Homily: 25th Sunday of Ordinary time cycle B

This past Thursday Fr. Raymond and I went to Syracuse to join in a celebration for all the Friars in our community who were celebrating their anniversary of ordination or religious profession.  It was a wonderful trip but as we were driving into town I noticed something that made me think.

On one side of the highway there was a large, beautiful, white building with a big steeple and big windows in it.  It also had wide and inviting door out front.

As we drove down a little bit further there was another large building.  This one was beautiful, red, brick, with two steeples and large windows as well.  It too had large and inviting doors out front.

These two buildings seems so similar in their "feel" and their emotional appeal.  Their construction seemed to inspire and invite people to partake of the wonders that they contained.

One was the mall and the other was the Church where we were going for the celebration!

Where do you worship?

Where do you find yourself going to for comfort and rest?
Which building draws you in and which location inspires you?

The mall?

Which set of wonders do you partake of to calm and sooth the pain and suffering of life?

Where do you worship?

Last week we heard in the readings the call to take up our cross and follow Jesus.  The message is clear that life will include suffering and it can't be avoided.  In fact Jesus is calling us to suffer if we want to be His disciple.  Where do you go to give you strength, comfort, peace, and rest from the suffering of life?

In church?

Where do you worship?

Saint James tells us that we are all fighting a war within our members.  This happens between people and within our own selves... within our hearts.  We are fighting a war in the depths of who we are.

You see, when we are confronted with suffering and the reality of death there are only two options to the way that we can respond.  We can respond with a type of silent despair at the pointlessness of it all.  For those who respond to suffering with despair there is the remedy of living in a way that covers over the despair with pleasure, power, and possessions.

For others there is faith.  We believe that death is not the end but it actually a moment of incredible joy at the promise of a new eternal life.  We also know the hope that claims that God really is at work in our world and that suffering has meaning, value, and merit.  

We can choose despair or faith, hope, and joy.

We can choose to struggle with the reality of suffering and death at the mall seeking pleasure, possessions, and power. (So many "new and trendy" things are just status symbols which is a symbol of social power and prestige)

Or we can choose to struggle with the reality of suffering and death at Church where we can get in touch with the hope and joy that comes with the experience of God's grace and His eternal promises.

In response to suffering we can choose spiritual therapy or "retail therapy"

Where do you worship?

But please be aware that if you choose to live a life of real hope and joy it will not be easy.  For those in our world who have chosen despair (pleasure, power, and possessions) they will not appreciate those who have chosen real hope and joy.  In fact our reading from the book of Wisdom makes the point clearly.  

"The wicked say, 'Let us attack the just one for he is obnoxious to us.  He sets himself against our [seeking pleasure, power, and possessions]... Let us condemn him to a shameful death [to prove that life really is only despair]."

For those who choose despair they often resent those who live with hope and joy.  As such the despairing can  try to prove that life is despair by attacking those who live with faith.

That being said, I have a confession to make, I myself do enjoy a bit of "retail therapy" every now and then.  I am responsible to preach this message but that does not mean that I always live up to it.

I love getting a new tool for my woodworking workshop.  There is something exciting and pleasurable about it... I'm not unlike everyone reading this.  We all experience this type of pleasure.

So... if you are like me and you are sometimes stuck between the mall and church.  If you sometimes worship in both locations please let the Gospel offer you come comfort (and a challenge).

Here we see that Jesus, for a second time, has told the apostles that he will be going to Jerusalem, suffer, be tortured, and killed.

Notice how the apostles respond to hearing this message a second time.  As they begin their journey they argue amongst themselves who is the greatest.  They completely miss the point that Jesus is trying to say.  The apostles hear of suffering and they choose the same silent despair that we all sometimes choose.  Their immediate reaction is to cling to power (pleasure and possessions) as a way to handle this terrible news of Jesus' suffering and death.

If you ever find that the mall (power, pleasure, and possessions) is the way that you handle the pain and suffering of life then don't worry... you are in good company.  The apostles made that same mistake.


