Holy Family

Pope Paul VI calls the family a community of love and sharing.  And he says for the family setting, there is no substitute.  And Blessed Mother Teresa also pointed this out.  Her sisters provide for many orphans all over the world.  And she admitted that the love she and her sisters share with them is no substitute for a family.

The family is the basic building block of society, like bricks in a wall.  When we look at the concept of family, we see that it is definitely part of God’s plan of salvation for humanity.  Will we be open to God’s plan or not?  The evil one is trying to destroy the family so he can destroy society.  When we look around at all the ills in society, we see that the root of these ills is usually some problem with the family.  When family members are at each other’s throats, usually someone in the family is living outside the State of Grace.

We learn from others how to live, and God’s plan for this is the family.  It’s the setting where new people experience life.  It is also in the family setting where people encounter God.  We hear in the Gospel today that the Holy Family had a custom of making a pilgrimage to the temple for Passover every year.  This is a call to action for parents.  The only way the next generation will know what is important is through the example of their parents.  Children can pick up on what’s important just like they pick up the language.  Religious customs are so important that Mary and Joseph even showed them to Jesus, and he is God.  Are the children being prepared to be citizens of the Kingdom of God or merely citizens of the world?

Holiness is the goal.  Everything a parent does for a child should be out of love for the child.  If love means to do what is best for another person, then a parent should make sure their children are on the right track for becoming saints.  Our earthly life is very brief.  Eternal life with God is the ultimate good, and that should be the goal of every parent for their children. Education and sports are good things too, but they should be means to the end goal of eternal life, not ends in themselves.  Getting children on the right track as Christians is the work of the family.

This family setting fosters authentic human growth and development.  How do we know if it is authentic?  It leads to truth and love.  And we move beyond ourselves and learn to be in communion with others and with God.  Grace from the sacrament of marriage facilitates this task.  It is poured upon the family at the marriage of the mother and father.  My family is living proof if this grace.  But I better not tell any stories.

The key is to be open to this grace by being open to the Holy Spirit, who pours out the love of the Father that is made visible to us in Jesus Christ.  Parents then make this love visible in their lives.  Not being open to the work of the Holy Spirit leads to the ills that kill families.  The family is crucial to the Christian life.  Perhaps this is why Jesus says what he does about divorce.

Then we encounter another list of tactics the evil one uses to bring society down by making families weak:  Fornication leading to Single parenting or Abortion; Cohabitation outside of marriage leading to a 75% divorce rate; Contraception and Sterilizations tempting spouses to treating each other as objects; Lack of child supervision – What are they watching on TV?  What are they doing with their smart phones?

The family is automatically holy because it is part of God’s plan.  But we remember that holy does not mean perfect or automatically successful.  All families have their problems and crosses to bear.  But what makes us holy is how we respond to the problems that we face.  Even the Holy Family we celebrate today had their little mix-up we heard about in the Gospel.  They remained holy because of their love for God and each other.  May all families strive to do the same.

Lamenting Loss of Life

The following is a segment from Bradley Mattes, Executive Director of Life Issues Institute regarding the school shooting in Newtown CT:

"The world outpouring of shock, grief and love has been as it should be. God created us to reach out to our fellow man at times like these. Then I thought of the other children who have been just as brutally and violently killed, and I wondered, where is the shock? Where is the grief? Where is the outcry?

Every day, about 3,300 unborn children are intentionally killed—yes murdered—not inside schools, but in America’s abortion mills. That’s 165-times the number of precious children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary. Where are the headlines? Where is the Presidential condemnation?"

President Obama says he will use the full power of his office to protect children.  He needs to amend his statement.  He really only means to protect "wanted" children, not "unwanted" children in the womb.  I would like nothing more than to see him protect all children, wanted, unwanted, born, unborn.

