Sunday, January 5, 2025

An invitation to an epiphany

 

Homily: The Epiphany of the Lord – Cycle C

         In its most basic definition, an epiphany is “a moment of sudden realization or insight”.  In other words, it is that moment that makes you stop and say “oh, I get it!”  This usually occurs after you’ve been thinking long and hard about something: a math problem that just doesn’t seem to work out, the missing word in a crossword puzzle, that glitch in your system at work that you can’t quite pinpoint, or how you’re going to get your kids to three different places at the same time with only one car.  Whether it is big or small, an epiphany is a moment when you break through the barrier of unknowing to find the answer that you were looking for.

         As you can see, an epiphany requires some work up front.  It’s not an epiphany to look down on the sidewalk and find a five-dollar bill.  Good fortune, yes, but an epiphany, no.  An epiphany, rather, requires a deep immersion into the subject—a seeking, a longing for an answer—such that the realization of the answer is immediately known.  For example, when Sir Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity, he had already spent many years as a mathematician and a physicist.  Thus, when he saw the apple fall from the tree (or, as legend has it, when the apple fell on his head while he slept under the tree), he already had a frame of reference to make sense of it.  It was something new, to be sure, but it was born out of many years of intense study.

         These new insights, it seems, always move those who receive them in a new direction.  Sir Isaac Newton could move and expand his study of physics in a new way because of his insight regarding the force of gravity.  An example a little closer to home: the insight that one could find greater freedom, security, and prosperity here in this country has moved millions of people to take a new direction for their lives.  And so we see that an epiphany is not just “a moment of sudden realization or insight”, but also that this insight is one that moves the one who receives it in a new direction. ///

         The word “epiphany”, however, is also used to describe a “manifestation of a divine or supernatural being”.  Combining these two definitions together we could say that an epiphany is a revelation of something (or someone) previously unknown that provides new insight and thus moves its knowers into a new direction.

         The seasons of Advent and Christmas are full of epiphanies that are recorded for us in the Scriptures.  First, in Advent, we remembered the epiphany of the angel Gabriel to Mary that God would be made manifest in her womb.  When Mary received this manifestation of God, her life would definitely move in a new direction.  Joseph, too, when he in a dream received the epiphany from the angel, would have to move in a new direction.  Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, and her husband Zechariah also faced a new direction for their lives when an angel announced the birth of a son to them: a son who would go before the coming Messiah to prepare his way.

         Now, in Christmas, we have been remembering the epiphany of the angels to the shepherds on the night of Christ’s birth and how it moved them to leave the fields and their flocks to search out the newborn king.  We have been remembering also the epiphany to Simeon and Anna in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought in Jesus to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth and how it moved them to acknowledge the fulfillment of all of God’s promises.  And, next Sunday, we will recall the epiphany of Jesus as the Son of God at his baptism by John in the Jordan River and how it would begin the new direction of public ministry for him and the new direction of a retreat from public ministry for John.  In each of these moments, we see people who were seeking an insight or a revelation who were then moved into a new direction in their lives once they received it.

         Today, we focus on the epiphany to the Magi—the manifestation of the God of Israel to the “magi from the east”—and we read how it moved them in a “new direction”; and we see a great contrast in this story today between King Herod and the religious elite of the Jews and these magi from the east.

         I find it extremely telling that, in the story that we recounted from Matthew’s Gospel, the “wise men” notice a great star that had appeared in the sky—a star bright enough to be noticed and which remained there long enough for them to travel a long way from the east to Jerusalem to find it—but that King Herod and the chief priests and the scribes of the people didn’t seem to have seen it.  The magi were looking for a sign and thus responded when they “saw his star at its rising”.  King Herod, on the other hand, was more worried about holding onto, and taking advantage of, his power; and so, even though this new light appeared in the sky, the epiphany was not granted to him. /// And so we see once again that an epiphany is received only when we are first looking for something.

         My brothers and sisters, the truth is that God wants each of us to have an epiphany.  God sent his Son to be born as a human being not only to save us from our sins by dying on the Cross and rising from the dead, but also to manifest himself to his most beloved creatures and thus to make a deep, personal relationship with him possible: a relationship that moves us in a new and positive direction.

         In order to receive this, however, we have to be like Isaac Newton and the magi: we have to be looking for it.  In other words, we have to immerse ourselves in the things that will prepare us for the epiphany that God wants to give us: in prayer, in which we seek to connect with God, and in study of the Scriptures, in which we come to know God and his way of manifesting himself to others.  Then we wait patiently for God’s manifestation.  The magi didn’t fill their lives with other distractions because the stars hadn’t yet revealed anything to them, nor did Isaac Newton give up on studying physics because he hadn’t discovered anything new.  Rather, they waited patiently, looking for the signs that would reveal to them something new.

         And so it is for us.  Regardless of where we find ourselves in our relationship with God, God still wants to reveal himself in new ways to each of us.  And he wants to move us in new directions that draw us closer to him and the happiness of eternal life.  And so why not make a resolution for this new year to seek God’s epiphany in your life—to be ready to be amazed by how God reveals himself to you and then to move in a new and positive direction—to grow in holiness and happiness in 2025?  Make a simple plan to pray and to spend time with the Scriptures each day (and, parents and godparents, to pray with and to share the Scriptures with your children and godchildren); and to seek to understand the Mass more deeply so as to participate in it more fully: for in the Mass we encounter Jesus Christ himself in the gathering of the faithful, in the priest, in the Word proclaimed, and in the sacrifice that we receive from this altar.

         My brothers and sisters, an epiphany is a gift from God to us, but it is a gift that requires some work by us up front.  Let us move, then, like the magi did when they saw his star arise and so seek where he may be found.  And let us allow him to move us in new directions of discipleship (that is, in positive action in the world) and so closer to the eternal happiness he promises us: the happiness to which we draw close every time that we celebrate this Holy Eucharist.

