St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for Thursday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time

For the past few weeks, our daily Gospel readings have been taken from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount; today we have heard the conclusion of that Sermon.  

There are three undertakings that mark the disciples of Jesus: speaking, listening, and doing. All three of these are vital.

When we gather for public prayer, we call on Jesus as our LORD. At public worship and at times of personal prayer, we listen to the word of the LORD and let it be absorbed into our minds, hearts, and souls. Jesus reminds us that our speaking and our listening must be followed up by doing good works in His name.

It is not enough to say “LORD, LORD;” those words must be followed up with concrete actions that seek to do the will of God. It is not enough to listen to the words of Jesus, we need to act on those words. Our actions must be in line with what we say and what we hear in our prayer to and worship of God.+

Homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist (Deacon Matt)

Names play an important role in our lives here on earth. Our name gives us an identity, it tells us and others who we are. The name that we were given by our parents may have a special meaning. Perhaps, it is a name that is traditional in our family. We may also be named after someone in our family or a close friend. Or our parents chose our name because of its meaning. No matter the reason, we are given our names by our parents. They help to establish who we are and our identity through our name. Parents are excited at the birth of a child and there is a sense of joy and anticipation when the child’s name is announced.

Elizabeth felt great joy at the birth of John the Baptist. She felt the great joy of having a baby and sharing that news with others. But there is a greater joy in the birth of John for Elizabeth because of her lifelong barrenness and because of her and Zechariah’s advanced age. This birth is truly miraculous!

As was the tradition, on the 8th day, John was circumcised and given his name. People gathered in joy and anticipation to hear what his name would be, they assumed he would be named Zechariah after his father. This would have brought great joy to the family. However, Elizabeth said that his name would instead be John. This brought confusion since no one in their family was named John. When they asked Zechariah, he wrote on the tablet “John is his name.” His response brought even more confusion, but Elizabeth and Zechariah knew they could not have chosen another name because God himself chose the name, John.

When John’s name is proclaimed, Zechariah’s tongue is freed, and he is able to speak. He immediately blesses and praises God for the gift of his son and the gift of his speech. The power of the name that God gave to them, they gave to John. Its power freed the tongue of Zechariah and would foretell the coming of the Messiah. Lord, help us to recognize the power of our own name, to pray and to preach the Good News of the Messiah, Jesus in all that we do, just like John.+

Homily for Tuesday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time

The images of the narrow gate and the hard road that we hear about in our Gospel passage this morning suggest that discipleship can be a challenging path for us to follow. While one can stroll through a wide gate without a second thought, getting through a narrow gate requires concentration and focus. It takes commitment to get through such a narrow gap. Being a faithful follower of Jesus requires all of our goodwill. 

The word “narrow” is generally negative; we like to think of ourselves as broad-minded. No one wants to be considered narrowminded. But the Gospel calls for a certain narrowing of our focus in following Christ, excluding some pathways that are easy and well-trodden. Saying, “Yes,” to Christ’s way requires saying, “No,” to selfish ways. But any narrowing down and self-denial in the following of Jesus ultimately lead to a full sharing of God’s life.+

Homily for Monday of the 12th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus uses a humorous image of someone with a wooden beam in their eye struggling to take a splinter out of someone else’s eye. Jesus is calling attention to the inclination many have of being more aware of the faults and foibles of others than their own. However, being aware of our own faults keeps us humble.

Knowing ourselves, with all of our faults, and loving ourselves, with all of our faults, helps us to empathize with the faults and failings of others. When we know our limits and weaknesses, we can work on them. Essentially, Jesus is telling us that addressing our own faults should take precedence over addressing the faults of others.

Jesus knew that correcting our own faults is more difficult than correcting the faults of others. He challenges us to look to ourselves first before we look to others. When we look at ourselves, though, we should do so first with our eyes on the LORD. We look to the LORD before we look to ourselves, just as we look to ourselves before we look to others. The knowledge of God’s love for us liberates us to look at ourselves without apprehension, and the Spirit of God’s love in our hearts enables us to grow into His likeness more fully.+

Homily for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Back in the summer of 2007, after years of being near extinction, the eagle was removed from the endangered species list. What had harmed the eagle was pesticides and fertilizers that ran into streams and rivers and were absorbed by small fish that were eaten by larger fish. The eagles ate the larger fish and absorbed the poisons into their bodies and began laying thinner shelled eggs. The eagle population was on the verge of extinction until the chemicals were restricted. The story of the eagle is a reminder that we live in an ecosystem where all life is affected by the well-being or poor health of even the smallest plant or animal life.

The people St. Paul addressed in his letter today saw all people as living in solidarity with one another, a kind of ecosystem, where what happens to one affects the whole; it's the Jewish sense of "corporate personality." In this line of thinking, Adam and Eve's sin changed us all; evil was introduced to the human race and corrupted it. 

We hear that people who hate were taught to hate. We "teach" the next generation by word and example, and not just individually but by society's word and example in the neighborhood, school, television, advertising, the internet, etc. 

Evil spread from the original sin of Adam and Eve. Sin reigned. It was our reality, and it held its influence over us. Now Jesus has freed us from that. One person's action has affected the whole but in a much more positive way. Grace is more powerful than sin; goodness has overcome evil. We can now face evil armed with the power of goodness that we have received as members of the new humanity through our baptism.