We must be challenged by Jesus' call to respond to suffering with faith, hope, and joy instead of despair.

Where do you worship?

The odor of sanctity

Hello all,

One of the "religious phrases" that always made me wonder was "the odor of sanctity."

I had heard this phrase in some of the writings of the saints or very holy people.  The context of the phrase is that "someone died in the odor of sanctity."

I have always understood this to mean that there was something special about the way that they lived and died that seems to be so powerful that it can be sensed in a physical way.  So their holiness/sanctity could be smelled in an odor.

Well yesterday I smelled the odor of sanctity.

Yesterday I was in Syracuse for a large gathering of Franciscan Friars to celebrate the jubilee of every friar who had a major anniversary of ordination or profession of vows this year.  There were dozens of friars celebrating their anniversaries of ordination to the priesthood and profession of vows as Friars.

During mass I sat next to a Friar who was celebrating his 50th anniversary of ordination.  I was about to celebrating my one month anniversary of ordination.

The truth is that I was very distracted during mass be cause the friar next to me had this powerful and peculiar odor coming from him.  It was a mixture of Bengay, halitosis, and mothballs. 

So I suppose for an elder Friar who has served others, prayed, and worked for love of God for over 50 years the odor of sanctity is not as mystical as I would have thought.

The Exhalation of the Holy Cross

It seems very popular and fashionable today for so many people to try to figure out "who they are."  So many claim to be "reinventing" or "rediscovering" themselves.

If you've ever wondered who you are or how to get to know yourself deeper today is the day.  This is the feast where you can see yourself as God sees you.

Look at the cross.  Stare deeply into its mystery.

See who you are!  

Look at your sin. 
See the wretched evil that caused so awful a torment.
See who you are.
See your sinfulness.

But don't just stop there.
Look deeper and see yourself anew.
See your beauty.
See how you are loved.
See your forgiveness and salvation.
See your dignity.
Look! And see who you really are!
Beloved by God, forgiven, and saved.

The cross is not only the mirror where we can see who we are...
The cross is where we see who God is.

Look! See God's true identity!

See God's humility.
God... the creator of the entire cosmos became a man.
God took on our pain, weakness, and suffering.
See God's humility that He allowed himself to endure such shame.

See God's Love!
Look and see the depth of compassion and love.
Has, ever, anyone ever suffered so without complaint nor protest?
See His mercy and forbearance that He would love and pray for those who betrayed, abandoned, tortured, and murdered Him.
See His love.
See how He did it all for love of you.
See the depth of God's love!

See God's majesty!

Has ever a crown sat atop the head of a king with greater nobility than those thorns sat on His head?

Has ever jewelry decorated the body of a king with such dignity like those iron nails adorned His flesh?

Has ever a throne raised a king to such exalted heights as that bead of wood raised Him?

See His majesty!

It is right that we exalt the cross for it is in the mystery of the cross that we see who we really are.  

It is in the cross where we see who God truly is!

Homily: 23rd Sunday in Ordinary time cycle B

One of my favorite compliments is when people tell me that when I am speaking during mass they can hear every word that I say clearly and loudly.  I really appreciate that because I try to be clear and understandable.

However, I have my own way of detecting and finding out if I am being loud enough.  If I hear someone's hearing aid whistling, screeching, or buzzing then I know that I'm projecting my voice enough.  That sound may drive other people crazy but I know that when I hear it others can hear me clearly.

I find that even a young man like myself needs a bit of help hearing.  If I find myself in a place with a lot of background noise then it is difficult for me to hear what others are saying clearly.

Our world has a lot of background noise.  How often we do find that it is hard to hear God speaking to us over the noise of our lives?  Do you even try to listen or is it easy to tune God out?  In some sense I think we all need "Divine hearing aids" today.  There is just that much noise and it is just that hard to hear what God is saying.