Given in Spanish at St. Joseph Parish: Rochester, IN – January 5th, 2025

Una invitacion a una epifania

 Homilía: La Epifanía del Señor – Ciclo C

         En su definición más básica, una epifanía es “un momento de comprensión o revelación repentina”. En otras palabras, es ese momento que te hace detenerte y decir “¡ah, ya lo entiendo!”. Esto suele ocurrir después de haber estado pensando mucho sobre algo: un problema de matemáticas que parece no funcionar, la palabra que falta en un crucigrama, ese fallo en tu sistema en el trabajo que no puedes identificar con exactitud o cómo vas a llevar a tus hijos a tres lugares diferentes al mismo tiempo con un solo carro. Ya sea grande o pequeña, una epifanía es un momento en el que rompes la barrera de lo desconocido para encontrar la respuesta que estabas buscando.

         Como se puede ver, una epifanía requiere un poco de trabajo previo. No es una epifanía mirar hacia abajo en la banqueta y encontrar un billete de cinco dólares. Buena suerte, sí, pero una epifanía, no. Una epifanía, más bien, requiere una inmersión profunda en el tema—una búsqueda, un anhelo de una respuesta—de modo que la comprensión de la respuesta se conozca de inmediato. Por ejemplo, cuando Sir Isaac Newton descubrió la ley de la gravedad, ya había pasado muchos años como matemático y físico. Así, cuando vio la manzana caer del árbol (o, como cuenta la leyenda, cuando la manzana cayó sobre su cabeza mientras dormía bajo el árbol), ya tenía un marco de referencia para darle sentido. Era algo nuevo, sin duda, pero nació de muchos años de intenso estudio.

         Parece que estas nuevas ideas siempre llevan a quienes las reciben en una nueva dirección. Sir Isaac Newton pudo avanzar y expandir su estudio de la física de una manera nueva debido a su idea de la fuerza de la gravedad. Un ejemplo un poco más cercano: la idea de que uno podría encontrar mayor libertad, seguridad y prosperidad aquí en este país ha llevado a millones de personas a tomar una nueva dirección para sus vidas. Y así vemos que una epifanía no es sólo “un momento de comprensión o revelación repentina”, sino también que esta revelación es una que lleva a quien la recibe en una nueva dirección. ///

         Sin embargo, esta palabra “epifanía” también se utiliza para describir una “manifestación de un ser divino o algo sobrenatural”. Combinando estas dos definiciones podríamos decir que una epifanía es una revelación de algo (o alguien) previamente desconocido que proporciona una nueva perspectiva y, por lo tanto, lleva a quienes la conocen hacia una nueva dirección.

         Los tiempos de Adviento y Navidad están llenos de epifanías que están registradas para nosotros en las Escrituras. Primero, en Adviento, recordamos la epifanía del ángel Gabriel a María, de que Dios se manifestaría en su vientre. Cuando María recibió esta manifestación de Dios, su vida definitivamente se encaminaría hacia una nueva dirección. José, también, cuando en un sueño recibió la epifanía del ángel, tuvo que encaminarse hacia una nueva dirección. La prima de María, Isabel, y su esposo Zacarías también enfrentaron una nueva dirección para sus vidas cuando un ángel les anunció el nacimiento de un hijo: un hijo que iría antes del Mesías venidero para preparar su camino.

         Ahora, en Navidad, hemos estado recordando la epifanía de los ángeles a los pastores en la noche del nacimiento de Cristo y cómo los movió a dejar los campos y sus rebaños para buscar al rey recién nacido. Hemos estado recordando también la epifanía de Simeón y Ana en el templo cuando María y José trajeron a Jesús para ser presentado al octavo día después de su nacimiento y cómo los movió a reconocer el cumplimiento de todas las promesas de Dios. Y, el próximo domingo, recordaremos la epifanía de Jesús como el Hijo de Dios en su bautismo por Juan en el río Jordán y cómo comenzaría la nueva dirección del ministerio público para él y la nueva dirección de un retiro del ministerio público para Juan. En cada uno de estos momentos, vemos personas que buscaban una idea o una revelación que luego fueron impulsadas hacia una nueva dirección en sus vidas una vez que la recibieron.

         Hoy nos centramos en la epifanía de los magos—la manifestación del Dios de Israel a los “magos del oriente”—y leemos cómo los movió en una “nueva dirección”; y vemos un gran contraste en esta historia de hoy entre el rey Herodes y la élite religiosa de los judíos y estos magos del oriente.

         Me parece sumamente revelador que, en la historia que hemos narrado del Evangelio de Mateo, los “magos” noten una gran estrella que había aparecido en el cielo—una estrella lo suficientemente brillante como para ser notada y que permaneció allí lo suficiente como para que ellos viajaran un largo trecho desde el oriente hasta Jerusalén para encontrarla—pero que el rey Herodes y los sumos sacerdotes y los escribas del pueblo no parecen haberla visto. Los magos buscaban una señal y así respondieron cuando “vieron surgir su estrella”. El rey Herodes, por el contrario, estaba más preocupado por conservar y aprovechar su poder; y por eso, aunque esta nueva luz apareció en el cielo, la epifanía no le fue concedida. /// Y así vemos una vez más que una epifanía se recibe solo cuando primero estamos buscando algo. ///

         Hermanos y hermanas, la verdad es que Dios quiere que cada uno de nosotros tenga una epifanía. Dios envió a su Hijo a nacer como ser humano no sólo para salvarnos de nuestros pecados muriendo en la cruz y resucitando de entre los muertos, sino también para manifestarse a sus criaturas más queridas y hacer posible así una relación profunda y personal con él: una relación que nos lleve hacia una dirección nueva y positiva.

