100 years after Fatima: We still have work to do

          Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mothers out there!  How beautiful that we celebrate mothers on the same weekend that we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the appearances of our Blessed Mother, Mary, to the shepherd children - Lucia, Saint Francisco, and Saint Jacinta - at Fatima in Portugal.  May our Blessed Mother continue to bless all Mothers with her prayers and intercession so they might be holy Mothers after her pattern.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

P.S. Lucia lived until 2005 and her cause for canonization has begun, but it isn't far enough along yet for her to be beatified or canonized.  Hopefully we will all see the day when she, too, will be listed in the canon of the saints!

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Homily: 5^th Sunday in Easter – Cycle A

          My brothers and sisters, as we continue to celebrate this great season of Easter—this season in which we proclaim with joyful voices that Jesus Christ, the Divine Word of God, who became one with us in human flesh and suffered death to redeem us from the punishment due to our sins, has risen from the dead and now lives so that we may have eternal life with God, our Creator and Father—as we continue to commemorate and celebrate this great event, we also have the happy opportunity to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady to the shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal: the first of which occurred on May 13^th, 1917.  This is important, I think, because there are urgent connections between our celebration of Easter and the messages that Our Lady gave to those children 100 years ago.

          If you know anything about the apparitions, then you’ll know that for six months straight, on the 13^th day of every month, Mary appeared to the three shepherd children—Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta—and spoke to them.  You’ll also know that in these appearances, Mary gave them three “secrets”.  The first two were revealed in 1941, but the third secret was sealed until the year 2000.  I’ll leave you to explore booklets and things to learn more about the secrets, but I want to speak about the first secret, in particular.

          In this first secret the children were given a vision of hell, shown to them in the traditional form of a great lake of fire filled with suffering souls and cruel devils.  This was given to them to impress upon them the terrible consequences of sin and the urgency of praying for the repentance of sinners and of making sacrifices in reparation for their sins so that more souls would not suffer this cruel fate.  This vision reminds us of the two basic things that we know about hell: namely that it exists and that people go there.

          I bring this up today because there has been a movement both within and outside of the Church to deny either one or both of these facts.  In other words, there are many people today who are trying to convince themselves and others either that hell doesn’t exist at all or that no body actually goes there.  Their intentions, on the surface, seem noble: they see the existence of a place of eternal torture and separation from God, and the idea that our God, who is Love and rich in mercy, would allow persons to suffer such a fate, as diminishing the love and mercy of God.  Therefore, they must deny hell’s existence, or, at least, the fact that people go there, so that their idea of a loving and merciful God will not be tarnished.  Unfortunately, this is the great error of all the heretics: that is, it shaves off the corners of a square peg to make it fit into a circle hole.

          My brothers and sisters, let’s be clear: to deny the existence of hell and/or to deny that God would permit anyone to suffer such a fate is a mistake.  Jesus came precisely to save us from this fate; and so, what value would his coming have had for us if there was nothing from which to save us?  Even if we admit that hell did exist before Jesus (and perhaps still exists) and that people went there before Jesus, we cannot claim that people no longer go there.  To do so would deny the truth that one must be in right relationship with God, following his commandments, if one wants to enjoy the fruits of that relationship, which are the joys of eternal life with Him.  In other words, even though Jesus has made it possible to receive forgiveness for our sins (and, thus, to restore our right relationship with God), there is still a necessity for us to cooperate with this grace through repentance and conversion (swearing off our sinful ways and turning towards the way that God’s commandments show us).

          Therefore, the vision of the first secret—the vision of hell as a great lake of fire filled with suffering souls and cruel devils—is a reminder that we need today of these truths.  Still more, the purpose of the vision—to be a reminder of the terrible consequences of sin and the urgency of praying for the repentance of sinners and of making sacrifices in reparation for sins—is still relevant today, perhaps even more so today.  This is not something new, however; rather, it is something that has been part and parcel of the Christian life from its very beginning.

