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!

The countdown in on

This is the countdown clock for my ordination to the Order of Presbyter in the Catholic Church. 
(We commonly call this the priesthood)


August 25th is coming up soon!

COUNTDOWN CLOCK WIDGETS

Happy Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul!

Hello all,


Today (June 29th) is the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul.  
[a solemnity is one step more festive than a "feast"... it can get confusing]


I wanted to share this with you for a few reasons:


First, I like to eat and since today is even more special than a feast day then we ought to feast (eat) even more to celebrate today.


So enjoy some of your favorite food and/or beverages.  But do so in such a way that you remember who Peter and Paul were and what they have done in service of Jesus and the Gospel.


Secondly, my name is Peter (I think you know this) and I celebrate today as my personal "names day."  This is a custom that we have in the Franciscans that we have two special days.  The first is our Birthday and the second is the feast of the saint that you are named after.  Today is that day for me.  Today is my "names day."

Yesterday evening I went out for a sundae so I think that'll count for my feasting to celebrate today but I might enjoy with a frosty beverage this evening.


The third reason that I wanted to share today with you is that it is important to remember Peter and Paul.


There is no way that our Christian faith would be what it is without  the work and sacrifice of these two men.  Neither of them were perfect... far from it.  One denied and rejected Jesus and the other was going about trying to murder Christians.

God does not choose saints to do His will he picks sinners.

Both Peter and Paul died for their faith in Rome and it is because of that that the Christian Church has always regarded Rome as a very special place.  The bishop of Rome is also regarded as the one who takes the place and ministry of Peter in the Church... we call him the "Pope" today.


So today remember Peter and Paul.  Thank God that they were sent to share their Christian faith with the whole world and you might even read a bit of what they wrote.  


Here's a hint: it's in the Bible... blow the dust off and see what you can find.  


One of my favorite passages that St. Peter wrote (or is given credit for writing) 1 Peter 3:15b

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Not a homily: my reflections on the Nativity of St. John the Baptist

Hello all,


I did not preach today but I really enjoyed the scripture readings that we had at mass today.  For your information there were two sets of readings.  The first set was for the vigil mass on Saturday evening and the other set was for the masses during the day today on Sunday.

Here we mixed and matched the readings and I enjoyed hearing them because I have a deep love for the reading first reading from the vigil mass (Jeremiah 1:4-10)  This is the calling of the prophet Jeremiah.  I also really enjoyed the Gospel reading from the masses during the day (Luke 1:57-66, 80)


Both of these readings touch me in a very personal way. 


The celebration of the Nativity of John the Baptist is essentially about who John the Baptist was as the person who God had chosen to prepare the world for the coming of Jesus' public ministry.


As I heard the readings and proclaimed the Gospel I connected with these readings personally.  I heard echos of my own vocational call.


So I thought that I would share with you a [brief] version of my vocational call.


As an aside: I'm not the only one who has a vocational call.  We are all called (that includes you) to help prepare the world to get to know Jesus.  We are all called like the prophet Jeremiah and John the Baptist to speak the truth and help the world draw close to God.  We are all called to discern God's will for our lives and follow it.  For me that is the key to real happiness and joy.


Here's my story:


When I was younger I suffered (and still do) from a very serious heart defect that I had from birth.  I've had open-heart surgery five times in my life.  I was 18 months, 14, 16, 17, and 21 years old when I "went under the knife."  During these surgeries I've come very close to death and even had (what some might call) a near death experience when I was 14.

Fr. Merrick

During the early part of my illness I spoke with my parish priest (Fr. Merrick Bednar) who himself had had a heart problem and a heart transplant.  He challenged me to unite my sufferings to those of Christ and to see in my pain a precious opportunity to grow spiritually.  He helped me go deeper in faith and trust in God's will for my life.  And so, since life was simple to me back then, I just did it.  I believed and trusted.  I never lost sleep over my illness and I was not afraid of death.


I don't say this to make you think that I'm special or holy (I'm not) but God was able to teach me something through the suffering, pain, and fear.  I learned that my life is not my own.  My life is a gift to me and I have a choice as to what I want to do with it.  


I do personally feel that what many were saying about John the Baptist in the Gospel from today "The hand of the Lord was with him" is in some way applicable to me.  I also am convinced that it is applicable to you too.  


From the time that I was 16 I also felt a call to be a friar and a priest and I can remember reading over and over the passage from the beginning of Jeremiah where God called him. 

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,before you were born I dedicated you,a prophet to the nations I appointed you. 

"Ah, Lord GOD!" I said, "I know not how to speak; I am too young." 

But the LORD answered me, Say not, "I am too young." To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak.  Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD. 

Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying,
See, I place my words in your mouth!

When I was younger (and even now) I was a talker.  I was like my father and I would not stop talking.  I loved to talk and because I came from smart parents and I learned to speak well.


It is a joy to preach because I feel that God has given me the ability to talk and I love sharing something personal at the pulpit.


There was really one more aspect to my vocational call:


One day in college my roommate's friend (a beautiful young woman) came up to me and said that she wanted to pray with someone about some things in her life.  I was, at first, uncomfortable with this because I had no idea why she had asked me.


To make a long story short, we did pray together... many times over the next 2 1/2 years.  She was suffering from the most heart wrenching pain that I could ever imagine a young woman experiencing and she desperately needed to encounter God.  For some reason she picked me to pray with.


Over those years of praying with her every few months I saw God work a miracle in her life.  He did it through me.  It was not a fast or flashy miracle but it was amazing to see.  I didn't perform any miracle... I was along for the ride and I just tried to get out of God's way.


In-hind-sight I decided that if I could live my life in such a way as to simply make myself available to God and others so that He could use me to do his work then that is what I wanted to do.


I knew that my life was a gift and I wanted to give it back to God who had given it to me.