         Pero para recibir esto, tenemos que ser como Isaac Newton y los magos: tenemos que estar buscándolo. En otras palabras, tenemos que sumergirnos en las cosas que nos prepararán para la epifanía que Dios quiere darnos: en la oración, en la que buscamos conectarnos con Dios, y en el estudio de las Escrituras, en el que llegamos a conocer a Dios y su manera de manifestarse a los demás. Luego esperamos pacientemente la manifestación de Dios. Los magos no llenaron sus vidas con otras distracciones porque las estrellas aún no les habían revelado nada, ni Isaac Newton renunció a estudiar física porque no había descubierto nada nuevo. Más bien, esperaron pacientemente, buscando las señales que les revelarían algo nuevo.

         Y lo mismo ocurre con nosotros. Independientemente de dónde nos encontremos en nuestra relación con Dios, Dios todavía quiere revelarse de nuevas maneras a cada uno de nosotros. Y quiere llevarnos en nuevas direcciones que nos acerquen más a él y a la felicidad de la vida eterna. Así que, ¿por qué no hacer una resolución para este nuevo año de buscar la epifanía de Dios en tu vida, de estar listo para sorprenderte por cómo Dios se revela a ti y luego avanzar en una dirección nueva y positiva, para crecer en santidad y felicidad en 2025? Haz un plan sencillo para orar y pasar tiempo con las Escrituras cada día (y, padres y padrinos, para orar y compartir las Escrituras con tus hijos y ahijados); y tratar de entender la Misa más profundamente para poder participar en ella más plenamente: porque en la Misa encontramos a Jesucristo mismo en la reunión de los fieles, en el sacerdote, en la Palabra proclamada y en el sacrificio que recibimos de este altar.

         Hermanos y hermanas, la epifanía es un don de Dios para nosotros, pero es un don que requiere un trabajo previo por nuestra parte. Movámonos, pues, como los magos cuando vieron surgir su estrella y busquemos dónde se le puede encontrar. Y dejémosle que nos lleve hacia nuevas direcciones de discipulado (es decir, de acción positiva en el mundo) y así nos acerquemos a la felicidad eterna que nos promete: la felicidad a la que nos acercamos cada vez que celebramos esta Sagrada Eucaristía.

Dado en la parroquia de San Jose: Rochester, IN – 5 de enero, 2025

Sunday, December 29, 2024

El jubileo y su familia

 Homilía: La Sagrada Familia de Jesús, Maria, y Jose – Ciclo C

         Hermanos, tenemos mucho que celebrar hoy. En primer lugar, es la Octava de Navidad: los ocho días en los que celebramos el nacimiento de Jesús, nuestro Salvador y Rey. En segundo lugar, es la fiesta de la Sagrada Familia: la “celebración dentro de la celebración” durante la cual honramos el hecho de que nuestro Señor Jesús vino a nosotros en medio de una familia—y no una familia cualquiera, sino una familia de los más grandes santos: la Santísima Virgen María y San José—honrando y elevando así la dignidad de todas las familias. En tercer lugar, estamos celebrando el comienzo del Año Jubilar. En la víspera de Navidad, el Papa Francisco inauguró este Año Jubilar abriendo las puertas del jubileo en la Basílica de San Pedro en Roma. Aquí en nuestra propia diócesis, el obispo Doherty celebró una misa esta mañana en su catedral en Lafayette inaugurando el Año Jubilar en nuestra diócesis. Y así, como dije, tenemos mucho que celebrar y mucho sobre lo que podemos reflexionar hoy. Me gustaría comenzar con el Año Jubilar.

         Espero que todos hayan oído algo acerca de este jubileo. Si no, les daré una breve descripción general. Desde el siglo XIV, la Iglesia ha observado “años jubilares”—años apartados para celebrar y renovar y reorientar nuestro discipulado misionero para el futuro. Aunque la frecuencia de estos años jubilares ha variado desde su inicio, en los tiempos modernos hemos apartado cada 25 años como año jubilar. Nuestro último año jubilar fue a principios del milenio, en el año 2000. Por lo tanto, al entrar en el año 2025, se acerca el momento de otro jubileo. Sin embargo, es importante señalar que, aunque estos años comenzaron a observarse en el siglo XIV, la idea de un año jubilar es mucho más antigua: se remonta a los tiempos del Antiguo Testamento.

         En los tiempos del Antiguo Testamento, como parte de la Ley Mosaica, Dios prescribía tanto un sábado como un jubileo para el pueblo y su tierra. Así como cada séptimo día debía ser un “sábado” para el pueblo—un día de descanso del trabajo según el modelo que Dios demostró cuando creó el universo—así también cada séptimo año debía ser un año de descanso para la tierra, durante el cual no debía cultivarse para darle a la creación un tiempo de descanso. Luego, después del séptimo sábado para la tierra (es decir, después del año 49), debía celebrarse un año de jubileo: un año adicional de descanso durante el cual debían llevarse a cabo muchas instrucciones especiales. Era verdaderamente un año de celebración y reinicio para el pueblo.

         Las instrucciones especiales eran las siguientes: 1) todas las deudas debían ser perdonadas; 2) todos los esclavos debían ser liberados; 3) se debía observar un año sabático; y 4) todos debían regresar a su patria. Si ahora mismo estás pensando: “¡Qué cosas extraordinarias se pueden pedir!”, estás entendiendo todo el peso del jubileo en los tiempos del Antiguo Testamento. Observa que las instrucciones especiales no estipulaban condiciones: las deudas debían ser perdonadas incondicionalmente, los esclavos debían ser liberados incondicionalmente, el sábado debía ser observado incondicionalmente y todos debían regresar a su patria incondicionalmente. No importaba si no estabas listo para perdonar esa deuda o liberar a ese esclavo o si no tenías suficiente grano almacenado o si sentías que podías regresar a su patria… El jubileo te llamaba a estas cosas y su observancia piadosa traería grandes bendiciones de Dios.

