St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent

The novel Quo Vadis takes place in Rome a few years after the Resurrection of Jesus. During this time, Christianity was outlawed, and a brutal persecution was underway. However, despite the danger, Christianity continued to flourish, largely due to the inspiring teachings of the Apostle Peter.

At one point in the story, a young Roman named Vinicius fell in love with a beautiful Christian woman, but she wouldn’t have anything to do with him because his life was so different from hers.

Vinicius became intrigued by the young woman and her strong beliefs. This piqued his curiosity about how Christians worship. One night, he followed her to a secret gathering and hid in the shadows outside the meeting place. He listened intently to their service.

During their worship, Peter stood up to preach. As he spoke about Jesus, Vinicius began to take to heart what Peter was saying and contemplate what he would have to do in his life to become a Christian.

He concluded that he needed to take two significant steps. First, he would have to figuratively throw away his current life and burn it to ashes. Second, he would have to start a completely new life.

That image is an excellent example of what ancient Jews meant by conversion. Conversion in ancient Jewish culture meant returning from the wrong path and starting afresh on the right path. 

That is what John the Baptist tells people to do in today’s Gospel reading. He advises people to turn away from the path of sin, which ultimately leads to death, and instead, choose the path of righteousness, which leads to life.

John urges the people to signify their commitment to making a change in their lives by stepping down into the river and being baptized. However, he emphasizes that the act of washing their bodies, which symbolizes cleansing their souls, is only the first step towards transformation. It's merely a prelude to the second step, which involves not only letting go of their old way of life but also embracing a new way of life.

This explains what John meant when he said, “I have baptized you with water; he [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” John’s baptism is a one of repentance.

The second step is receiving the baptism of rebirth that Jesus will bring; it is receiving the Holy Spirit and beginning a new life.

During the Advent season, we are called to take these two important steps. Despite being baptized, we often fall back into sin due to our human nature. Therefore, Advent is the perfect time to reflect on our lives and recognize the areas where we need to make changes. We must take these areas and symbolically burn them to ashes, so we can start anew and revitalize our spiritual life.

I want to close with an old story that illustrates the kind of Advent conversion the Church invites us to make.

In early British history, punishments were harsh to deter crime. During that time, a man was caught stealing sheep. The authorities punished him by branding the letters "S.T." on his forehead, which stood for "Sheep Thief." Despite the humiliating episode, the man succeeded in living down his past and moved on with his life.

As the man grew old, the letters "S.T." remained visible on his forehead. When children asked their parents what the letters stood for, the parents recognized the good deeds the man had done over the years and replied, "They stand for the word 'saint.'"

God says to all of us today, in the words of the prophet Isaiah: “Wash yourselves clean!… Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow.”

Homily for the Memorial of St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin

Although we believe that Jesus was like us in all things, except for sin, the Gospels rarely refer to Jesus' emotions. In today's reading, Matthew notes that when Jesus saw the crowds, "His heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd."

Compassion happens when we resonate or identify with the needs of others and are moved to action. In the Gospel, Jesus' compassion for the crowd expressed itself in two ways. First, He told His disciples to pray that God would send workers into His harvest because the troubled and abandoned people needed workers to journey with them and lead them.

Second, Jesus appointed some workers Himself. He summoned twelve disciples and instructed them to proclaim His life-giving message and presence to others.

Do we recognize ourselves in today's Gospel reading? With whom in this reading do we identify?

We may be among those who are troubled and abandoned. For those times, today's Gospel reassures us that the LORD is with us in our time of distress, and He is always drawing near to us in His compassion.

At other times, we may be among the workers whom the LORD sends forth into His harvest to journey with those who are troubled and abandoned. In those times, the Gospel assures us that, in sending us, the LORD will also empower us for the work He is asking us to do.

Let us pray, then, that regardless of our situation in life, we may always feel the LORD's presence within us and around us, and that we may both experience and share with others the compassion of the LORD.

Homily for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

As we grow and as we grow older, we know more and more about life, faith, personal relationships, and about ourselves. As we age, we build up a wealth of knowledge that comes from life's experiences and becomes our personal fund of wisdom.

What we don't have as we grow older and wiser is the thrill of beginning: the enthusiasm of youth, of beginning a new relationship, a new vocation, a new career.

A few years ago, a parish in Iowa was celebrating its 150th anniversary. While the people were milling about, Megan, who was about 12, carried her baby sister Anika over to the priest. The priest said, "What a beautiful child!" Megan said, "Yeah, Father, but she has a temper." Megan was speaking out of her wisdom. She was learning something we all know: There is a difference between how things look and how they really are.

Today we celebrate Mary’s Immaculate Conception, the first completely holy person. The Greek Fathers say “Panagia,” "the All-Holy" when referring to Mary. Mary's Immaculate Conception is not something we can verify like we can so many other facts; we know this only by faith. Faith is more like wisdom; it is not based on appearances. Faith tells us that no matter how sin abounds in our world, grace super-abounds. Mary’s life is the first occasion of this super-abundance of grace.

Our scientific knowledge can tell us human life began so many thousands or hundreds of thousands of years ago. Our faith tells us that at the beginning God infused His Spirit into that life: His Image right from the moment of conception. Faith also tells us that at the second instance of life, there was a fracture: a sin. We pick up on that in today's first reading about Adam and Eve. This reading is chosen for today's feast day because right in the heart of sin is a promise of redemption.

By making this connection, the Church is teaching us that at the very beginning of sin there is a beginning of redemption. Mary is the firstborn of this redemption. Her life is a prophecy of what is hidden in all life.

