Homily for the Second Sunday of Lent

Today we are presented with the Transfiguration of the Lord, in which Jesus appears to His disciples in a foreshadowing of His glorified body, speaking to two of the greatest figures in the Old Covenant: Moses and Elijah. In this event, we see the divine nature of Our Lord, which is reinforced by the voice of God our Heavenly Father speaking from the cloud, but it also gives us a foreshadowing of what our glorified bodies will be like at our resurrection at the end of time.

Apart from the descriptions in Scripture of the Transfiguration and images of Heaven, we don't have an understanding of what a glorified body looks like. A glorified body is one that has been freed from sin, and is filled with the grace of God. God's glory and majesty is so powerful that it becomes visible as a bright light. The light is so bright that the Sun pales in comparison.

One day, when we have been freed from the shackles of death and our bodies have been raised up following the final judgment, those who died in the state of grace will have their bodies glorified as Our Lord's was after His resurrection. We know this from St. Paul, who tells us that Our Lord “will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables Him also to bring all things into subjection to Himself.” We will share in the glory of God, and our bodies will be purified and raised up.

Sadly, however, that day is yet to come. We on Earth are still affected by sin, and our vision has been darkened by sin. We do not see the radiant glory of God, and would be stunned if we did experience that glory, as Peter, James and John were in the Gospel today. It's been said that if an angel appeared before us in all it's glory, we would not be able to tell that it was merely an angel and not God Himself. In fact, St. John in the Book of Revelation had to be told several times by the angel that appeared to him not to worship the angel, as St. John was awed by the glory of God shining through it.

As we look at the account of the Transfiguration given to us today, it's interesting that St. Luke chose to describe Our Lord's Passion, Death, and Resurrection in Jerusalem as his “exodus”, while Our Lord was speaking to the one figure in the Old Testament who is most well known for Israel's Exodus from Egypt. It's striking that the Exodus that freed the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt parallels the suffering, death and resurrection of Our Lord that frees us from the slavery to sin.

In both cases, a difficult journey with great suffering had to be made in order to gain this freedom from slavery and enter into the Promised Land. Moses had to lead Israel out of Egypt and suffer through the desert for 40 years so that the people of Israel could enter into the Promised Land, which Abram (later known as Abraham) was given by God. Our Lord had to undergo the suffering of the Roman and Jewish authorities, be crucified, die, and rise again so that we might enter into our Promised Land of Heaven.

It's important to point out that “our citizenship is in Heaven,” as St. Paul tells us. Just as the people of Israel were estranged from their homeland when living in Egypt, we are estranged from our Heavenly homeland during our lives on Earth. When you read the account of the Exodus, many in Israel were attached to the things of Egypt, making the Exodus difficult for the Israelites. Sadly, we too are attached to our land of exile, often caring more for the things of Earth over the things of Heaven. As St. Paul once again says, “Their minds are occupied with earthly things.”

To overcome this desire for earthly goods, we need to place our faith in God, as Abram did in the first reading, and as the people of Israel who entered the Promised Land did during the Exodus. When we put our faith in God instead of in the constant concern for earthly things, life won't be without challenge, as the Exodus was not without difficulty, but it will be “credited” to us “as an act of righteousness,” just as it was for Abram. When we are “righteous”, which means that we are in the friendship and grace of God, we too will one day enter into our Promised Land: the eternal joys of God's presence in Heaven.

As we go through our lives here on Earth, we join our exodus through the pain and sorrow that accompany this life to the pain and anguish that Our Lord suffered during his Passion and Death. May our exodus end at the Promised Land of Heaven, just as the Israelites' Exodus ended in their Promised Land.

Homily for the First Sunday of Lent

When we look at the Gospel passages of the Temptation, such as we heard in today's Gospel reading, I think we feel a little bit of comfort that we can share with Our Lord the fact that He was tempted the way we are tempted. At the same time, this passage is very instructive for us because it shows us the sins that the Devil uses to snare us.

I'm taking much of this from a former professor of mine at Mundelein Seminary, Fr. Robert Barron. For a couple of years now, he has been doing a series of brief videos on the Internet called Word on Fire. In these videos, Fr. Barron explains some aspect of the Catholic faith, or takes an aspect of the secular culture and explains it through the eyes of the Catholic faith.

Fr. Barron's most recent video focused on the Three Temptations of Our Lord, which we read in the Gospel passage chosen for this First Sunday in Lent. The point that Fr. Barron made in his reflection on the Temptations is that we can see the sins that the Devil tries to trick us into committing in order to ensnare us.

The Devil's first temptation of Our Lord was to turn the stones that surrounded them in the desert into bread. This temptation is to make sensate pleasure the center of our lives. This would be excessive use of physical pleasures, such as food and drink, to the point that they replace the focus that we should have on God. There's no room for God in our lives because these pleasures have filled them up.

The second temptation of Our Lord is being taken up and shown all the kingdoms of the world. The Devil temps him, saying, “All this will be yours, if you worship me.” (Luke 4:7) The temptation is for glory and power, making Jesus the most powerful person in the world.

For many people, this is the strongest temptation. They may be able to handle the physical pleasures, finding little or no temptation in them. Give them power and glory, however, and they will fall for the Devil's trick every time.

Third temptation finds Our Lord on the parapet, the highest point, of the Temple. The Devil tries to tempt Our Lord to throw Himself off of the parapet, quoting from the Scriptures that the angels will guard and protect Him. First of all, this is a temptation to put God to the test. Secondly, by putting Our Lord on this high place in the temple, which was the center of the society, the Devil was putting Him on the top of society, bringing Him honor and esteem.

Again, for some people, this may be the most dangerous temptation. These people may not want the pleasures of the world, they may not want power, but they seek honor and esteem from those around them. Give them this honor and esteem, and they'll fall for the trap.

So, how to do we resist these temptations? In the first two readings, we see that we need to confess our faith in God. The first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy is a confession of faith of the Israelite people as they are entering into the Promised Land and reaping the first fruits of that land. Confessing their faith that God has lead them to this Promised Land, they turn over their first fruits to Him in gratitude and thanksgiving.

In the second reading, St. Paul tells us that “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) This brief statement shows us what we need to do to overcome the temptations of the Devil. We must believe in our hearts the promise of Our Lord that we will be saved and confess that belief publicly through our words and actions in order to overcome the snares and tricks of the Devil. We must also be like the Israelites in the first reading, giving the first fruit of our gifts over to God in gratitude and thanksgiving.