         Repaso todo esto hoy porque creo que estas instrucciones especiales a aquellos pueblos antiguos pueden ayudarnos a vivir este año jubilar hoy. También creo que tienen algunas cosas particulares que decirnos mientras celebramos esta fiesta de la Sagrada Familia y mientras consideramos una vez más cómo nuestras propias familias pueden crecer en santidad. En primer lugar, el año jubilar.

         Los dos primeros puntos del jubileo del Antiguo Testamento parecen ser perfectamente aplicables a nuestras propias vidas hoy. ¿Quién no tiene a alguien en su vida que le debe una deuda material o que tal vez le ha hecho daño de alguna manera? Estoy seguro de que todos tenemos a alguien así en nuestras vidas. Por lo tanto, todos podríamos beneficiarnos del alivio que podría ocurrir si perdonáramos esas deudas/heridas durante este año jubilar. Esto, por supuesto, podría ser muy difícil de hacer. Sin embargo, cuando entendemos lo que significa este perdón, podemos comenzar a encontrar la fuerza no solo para hacerlo, sino también para ver el gran poder que puede desatar en el mundo. El perdón de las deudas/heridas, en esencia, es un signo de esperanza confiada en que nuestra felicidad y prosperidad no dependen de una justicia estricta, sino más bien de la gracia de Dios. Por lo tanto, cuando perdonamos una deuda o una herida, estamos declarando con valentía que nuestra felicidad no depende de lo que recibimos de los hombres, sino de lo que recibimos de Dios. Así pues, podemos renunciar a cualquier pretensión que tengamos en este mundo, porque confiamos en que Dios nos restaurará todas las cosas en su gracia. Este año jubilar es una invitación para que recuperemos esta confianza en Dios y demos rienda suelta a esta gracia en el mundo.

         “Liberar a los esclavos” está, por tanto, estrechamente relacionado con el perdón de las deudas. Si alguien está en deuda con nosotros, en cierto sentido está esclavizado por nosotros: porque no es libre hasta que la deuda sea pagada o perdonada. Perdonar las deudas y las heridas es una manera de liberar a los esclavos durante este año jubilar y debería darnos una inspiración aún mayor para buscar la fuerza y ​​el coraje para perdonar. Sin embargo, podemos llevar esta idea más allá y considerar cómo podemos ayudar a otros a ser libres. Tal vez algunos sean esclavos de la pobreza y podamos ayudarlos a encontrar la libertad a través de la seguridad material. Tal vez otros sean esclavos de una adicción y podamos ayudarlos a liberarse de ella. Incluso otros pueden ser esclavos de la soledad y podemos ayudarlos a romper su esclavitud siendo compañeros para ellos. Tal vez estás viendo que estoy diciendo que las obras de misericordia son excelentes maneras de liberar a los esclavos durante el jubileo.

         Y no nos olvidemos de la falta de perdón o la esclavitud (al pecado) que podamos estar experimentando en nuestro interior. Este año jubilar puede ser una gran inspiración para perdonarnos por algún error del pasado o para buscar gracia adicional para liberarnos de algún pecado que nos ha esclavizado durante demasiado tiempo. Este año es un llamado a pedir con valentía esa gracia y a responder, confiando en el poder de Dios para traernos ese perdón y esa libertad.

         Las otras dos instrucciones del Antiguo Testamento para el jubileo también son útiles ahora. Aunque estoy seguro de que ninguno de nosotros puede simplemente dejar de trabajar durante un año entero, estoy seguro de que cada uno de nosotros puede mirar su vida y preguntarse: “¿Qué es lo que he estado haciendo que puedo dejar de hacer durante el próximo año para crear el espacio que necesito para celebrar este jubileo?”. Tal vez sea tan simple como comprometerse a hacer del domingo (o cualquier día de la semana) un día de verdadero descanso durante todo el año. Sea lo que sea, la idea es darle a tu vida un descanso de alguna manera durante este año, para que puedas participar de la celebración.

         Regresar a su patria es interesante, ¿no? Para los pueblos antiguos, esto significaba un regreso literal a la tierra de sus antepasados ​​y conectarse con sus raíces familiares. Era un recordatorio para cada uno de quién era y de cómo encajaba en la historia más grande del pueblo de Dios. Una oportunidad muy similar está hecha para nosotros. Tal vez no podamos regresar a nuestras tierras de origen, pero podemos reconectarnos con nuestras familias. Tal vez estemos alejados por alguna razón. ¿Podríamos perdonar algunas heridas que nuestros familiares nos causaron y reconectarnos durante este año jubilar? Hacerlo nos recordará nuestras raíces: no tanto como para obligarnos a sentirnos encadenados por ellas, sino más bien para entender quiénes somos para que podamos florecer en la forma en que realmente fuimos creados para ser: algo que solo podemos hacer cuando estamos firmemente afianzados en nuestras raíces.

         Y esto nos ayuda a reflexionar sobre la familia a la que honramos hoy, ¿no? Jesús, María y José son el modelo para vivir fielmente esta esperanza confiada en Dios: una esperanza que puede perdonar deudas, liberar a quienes están esclavizados a nosotros, dejar de depender de nosotros mismos y abrazar nuestras raíces (por complicadas que sean). Por eso, mientras los honramos hoy y nos esforzamos por crecer a su semejanza, los animo a todos a que dediquen un tiempo en meditación de la segunda lectura de hoy, ya que las instrucciones de San Pablo a los corintios parecen una síntesis perfecta de cómo abordar el trabajo que estamos llamados a hacer durante este Año Jubilar.

