A life changing perspective

Hello all,

I was chatting with someone the other day and in our chat I suggested that this person really look into the ideas and work of Brene Brown.  

I first came across her ideas and work through watching a few of her videos on YouTube.  She gave two talks that I watched that moved me deeply.

The first talk was on her study of emotional vulnerability.  She claims that it is the source of meaningful connection and also the source of joy and happiness.


The second talk is on listening to shame and the lies that it tells and how it compels us to live with a tremendous burden.




I am thinking that the central truth that she is sharing is the secret to the challenge of the Gospel and also the readings that he will hear this weekend at mass.

I'm still wrestling with the message/homily but I really wanted to share these videos with you because I truly believe that what she is sharing is life changing, liberating, and spiritually empowering.

They are not short videos but well worth the time to watch and even take notes.  Re-watch them, pray with them, share them and I think it will help to make the lives of other much better.

Let me know what you think. God bless

No homily today

Hello all,

I did not preach at mass today because our deacon (Deacon Carmen) gave the homily. 

He did a wonderful job.

Well... since I don't have anything really worthwhile on my mind I'll post one of my favorite funny pictures.

I really like bacon ;-)

I hope you have a wonderful week.

God bless!

The afterlife

Hello all,

Often scientists are very skeptical (if not downright opposed) to the idea of life after death.

Well I just read an article about a neuroscientist who had an experience that made him change his mind about the afterlife.

Dr. Eben Alexander fell into a coma in 2008 which is when he had his experience that convinced him of the reality of the afterlife.  He is now publishing an essay and sharing his experiences for the October 15th issue of Newsweek.

Personally I believe in life after death... I think all Christians do.  I'm also a big fan of science and I'm constantly wrestling with where science and religion meet or disagree.  So, I'll be reading this article with interest.

Check it out if you are interested in this type of thing as well.

Homily: 27th Sunday in Ordinary time, cycle B

One of my favorite movie stars is Clint Eastwood.  I really enjoy most of his movies and he has many memorible quotes.  One of his movie lines that I think of from time-to-time is, "A man's got to know his limitations."



When it comes to our readings today  about marriage I can say that I've reached my limitations.

I can not tell you how to be happily married.  I can't tell you what to do to make marriage work.  I can't even tell you how to go about trying to find someone who would be a good person to marry.  I just don't know this type of information.  I have no experience of being married, I'm not married, and I won't ever be married.  So here it is.  This is one of my limitations.

But... I can tell you the "why" about marriage.  I can tell you why it is so important.  Why marriage is the central theme in our readings today.  And why Jesus was so uncompromising on His teachings against divorce.

Our first reading comes from the second chapter of Genesis.  If we want to understand why marriage is so important it is good to start "In the beginning" with the chapter just before.  In Genesis chapter one we read that all humans are created in the image and likeness of God. 

That means, that in some real way, if you look into the mirror you will see the reflection of God.  You are in God's very own image and likeness.  

Even as Adam was in the image and likeness of God he was still incomplete and was lacking something.  So God made for him a suitable partner.  It wasn't any animal but finally a woman (Eve).  She was like him, she complimented him, and she completed him. It was with her that he united and joined her as "one flesh."

In that moment, in that embrace, in that union of two into one flesh we can see the human person being most fully in the image and likeness of God... let me explain.

God is a Trinity of three persons and yet just one God.  This is hard to understand but allow me to try to explain it.

God the Father (the first person of the Trinity) speaks one Word.

Before time and eternity became the Father spoke one Word... that Word is the second person of the Trinity.  It was that second person who took on our human nature and we call him Jesus.

I'm so lo-tech that I literally drew this on a piece of paper and then
took a picture of it on my phone to post it here

The Father spoke one Word and the Word then loves the Father.  The love that they share is the Holy Spirit.  The love and the union between the Word and the Father is the Holy Spirit... the third person of the Trinity.  The Holy Spirit is the bond of love between the Father and the Word.

Marriage is the domestic trinity!

In the bond and union of marriage humans most completely and totally show forth the inner life of the Holy Trinity.  In the bond of marriage human beings are most perfectly in the image and likeness of the Trinity.

I hope you can see how marriage is in the image and likeness of the Holy Trinity.
Sorry again for the lo-tech graphics.

Just as in the Holy Trinity the bond of love between the Father and the Word is the Holy Spirit so too in the domestic trinity the bond of love between a husband and a wife is open to the new life of a child.

The bond of marriage is the most perfect image and likeness of God that there is.  From the altar we, weekly, receive the physical presence of the Lord.  In the Eucharist we are physically united to God.  So too, in marriage, does a man and a woman physically imitate God.

This is why we believe what we do about Marriage.  This is why the Church teaches what it does in regards to the many moral issues surrounding marriage.

So often when it comes to morality, especially these types of issues, people think of the teaching of the Church as nothing more than a long list of: Don't do this... don't do that... don't... no, No, NO!



That is most certainly not what we believe at all!

When the Holy Trinity loves creation always springs forth.

So to in the domestic trinity of marriage the physical gift of one's self to another should always be open to new life.  This is why we are opposed to artificial contraception.

In His plan God has shared with the married couple the task of continuing the work of creation.  There is nothing that God loves more that new life and so it takes the complementarity of one woman and one man to create life.  There is no other arrangement were life can come about.  This is why we are opposed to redefining marriage as something other than one man and one woman.

Certainly the work of co-creating new life is a precious gift that God shares freely and there is nothing that God loves more than the physical union that brings about new life.  This is why it is so wonderful, so powerful, so exciting, and so pleasurable. The physical union of two people is so incredible because God wanted it to be that way!  He chose to make that physical union so wonderful.  The experience of the ecstasy of this union is a direct sharing in the joy that God has in creating new life. 

We must never end this new human life.  That is why we are apposed to abortion.

The gift of one's whole self in marriage must always be a complete gift.  But we believe that the openness to new life should come after the vows of two people to share their lives for life.  That is why we believe that the giving of someone's body to another should always come after their marriage vows... and never before.
That is why we teach that people should wait for marriage to give their bodies to each other.

In the Gospel we hear Jesus speak very strongly against divorce.  He clearly teachings that it is God's will that a man and a woman be joined in marriage and that that union cannot be "divorced."

This makes perfect sense if we believe that marriage is the domestic trinity.  The union and relationships within the Holy Trinity are not temporary nor are they ever going to be ended.  So for us, as Christians, we believe that marriage imitates this permanence and thus marriage lasts "till death do us part!"

Please understand that these teachings and beliefs are not easy.  They are especially difficult in today's world where point-by-point popular culture seems to oppose our faith.  Many people don't even like it when this is preached from the pulpit.  

The domestic trinity

I understand the difficulty but Jesus is uncompromising.  Our faith is challenging.  The plan of God calls us to live up to a lofty ideal. Our being in the image and likeness of God is a tremendous challenge.  For us marriage is not just "another life option" nor it is a quaint arrangement.  Marriage is nothing short of a physical and life-long imitation of the Holy Trinity.  For the Christian marriage is the "Domestic Trinity." This is why we believe what we do about it.  This is why we consider it such a treasure.  This is why Jesus was so uncompromising on His teachings about the bond of marriage.

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!