During this Lenten season, may our hearts be open to believing in the promises of Our Lord and may our lives confess that belief, so that we may be saved and help free others from the snares of the Devil.

Homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

This week I preached off of an outline instead of a full script. Here's the outline for the week:

• Do we understand what it means to be a prophet?
  
  • Guy standing with "End is near" sign
    
  • Prophetic speech
    
    • Idea that prophesy is telling the future
    
    
  • Prophet appears throughout our readings
    
    • Jeremiah's call
      
    • St. Paul "prophesying partially"
      
    • Our Lord "prophet without honor in his native place"
  
  
• 2 purposes in the OT for prophesy
  
  • Call to conversion
    
    • Israel kept falling away from God the Father
      
    • Prophets called them back
    
    
  • Point to future coming of Jesus
    
    • Show fulfillment of covenant
      
    • "Partial will pass away"
      
      • Revelation in Jewish Covenant was partial
        
      • Jesus is the fullness of revelation
        
        • "The perfect"
  
  
• We are called to be prophets
  
  • Through baptism we share in Christ's ministry
    
    • CCC 436: "Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in His threefold office of priest, prophet, and king."
    
    
  • What does it look like to be a prophet?
    
    • Not foretelling the future
      
    • 2 purposes
      
      • Call to conversion
        
        • Need to do this first in our lives
          
          • Lead others by example
        
        
      • Point to Jesus
        
        • We need to live our lives by following Christ
          
        • Allow our witness and example to bring others to Him
        
        
      • Priest assembly
        
        • Example of priests = vocations
          
        • Example of dedicated Christians = more followers of Christ
  
  
• We are all called to be prophets through our baptisms. Are we willing to answer that call?

Homily for the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

It seems like we are all on a never-ending search for happiness and contentment, yet it also seems that we never truly find the key to a joyful life. We might find brief periods of happiness in a relationship with others, in some possession, or in a hobby or other activity that we enjoy, but that happiness always seems to be fleeting and brief.

With all our searching, we never seem to think that following Our Lord could ever bring us any joy. In fact, the stereotypical image of a Christian who devoutly follows Jesus is someone who is very dour and bitter, almost austere in their life. Joy seems to be the last thing on their minds, yet the readings today bring us a different picture. They show us that we live truly joyful lives when we use the gifts of the Spirit that we have been given by God.

Today's passage from St. John's Gospel reminds us of the first miracle that Our Lord performed when he began his earthly ministry. It wasn't a healing, or raising someone from the dead, or casting a demon out of someone. Instead, it might seem to have occurred at an insignificant event: running out of wine at a wedding. Our Lord used this occasion to show the joy God our Father wishes to bestow on us by not only producing some wine to continue the party, but producing an astounding quantity of the best wine.

Again, it might seem strange to us that God wants to bestow joy upon us, especially when it seems like our lives are one difficulty after another, but look at the first reading. The description of a newly-freed Israel is one of the joy felt by newlyweds, the buoyant, almost giddy feelings that accompany an important, joyful event in our lives, such as a wedding. The language isn't one of sorrow and pity, but of rejoicing: "as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you." (Isaiah 62:5)

This is the joy that will come to us when we follow the spiritual life and exercise the gifts that we have been given by the Holy Spirit. Yes, this once again might be hard to believe, but the Holy Spirit has given each of us gifts that are for the benefit of ourselves and those we meet every day. St. Paul tells the Corinthians, and us, "to each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit," (1 Cor 12:7) following up with a list of some of the gifts which the Holy Spirit bestows upon us. This isn't a complete list by any stretch of the imagination, but helps us to understand the Holy Spirit has given us gifts, "distributing them individually to each person as He wishes." (1 Cor 12:11)

The difficulty we face when practicing the gifts we've been given comes when we're trying to figure out what they are in the first place. For some, the gifts are quite obvious, such as someone with a beautiful singing voice or a natural talent with musical instruments. Most of us, however, have to discern where those gifts lie and figure out how best to exercise them. In most cases, we need to work with those gifts once we've figured out what they are, developing our understanding of the gift and improving our familiarity with it.

When we do exercise the gifts we have been given, we can find a great joy in seeing those gifts used successfully. This might not happen at first, and may take many years to fully develop, but when we use the gifts of the Holy Spirit for the honor of God and to help our neighbors, we can truly find the joy that we are searching for. This joy far exceeds the happiness that we can ever receive through the things of this world. This joy is but a small taste of the joy that we will experience in the next life when we are in perfect union with our Heavenly Father.

In our search for happiness on Earth, may we seek the true joy that comes from finding and using the gifts of the Holy Spirit that reside within us.

Homily for the Solemnity of the Epiphany

The prophet Isaiah in today's first reading gives the Israelite people a message of great hope. Instead of being a small nation which has been regularly conquered and stepped upon, one day they would be mighty people that all the nations of the world would come to honor and exult. This was a prophesy of great hope for a downtrodden people, one that would be fulfilled in a way they never expected.

The magi who came to find Jesus were wise men, learned men who were familiar with the stars in the sky and whose job it was to look for signs in the stars. They also would have likely been familiar with the Jewish longing for a Messiah, and would have recognized immediately that the star was leading them towards the land of the Jewish people. It would have been no surprise to them that the star was leading them towards that promised Messiah, the long awaited King of the Jews.

What would be a surprise for the Jewish readers of St. Matthew's Gospel is the willingness of these Gentiles to make the journey from Persia, in modern-day Iran. Here is the first sign of the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophesy. These magi even brought two of the gifts mentioned in the prophesy: gold and frankincense. The visit of the magi were a sign to the Jewish followers of Our Lord that the Gospel message wasn't reserved to Jews alone, but to all the nations of the world. St. Paul tells us that the blessings to be bestowed on all nations, as promised by Isaiah, come through our sharing in the promised salvation of Christ.

Notice how Our Heavenly Father led the magi to Our Lord. Their occupation was to observe the night sky for any significant phenomena. God used their roles as astrologers who could interpret the signs in the sky to lead them to Our Lord. Through their work, they were drawn to Our Lord.

On our part, God is still calling us through our occupations to follow Him. In fact, He is constantly calling us to follow Him in our daily lives, every moment of every day. We just need to be open to the signs. Sometimes a sign is a coincidental occurrence that allows to act on His grace. Occasionally, it's a prompting that helps us to make a major decision in our lives that can be used to better serve Him and His people. No matter how these signs appear, we need to be aware of how He is working in our lives.