         Hermanos y hermanas, si nos esforzamos por vivir bien esto, nos convertiremos verdaderamente en los «peregrinos de la esperanza» a los que el Papa Francisco nos ha llamado a convertirnos en este Año Jubilar. Por tanto, retomemos esta buena obra; y comencemos dando gracias en esta Misa por las abundantes gracias que Dios derrama sobre nosotros para hacer fecundo este tiempo, para que podamos celebrar este jubileo con alegría: la alegría del Niño Jesús, que hoy llena nuestros corazones.

Dado en la parroquia de San Jose: Rochester, IN – 29 de diciembre, 2024

The Jubilee and your family

 Homily – The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – Cycle C

         Friends, we have so much to celebrate today.  First, it is the Octave of Christmas: the eight days in which we celebrate the birth of Jesus, our Savior and King.  Second, it’s the feast of the Holy Family: the “celebration within the celebration” during which we honor the fact that our Lord Jesus came to us in the midst of a family—and not just any family, but a family of the greatest saints: the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph—thus honoring and elevating the dignity of all families.  Third, we are celebrating the beginning of the Jubilee Year.  On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis inaugurated this Jubilee Year by opening the jubilee doors on Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  Here in our own diocese, Bishop Doherty celebrated a Mass this morning at his Cathedral in Lafayette inaugurating the Jubilee Year in our diocese.  And so, like I said, we have so much to celebrate and so much upon which we can reflect today.  I’d like to begin with the Jubilee Year.

         Hopefully, all of you have heard something about this jubilee.  If not, I’ll give just a quick overview.  Since the 1300’s, the Church has observed “jubilee years”—years set apart for celebration and to renew and refocus our missionary discipleship for the future.  Although the frequency of these jubilee years has varied since their inception, in modern times, we have set aside every 25th year as a jubilee year.  Our last jubilee year was at the turn of the millennia in the year 2000.  Thus, as we enter 2025, the time for another jubilee is upon us.  It is important to note, however, that although these years began to be observed in the 1300’s, the idea of a jubilee year is much more ancient: stretching all the way back to Old Testament times.

         In Old Testament times, as part of the Mosaic Law, God prescribed both a Sabbath and a jubilee for the people and their land.  Just as every seventh day was to be a “Sabbath” for the people—a day of rest from labor after the pattern God demonstrated when he created the universe—so was every seventh year to be a year of rest for the land, during which the land wasn’t to be farmed so as to give creation a time of rest.  Then, after the seventh Sabbath for the land (that is, after the 49th year), a jubilee year was to be celebrated: an extra year of rest during which many special instructions were to be carried out.  It was truly a year of celebration and reset for the people.

         The special instructions were these: 1) all debts were to be forgiven; 2) all slaves were to be set free; 3) a sabbath year was to be observed; and 4) all were to return to their homeland.  If right now you’re thinking to yourself, “What extraordinary things to be asked for!”, you’re understanding the full weight of the jubilee in Old Testament times.  Notice that the special instructions did not stipulate conditions: debts were to be forgiven unconditionally, slaves were to be set free unconditionally, the Sabbath was to be observed unconditionally, and all were to return home unconditionally.  It didn’t matter if you weren’t ready to forgive that debt or release that slave or have enough grain stored up or felt like you could return home…  The jubilee called you to it and its pious observance would bring great blessings from God.

         I go through all of this today because I think that these special instructions to those ancient peoples can help us to live this jubilee year today.  I also think that they have some particular things to say to us as we observe this feast of the Holy Family and as we consider once again how our own families can grow in holiness.  First, the jubilee year.

         Those first two points of the Old Testament jubilee seem to be perfectly applicable to our own lives today.  Who here doesn’t have someone in their lives who either owes them an actual, material debt or perhaps has hurt them in some way?  All of us have someone like this in our lives, I’m sure.  Therefore, all of us could benefit from the unburdening that could occur if we would forgive those debts/hurts during this jubilee year.  This, of course, could be very difficult to do.  Nevertheless, when we understand what this forgiveness means, we can begin to find the strength not only to do it, but also to see the great power it can unleash in the world.  Forgiveness of debts/hurts, at its core, is a sign of confident hope that our happiness and flourishing does not depend on strict justice.  Rather, it depends on the graciousness of God.  Thus, when we forgive a debt or a hurt we are boldly declaring that our happiness does not depend on what we receive from men, but rather on what we receive from God.  Thus, we can let go of any claims that we have in this world, because we trust that God will restore all things to us in his graciousness.  This jubilee year is an invitation for us to reclaim this confidence in God and to unleash this graciousness into the world.

         “Setting slaves free” is thus closely connected to forgiveness of debts.  If someone is indebted to us, they are in some sense enslaved by us: for they are not free until the debt is either paid or forgiven.  Forgiving debts and hurts is a way of setting slaves free during this jubilee year and should give us even greater inspiration to seek the strength and courage to forgive.  We can take this idea further, however, and consider how we can help others become free.  Perhaps some are slaves of poverty and we can help them find freedom through material security.  Perhaps others are slaves to an addiction and we can help them break free from it.  Still others might be slaves to loneliness and we can help break their slavery by being companions to them.  Perhaps you’re seeing that I am saying that the works of mercy are great ways to set slaves free during the jubilee.

         And let’s not forget about any unforgiveness or slavery (to sin) we may be experiencing within ourselves.  This jubilee year can be a great inspiration to forgive yourself for some past failure or to seek additional grace to break free from some sin that has enslaved you for far too long.  This year is a call to courageously ask for that grace and to respond, trusting in God’s power to bring about this forgiveness and freedom.

