T22:22:00.000-05:00

Click on title for audio file.

Homily Baptism of the Lord 2011

2011-01-22T22:10:00.000-05:00

Click on title for audio file.

Baptism of the Lord

2011-01-06T14:08:00.001-05:00

Masses - Sunday 9 January 2011

O. L. Perpetual Help, Aurora
8:30
10:30
Noon

Holiday 2010

2010-12-26T16:12:00.001-05:00

Please note the updated homilies from the past months. Click on titles for audio file or read text.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Fr. Matthew

Homily JFK School Mass Immaculate Conception 2010

2010-12-26T16:10:00.002-05:00

Homily JFK School Mass All Souls 2010

2010-12-26T16:05:00.002-05:00

Homily Fourth Sunday of Advent 2010

2010-12-26T16:03:00.001-05:00

Homily Christ the King 2010

2010-12-26T16:00:00.001-05:00

Christmas Homily 2010

2010-12-24T14:30:00.001-05:00

Homily Christmas 2010

In 1860, Cambridge, Massachusetts, captured the essence of American Christmas.

Under starry skies, rows of New England houses

push their way up through a thick white blanket.

Sounds of sleigh bells and laughter resound through the countryside

as the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow family, bundled in winter wool,

is carried along in a sleigh behind a team of sleek, strong horses.

Swaying branches release a cascading shower of snow.

As they race across the frozen fields,

the children hear the beautiful sounds of Christmas: the ringing of the bells –

single steeple bells, bundles of carillon bells,

playing the familiar carols of the season,

the music of hope and peace.

The following year, 1861,

America needs that music of hope and peace

to counter fife and drum of the civil war.

As well, that summer a fire in the Longfellow home

claimed the life of Henry’s beloved wife Fanny.

Fanny was buried on the 18^th anniversary of their wedding,

while Henry, severely burned in the fire, is fighting for his life.

As the civil war rages outside, Henry battles within.

The next two Christmases come and go

and Henry writes how “inexpressibly sad” he is without his wife.

His sadness is doubled when his son Charles is seriously wounded in battle.

At Christmas in 1863, Henry describes how his life feels

as if an “earthquake” has struck.

“In despair I bowed my head.”

There is no peace,

for “hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, good will to men.”

In difficult times, Henry and we often face the same question:

Where is the music of hope and peace?

That same Christmas, Henry writes how sure is his wife’s presence,

as if he can feel her in the room.

Death is the beginning, not the end, he writes.

As the children are whisked along through forests and valleys

in the sleigh once again,

they hear the familiar sounds of Christmas morning: the bells!

Henry is renewed by the music of the bells, which remind him of the season of hope,

and the One whose birth brings peace to mankind.

From his window he looks out across the snow-covered fields,

picks up his pen and draws it across a fresh sheet of snow white paper,

and writes the carol we have all heard many times:

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old familiar carols play.

Wrong shall fail and right prevail,

In peace on earth, goodwill to men.

In the bells the message is clear:

a child is born in a stable, a child whose coming brings peace and hope.

And so he writes:

Though in a manger thou draw breath

Thou art greater than life and death

Because of Christmas, Fanny lives on, Henry lives on, our nation lives on!

Because of Christmas, and the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ,

we may live on, through life’s earthquakes and tragedies, in peace forever!

Our smiling faces and beautiful holiday outfits reveal the joy of our hearts:

the joy brought to the world by the coming of the Lord.

As we gather in this church to celebrate the coming of God among men

we hear the familiar sounds of worship: the bells!

The cupola bells summoned us into prayer

as we streamed in from our various homes and walked across the parking lot.

Like the poor shepherds and the wise kings,

we the faithful come to adore the Savior.

Hark how the sweet silver bells all seem to say: throw cares away, Christmas is here!

Soon the consecration bells will call our attention to the Eucharist

and proclaim that Jesus is here, truly here,

and His loving and abiding presence brings us peace.

Hark how the sweet consecration bells

awaken us to the truth that Jesus lives among us.

Jesus was born in a crude manger, in a humble stable,

in a little town called Bethlehem.