Of course, the shooting has been the major topic of talk radio all week.  One host in Cincinnati was lamenting the horror because these children had hobbies.  One liked to play soccer.  One's hair color or eye color was this or that.  Our country needs major conversion of heart.  Having hobbies or playing soccer does not give us our worth.  Our personality, hair color or eye color, which are only known after birth, do not give us our worth.  All humans are worthy of love from the first moment of life.

Like Earl Pitts would say: "Wake up America!"

Homily - Gaudete Sunday

In his letter to the Philippians, St. Paul tells us twice to rejoice.  Ever since the first sin, humanity has been headed in one direction: eternal death.  Now we have the most awesome reason to rejoice: God sent us a savior to end the doom of death and give us an opportunity for eternal life.  We hear in another place in the New Testament:  The Father does not will the death of the sinner but rather that he be converted and live.  We rejoice in the Father’s gift of mercy.

Secondly, we rejoice in the grace of the Holy Spirit.  This joy overcomes any misery the world can throw at us.  And finally, we also rejoice in Christ’s presence.  He said he would be with us until the end of time.  If we call ourselves Christians, we believe it.  For example: It is very proper for us to rejoice in his real presence in the Eucharist.  We encounter the living God here today.  Has it become commonplace or do we remember to rejoice in it?  It is time to rejoice because God’s plan of salvation is underway.  The time of misfortune is over.  God is in our midst.  Can we rejoice in the impending coming of our savior?

In this season of Advent, we hear from John the Baptist once again.  He’s the one who preached the need of repentance.  Notice how much we need that repentance and conversion of heart.  We want a preacher who is gentle and focuses on God’s mercy, one who says: The way of salvation is broad and spacious.  But God sends us what we need, not what we want, a preacher who is severe, John the Baptist.  Reminding us that the way of salvation is narrow, and not always easy.

John gives us very concrete examples:  Generosity, Honesty, avoid being greedy.  Be faithful to the ordinary circumstances of life.  God is not asking us to be something we are not.  If we are a father, husband, wife, mother, electrician; he is telling us to be the best father, husband, wife, mother, electrician we can be.  This also shows us that God can be found in the ordinary circumstances of life.  And staying faithful to him, we rejoice in those.

John’s message continues.  He talks about the one coming after him who will separate the wheat from the chaff.  The wheat gets gathered into his barn and the chaff gets burned in the fire.  I think we know what that means.  This is a little more difficult to hear than a motivational speech that makes us feel good.

That’s not a popular message to the world.  We want to feel good and be told we are OK.  But giving in to sin means rejecting Jesus.  When we hold on to sin, we are saying:  I don’t need a savior.  I’m seeking fulfillment in my sins.  Advent is the time of the year to let go of sin.  Free ourselves from it.  Holding on to sin is like a drowning man holding on to lead weights.  But they’re such pretty lead weights.  They’re painted real nice.

This is a great time of year for us to ask ourselves:  What are the lead weights that are making me sink?  We get this great advent opportunity to ask ourselves if we are living like the wheat on the path to God’s barn or like the chaff on the path to the fire.  John the Baptist was blunt and no-nonsense.  The amazing thing is that the truth he preached was true then.  And it’s still true today.

Another thing that’s amazing is that John was so holy and authentic that people wondered if he was the Christ.  He is a great example for us.  We have the opportunity to ask ourselves as we prepare to meet the Lord:  Am I living in such a way that people might confuse me with the Christ? We are called to take on the holiness and authenticity of John the Baptist.  And if someone asks us:  Are you the Christ?  We simply say what John said:  No, one mightier than I is coming.