         The other two Old Testament jubilee instructions are also helpful now.  Although I’m sure that none of us can simply stop working for a whole year, I am sure that we can each look at our lives and ask ourselves, “What is something that I have been doing that I can leave off for the next year so as to create the space that I need to celebrate this jubilee?”  Maybe it’s as simple as committing to make Sunday (or any day of the week) a day of true rest throughout the whole year.   Whatever it is, the idea is to give your life a rest in some way during this year, so that you can enter the celebration.

         Returning home is an interesting one, isn’t it?  For the ancient peoples, this meant a literal return to the land of their ancestors and to connect with their familial roots.  It was a reminder to each of who they were and of how they fit into the bigger story of God’s people.  A very similar opportunity is made for us.  Perhaps we can’t return to our homelands, but we can reconnect with families.  Perhaps we’re estranged for some reason.  Could we forgive some hurts that our family members caused us and reconnect during this jubilee year?  Doing so will remind us of our roots: not so much as to force us to feel shackled by them, but rather to understand who we are so that we might blossom in the way we were truly made to be: something we can only do when we are firmly secured in our roots.

         And this helps us to reflect on the family we honor today, doesn’t it?  Jesus, Mary, and Joseph are the model for living faithfully this confident hope in God: a hope that can forgive debts, set free those enslaved to us, leave off our self-reliance, and embrace our roots (however complicated they may be).  Thus, as we honor them today, and as we strive to grow in their likeness, I encourage you all to spend some time with the second reading today, as Saint Paul’s instructions to the Corinthians seem like a perfect encapsulation of how to approach the work we’re called to do during this Jubilee Year.

         In striving to live this well, my brothers and sisters, we will truly become the “pilgrims of hope” that Pope Francis has called us to become in this Jubilee Year.  Let us, therefore, take up this good work; and let us begin by giving thanks in this Mass for the abundant graces that God is pouring on us to make this time fruitful, so that we might celebrate this jubilee with joy: the joy of the Christ child, which fills our hearts today.

Given in Spanish at St. Joseph Parish: Rochester, IN – December 29th, 2024

Tuesday, December 24, 2024

All are called to come and rejoice

 

Homily: Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord – Mass at Night

         My dear Sisters and friends, what a joy it is to celebrate this great feast with all of you as we declare with new joy and fervor that Christ our King has been born and, thus, that salvation from the everlasting darkness of sin and death has come to us.  Truly, something new and big has happened, in spite of the familiar form our celebration may take: for our King is born! and the world would never (could never) be the same again.  We have been preparing for this day for the last three-plus weeks, and rightfully so: for when a big celebration, like this, is to take place, there is much to do to prepare.

         Therefore, before I go any further, I feel like I should make a confession.  When it comes to all the hype and buildup of Christmas, I’m a curmudgeon.  Advent is a season to which I look forward and I look forward to it because it is an invitation to slow down, to be a little more quiet, to reflect, and to begin again.  Every year, however, the season is drowned in lights, winter holiday music, and the pressure to do more things.  Every year, I hope that this year will be different and every year I am disappointed that, once again, the world hasn’t decided to conform to my idea of Advent (I mean, “How rude!” am I right?).

         I am disappointed, also, because I always have big hopes of being more ready and more prepared for Christmas: hopes that, although sometimes unrealistic, almost never pan out the way I imagined.  That extra time in prayer that I hoped to spend was difficult to take and was often found unfruitful.  That creative idea for gifts for my family proved to be too time-consuming to be realized.  Christmas cards?  Yeah, I thought about them… a lot… for like three weeks… and I still didn’t send them.  Thus, after three-plus weeks of disappointment, I often find myself approaching Christmas feeling a little… let’s say… crabby.  (Anyone else out there with me?)

         The thing that tops it all off for me is that I always want to be well-prepared spiritually to celebrate this great feast day, and being crabby doesn’t make that easy.  Like most of you, I suppose, I take time to examine my conscience well so as to make a good confession during Advent.  Try as I may, however, to bring my soul in a pristine state of grace to the celebration of Christmas—so as to make of my heart a beautiful gift to Jesus on his birthday—I often find that I fail; and thus my heart, ever desiring to be lifted up in joy in this celebration, is weighed down by the weight of my sins.  I’m embarrassed that, on top of all of the other things that didn’t go my way in Advent, I couldn’t do even that much for Jesus.

         With this on my heart, I reflected again on this passage from the Gospel that we just heard and a glimmer of hope caught my eye.  It says there, “Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock.”  These shepherds received the shocking and disorienting visit from the angel of God who brought the good news that the long-awaited one, the Messiah, had been born.  They—the shepherds “living in the fields and keeping night watch over the flock”—were given instruction for how they could identify this child, the Christ King, who had been born, and they then went to find him to pay him their homage.

         “Why is this a glimmer of hope?” you might ask.  “Why is it that these shepherds, living in the fields—these seemingly random folks to whom the angel of God appeared—are a source of hope for you?”  It’s exactly this: these shepherds were living in the fields, watching over the flock when they received this good news—this disorienting, yet exciting news—and then went to find this newborn King.  My guess is that they didn’t stop at home to shower and put on clean clothes before they found him.  Rather, they came to him as they were: dirty from their work in the fields and with the smell of the sheep clinging to them.  They came to offer him their homage and the Holy Family received them without fuss or condemnation (they were in a stable, after all!).  After their visit, they returned to their fields rejoicing that this royal family had received them, in all their uncleanliness and imperfection.  The hope that I felt—and still feel—is that Jesus our King is just as ready tonight to receive me and my homage, in all my uncleanliness and imperfection, in a similar way: without fuss or condemnation, just joy that, in my devotion, I have come.