Once we are aware of God's call in our lives, are we willing to respond as the magi did? They knew that the King of the Jews proclaimed by the star was a newborn, and yet they were willing to travel long distances to find and honor Him. They didn't bring simple gifts to lay at His feet, but gave Our Lord the best gifts they could.

Are we going to allow our gifts to be used in the service of God, as the magi did, or are we going to give as little of ourselves as we can? We may not have to travel as far or with as much difficulty as the magi faced, but we still need the same commitment to Our Lord. Instead of giving a little time and effort, say once a week to attend Mass, we need to be willing to commit our entire lives and everything we have and are to follow Jesus and proclaim His Gospel to the whole world.

This is the challenge of the Christian life. It's one thing to say we're Christians, it's something completely different to live as Christ commands. When we pay homage to Our Lord and lay our gifts at His feet, as the magi did, He will use us in a way that will bring us greater joy than we can ever imagine. As the star called the magi to follow, Our Lord calls us to follow Him every day. May we hear His call and answer.

One Homily, Three Versions

Because I will be celebrating Mass with three different sets of readings, I've made three versions of the homily for Christmas.

Homily for the Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord
Homily for Midnight Mass of the Nativity of Our Lord
Homily for the Day of the Nativity of Our Lord

Homily for the Day of the Nativity of Our Lord

It's pretty obvious looking around that we know how to celebrate Christmas. The streets, storefronts, and houses are all aglow in beautiful lights and decorations. The radio stations are all playing favorite Christmas carols and songs. Favorite Christmas-themed TV shows are broadcast daily, and new holiday shows are created and shown every year. Yes, we do know how to celebrate Christmas, but do we really stop and think about why we're celebrating? It is merely for an excuse to give gifts and get family and friends together for an elaborate meal, or is there something far deeper and more profound to our celebrations?

For several years, the Knights of Columbus have supported and spread an annual campaign: "Keep Christ in Christmas". The primary purpose of this campaign is to go against the secularization of this most holy of holy days, trying to prevent Christmas from becoming a generic winter holiday with warm fuzzy feelings and not much substance.

While that primary purpose is laudable, and should be highly encouraged, I think there's another way that we can "Keep Christ in Christmas". For most of us who are Christians, do we ever think about how profound the Christmas message really is? How many of us stop and look at a manger scene with amazement that the God who created us and loves us became man?

We may not consciously reflect on God becoming human, but that is precisely what the Gospel passage from St. John's Gospel is proclaiming this morning. In this opening passage to the Gospel we are told, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1) Later, we hear, "And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

This Gospel passage is held to be the greatest proclamation of the divinity of Christ. Jesus was not only a human who had a large following and established a rule of life for us to follow, but was and is truly God incarnate, meaning that He is God become human. Our Lord was with the Father in the beginning, the creation of the universe, and St. John tells us that through Our Lord all of creation came into being. Yet, with all the power and glory due to Him by all creation, the second person of the Trinity deigned to become human, being born as a humble infant in humble surroundings to a simple and humble family.

The Letter to the Hebrews tells us God "has spoken to us through the Son, whom He made heir of all things and through whom He created the universe." (Hebrews 1:2) As the Son of God, Our Lord is "far superior to the angels". (Hebrews 1:4) He could have come to Earth in any form that He would have willed, but chose to become one of us as an innocent child.

This innocent child, born in a shelter for animals, is fully God and fully human. God became one of us to save us from our sins. He came to Earth to give His life in sacrifice so that we might have life eternal. When we look at Our Lord in the manger, we see the Cross overshadowing Him. This is why we celebrate this holy day. This is why it's so important to "Keep Christ in Christmas". Christmas would be pointless if we didn't recognize the one for whom we celebrate.

On this Christmas Eve, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and hope that this Christmas season is one of joy and peace for you and your families. During this season, I encourage you to take time with your families and friends to reflect on the most wonderful gift we've all received on Christmas: the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Homily for Midnight Mass of the Nativity of Our Lord

It's pretty obvious looking around that we know how to celebrate Christmas. The streets, storefronts, and houses are all aglow in beautiful lights and decorations. The radio stations are all playing favorite Christmas carols and songs. Favorite Christmas-themed TV shows are broadcast daily, and new holiday shows are created and shown every year. Yes, we do know how to celebrate Christmas, but do we really stop and think about why we're celebrating? It is merely for an excuse to give gifts and get family and friends together for an elaborate meal, or is there something far deeper and more profound to our celebrations?

For several years, the Knights of Columbus have supported and spread an annual campaign: "Keep Christ in Christmas". The primary purpose of this campaign is to go against the secularization of this most holy of holy days, trying to prevent Christmas from becoming a generic winter holiday with warm fuzzy feelings and not much substance.

While that primary purpose is laudable, and should be highly encouraged, I think there's another way that we can "Keep Christ in Christmas". For most of us who are Christians, do we ever think about how profound the Christmas message really is? How many of us stop and look at a manger scene with amazement that the God who created us and loves us became man?

In our Gospel this night, we see Jesus being born in a shelter for animals, and being laid in a food trough for the animals. The inns were full, and the Holy Family had to find whatever shelter they could in this small town that had been filled to overflowing. Because of this, Our Lord, the second person of the Trinity, was born in humble surroundings.

As God, he could have been born anywhere He wished, but chose a life of humility. Even the proclamation of His birth by the angels showed humility. Instead of proclaiming to great kings and rulers of the Earth, the angels appeared to humble shepherds, grazing their sheep on the hillsides surrounding the town of Bethlehem. The message the angels proclaimed, however, was not one of humility, but one of exultation: "a savior has been born to you who is Christ and Lord." (Luke 2:14) This innocent and humble child, born in simple surroundings to a simple family who lived a humble life, has come to save us. As we heard in the first reading, the hope of Israel foreseen by the prophet Isaiah, in fact the hope of all the world, came into the world as an unknown.

St. Paul reminds us that Jesus "gave Himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness, and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:14) This innocent child, born in a shelter for animals, is fully God and fully human. God became one of us to save us from our sins. He came to Earth to give His life in sacrifice so that we might have life eternal. When we look at Our Lord in the manger, we see the Cross overshadowing Him. This is why we celebrate this holy day. This is why it's so important to "Keep Christ in Christmas". Christmas would be pointless if we didn't recognize the one for whom we celebrate.

