St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for the Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Our limited insight into what makes others tick makes it precarious for us to judge them. It's tempting to think that we see things clearly while others cannot see the truth, but Jesus reminds us that we are all blind to some degree. It's often the blind leading the blind rather than the enlightened leading the blind. This humble acknowledgment of our own blindness should lead us to be more introspective and less judgmental.

Changing the metaphor somewhat, Jesus gives us the comical image of someone trying to take a splinter out of someone else's eye while unaware of the wooden beam in their own eye. Taking the wooden beam out of our eye means being more intent on tending to our own failings than to others'. Often, we do not see clearly enough to understand what is happening in another person. Therefore, we need to be patient and understanding, slow to judge and condemn. God sees clearly into every heart and is compassionate and merciful to all, even the unworthy. We are asked to try to be merciful and compassionate like that.

Homily for Thursday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

In Jesus' time, people who gave generously often did so with the expectation of a return. Giving to others was seen as putting them in your debt; it was a cultural norm. Our own culture is not so different, and we, too, struggle with selfless giving. However, Jesus challenges this cultural norm of giving to receive.

The love He calls for, devoid of any self-seeking, is a rare and precious treasure; it is how God loves. God's love is extended even to the ungrateful and the wicked; it is not given with the expectation of receiving in return. 

Can we mirror God's love and giving in our own lives? The world may view this as foolishness, assuming we will be left with nothing. Yet, if we give in this God-like way, we will receive God's grace with abundance. 

Let us embrace the profound treasure of Jesus' message and make it our own.

Homily for Wednesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

It can be said that the Beatitudes sound strange to our ears. One might ask: How can people be happy if they are poor, hungry, or weeping? These declarations go against how we typically view life. So often, the teaching of Jesus compels us to rethink how we view life. He revealed a God who favors the distressed and the downtrodden. Jesus calls them blessed because God is on their side and wants a more just and shared world. Knowing our needs can open room for God to work in our lives, while in times of abundance, we can easily be self-satisfied and abandon God.

People often seek God with greater motivation when their needs are greater. We come before the Lord in our poverty, our hunger, and our sadness because it is in such times that we recognize that we are not self-sufficient.

Scripture recounts a profound moment as Jesus hung from the Cross. One of the two thieves being executed alongside Him pleaded, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." To this condemned man, Jesus responded, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." This powerful exchange serves as a poignant reminder that it is in our moments of greatest weakness that God's grace shines most brightly, offering hope and redemption to all.

Homily for Tuesday of the 23rd Week in Ordinary Time

In a profoundly spiritual action, Jesus climbed the mountain and spent the night in prayer. After this personal communion with His Father, His energy was revitalized. In the morning, He summoned His disciples and chose twelve of them as His Apostles. He then began to teach and heal those who came to Him. The Gospel tells us, “power came forth from [H]im and healed them all.”

Jesus' experience illustrates for us the immense value of taking the time to pray to rejuvenate our energy and inspiration, especially before making significant decisions. Prayer supplies us with the direction and clarity we need in all aspects of our lives.

Homily for the Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest

In today's Gospel story, Jesus sensed that His enemies were setting a trap to portray Him in a negative light. Present with them was a man with a paralyzed hand, and they hoped that Jesus would break the Sabbath law by healing him and be seen as a lawbreaker. According to their strict interpretation of Sabbath observance, no work, not even healing, should be done on that holy day. They believed in rigidly adhering to rules without considering the circumstances. However, Jesus' compassionate nature could not be constrained by such legalistic views.

It is easy to concoct reasons for not doing the right thing, such as it being the wrong day of the week to seek help, fear of supporting the unemployed or disabled, or hesitation in confronting a powerful wrongdoer. Some people even find reasons to explain why God should not be generous. 

As a people of faith, we are called to recognize that Jesus often went against convention in order to do the will of His Father on earth. In following Jesus, we too will find ourselves in conflict with others. Let us pray that we may have the courage and determination to follow His example in our continuation of His mission.

Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

One of my favorite movies is October Sky.[1] It’s a true story about a teen named Homer Hickam who lived with his family in a coal-mining town called Coalwood in West Virginia. Homer’s father, John, was the superintendent of the mine. The mining company owned the town and everything in it, and it was pretty much expected that all the town boys would work in the mine once they graduated from high school.

Homer, however, had other plans. Inspired by the advent of the Space Race with the Soviet launch of the Sputnik in October 1957, Homer launched his plan to make something of himself and move beyond the confines of Coalwood. He gathered with three of his friends, and they decided to build rockets, get themselves into the national science fair, and win scholarships to college.

Their odyssey into rocketry began with a flashlight loaded with gunpowder attached to Homer’s mother’s new fence. An explosion left the four boys lying on the ground and Mrs. Hickam’s fence in splinters. From there, the boys worked diligently to progress toward success in rocketry and in life.

They had the help of a few of the townspeople, especially their teacher, Miss Riley, and a couple of workers in the machine shop of the coal mine. But they had their detractors, too, who only wanted to see them graduate from high school and go to work in the mine. Most notable among them were Homer’s father and the high school principal, both of whom did all they could to dissuade them from their dream. Most other people didn’t really take them very seriously.