         Sisters and friends, too often, I believe, we think that we can only come to Jesus if we are perfectly clean and put together.  Certainly, this is an ideal for which we should strive!  More important for us to remember tonight, however, is that Jesus wants us to come to him, regardless: even in our uncleanliness and imperfection.  This is hard, because so often we’re embarrassed by our failures.  Don’t worry, he sees us.  He wasn’t embarrassed to be born in a cave among livestock.  Therefore, he’s not going to be offended if we come to him with sin on our consciences, yet love in our hearts and a humble desire to give him homage.

         (I imagine that this very idea was a motivating factor for Saint Francis to create the first Christmas Crèche: to show to all that they didn’t have to be rich and well put-together to come and worship the Newborn King; but rather, that they could come as they are to do him homage with the confidence that they would be received with love and joy.  What an enduring gift Saint Francis has given to us!)

         My dear Sisters and friends, let us come to him, then, in all that is good in us and in all our imperfections and let us offer them to him as our gift, for in doing so we are offering him our most true selves.  I assure you, Jesus delights in this gift.  In return for this sign of humble devotion, he will give us his true self, which is life, and light, and the peace of knowing that we are loved by the God who created us and who is close to us even now.  Therefore, come, all of you, faithful, unfaithful, and everyone in between; come, and let us adore him.

Given at the Monastery of the Poor Clares: Kokomo, IN – December 25th, 2024

Sunday, December 22, 2024

Make haste to wait, watch, and listen

 Homily: 4th Sunday of Advent – Cycle C

          “Haste makes waste…” or so they say.  And what does that mean?  Well, this saying—or ‘proverb’, if you will—is simply stating that, for most people, most of the time, when one moves too quickly from thought into action it often times results in something being left undone or forgotten, and that one then must waste time and energy either to return to do what wasn’t done or to return to retrieve whatever was forgotten.  Now I know that I’m not alone when I say that I can speak to the truth of this, for I often find myself making haste to leave the office or the house because I’ve tried to do one too many things before leaving and then realize that I’ve either left something undone that should have been done or forgotten something that I needed.  And so I waste time (and make myself late) because I left in haste instead of taking some extra minutes to think about what I needed to do or retrieve before I left.

          Yet, in spite of the truth that rings out from this saying, over these past four weeks or so, we’ve all been bombarded with messages telling us to make haste.  All the way from the buildup to Black Friday to the days and weeks that followed, every outlet of media has been filled with messages urging us to make haste: “Sale ends…” “Three days only…” “Hurry before they’re gone…”  In contrast to the age-old proverb, retail businesses seem to be saying to us, “Make haste so that you don’t waste a perfectly good opportunity to get what you want.”  Yet all the while, the Church has been telling us to watch, wait, and listen. ///

          In our Gospel reading, the Virgin Mother makes haste to the hill country, to a town of Judah so small and insignificant that the Gospel writer didn’t even bother to name it.  She did so in order to visit her cousin Elizabeth: the barren one who was now in her sixth month of pregnancy.  Her hasty departure (the Gospel tells us that she left soon after she heard the announcement from the angel) probably meant that she left many things undone.  It is believed that Mary was about 15 years old when she conceived Our Savior by the Holy Spirit, and so it was likely that she was responsible for many things around the house.  Thus, it is very likely that the Virgin Mother’s haste made waste for others who needed to do what she left undone.  And would that be ok?  I mean, even though she is the Virgin Mother of God, does that mean that she could impose on her parents and their household so she, in her exuberance, could visit her cousin?  Perhaps, however, the blessing that the Virgin Mother was to bring to her cousin was more important than the cost of the journey and of what was left undone?  I guess, however, that since this is how the Scriptures have recorded it we just have to believe this to be so.

          But what if it really wasn’t waste at all?  You know for years, Mary waited, watched, and listened for the coming of the Messiah, God’s chosen one who would redeem his people.  Then, at the announcement of the angel, she was ready to move.  And so what looked like haste was probably not waste because she had already prepared herself to respond to whatever God’s call might be, and whenever (and however unexpectedly) that call would come.

          And so the question, then, comes to us: This Advent, have we been so hasty to get to Christmas that we’ve wasted our chance to prepare for his coming?  Have we been so focused on wrapping presents, sending cards, baking cookies, and decorating yards, trees, windows and (in some cases) cars that we’ve forgotten to wait, watch, and listen?  In other words, have we been so focused on getting to the red and green that we’ve failed to notice the violet?  …We’ve failed to notice the violet, haven’t we?  We’ve done it again, haven’t we?  We’ve wasted another Advent. ///

          If so, my brothers and sisters, I have good news for you.  There is still time.  For many of you who will be here on Tuesday afternoon, there are less than 53 hours of Advent remaining, but there is still time.  Nevertheless, the time that remains to prepare is short.  And so, my brothers and sisters, now is the time to make haste to wait, watch, and listen.  Now is the time to turn off the Christmas songs, to take off the red and green (and the jingle bells that inevitably go with it) and to welcome silence.  Now is the time to make haste to slow down your heart: to wait and listen for the sound of Mary’s greeting to hit your ears, announcing the arrival of her Son.  Now, my brothers and sisters, is the time to accept that everything that has ever needed to be done has been done: for Jesus has come, he is with us now, and he is coming again.  Let us, therefore, make haste to waste these next days in prayer, to look with anticipation to what is yet to come, and so be ready, when he comes, to leap for joy.