          In our second reading today, Saint Peter calls the first Christians to let themselves “be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”.  A priest is someone who offers sacrifice on behalf of the people.  Peter, knowing that not all of the Christians were priests who offered physical sacrifices (like that of bulls and goats), nonetheless reminds them that Christians are priests who can offer spiritual sacrifices (like prayer and mortifications: such as fasting and giving alms).  And, as we heard in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the first Christians saw this work as so important that, when other works of charity threatened to disrupt the Apostles from it, they appointed other persons to minister the works of charity so that the Apostles could focus on the critical work of spreading this Word of salvation and of making spiritual sacrifices for sinners.  Thus, as we hear these words today, we, too, are reminded that the priesthood of all Christians is to offer these spiritual sacrifices.

          My brothers and sisters, the messages of Our Lady at Fatima simply reinforce this truth: that we, who share in this priesthood of all believers, must take up this work of offering spiritual sacrifices of prayer and mortifications for repentance and reparation.  We must do this because many people are still being lost to the cruel fate of suffering and torture in the fires of hell.  The good news of this, however, is that it isn’t all up to us.  What I mean to say is: the task doesn’t lie on our shoulders alone.  Rather, by taking up this good work, we make ourselves conduits for Jesus’ saving grace to pour out more profusely in the world.  It is Jesus who will bring about the repentance of sinners; and it is Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross, that will make reparation for sins; but it is our cooperation that will open up doors for Jesus’ work of salvation to reach more hearts and, thus, to save more souls from hell.

          The even better news is that this promise is for everyone.  While Jesus’ saving act didn’t save everyone automatically, it is available for anyone and everyone to receive.  This is what he meant when he told his disciples, “In my Father's house there are many dwelling places” and “I am going to prepare a place for you”.  Thus, our work is even more urgent since, literally, every living soul on earth is hanging in the balance between heaven and hell.  Let us, therefore, take up this good work of repentance from sin in our own lives, prayer for the repentance of others, and making sacrifices for the reparation of sins so that none of the dwelling places that Jesus has prepared would ever remain empty.

          Finally, on this Mother’s Day, I don’t think that I can fail to note that God sent Mary with this message.  I believe that He sent her because she is our mother and because he knows that we more readily listen to our mothers when they address us tenderly.  No mother loves us more tenderly than Mary, our Blessed Mother, and so let us honor her this Mother’s Day by taking up this good work so that she might delight that more and more of her spiritual children are saved.  Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Given at All Saints Parish: Logansport, IN – May 13^th & 14^th, 2017

Let's take back what is ours...

Ok, so I've been away in Guatemala for three weeks and I didn't have any homilies to post! (I did preach at Mass some, but nothing that I have recorded.)  Thus, this is the first from my first weekend back.  

The trip was great, by the way, (and frustrating, beautiful... many things).  I hope to post some things about it after I get settled back in.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support!  Happy reading!

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Homily: 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C