On this Christmas night, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and hope that this Christmas season is one of joy and peace for you and your families. During this season, I encourage you to take time with your families and friends to reflect on the most wonderful gift we've all received on Christmas: the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Homily for the Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord

It's pretty obvious looking around that we know how to celebrate Christmas. The streets, storefronts, and houses are all aglow in beautiful lights and decorations. The radio stations are all playing favorite Christmas carols and songs. Favorite Christmas-themed TV shows are broadcast daily, and new holiday shows are created and shown every year. Yes, we do know how to celebrate Christmas, but do we really stop and think about why we're celebrating? It is merely for an excuse to give gifts and get family and friends together for an elaborate meal, or is there something far deeper and more profound to our celebrations?

For several years, the Knights of Columbus have supported and spread an annual campaign: "Keep Christ in Christmas". The primary purpose of this campaign is to go against the secularization of this most holy of holy days, trying to prevent Christmas from becoming a generic winter holiday with warm fuzzy feelings and not much substance.

While that primary purpose is laudable, and should be highly encouraged, I think there's another way that we can "Keep Christ in Christmas". For most of us who are Christians, do we ever think about how profound the Christmas message really is? How many of us stop and look at a manger scene with amazement that the God who created us and loves us became man?

St. Paul obviously thought long and hard about the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity becoming human. He reminds his listeners, and us in the second reading, that God showed His power and love to the Israelite people during their time of captivity in Egypt, through the Exodus out of that country, and by establishing them as a nation in the Promised Land. This God, who did such great and powerful things for the Israelite people, then deigned to be come one of them, being born as a descendant of the great king David.

In our Gospel this evening, we hear the seemingly long and drawn out genealogy of Jesus. To our modern ears, many of the names seem strange, foreign names from a foreign land. For the people that St. Matthew was writing to, this genealogy set the stage for the fulfillment of God's promise to His people. In fact, you may have recognized some of the names in the list, such as King David, as would many in the Jewish audience to whom St. Matthew was trying to proclaim the Gospel.

This genealogy is important, not only for Jews of the first and second century but also for us, because it shows the history of salvation from the Patriarchs Abraham, Issac, and Jacob down to the coming of Our Lord. Abraham was promised that he would be the father of a great nation, as numerous as the stars in the sky. This genealogy shows, in a summary, how this promise was fulfilled. More importantly, it shows to us who are not of Jewish descent how salvation came to us through God's plan for the Israelite nation.

The fact that God fulfilled this promise of salvation of all humanity is amazing enough, but the Gospel goes on to show us the way in which this promise was fulfilled. God could have used a great military leader or political figure to save the people of Israel, but instead He sent His Son as a tiny baby born under humble circumstances. He truly is Emmanuel, "God is with us". (Matthew 1:23)

This innocent child, born in a shelter for animals, is fully God and fully human. God became one of us to save us from our sins. He came to Earth to give His life in sacrifice so that we might have life eternal. When we look at Our Lord in the manger, we see the Cross overshadowing Him. This is why we celebrate this holy day. This is why it's so important to "Keep Christ in Christmas". Christmas would be pointless if we didn't recognize the one for whom we celebrate.

On this Christmas Eve, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas, and hope that this Christmas season is one of joy and peace for you and your families. During this season, I encourage you to take time with your families and friends to reflect on the most wonderful gift we've all received on Christmas: the birth of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Homily for the Fourth Sunday of Advent

Who do we consider the most important people in the world? Is it the person who bags our groceries at the store, or is it the politician with the million dollar smile and thousand dollar haircut? Do we consider important those who live simply, or is it the flashy Hollywood actor or actress that we see on the big screen?

If humans were to choose our savior, we would likely choose a great warrior who defeats enemies with powerful weapons while giving great power and wealth to those who follow him. God's will is not like human wisdom, however. Our savior came simply, humbly. He was born in a small town, which the first reading described as “too small to be among the clans of Judah.” (Micah 5:1)

Humans would want a savior who came from the “right” people, the people that are held as important in the world, such as the popular political leaders or entertainers. Our Lord came from obscurity, born to a simple, humble woman. Instead of increasing the stature of those who are proud and seen as important, God lifts up the lowly.

Why does God use the lowly to advance His will in the world? By human wisdom, it seems like more could be done by working through those with earthly power. Sadly, it doesn't work that way. Those who gain earthly power frequently are corrupted by that power, seeking to do their own wills instead of the will of God the Father.

To be lowly and humble means having an openness to the will of God and a desire to fulfill that will. The humble realize that what they want is unimportant in the face of God's will. Mary became the mother of Our Lord because she humbly submitted her will to the will of God.

Our Lord Himself did not come as a great ruler with military might and conquering armies. Instead, He came as a humble carpenter, spending most of His life working a humble job and living a humble life. Yet, He came to do God's will, and literally gave His life to do it.

In fact, Our Lord's very death shows the humility that He lived. He could have given His life in a blaze of glory, but instead died in the most humiliating way possible on the Cross. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that “we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10) By Our Lord's humble death on the Cross, God's will was completed perfectly. Though He was born lowly and humbly, dying just as humbly, Our Lord's “greatness [reaches] to the ends of the earth.” (Micah 5:3)

As followers of Christ, we need to overcome our prideful desires and humbly seek the Father's will. Instead of worrying about what we want to receive as we prepare for the celebration of Christmas, we should seek how God wants us to serve Him during the upcoming Christmas season. Perhaps he wants us to give a gift to someone who is in need. Maybe we're called to spend some time visiting with those who are lonely. It may even be as simple as being called to spend more time in His presence praying that His will be done. There are as many ways that we can humbly give of ourselves as there are those we are called to serve.

As we enter into this last week of Advent and final preparations for the Christmas season, may we each individually take time to humbly seek and fulfill the Father's will for our lives.

Homily for the Third Sunday of Advent

"What should we do?" How many are asking that question right now? We're getting all our Christmas preparations done. Maybe our gifts have been purchased and wrapped. Maybe we've bought only some of our gifts, but have more to go. Maybe none of our gifts have been purchased, and we have no idea what we're going to buy. Perhaps we're planning Christmas parties, or planning where to go over Christmas. With all this planning and preparing, we might have the feeling in the back of our minds that something is missing, and we want to ask, "What else should we do?"

We've got all these plans and preparations, yet I think we miss one important point about this season of advent: it should be a time of great joy! In fact, St. Paul tells us "Rejoice in the Lord always. I shall say it again: rejoice! [...] The Lord is near." In fact, the popular name of this very Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, comes from the Entrance Antiphon repeating St. Paul's words, which in Latin begins with "Gaudete" – Rejoice.