In a sense that is what the Gospel is about today.  Jesus decides to take the long way to get to where He wants to go.  Along His journey He enters a gentile town.  This was not a place where any Jewish people lived.  Even there He shared the Gospel and they were deeply moved by what they heard.  So they brought Jesus a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment.

Jesus decides to work a miracle for this man but it is important to notice what He does and ask the question of "why" He does it.  Jesus takes the man away from the others and He performs a powerful miracle where the hearing of that man in completely restored and he regains that ability to speak.

But notice that Jesus commands that the man not tell anyone about the miracle... Think about this.  Does this make any sense?

Jesus gives someone back the ability to speak clearly and then He tells him not to say anything.  Whenever we hear this in the Gospel of Mark it is always a clue that something else is going on.  In other words, Jesus is giving us a clue as to what He is really doing.

Jesus did not want to man to proclaim Him as a miracle worker.  Jesus did not come simply to work miracles or to work magic, or even to be a healer.  Rather He came to proclaim the Kingdom of God.  His miracles are proof that His message is valid and that God really is in control and can "put this world right."  Miracles are a sign post telling us that God's Kingdom has come.  But the miracles are not the main theme of the Kingdom of God so Jesus did not want the man to tell everyone about just the miracle.

The message that Jesus does want proclaimed is what we hear in the first reading.  We are all told to proclaim God's power and ability to save.  Everyone is told to proclaim the Kingdom of God and not just Jesus' miracles.  The challenge becomes how to know exactly, how to understand, what the Kingdom of God is.

Our second reading, from James, continues to tell us what the Kingdom of God is all about.  Last week we heard that "religion that is pure" is where we care for the widow and the orphan.  Today we hear that we are not to show partiality between the rich and the poor.  We are also reminded that it is to the poor that the Kingdom of God is promised.  

So if you are looking to understand, in a deeper way, what the Kingdom of God is then the best, and easiest way, is to care for the poor.  They are the heirs to the Kingdom and to care for the, to serve them, we can come to understand how God is at work in the world and how His Kingdom is growing in our world.

It is true that any Christian community where the poor are not welcomed or served has lost its connection to Christ.  It is also true that for any Christian who does not serve the poor, in some way, then they fail to remain connected to Christ.

The whole point of Jesus working miracles was to proclaim the Kingdom of God here on earth.  First and foremost that Kingdom is promised to the poor.  If we want to have our ears opened to understand what that Kingdom is all about then our lives must be lived in such a way as to make the lives of the poor better.

I WAS ORDAINED!!!

Hello all,

I'm sorry for the delay in updating my blog... but I've been busy.

After nine years of work, prayer, formation, study, more prayer, and patience I was ordained a priest on Saturday August 25 here at St. Paul Church in Kensington CT.  This is where I've been stationed for the last year and where I'll be ministering as a new priest.

All of the photos can be seen here.

Here are some of my favorites!

This is the during the Litany of the Saints where I was prostrate in prayer... or I should have been praying :)

The "laying on of hands" is the actual moment of ordination!  

I was giving the sign of peace to my mother.  She was very emotional during the entire weekend :-)

This is Isi and Heidi.  I thought that this picture was so beautiful that I had to include it.

From left to right:      Fr. Justin, Bishop Gregory, Me, Fr. James

Another Picture of my mother and me.

From L to R: Fr. Joe, Fr David, Fr. Augustin, Fr. Jim, Fr. George, Fr. Matt, and Br. Nick

My family (most of them who were there)

These are some of my closest friends in the world.  I went to high school with the guys and the lovely ladies are their wives.
From L to Right: Bridget, Nick, Isi, Dan, Me, Brendan, Anne, Pat, and Carrie.

Thank you one and all!

The experience of being ordained, my first mass, and all of the celebrations were far beyond my wildest dreams.

It was a wonderful experience and I am so excited to be able to serve the Church as a priest.  

In all seriousness I wake up each morning excited to be a priest and I can hardly believe that I am one.  This really is a dream come true!