As you all know, I spent the last three weeks in Guatemala doing some intensive work on improving my ability to speak Spanish.  Now, I had been to Guatemala once before to study Spanish back in 2009 while I was still a seminarian.  Much like I do just about anywhere I go, I fell in love with the people there and hoped one day to return.  Thus, it was a blessing to spend the past three weeks there and to have a chance to connect with some of the wonderful people I had met during my first visit.
One of the new experiences of this trip, however, was the ability to travel to the town of San Sebastian, where a good number of our Guatemalan brothers and sisters here in Logansport originally came from.  It’s a small town up in the mountains of the north-east part of Guatemala where more people speak the native dialect than Spanish.
One of the things that most impressed me about San Sebastian was the new church that they are building there.  About six years ago, the original Catholic church building was destroyed when days of heavy rain eventually unsettled its foundation, causing it to collapse.  About three years ago, however, they began building a new church.  So far they have completed much of the exterior framework (the walls, the roof, the dome, the façade, etc.) and I can tell you that it should prove to be a beautiful building when it is completed.
One of the things that shocked me, however, was the size of the Evangelical church building just down the street from the Catholic church.  I didn’t have a chance to step in to take a better look, but looking in from the street it seemed to me like it could easily hold just as many people as this church building can; and on Sunday, it appeared to be pretty full during their worship service.  I was shocked because I simply assumed that in such a small town as San Sebastian, in which they are building such a large new church, that there wouldn’t be room for another Christian community of comparable size.
At first I thought, “Well, perhaps Catholics were slow to evangelize in this area and so when the Evangelicals came, they basically evangelized those whom the Catholics hadn’t evangelized yet.”  “If so,” I thought, “then that’s a good thing, because at least these people are hearing the Gospel message.”  After talking with a couple of people, however, it seems as if it is the same situation that is happening all over Central America: that Evangelicals are going throughout these countries specifically targeting Catholics and seeking to lure them away from the practice of the Roman Catholic religion.  The fact that they are finding success is, to me, a big problem.
But this is just a microcosm of what has been happening around the world and even here in Cass County.  How many of us here have watched as our children, grandchildren, godchildren, brothers and sisters have slipped away from the Catholic Church: either to stop practicing the Catholic faith altogether or who have been lured to an Evangelical community?  A good number of us, I’m sure.  Oh, and I do mean “lured,” by the way.  Perhaps not so much here in Cass County, but it many parts of the world Evangelicals are on a mission to “convert” Catholics because they believe that what we preach is a false religion.  When Jesus was accused of casting out demons by the power of Satan, he said to them, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”  My brothers and sisters, some Protestants and Evangelicals are striving to do just that: to divide God’s house and in many ways we are letting it happen.
I think that, as the Catholic Church, we’ve allowed ourselves to become a little complacent.  We’ve allowed ourselves to think, “The world’s been evangelized, so I can sit back, relax and just hang out here in the Church until Christ comes back and everything should be fine.”  We’ve forgotten that the very nature of the Church is to be evangelical.  Thus, one of the things that is luring people away from the Catholic Church is that these other communities are doing what the Catholic Church has been failing to do: they are evangelizing!  Now I hope that this will not come as a shock to any of you, but we are all called to be evangelists.
Our first reading today from the prophet Jeremiah reminds us that we are all called to proclaim God’s words to his people.  Sure, the words we heard were God’s words to the prophet Jeremiah at a specific place and time.  Nonetheless, they have been preserved up to this day because they are inspired by God and helpful in instructing us in following our own calls today.  And so, what does God say?  “Try to be holy and just show up to Mass and you’ll be fine”?  No!  He says “Gird up your loins; stand up and tell them what I command you”!
What God is saying to us, then, is that it is not enough for us to give a minimal effort at holiness and to fulfill the basic requirements, like showing up on Sundays.  What God is saying to us, rather, is that we must also speak his words to others, especially those closest to us, challenging them in positive ways to seek God more deeply and then to support them as they do.
Perhaps, however, we are worried that we’ll push our loved ones away or that they will turn against us.  To that, the readings for today also have an answer.  God promised Jeremiah (and, therefore, he promised us) that he “would not leave us crushed before them,” but rather that he “would make us a fortified city….”
Jesus himself did not fear the reproaches of his family or his neighbors in Nazareth.  As we heard today in the Gospel reading, Jesus preached the truth to them and they boiled over with rage against him.  God did not leave him to their rage, however.  Rather, when he was about to be thrown over the edge of the cliff, Jesus “passed through the midst of them and went away.”
Thus, we need not fear the reproaches of our families or neighbors.  If our words inspire them to rage, then so be it.  God will not leave us to be “crushed before them.”  Hopefully, however, and if we speak the truth to them with love (as Saint Paul admonishes us to do today), our words will inspire in them a fervor to seek Christ where he may most fully be found: here in this church and in the Eucharist.
If we still have fear, however, then it probably means that we ourselves need to be ignited with fervor for the faith.  If so, don’t worry, because this is the work of the Year of Faith that we have been celebrating: to become ignited ourselves so as to ignite others.  Our tasks then are the following: fervent celebration of the Eucharist every Sunday, consistent daily prayer and reading of the Scriptures, adoration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament as often as possible, faith sharing in small groups and frequent confession.  Close attention to these tasks will ignite our fervor for the faith.  Witness, invitation and service of others, then, become the acts that will ignite that same fervor in others.
My brothers and sisters, we’ve procrastinated long enough.  Today is the day to act.  Let us respond to the Holy Father’s call and reclaim for our Church the name which has always been ours: Evangelical.  And let us be that shining light for Christ that leads our brothers and sisters—our families and our neighbors—to that communion with God that their hearts so deeply desire: the communion that we share here at this table.

Given at All Saints Parish: Logansport, IN – February 2nd & 3rd, 2013