God relies on us to continue Christ's work, to bring goodness into the world, and to reverse the effects of sin. We are called to hear the Word of God and to proclaim it; speaking a contrary voice, speaking out against discrimination, against anything that causes harm to others. This is a difficult thing to do because it opens us to criticism and ridicule. 

But, in faith, we know that God is with us at these times and that God, Himself, faced the same kind of criticism and rejection. But, in the end, when we proclaim our faith, when we speak for justice, we help to create a better world, and we help to bring about the kingdom of God on earth. And so, may our prayer be that of St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred, let me sow love.

Where there is injury, pardon.

Where there is doubt, faith.

Where there is despair, hope.

Where there is darkness, light,

and where there is sadness, joy.

 

O Divine Master, grant that I may not

so much seek to be consoled, as to console;

To be understood, as to understand;

To be loved as to love;

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.+

Homily for the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Immaculate Heart of Mary, which we celebrate today, refers to the interior life of our Blessed Mother; her joys and sorrows, virtues and hidden perfections, and, her virginal love for God the Father, her maternal love for her son Jesus, and her compassionate love for all people.

Our understanding of this devotion is based on scripture, especially the Gospel of Luke, who twice mentions that Mary kept all things in her heart, pondering on them and praying about them.

The veneration of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is similar to the worship of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. However, devotion to the heart of Jesus is directed to the "divine heart" as overflowing with love for humanity, while the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary focuses on Mary’s love for Jesus and the Father.

Let us remind ourselves today that Mary is the perfect example of devotion to God and His will in our lives. Let us as turn to her to intercede for us that our love of Her Son and God our Father may always grow stronger in our hearts.+

Homily for the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

Today we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus and that God came among us as one like us, human in all things but sin. We celebrate that God has a heart; a human heart; a heart that feels the same things our hearts feel; a heart that struggled through life as we struggle through life.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus’ heart was moved with pity.[1] In John’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus was greatly troubled.[2] In Mark’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus began to be distressed.[3] We also hear that Jesus cried, that he was in pain and that, in pain and agony, he died on the Cross 

What this is all about is that when God chose to come among us as a human being like us, He didn’t take the easy way out. God, in the person of Jesus, endured the same pains, emotions, and struggles that we experience in this life, even to the point of agony and death. God wanted to be so close to us and wanted us to be so like Him that He was willing to endure all that we experience.

 

This Feast of the Sacred Heart invites us to ask ourselves how we image Jesus when we pray to Him. Do we envision Jesus as some distant, abstract being or do we picture the man, the human person, who came to live with us, to be one of us and to be one with us? As we pray to Jesus this day and every day, let us paint a picture in our minds of one who loves us and wants to be close to us, of one with whom we can relate. In this way, we will join our hearts to Jesus’ Sacred Heart, and the two become one.

 

[1] Matthew 9:36

[2] John 13:21

[3] Mark 14:33

Homily for Thursday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

We just heard the story of Jesus introducing the LORD’S Prayer, which is found in only two of the Gospels: Matthew and Luke. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus precedes His teaching of the Prayer by warning us not to use too many words or to babble, as did the pagans, who did so in an attempt to induce the gods to show favor to them.

Jesus tells us that we should not pray that way. Our heavenly Father cannot be influenced or controlled by such babbling. Instead, Jesus teaches us to surrender to the will of God.

We should be praying for God’s glory, the coming of God’s kingdom, the doing of God’s will, instead of our wants. In doing so, we concede our dependence on God for our most basic needs, to get through this world and to move toward the world to come.+

Homily for Wednesday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

The ideal of loving our enemies and even praying for persecutors seems remote and unreal, until we remember Jesus’ own heroic example, praying for his executioners, as he hung dying on the Cross.[1]

Jesus put a high value on forgiveness and reconciliation. We are advised to swallow our pride and turn away from the harsh judgment of others. If we can repent, it shows how others can change. No matter how justified our anger or how eloquent our condemnation, we need to be forgiving and grow to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.[2] +

 

[1] Luke 22:34

[2] Matthew 5:48

Homily for Tuesday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

From 1979 until 2008, cartoonist Lynn Johnston created a great comic strip about the simple joys and struggles of family life called "For Better or for Worse." In one daily cartoon, teenager Lizzy has had a fight with her friend Candace about a boy. The two are not speaking.

In the first panel, Lizzy and Candace walk right by each other. "There's Candace," Lizzy says to herself, "I do not know her!"

In the second panel, in the corridor on the way to class, Lizzy says to herself, "She's going down the hallway, so I'll go the other way. If she sits near me in class, I'll move!!"

In the third panel, in class, Lizzy says to herself, "Here comes Candace. If she talks to me, I'll pretend I didn't hear her; if she looks at me, I'll pretend I didn't see her."

In the final panel, with Candace sitting in the background, Lizzy sinks her head into her hands, and realizes, "Whew! I didn't think hating somebody could be so much WORK!"

Hatred calls for a great deal of wasted time, energy, and emotion. God's gift of life is meant not to be spent on estrangement and alienation, but to be celebrated in the love of family and friends.

The challenge of the Gospel is to be ready and willing to take that first difficult step towards forgiving and seeking forgiveness. To imitate the mercy of Christ means putting aside our own need for the justice we may believe is owed us for the good of others and never letting bitterness close our hearts to someone, regardless of how deeply they have hurt us.+