Given at St. Patrick Parish: Kokomo, IN – December 22nd, 2024

Sunday, December 15, 2024

A reason to rejoice (and repent)

 Homily: 3rd Sunday of Advent – Cycle C

         Friends, our readings for this third Sunday of Advent reminded me of a characteristic of our human nature that I found intriguing, because it seems to be one for which the Word of God has a solution.  So let’s consider it.

         For those of us who strive to live morally good lives, our natural reaction to falling into an occasion of bad behavior is to revolt against that behavior: that is, to say to ourselves, “That wasn’t good for me to do. I’m going to avoid doing that again.”  The interesting thing about this behavior is that our response only seems to work when we are reasonably sure that we won’t suffer the consequences for our past bad behavior.  For example, going too fast in your car in front of a police officer.  If the officer doesn’t pull you over, you may think, “Whew. That was close! I’m not going to do that again!”  You know that you won’t be punished for the bad behavior in the past, so you feel energized to avoid doing it again in the future, so that you don’t put yourself at that same risk again.

         If the bad behavior in the past is something that one can be punished for still in the future, our attitude can change.  Maybe I stole something valuable and kept it.  Many of us, of course, will be anxious about that and will avoid stealing anything else in the future.  It is within our nature, however, (as many others have proven) to consider it this way: “Well, I am going to be punished for this one bad act, so why not commit more of the same; the punishment, if it comes, will be the same either way.”  Most bad actors have lost their moral compass and truly believe that it is okay to continue with their bad behavior.  Yet there are some who have this attitude: “I’m going to be punished, either way, so why not enjoy the immediate benefits of continuing to do these things?”  It’s an attitude that I’ve heard some people express when they say, “Well, I’m going to hell anyway, so why not enjoy myself now?”

         This, of course, is a terrible attitude to have; but it is an understandable attitude if a person believes that there is no forgiveness for past offenses.  A person who believes that he/she can be forgiven of bad behavior in the past is very likely to abandon the bad behavior and so to strive to avoid it in the future, so as not to put themselves at risk for punishment again.  Our readings today are relatable to this situation.

         In the first reading from the prophet Zephaniah, we heard this: “Shout for joy, O daughter Zion! Sing joyfully, O Israel! Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has removed the judgment against you…”  “The Lord has removed the judgement against you…”  At the time that this was being written, the land of the Israelites was under threat from being conquered by the Babylonians and many prophets had informed the people that it would be because of their sins that God would allow them to be conquered.  Thus, the people lamented for their bad behavior.  Many of them, however, didn’t repent.  Rather, they thought, “Well, we’re going to be punished, anyway, so we might as well keep doing what we have been doing.”  This message from Zephaniah was sent to console the hearts of the ones who did repent as well as to call to repentance those who were reluctant to repent.  It was as if God was saying to them, “If you’re waiting to know if you’ll be forgiven (and, therefore, not punished), then here is the news you were waiting for: ‘The Lord has removed the judgment against you.’”  I imagine that this prophesy was received joyfully by those who were reluctant to repent and that most of them untied themselves to those who had already repented and joyfully turned to correct their behavior. ///

         Our Gospel reading then seems to provide the “next step” in regards to this.  Once someone knows that their bad behavior from the past will be forgiven (and not punished), they often want to know, “Well, what do I do now?”  This was the situation of those who had been baptized with the “baptism of repentance” of John the Baptist.  They believed John’s good news that the Messiah was coming and with him would be forgiveness for sins (“The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”) and so they came to perform a sign of repentance for their past sins by being baptized by John.  Having done this, they then looked to John and asked, “Now what?”  They wanted to know, “How should we live our lives now that we have turned away from this bad behavior.  Thankfully, John had a ready answer.

         To the “crowds” of everyday folks who were coming to him, he encouraged giving alms (share from your surplus with those who lack the essentials).  To the tax collectors and soldiers, he exhorted them to be radically honest in their dealings.  To each and all, the basic message was the same: “Now that you’ve accepted the good news that your past sins will be forgiven, do not return to your sin!  John seems to be addressing that tendency in some of us to think, “Well, I’m just going to be punished anyway, so why not continue”, and encouraging us to recognize that we aren’t going to be punished and so to turn definitively away from that bad behavior so as not to fall into the threat of punishment again.

         Friends, this is both the fundamental Christian message as well as our specific message during Advent: “The Lord has removed the judgment against you”, and so we should definitively (and joyfully) turn away from our bad behavior and order our lives rightly once again.  This is such a happy message that the Church gives it to us on this third Sunday of Advent, whose theme is Gaudete—or “Rejoice”.  “Rejoice” because the judgement of the Lord has been removed from you.  “Respond” by joyfully abandoning your sin and serving the Lord fully and faithfully once again.  In doing so, we will have no need for fear when the Lord returns on the final day (even though the day itself will be a fearful thing to behold), but rather we will stand with heads raised, confident in the loving mercy we have received from our Savior.

         My friends, in these final ten days of Advent, I encourage all of you to strive to remain focused on this joyful good news: the Messiah has come to us to remove God’s judgment from us!  Therefore, we can (and must) leave our sin (our bad behavior) in the past and turn to serve God fully in our lives.  Where do we begin?  Start with the Works of Mercy.  We serve God whenever we serve the needs of one of our neighbors.  As an added benefit, when we are busy serving the needs of others (both in our families and beyond our families), we will have no time for sin 😊. 

         With all this in mind, let us respond today to the command of Saint Paul in the second reading and rejoice, especially in this Mass, in which we give thanks to God for the advent of his Son, Jesus Christ, which removed his judgement from us.  Then, with Mary and all the saints, let us go forward to serve God in our lives: both in our prayer and in our works of mercy.  May God be glorified in all that we do in thanksgiving for all that he has done for us.

Given in Spanish at St. Joseph Parish: Rochester, IN – December 15, 2024