This should be a time of great joy and anticipation, almost childlike in our joy. We should have the simple joy that children have this time of year when they see the beautifully decorated trees and houses. Children light up during this season; even the snow which us adults complain about excites the kids.

We should be rejoicing always during this season. As the prophet Zephaniah says, "Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!" This is how we should be approaching this season, with joyful anticipation. Our Lord is coming! It shouldn't be a time of stress and anguish. We need to prepare for Our Lord.

So again the question, "What should we do?" How should we prepare for our Lord? That's why John the Baptist was asked the question, after all. He was asked by the crowds who came to hear him preach. He was asked by the tax collectors who came to be baptized. He was even asked by the soldiers who came to watch for trouble. How does he answer? He answers that we should live in virtue. The crowds are told "Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise." We should be charitable during this season. We should be giving to those who have nothing this Christmas season.

The tax collectors were told stop collecting more than what was prescribed. At this time, they were allowed to collect more than what Rome required of them. As long as the Empire received the proper amount, the collectors were allowed to keep the rest. The tax collectors would make themselves rich by tacking onto the required tax. John the Baptist challenged them to take only what was required, doing their jobs with virtue and honesty.

Like the tax collectors, the soldiers were called to practice their jobs with honesty and virtue when they were told "Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages." Giving bribes to soldiers in order to keep from getting arrested was an all-to-common practice at this time. Soldiers were challenged to remain virtuous and give up these immoral practices.

We are also challenged during this season to live our lives with virtue and honesty. During this season of Advent, we need to take time to reflect on how are we doing living the virtues. Are we charitable? Are we just? Do we judge others, or treat them fairly? This needs to be a time of great joy, but it also needs to be a time of reevaluating our lives as we prepare for the coming of Our Lord. This is why receiving the Sacrament of Confession should be a priority during this season.

As we draw closer to the celebration of Our Lord's birth on Christmas, may we be able to receive with joy the answer to the question "What should we do?"

Homily for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

In the passage from his Letter to the Ephesians that we just heard, St. Paul makes a remarkable claim. He states that God “chose us in [Christ], before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.” I know that this is an unbelievable claim when I look at my life, as I am most definitely not holy and very much blemished by sin, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Nevertheless, today we celebrate the ultimate example of one being chosen from all time “to be holy and without blemish”. The Blessed Virgin Mary, chosen from the beginning of time to be the Mother of God, was conceived without sin and never had to suffer with the effects of sin. Just as sin entered the world through the disobedience of Adam and Eve, sin is conquered through the obedience of Mary, the new Eve, and her Son Jesus, the new Adam.

The sinlessness of Our Lady gives us hope that one day we too will no longer be burdened by the pain and suffering of humanity's sinful nature. In the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus which formally defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Pope Pius IX wrote that Mary, “in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin.” Just as we are saved through the merits of Our Lord's death on the Cross, Mary's sinless nature was a special grace by God giving her the benefits of the salvation won by Jesus to prepare her to conceive and bear the Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

For ourselves, Mary's sinless nature shows us that we will also be cleansed of sin in Paradise, just as Adam and Eve enjoyed sinlessness before their disobedience brought sin into the world. One day we will no longer suffer from sin and its effects on our lives, but will enjoy the fullness of God's grace. The Archangel Gabriel called Mary “full of grace” and declared that “the Lord is with you”. It is our hope, and the hope of all Christians, that we too will be in the fullness of God's grace and be in the presence of God, just as Mary was during her time on Earth and still is today.

As we celebrate this feast of the Immaculate Conception, may the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Blessed Mother of Our Lord and our Mother, be upon us, and upon this nation which is dedicated to the patronage of the Immaculate Conception.

Homily for the Second Sunday of Advent

For travelers before the advent of modern highways and automobiles, hills and valleys would have been an unwelcome sight. At best, the hills slowed them down, making the journey more difficult. At worst, a particularly steep hill or deep valley could prove to be impassable, requiring a lengthy detour.

In our spiritual lives, we have hills and valleys that we need to overcome. Now, I'm not talking about the ups and downs that come with our emotions. Instead, these hills and valleys are obstacles placed between us and God by the sins we commit in our daily lives. The challenge before us is how do we “prepare the way of the Lord” in our hearts, filling the valleys and lowering the hills?

The Gospel passage today gives us the ultimate example of preparing the way of the Lord. John the Baptist was born for one purpose only: to announce the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Notice how St. John prepared the people of Israel for Our Lord's ministry. He preached “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” He knew that sin blocked the people who lived at Jesus' time from hearing the call of God, and would prevent them from following Our Lord. He wanted to remove the obstacle of sin from their lives in order to prepare them to follow Jesus.

When it comes to sin, things haven't changed in 2000 years. Sin still prevents us from hearing God's call and following Him. In fact, there seems to be a denial of sin's effect on our lives. Either we ignore the fact that particular actions are sinful, or we deny that sin exists at all. Those hills and valleys in our spiritual lives keep getting bigger and steeper.

During this season of Advent, this season of preparation, we hear the call of John the Baptist, as well as the prophet Baruch, that the valleys be filled and the hills be brought down. We need to remove the obstacles that sin places within our lives by expressing true sorrow for our sins and asking God for forgiveness through the Sacrament of Confession. Much as a new road needs to be prepared by leveling the ground, filling in valleys and cutting through hills, regular Confessions help us overcome sin's grasp on our lives and open us to receive more of God's grace.

This is a process that will take a long time to complete. Our sinful nature is deeply rooted within us, and we will struggle throughout our lives with its effects. If we regularly approach Our Lord and Confess our sins, say once a month, we will find that we become less willing to commit our “favorite” sins. This is not to say that we will ever become sinless on Earth, but regular reception of the Sacrament of Confession will prepare us for the day when we will be made “pure and blameless for the day of Christ”, as St. Paul says.

This Advent season, I encourage you to make use of the Sacrament of Confession in preparation for the coming of Our Lord, and to make regular reception of this Sacrament a habit in your lives.

Homily for the First Sunday of Advent

We're once again entering into a new year in the Church's liturgical calendar. Once again, we begin this new liturgical year by entering into Advent, this four-week period of anticipation, of looking forward. If you ask most Catholics to explain who or what we're looking forward towards, they'll immediately say that we're looking forward to the celebration of Jesus' birth on Christmas. They'd be correct by saying that, but it's not the complete answer. We're also looking forward to Christ's coming again at the end of time.