Do we know what “Bethlehem” means?

In Hebrew it means “house of bread!”

How providential since “bread” is an essential image of Christ.

When we celebrate Mass, bread becomes the real Body of Jesus.

Summoned by the church bells, we are gathered together in this sacred place:

the tabernacle, where Jesus lives and waits for us to come to Him

the monstrance, where parishioners and friends have adored Jesus

here in perpetual adoration for 15 years

the altar, where Jesus enters our world in the mystery of the Eucharist

the church building, where Christ’s mystical body gathers in His presence.

This is the house of the Bread of Life!

In our homes, we each have a beautiful Christmas tree:

carefully illuminated and decorated amid family celebration and tradition.

On Christmas morning,

children throughout the world cannot contain their excitement

over the treasures left beneath their trees.

Some of you boys and girls may be waiting to see if Saint Nicholas

brings you the latest fashions, some new Lego toys

the last Harry Potter book or Twilight DVD,

Madden 11 or Call of Duty Black Ops for the X-Box 360.

Here in the House of the Bread of Life, beneath the Tree of Life, which is the Cross,

we receive and unwrap the greatest gift God has given to all the world:

the gift of His Son Jesus.

As we sing, the ribbon is untied on the lovely package which is the liturgy.

As the prayers of the Mass unfold, the paper is torn asunder and excitement builds

until we reach the consecration and embrace the gift:

we become one with Jesus in Holy Communion.

Like a wide-eyed child staring at his brand new model train for hours

as it circles the tree,

we fall to our knees in awe and wonder.

Look what God has done!

He sent His Son to come among us as a baby and to save us from sin!

He comes to us in the Eucharist in every Mass as food for our souls!

What a precious treasure: Jesus lives among us! He loves us without condition!

Christmas comes but once a year, but every time we come to Mass

we are with Jesus, we are in Bethlehem, we receive the greatest gift of all!

A little child who receives a special gift, carefully chosen and beautifully wrapped,

might turn away to play with the box and paper.

But we come here because we appreciate what God has given.

Our celebration of God’s gift only begins here in the Mass.

From this source and summit of the Church’s life,

we are sent forth to share the love of Jesus with all people.

When men and women experience death, sickness, loss, depression or loneliness,\

unemployment and poverty

their hearts cry out for love and comfort.

Jesus alone can bring that perfect love, that enduring peace,

for which every human heart longs.

For Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the music of the bells, the hope of Christmas,

the love of Jesus, born in a manger and triumphant over death,
brought him hope

after the death of his wife and the suffering of his family.

For us the love that Christmas brings, the love of Jesus,

is the source of our hope and our peace amid the trials and the stresses of life.

And so we pray.

We need to pray each and every day, to take time to be one with Jesus, speak to Him

to listen to His Word, and to feel the love of God embrace us.

And then we share.

We share the love of Jesus we experience here in church

and in our prayer and the blessings of our lives

with our families, friends, co-workers, and even strangers in need.

By taking time to pay attention to the physical and emotional needs

of those around us and to reach out a helping hand, an open heart,

we make Christmas come alive every day.

Today the bells remind us that God gives us an unsurpassable gift –

a gift which brings hope in trials and peace in uncertainty

a gift we cannot help but share

a gift, a person, Jesus who is our first and greatest love.

Masses, etc.

2010-12-14T14:20:00.002-05:00

No assignment/homily for last weekend
December 19th: 8:30 am at OLPH in Aurora, Ohio

Christmas Eve: 5:00 pm at O.L. Mt. Carmel, Youngstown, Ohio

Homily Second Sunday of Advent 2010

2010-12-06T11:18:00.001-05:00

Click on title for audio file.

Still editing and formatting Christ the King homily.
The deacon preached last week.

Mass December 5th

2010-12-02T12:55:00.001-05:00

St. Jude, Columbiana
Noon

N.B. I did not preach last week, so no homily file. The deacon preached.