Catholics Come Home

With lay leadership and funding, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati recently began an advertising campaign called Catholics Come Home.  This campaign includes television commercials on local networks and cable inviting lapsed Catholics to come back to Mass.
These dedicated people who are bringing this to the masses recognize the infinite beauty of the Mass and experience profound joy in practicing their Catholic faith.  That kind of joy is meant to be shared.  We can't help but share it.
At the archdiocesan level Michael Vanderburgh is the point man as Director of Stewardship.
Below is a link to Scott Sloan's radio show with Vanderburgh as a guest in late November.  As I listened, I noticed several things:  Sloan, who labels himself a "Cafeteria Catholic," brings up the usual laundry list of objections to the Catholic faith: abuse crisis, homosexuality, all male clergy, celibacy, birth control, divorce and even bad preaching.  Notice that every single item on this list has been thoroughly addressed by the Church with charity, clarity, compassion, wisdom, reason and divine revelation.  One would be hard pressed to come up with a new question for the Church that has not been answered in her 2,000 year history.  I only listened to about half the clip.  In that time I heard the first couple of callers after Vanderburgh was finished.  The ignorance of the self-proclaimed "Recovering Catholics" who call in will blow your mind!  One thing is very evident: Neither they nor Sloan never took the opportunity to find out what the Church actually teaches in the first place. This is the link to the segment on Sloan's show.  Click here to see the "Catholics Come Home" ads.
It seems to me that defying the Church on any of her teachings could easily lead to a rejection of the complete Christian Gospel as a whole.  Defying Church teaching makes Christ a liar.  Did he not say: "I am with you until the end of the age (world)"?  And at what point did the Holy Spirit abandon the Church?  Of course, the answer is "Never".  The Holy Spirit of Pentecost some 2,000 years ago is active in the Church working through the successors of the Apostles, the bishops.  One who believes in the New Testament will readily acknowledge that the Father gives all authority in the Universe to the Son.  It is very obvious that the Son gives authority (to bind and loose) to his Apostles.  Does that authority die with them?  Of course not.  Jesus would not have gone through all the trouble of setting up the structured institution he did.  The Apostles pass on that authority to their successors.  The living, breathing, teaching office of the Church lives on today in the bishops.

Christ the King - actual

Even though Jesus was referred to as Christ the King in the earliest centuries, Pope Pius XI initiated the Feast of Christ the King in 1925.  At that time, secularism and nationalism were on the rise.  He also noticed than many people denied Christ as king.  And many Christians, even Catholics, were doubting Christ's authority.  This led to people doubting the Church's authority, and even doubting the existence of Christ. At that time, around 1925, many dictatorships were coming into power in Europe.  Many of these dictators tried to control the Church and her teachings.  Mussolini had just claimed supreme power in Italy.  And a little further north, Adolph Hitler, the most infamous of these dictators was coming on the scene.  And we know the horrible things he did against the Church and humanity.

Sadly, many of the faithful were being taken in by these earthly leaders. I recently heard that Hitler received over 90% of the vote in one of his elections in Germany.  So we see that the Feast of Christ the King was instituted during a time when respect for Christ and the Church was waning, when the feast was most needed.

Celebrating Christ the King is still needed today, as these problems have not vanished, but may have worsened. Pope Pius XI hoped the institution of the feast would do three things:

First, he hoped that nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state. The state doesn’t control the Church that Christ the king founded.  This should have special meaning for us today as our own religious freedom is being chipped away by immoral government mandates.

Secondly, Pope Pius XI hoped that leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ.  St. Paul tells us in today’s second reading that Jesus is ruler of the kings of the earth.  The king of kings if you will.  The Church has a history of many great and faithful kings who promoted the faith. And there are many bad ones who became drunk with authority.

The third thing Pope Pius XI hoped for was that the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast of Christ the King.  Individually, the King of the Universe is our brother.  Collectively as a Church, the He is our Spouse.  This is cause for great rejoicing.  Everything He has is ours.  We just have to respond.  We are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, in our minds, in our wills, and in our bodies.  Either He is King of all, or He is not King at all.