The word Advent comes from the Latin word "adventus", which translates roughly as "to come to". In this season of Advent, we prepare for Our Lord Jesus Christ "to come to" us, both in His birth which is celebrated at Christmas, but also in His second coming at the end of time. In this way, we join the Jewish people in the anticipation that they must have felt when they heard the promise of the prophet Jeremiah, which we also heard in our first reading. Just as the Jews were waiting for a great king who would free them from slavery and the bondage of the Babylonian exile, we symbolically await the coming of our great King who frees us from the slavery and bondage of sin.

St. Paul reminds us in the second reading that this symbolic anticipation is not the only reason we celebrate this Advent season. By praying that "the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all," St. Paul makes it clear that we should be preparing for "the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his holy ones." (1 Thess. 3:12-13)

Sadly, I think this preparation for Christ's second coming has been lost in large part by many Christians today. It seems as if many people view Advent as a period to get everything ready for Christmas. We have to decorate the houses and stores, spend lots of money on Christmas gifts, make Christmas goodies, and watch hours upon hours of Christmas specials. We're pretty clear on the preparing for Christmas, but few recognize the eternal significance of Advent.

Traditionally, Advent has been a time to slow down and reflect on our lives and how we live as Christians, instead of speeding up our lives by shopping, baking, and decorating. It's traditional that decorations within the Church become very simple and meditative, instead of bright and joyous, as we see after Christmas. This time before Christmas needs to be a period in which we reflect if we are "conduct[ing] ourselves to please God," (1 Thess. 4:1) as St. Paul says. If we truly lived Advent as it should be, this would be a period of rest and refreshment before the grand celebrations of the Christmas season to come. Sadly, I think many people are more worn out by preparing for Christmas than they are by the Christmas celebrations themselves!

As we go through this Advent season, we need to keep today's Gospel reading in mind. Jesus tells His disciples that "your redemption is at hand." (Lk. 21:28) He also reminds them to "be vigilant at all times." (Lk. 21:36) Of course, this is good advice for us as well. We do not know when we will be called before the throne of Our Lord's judgment, but Jesus reminds us "that day" will "catch you by surprise like a trap." (Lk. 21:34-35) This season of Advent reminds us that we need to be prepared for the day of judgment that we will all have to face, whether at the end of our lives or when Our Lord returns again at the end of time. In either case, we need to be prepared "to stand before the Son of Man," (Lk. 21:36) and we have been given this season of Advent as a reminder.

As we enter into this Advent season, may we spend this time in prayer and preparation for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, both in our celebration of His birthday at Christmas, and in His second coming at the end of time. Come Lord Jesus!

Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in ordinary Time

Every couple of years, it seems like there's a new end times doomsday scenario. Ten years ago, it was the Y2K computer bug, followed by the start of the 3rd Millennium in 2001. About that same time, the "Left Behind" series of books were gaining serious traction as the definitive novelization of the end of the world. Now it's the end of the ancient Mayan calendar in 2012, as depicted by the new blow-everything-up movie that's in theaters now. While the culture seems to be almost fearful of the end of the world, as Christians we should be anticipating and looking forward to the return of Christ at the end of time.

Much of what we understand about the End Times comes from the Scriptures, especially the Gospels and the Book of Revelation. Many groups, especially those who subscribe to the "Left Behind" rapture theory, read these passages in Scripture and talk about the coming of the End Times. As Catholics, we believe that we are already living in the End Times, and have been since Our Lord rose from the dead 2000 years ago.

The End Times are not some apocalyptic period that is yet to come, but a period of preparation by Christians for the return of Our Lord at the end of time. As Christians, we are living in this period of preparation now, as we should always be ready to greet Our Lord. He has promised that He will return again on "that day or hour [which] no one knows." (Mk 13:32)

While we don't know when Jesus will return, we do know what will happen on those Last Days. Jesus tells us that he will "'[come] in the clouds' with great power and glory." (Mk 13:26) The Prophet Daniel predicts that "those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake," meaning that our mortal bodies will be raised from the dead. Likewise, we are told "some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace," (Dn 12:2) foretelling the final judgment that we'll all have to face, with an eternity living forever in Heaven or everlasting horror and disgrace in Hell.

Deep down, I think this final judgment is the source of all the fear and uncertainty that drives the concern about the end of the world. Even for those who do not profess a belief in Christ, humanity seems to have a realization that we are fallen, sinful beings. The fear is that we might be wrong about what we believe and be condemned to the "everlasting horror and disgrace."

As Christians, we have a promise of hope. We are reminded in the Letter to the Hebrews that Jesus "offered one sacrifice for sins." Through Our Lord's sacrifice on the Cross, our humanity is to be perfected so that we can enter into eternity in Heaven. In fact, we can look forward with anticipation to when we will join Our Lord where He sits "at the right hand of God." (Heb 10:12)

St. Paul compares Our Lord's sacrifice with the sacrifices offered by the Jewish priests at the temple in Jerusalem, and with good reason. For any sacrifice to be beneficial for the ones offering the sacrifice, they must participate in the sacrifice itself. Just as the Jews had to participate in their sacrifices, we need to participate in the sacrifice of Our Lord. However, unlike the Jewish offerings that had to be repeated on a regular basis to ask forgiveness for sins, Our Lord's sacrifice was only offered once for forgiveness of all sins.

We participate in Our Lord's sacrifice every time we attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and receive Our Lord in the form of bread and wine in Holy Communion. While Jesus' sacrifice only occurred once, we are in constant need of the graces which flow from the Sacrament to aid us in overcoming our sinful nature throughout our lives. This is why we don't say, "OK, I've received 1st Holy Communion. I don't have to attend Mass or receive Holy Communion again." We are fortified against sin every time we attend Mass and receive Holy Communion, but only if we desire to overcome our sinful nature. If we refuse to face our sins, we will block ourselves off from the full benefits of God's grace.

Because we participate in Our Lord's sacrifice on the Cross, we have no need to fear the end of the world and His return. Instead, may we look forward to that day with great joy and anticipation.

Homily for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

I wasn't feeling very well this morning, so I gave a much shorter homily than usual. As best as I can remember what I said, here it is:

Whenever this Gospel passage is read, I think people immediately assume that the homily will be on stewardship: time, talent, and treasure. While that is a very logical reading of this passage, I think it misses the bigger picture of what Our Lord is telling us. We need to be willing to give totally of ourselves, even our very lives, with great joy while not seeking praise and recognition.