November 28th 2010 Sunday Masses

2010-11-26T19:31:00.001-05:00

First Sunday of Advent
November 28th 2010
Masses
Saint Peter Canton
10:00 A.M. and Noon

Masses November 21st - Christ the King

2010-11-18T09:56:00.003-05:00

8:00 AM Saint Jude
Columbiana

10:00 AM Immaculate Conception
Youngstown

Masses November 21st - Christ the King

2010-11-18T09:56:00.002-05:00

8:00 AM Saint Jude
Columbiana

10:00 AM Immaculate Conception
Youngstown

Homily 33rd Sunday of the Year 14 November 2010

2010-11-16T18:06:00.001-05:00

Click on title for audio file.
Saint George Church, Lisbon

Homily 32nd Sunday of the Year 7 November 2010

2010-11-16T18:04:00.001-05:00

Click on title for audio file.
Sacred Heart Church, Youngstown

Masses November 14th

2010-11-12T12:08:00.002-05:00

8:30 Saint George Lisbon
11:15 Saint Agatha West Point

Homily 31st Sunday of the Year 31 October 2010

2010-10-31T14:57:00.002-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Homily 29th Sunday of the Year 17 October 2010

2010-10-31T14:57:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Homily 28th Sunday of the Year 10 October 2010

2010-10-31T14:55:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Sunday October 31st

2010-10-29T12:10:00.002-04:00

Sunday Mass
8:45 Saint George Lisbon
11:15 Saint Agatha West Point
Columbiana County

October 24th

2010-10-22T08:26:00.001-04:00

Sunday Masses:
9:30 am Sacred Heart Youngstown
11:00 am Saint Stanislaus, Youngstown
Free thereafter

BLOG UPDATED!

2010-10-03T19:53:00.002-04:00

All the recent homilies have been uploaded. Enjoy!

Mass Schedule:

October 3rd
9 am at O. L. Lourdes in East Palestine

October 10th
9:30 and 11:30 am at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Niles

October 17
St. Nicholas in Struthers at 7:45 and 9:45 am

Homily October 3rd 2010 27 OT

2010-10-03T19:52:00.000-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Homily JFK All-School Mass October 1st 2010

2010-10-03T19:51:00.002-04:00

This was our first all-school Mass at which I was the celebrant.

Homily September 26th 2010 26 OT

2010-10-03T19:50:00.000-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Homily September 19th 2010 25 OT

2010-10-03T19:44:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Masses

2010-09-22T12:27:00.002-04:00

September 19
Immaculate Heart of Mary Austintown
8:30
11:00

September 26
Saint Edward Youngstown
9:00
11:30

Homily 23rd Sunday of the Year 2010

2010-09-07T18:20:00.003-04:00

Click on the title for my homily from this past Sunday. Homilies will be posted as I am assigned to weekend parish assignments and am able to record and post them. Please check back at least monthly.

My mailing address is:
Saint Rose Parish
48 East Main Street
Girard, Ohio 44420

This weekend...

2010-09-01T14:30:00.001-04:00

September 5th 2010
Blessed Sacrament Warren Ohio
9 and 11 am Mass

Mass Schedule

2010-08-24T19:26:00.001-04:00

After two weeks of vacation and a free weekend after my frst week of faculty meetings, I have my first weekend assignment as a travelling priest. I will be celebrating Mass at 10 am at St. Joseph in Warren, Ohio, this Sunday August 29th.

Homily 17th Sunday of the Year 2010

2010-07-29T16:22:00.000-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Homily 14th Sunday of the Year 2010

2010-07-29T16:21:00.000-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Homily 12th Sunday of the Year 2010

2010-07-29T15:10:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Homily 11th Sunday of the Year 13 June 2010

2010-06-15T17:42:00.000-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

Corpus Christi 2010

2010-06-10T23:09:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio.
8:45 and 10:30 Masses run back to back.

Homily Trinity Sunday 2010

2010-06-01T16:17:00.001-04:00

Click on title for audio.

Homily Sixth Sunday of Easter 9 May 2010

2010-05-25T16:19:00.002-04:00

Click on title for audio file.

First Communion 2010

2010-05-05T10:15:00.001-04:00

April 25th 2:00 pm Saint Michael School
May 2nd 12:15 and 2:00 pm PSR

Click on title for audio file.