A general distrust of authority still exists today. Individualism has been embraced to such an extreme, that for many, the only authority is the individual self.  Our Gospel reading today ends Jesus bringing up “truth” to Pilate.  The next verse that we don’t hear today is very famous. Pilate asks Jesus: What is truth?  Doesn’t that sound like so many of us today?  How convenient it is to make our own truth.  And because of this individualism, not even almighty God is a welcomed authority in the lives of many.  I can do whatever I want without regard for anyone else.  We see many anti-life practices in the world today because of this.  It’s also the cause of all sorts of exploitation such as slavery, and whatever else objectifies the human person.  The idea of Christ as ruler is rejected in such a strongly individualistic system. That makes us Christians counter-cultural.  We acknowledge Christ as our king and ruler.  We believe that God the Father and Creator gave him all authority in Heaven and Earth.  And he exercises his authority through his Church.  He gave his apostles the authority to bind and loose.  He gave St. Peter the keys of the kingdom.  And just because these apostles died, does not mean that the authority Christ gave them died also?  No. It is passed on through the generations to the bishops who are their successors.  How sad that many in the world take offense at Christ the king with universal authority.  These individuals miss the point:  The kingship of Christ is one of humility and service, not oppression and power.

Jesus reminds us today once again that we are pilgrims passing through this world.  He tells Pilate, His kingdom is not of this world.  Nor are we of this world.  Our true homeland is with him in Heaven for eternity.  Are we willing to fight for the Kingdom of Christ?  Peter and the apostles were.  They were all willing to die for Christ.  And all but one were killed for following Christ.

Jesus commanded his followers to be humble servants as well.  His teachings spell out a kingdom of justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness.  When we celebrate Christ as King, we are not celebrating an oppressive ruler, but one willing to die for humanity.  Christ is the king that gives us true freedom, freedom in Him. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that by calling ourselves Christians, we are calling ourselves followers of the King.  It is central to who we are as believers.

Jesus tells Pilate that he came to testify to the Truth.  Then we know what happens.  He sets out to take his Kingly Throne, the Cross.  He offers his life in service to us that we may have life and have it to the fullest.

It is fitting that the feast celebrating the kingship of Christ is observed right before Advent, when we liturgically await the promised Messiah and King.  We get a great opportunity this week to make a new year’s resolution.  The Church’s liturgical year ends this coming Saturday and new one begins next Sunday with Advent.  We can ask ourselves:  What will I do to help bring about the kingdom today?

Christ the King jumpstart

Some of the reactions of fellow Catholics in the wake of yesterday's election have given me good fodder for the beginnings of a homily for the Solemnity of Christ the King in the not-too-distant future.  The first thing that must be said is that we acknowledge not only that Christ will be King, but that Christ is King.  All other kings fall short and are sure to disappoint.  This is no time to fall into despair because someone or another may not have been elected.  On the contrary; it is time to renew our resolve to fight for religious freedom, the right to life, and natural marriage.  What lies ahead for us is a plethora of opportunities for persecution.  And the Church has always thrived in the face of persecution.
This being the case, I want to point out that we rely too much on our earthly kings who are sure to disappoint.  As Christians, we must be in the business of bringing hearts to conversion.  This is the linchpin of this entire post, so I'll type it again: We must be in the business of bringing hearts to conversion!
This work would not be finished even if a constitutional amendment were ratified guaranteeing the right to life from the time of fertilization.  This is the goal of the pro-life movement in this country.  But even if an earthly king were to make abortion illegal, our work would not be done.  We must change hearts, bringing people to the truth that life, marriage and religious freedom are sacred.
Here's proof.  Too much dependence on earthly kings is causing the same thing to happen in reverse in another important area: Christian charity.  The required conversion of heart is not only for the three big non-negotiable principles I mentioned above.
All Christians have a mandate from Christ to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, and welcome the stranger. If we refuse to do these things, the consequence is Hell. (See Matthew 25:31-46.) Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia recently pointed out that this is the mandate given to all Christians, but it does not have to be the job of the government.  We are called to do these things out of love, desiring the good of the other. That is true Christian charity. Since human beings are made in God's image, we have the command to love all other human beings.  Once we take care of their physical needs, we can preach the Gospel to them, which is the ultimate charitable act.
People are forced to pay taxes to government at all levels.  State and national governments then turn and give what they collect to others whom they deem as needing it more.  In this country, we have a government that has taken it upon itself to replace Christian charity.  Actually, we placed it upon government one vote at a time.  Did this happen because Christians were not stepping up on their own?  Was there not enough conversion of heart?  Nature abhors a vacuum, so government steps in.  And a nanny state is not a Christian ideal.
The problem is, this same government does not produce anything but only takes from one and gives to another, often times against the will of the one from whom things are taken.  Thus we see that our opportunity to love has been taken away.  "Charity" was not done because of Christian compassion or conversion of heart, but forced.  And if it's forced, it ain't love. 
I am convinced that in this country, we get the exact government we deserve based on how we are doing in our all-important task of bringing hearts to conversion.  We've got a long way to go and a lifetime to get there.  We must work for the conversion of hearts every single day of that lifetime.