Our Lord is obviously very critical of the Scribes, and with good reason. Many of them would seek out ways to be recognized for their position, occupying seats of honor and making sure to be in highly visible locations. Instead of serving God humbly, they were seeking praise for themselves.

Our Lord tells us we must not be like this. Instead, we need to be like the humble widow who gave to the temple treasury what little she had. She didn't make a big show out of her giving, just did so humbly and joyfully.

Again, this is not just giving in the sense of stewardship, although it is important that we be willing to give of what we have. We need to be willing to give our time and abilities, but we can't just end with that. We need to give of ourselves so completely that we'd we willing to give our very lives.

This weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in the Good News for Marriage program, giving the priest's presentations. In one presentation, the couples are reminded that love is not an emotion, a mushy feeling that people feel for their beloved for a while, but fades in time. Instead, the couples are told that love is the total self-giving for the good of another.

This is the kind of giving that we need to have: a total self-giving for the good of another. In fact, St. Paul calls us to emulate Our Lord, who came “to take away sin by his sacrifice”. (Heb 9:28) We need to be willing to give everything we have and are, even our very lives if necessary, to serve the good of all, just as Our Lord was willing to give His very life for us. We need to do this giving without desiring fanfare or praise, not to receive recognition, but out of true humility and love for God and neighbor.

Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints

In our lives, we have celebrations that we use to remember important even in our lives. We celebrate birthdays and wedding anniversaries every year. We have reunions of high school and college graduations every couple of years. As a country, we celebrate the founding of this nation on the 4th of July, and remember sorrowful events, such as the attacks on September 11th or the beginning of the US entrance into World War II on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7th.

As a Church, we have annual celebrations as well, but instead of focusing on events that happened, we spend more time remembering and celebrating the saints, those Christians who are held up as the example to emulate in Christian living. Throughout the liturgical calendar, the calendar which tells us what feasts and memorials to celebrate, many saints are listed for us to be reminded of their example and celebrate their entrance into eternal life. Some saints are well known: St. John the Baptist, St. Francis, St. Patrick. Other saints are little more than names in a list: St. Clement, St. Sixtus, St. Chrysogonus, to name a couple from the first Eucharistic Prayer.

For as many saints are known and celebrated by Christians throughout the world, many more Christians have gone through their lives living their faith in quiet joy and now enjoy the Beatific Vision in Heaven. While we may not know these men and women, we still take one day a year to celebrate their lives and their entrance into Heaven. This is why we have the solemnity of All Saints, to celebrate the lives and example of all the saints who have ever lived, either known and famous, or unknown and obscure.

We remember these saints, because they have done what all Christians should desire to do. They have passed through this life as faithful Christians. The fullness of God's love has been revealed to them, and as St. John says in his first Letter, they “see Him as He is.” Yet, for those of us here on Earth, God has not been fully revealed to us due to our sinful nature, therefore we do not know what awaits us after our death. However, we do have the examples of the saints, to guide us into Heaven where it will be revealed to us as well.

At this point, some might say, “It is really worth it? We don't know what happens after death, if anything. Why not just enjoy life now and not worry about what will happen later?” In fact, this is a very common position we see and hear in the world today. We live in a world of self-congratulation and self-fulfillment. Many of those who are listed as blessed by Our Lord live lives contrary to the values held by those steeped in the culture.

We have the promise of Our Lord that this world is not the end, and we will receive great rewards in Heaven if we follow Him. To enter into Heaven and receive these rewards, we use the example given to us in the lives of the saints as a road map in following the path which Jesus has laid out for us. It's not an easy path, but the saints show us that it possible for each of us to achieve what Our Lord promises.

Homily for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

As Catholics, we hear a lot about prayer. When someone is going through a difficult period in their lives, we might say something like, “I'll pray for you”. Every week, we gather to pray the ultimate prayer, Holy Mass. Sometimes we even have a prayer before and after our meals. While we might talk about prayer, there many who may not understand exactly what prayer is and why it's so important.

To give the simplest definition, prayer is opening our hearts to God and asking for good things from Him. When we pray, we express our desire to be in union with Him, and to do His will. Likewise,through prayer we approach Him with humility and ask what we need in our daily lives. In short, prayer is joining ourselves completely with the Triune God and His will.

Sadly, there are many Catholics who might talk about praying, but rarely, if ever, enter into prayer. Often, this may be caused by not knowing how to pray, or what to say or do when praying. Others may not realize how important prayer is to living a Christian life. For many, prayer only comes easily when facing a difficulty in their lives.

For those who don't know how to pray, it's important to realize that prayer does not need to be difficult or complex. In fact, Bartimaeus in today's Gospel passage is held up as an example of how to pray. He didn't enter into a grand discourse, using lots of words and actions, praising Jesus and asking for healing. Instead, he simply called out repeatedly, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.”

This prayer of Bartimaeus is considered one of the simplest and most powerful prayers that we have. The Jesus prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” is one that can be said repeatedly throughout the day. Another, even simpler variation is to simply pray the name of Jesus repeatedly under your breath as you go about performing the tasks of your daily life.

This is an important aspect of any prayer. Prayer is not something that we do once in a while when we feel we need to pray, or only once a day. Because prayer is a desire for union with God, all Christians must be entering into prayer on a continual basis, not just priests and religious. We must constantly be finding opportunities for prayer. This is why the Jesus prayer is so powerful. It takes little time and very little concentration to silently repeat the name of Jesus. Even the longer form, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” takes just a few seconds to say on a regular basis. Of course, there are many other prayers that can be used as well, such as repeating “Jesus, I trust in you” from the Divine Mercy image. Longer prayers, like the Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet, are also very beneficial.

Bartimaeus shows us the necessity for persisting in prayer. He didn't shout once, and give up. He kept repeating his request even while the crowd was telling him to be silent. He kept pleading for Jesus to grant his request even when he probably thought Our Lord might go by without stopping. Bartimaeus was persistent in his prayer, and Jesus granted his petition.

We too must persist in our prayer. This can be difficult, as the crowds around us might consider a prayerful life as foolish. Persistence in prayer can wane when we allow ourselves to become discouraged during those times that our prayers might not seem to be heard, much less receive an answer from God. Ironically, the most difficult time for perseverance in prayer is when our lives are going well and we can spend our time praising God for the good things we have, yet it is just as important to persist in praying during those times of our lives. Prayer is something that should be a joy during our good times, and a support during our lows.