After a couple of years, many setbacks, and much turmoil, the boys finally made it to the local science fair, which they won, and then to the national science fair in Indiana, which they also won. This guaranteed them an opportunity to leave Coalwood and go to college.

All four boys graduated from college. While only Homer went on to work in the space program, all four boys made successful lives for themselves. They did so because they refused to listen to those who didn’t believe in their dream; they didn’t let the ridicule and “nay-sayers” keep them from hearing the voice inside them that told them their goal was possible.

The story of the “Rocket Boys,” as they were called, is a story of Ephphatha — an openness to the potential that exists in every person; an openness to the greatness that these four boys, their teacher, the two mine workers, and a few others were able to draw forth from one another.

The spirit of Ephphatha is much more than that, too. It is the openness to the Spirit of God alive and at work in our midst—in our homes, our families, our schools and places of work, our roads, our churches, and our daily relationships with one another. Any and all of these situations can seem stressful to us, but the presence of God is there. And in them and through them, God is always speaking to us.

But we need to be attentive to that voice. Ephphatha is to hear the voice of God amid the noise and stress and distractions that surround us and to seek out the voice of God when everything around us becomes too much, or we feel discouraged, or cynical, or hopeless.[2]

Let us pray that “Ephphatha” may be a part of our daily lives. Being open to and hearing the Word and the presence of God enables us to be people of faith and hope and harbingers of God’s love, mercy, and compassion to all people in our world.

 

[1] October Sky, Universal Studios, Universal City, CA, 1999.

[2] Cormier, Jay, Editor, Connections, Mediaworks, Londonderry, NH, September, 2003, p.1.

Homily for Saturday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

The Sabbath greeting among Jewish people is "Shabbat Shalom!" It holds a profound significance. Literally, it means "a peaceful Sabbath!" but it implies a prayer for the fullness of life, which cannot be accomplished solely by following fixed rules.

When Jesus' disciples were accused of breaking the Sabbath, Jesus, in his wisdom, provided a reassuring, common-sense answer supported by Scriptural proof.

His followers were plucking ears of grain and eating them, an action allowed on weekdays but not on the Sabbath. Jesus showed that this action may also be done on the Sabbath, recalling when David and his men received special permission to eat the Temple bread customarily reserved for priests. Authentic observance of the Law allowed for doing whatever was necessary to do the work of the Lord.

Homily for Friday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus used wonderful imagery to describe what is essential in life. He compared His ministry to new wine, stating that this new wine required new wineskins. Essentially, the traditional way of doing things would no longer be enough. However, Jesus also respected His own Jewish tradition and the Scriptures of His people, which nourished and inspired Him.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus declared that He came not to abolish the Law and the prophets, but to complete them. He did not pretend to be starting from scratch. He valued Jewish tradition greatly, but He wanted to bring it to a greater richness and fullness; He came to renew Israel’s tradition, not to discard it. His attitude suggests that we shouldn’t discard our religious tradition or idolize it as a set of static rules and practices.

The Church always needs reform and renewal; the new wine of the Holy Spirit will always require new wineskins. Renewal will always involve honoring what is best in our tradition by allowing its rich potential to be fully realized.

Homily for the Memorial of St. Teresa of Calcutta

In today's Gospel, Peter and his companions labored all night but caught nothing. Their work had failed. They had done everything possible, but more was needed; something was missing.

Then Jesus came, and everything changed. Peter and his companions discovered the answer to their problems. They had been missing the most essential ingredient: the help and the power of God and the help and the power of His Son, Jesus.

This story of Peter and his companions contains an essential lesson for us: We all need God in our lives. While our human efforts are necessary, more is required to solve our problems. We need God's power and help in our lives and facing our problems.

When we turn to God in times of struggle, we discover God wishes to bless us beyond our wildest dreams. God desires to give our lives a power and a fullness that exceeds anything we can imagine. All we have to do is open our hearts to God's love, let God's light shine on us, and lower our nets to be filled. God will do the rest.

Homily for Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

The first part of today's Gospel provides essential insights. Jesus learns that Simon Peter's mother-in-law is seriously ill with a high fever. This event has been recounted numerous times, and Luke has summarized it as follows: First, Peter's mother-in-law falls seriously sick. Second, friends ask Jesus to bless her. Third, He commands the fever to leave her. Finally, she gets up and starts serving them, likely with food.

After her miraculous recovery, the woman got up immediately and waited on them. This act of service within a caring community enriches the family setting. The people around Jesus interceded with him for her in a beautiful display of unity. Their actions radiate a sense of belonging and unity that is truly heartwarming.

St. Paul's followers often experienced discord and divided into factions, following different leaders. Their envy led to absurd quarreling. St. Paul referred to them as "infants," not ready for solid food, and compared their behavior to that of children clashing over trivial matters. These quarrels were contrary to true faith in Jesus. St. Paul reminded them that every Church leader is God's coworker and that we are all "God's garden." He believed that many Church tribulations would dissolve if everyone embraced a sense of belonging to God.