Homily - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today, the universal Church celebrates World Mission Sunday. Mission has special meaning at this time since we have begun the Year of Faith that will last until November of next year.  One major theme of the year of faith is the New Evangelization.  If we are baptized, we are missionaries.  If we are baptized, we are called to evangelize.  It is not optional as a Christian.  It’s what we do.

Pope Benedict tells us several things about the virtue of faith.  By nature, faith wants to make itself understandable to others.  Faith appeals to reason and is always oriented toward truth.  In that truth, faith has the duty to be missionary in nature.  And because of love, we Christians share that truth with the world.

The signs of the times show us our mission is not getting easier.  There are more distractions than ever, and this leads to a lack of reflection and wisdom.  We also notice the growth of humanism that excludes God.  There is an urgent call for all of us to illuminate every aspect of life with the Gospel.  The world needs to know Christ more than ever.  Jesus Christ is the principal driving force behind the authentic development of every person and all of humanity.  When we are pressured to be like everybody else, we are to direct our whole heart toward God.  When we feel the lure of possessions, we embrace the cross.  When we are tempted to hoard God’s gifts, we give to the poor.  When we are tempted to hide our Christianity, we bring the good news to all we meet.

The purpose of our lives as Christians is to reveal God to everyone.  In revealing God to everyone, we are doing our part to save souls and in it we are glorifying God.  This sets us on course for eternal life in Heaven.  Every other good thing we do in the Christian life is related to sharing the Gospel in word and example.  The world must encounter the living God in Christ in order to know what life is.  And if it is our job to show him to the world, we must first know him if we are going to share him with others.  We can’t give what we don’t have.  Preaching the Gospel is the call of God’s children to freedom, to the construction of an ever more just and united society, and to our preparation for eternal life.

As we join Christ in his mission, we will encounter tribulation, conflict and suffering.  As Christians, we will come up against the powers and resistance of this world.  The one guarantee we have as Christians is the Cross.  But as we come up against all the negativity the world has to offer, we are in good company.  Our second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus has similarly been tested in every way.  Whatever suffering we endure, Jesus has been there first.  And there’s more good news for us.  Look at the beauty of the Resurrection that is promised us on the other side of the Cross.  By virtue of our baptism, we live in hope of the resurrection just as Jesus has risen.  With God’s grace, perhaps we can even be eager to drink the cup of suffering he drank, just like James and John were as we heard in today’s Gospel.  Perhaps we will be eager to be baptized with the baptism with which he is baptized knowing that the plunge into death only leads to the glory of the resurrection.

So how do we begin?  The first step in evangelization is prayer.  It is in prayer that we nurture our relationship with Jesus Christ.  It is in prayer united to the Church that we discern God’s will.  The conversion of the world is a supernatural thing.  It is God’s work.  We don’t bring it about by our own power.  It is God’s gift to us. And like every good gift God gives, it requires a response from us.