May we be able to pray together the words of Bartimaeus, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Homily for the Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

I don't know too many people who like to suffer. There probably aren't many people who enjoy being crushed “in infirmity”, using the prophet Isaiah's words. In fact, most of us are like the Apostles James and John, who asked Our Lord to seat them in the positions of highest power, authority, and honor within His Kingdom. Given the choice between glory and suffering, we'll all take glory every time.

In the Gospel today, Jesus flips conventional wisdom on its head. This event we just heard occurred during Our Lord's earthly ministry, long before He is to face His sacrificial death on the cross, and is a foreshadowing of how He will offer His life. To receive the glory, Our Lord tells the Apostles, you have to go through suffering. After all, what cup and what baptism is He talking about? The cup is the cup of suffering that He drinks from during His Passion, and the baptism is the baptism that He receives by the shedding of His Blood during His death on the Cross. Jesus is telling the Apostles that if they want to enter into glory in His kingdom, they need to be willing to suffer as He will suffer, and give their lives as He will give His life.

This had to be difficult for the Apostles to hear, just as it is difficult for us to hear. The Apostles no more desired suffering than we do, yet Our Lord is teaching them that there is a spiritual value to suffering that goes far beyond what we can see in our earthly lives. I know it's hard to believe that the suffering and pain that we see every day can be beneficial for ourselves and for others, but as Christians we believe that all suffering can have a redemptive aspect. The suffering that we face every day of our lives can serve to purify us, almost like scrubbing off the impurities, and draw us closer to God.

A phrase that many Catholics are familiar with regarding redemptive suffering is “Offer it up”. Many of you may have had opportunity to remind others with this phrase throughout the years, although I've sometimes heard it be used in the sense of “I'm tired of hearing you whine. Deal with it!” Of course, that's not how we should really be looking at offering our sufferings. Instead, we should be willing to offer our daily sufferings – our pain, our sorrows, our annoyances – to be joined with Our Lord's suffering and death upon the Cross for our salvation and the salvation of the whole world.

Sometimes when dealing with extreme suffering, we might enter into despair and feel that no one can understand the pain that we're struggling with. This is not true, as the Letter to the Hebrews gives us hope that Our Lord is with us in our suffering. He understands what we are going through, as he went through some of the most extreme suffering during his Passion and Death. We are reminded that we can “confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” (Heb 4:16)

This reminder of the redemptive aspect of suffering is one that is very important in our world today, especially here in Montana. For many, suffering is something to endured, at best, or eliminated by what ever means possible, at the worst. To overcome their suffering, people turn to alcohol, drugs – both prescription and illegal – and other addictions.

If the suffering becomes too severe, people seek to end their lives, looking to death as the ultimate end of suffering. Two states in the United States, Washington and Oregon, allow physicians to assist in committing suicide, and a judge here in Montana has ruled that physician-assisted suicide should be allowed here as well. It is currently still illegal and the ruling is under appeal, but could very easily be legalized in this state.

Physician-assisted suicide should be opposed for three reasons. First, it denies the redemptive aspect of suffering, choosing to end the sufferer's life to avoid the suffering instead of allowing it to continue for his or her good and the good of others who benefit from the example and sacrifice. Second, story after story has been coming out of Oregon in which insurance companies and the state medical plan have refused long-term treatments, offering physician-assisted suicide it their places. This can and will happen elsewhere, especially as health care reform includes the mandate to reduce costs. Third, and more importantly, through physician-assisted suicide we attempt to take over God's role as the giver of life, determining on our schedule how long one's life will last instead of following God's will for that person.

While physician-assisted suicide denies a redemptive value to suffering, we do believe that suffering does have a spiritual benefit. May we be willing to truly offer up our sacrifices for our good and the good of all humanity.

Homily for the Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

We have some very strong, even disturbing, imagery in the readings today. Our Lord commands us to remove body parts that cause us to sin. St. James compares the rich with animals that have been fattened up for the slaughter. These intense images are given to us today to demonstrate the danger of falling into sin or leading others into sin, and how sin separates us from the Body of Christ.

This is a message we need to hear today. When you look at the popular culture, it's clear that we have lost a sense of sin. Someone's sinful actions are excused if no one is perceived to have been hurt by those sins or if there is “consent” to the actions. Some sins are not only tolerated, but encouraged and promoted. The only sins that are publicly scorned are those which can be used to drag a political opponent through the mud. In fact, the only real sin, in the eyes of the popular culture, is daring to challenge someone's actions as sinful.

Contrary to what the popular culture might say, we are still a sinful people in need of redemption and forgiveness. Sadly, because the culture glorifies much which is sinful, we have forgotten what sin is and why it's so dangerous. Even Catholics, long ridiculed for so-called “Catholic guilt” over real or imagined sins, have all but neglected the Sacrament of Confession. There is a real need in the world today to restore an understanding of sin.

We can begin this restoration by defining sin. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity.” (CCC 1849) To put this definition much more simply, sin is putting ourselves and the gifts which we have been given by God over God Himself and those around us. Sin is the opposite of love, and where sin exists, truly self-giving love cannot exist.

With this definition, I hope we can begin to see why Our Lord used such strong imagery in the Gospel passage today. Jesus compared living a sinful life to being thrown into Gehenna, a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem where fires perpetually burned. Due to the strict ritual purity laws in Judaism, Gehenna was considered the place that was the most unclean, and casting someone's body there would have been the strongest condemnation of that person, forever cutting him off from the rest of the Jews.

Spiritually, sin has much the same result. When we sin, we cut ourselves off from God and the Body of Christ. As I said before, sin is the opposite of love. In fact, sin is a turning inward on ourselves to the exclusion of others, even God Himself. We become fixated on our needs, desires, wants, and possessions. Other people become either objects to be used, or obstacles that prevent us from doing what we desire. This focus on ourselves is so strong that we are even willing to give up the eternal life promised to us by Our Lord.

If we truly understood the danger of sin, we would act immediately to separate ourselves from those things that regularly lead us to sin. These occasions of sin are things and situations in our lives which are dangers to our moral lives, leading us to perform sinful actions. Much as we try to avoid those things and situations that could cause us to be hurt or killed, we should make every effort to avoid the occasions of sin that we encounter on a daily basis. This is what Our Lord means when he says to cut off your hand or foot, or pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin. It is better in this life to give up some things that lead us to sin and gain eternal life in the next.

Sin is a reality in the world. It hurts us and hurts those around us. May we have a greater awareness of our sinful nature, seek to avoid sin, and ask forgiveness for those sins we have committed.