Homily for the Memorial of St. Ambrose

We can all relate to the weather metaphors that Jesus uses in today's gospel. He talks about rain, floods, and winds, which we can easily understand. Living in New England, we can add snow to the list and still get the message that Jesus is trying to convey.

Apart from the weather, we can experience storms of a different nature in our lives, no matter where we live in the world. As individuals, we may find ourselves struggling with life's challenges, facing difficulties and obstacles that seem insurmountable.

Jesus warns us that we will face storms in life, but He wants to help us overcome them. When storms come, we can either be tossed about helplessly or stand strong and move beyond them.

Jesus wants to be our rock during the storms of life. If we listen to and follow His teachings, we will remain safe, even when the storms rage around us. Jesus reminds us of the importance of doing God's will and encourages us to keep returning to that focal point. By doing so, we can endure any storm we face with the help of the Lord.

Homily for Tuesday of the 1st Week of Advent

All people receive gifts from the Holy Spirit. These gifts help us to live as children of God and enable us to be instruments of God's love and grace to people in our world. 

As a sacramental Church, we open ourselves up to the creative grace of God, our loving Father, the compassionate and loving grace of Jesus Christ, and the transforming grace of the Holy Spirit. 

In the Sacrament of Confirmation, we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are described in our first reading from the prophet Isaiah: wisdom, understanding, counsel, strength, holiness, knowledge, and fear of the LORD. If we are genuinely open to the Spirit, to God's love and grace, then we will be transformed by these gifts. Real transformation means that we must use these gifts for our good and for the good of all people. 

During the Advent season, we are reminded to take a step back and reflect on the gifts that we have received from the Holy Spirit. However, it is not enough to simply acknowledge these gifts; we must actively work to utilize them. By doing so, we allow God's love and peace to flow through us, and we fulfill our calling to bring ourselves and others closer to God's kingdom of love. 

And so, we pray...

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our LORD. Amen.

Homily for Monday of the 1st Week of Advent

When we get sick, it's usually just a matter of time. Our joints ache, our heads throb and our stomachs wage war against us - but we know that it's only a matter of waiting out the cold or flu. We know that, with time, we will feel better.

There are times when waiting is more uncertain, anxious, and desperate. We don't know how this suffering will end, and we are terrified at what these symptoms may mean. We wait for the lab results to come back, we wait to see if the medicine will work, we wait for the surgery to be completed, and we wait for a cure.

And sometimes we are left waiting. . . for God.

Advent is the season of waiting for healing, transformation, and God's arrival in the person of Jesus. In today's Gospel, the centurion is an example of Advent waiting. He has looked after his servant and now awaits a cure. However, his faith gives him the ability to wait with hope. This Gentile's faith allows him to hope that God will act through Jesus. With a unique blend of dignity and humility, he requests that Jesus speak a word of healing.

This season of Advent calls us to hope that our waiting, our yearning for healing, peace, and salvation will come.

Let us pray… Come, O Christ, the Healer and Worker of Wonders! May we put our trust in your Word to heal our afflictions and illnesses. Let us hope in your light to shatter the darkness of our despair and pain. Help us to live our lives with faith in your compassion and hope in your grace during the Advent season and beyond.[1]

 

[1] Connections, Advent 2005, Media Works, Londonderry, NH, Jay Cormier, Editor

Homily for the 1st Sunday of Advent

This week, we begin a new Church year with the Season of Advent. This is a season of hope that focuses on the one who changed the course of human history. The season of Advent proclaims the message that God has not abandoned His people.  He sent His Son among us to come to our aid and to free us from our sins.

This holy season celebrates the abiding presence of Christ in our world and His birth in each one of our hearts. This season tells us about the beginning and future ending of the story of our redemption. While we look forward to Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Christ, we cast a glance into the future and to that great day when Christ will come in glory. In the meantime, we are to wait in joyful hope for our LORD and Savior to be revealed.

Echoed and re-echoed throughout the readings is the warning, "Be on your guard, stay awake because you never know when the time will come." The real challenge of Advent is to prepare ourselves for that great moment by letting God's presence and power work in our lives.

Life is incomplete without God, and we are useless and inadequate without God’s presence in our lives. God alone can satisfy our deepest longings and fill us with inner peace. St. Julian of Norwich prays, “God, of your goodness, give me yourself, for you are enough for me, and I can ask for nothing which is less which can pay you full worship. And if I ask for anything else, always I am in want; but in you do I have everything.”[1]

Advent makes us aware of our need to turn to God in hope and humble prayer, begging God to save us. It is a time for soul searching and renewal, for becoming more conscious of our sins and asking for pardon. If we have abandoned God, neglected prayer, or broken the Commandments, now is the time to make a fresh start at building a closer relationship with God. There is not much point in Christ coming into our world if He is not at home and alive in our hearts. God values our response to His love. 

We are invited to listen to the voice of God in the countless ways He speaks to us every day, and we're called upon to recognize and share this love. The challenge of God in Jesus is around every corner — at work or school, on the street, while we are with friends, at home, or in the sometimes-dull routine of daily life. There is never a day when God does not knock at the door of our hearts. Advent is about recognizing the many ways in which, and in many people through whom, God announces Himself in our lives.[2]

 

[1] Julian of Norwich, Showings, 1978, Paulist Press, New York, NY, p. 184.

[2] Desmond Knowles, Voicing A Thought On Sundays, 1991, Columbia Press/ Twenty-Third Publications, Mystic, CT, pp. 138-9.

Homily for the Feast of St. Andrew, Apostle

There is a beautiful simplicity to the story of the call of Andrew and his brother Simon and the other set of brothers, James and John. Jesus saw Simon and Andrew casting a net into the sea, going about their daily work, and He called out to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” We are told that the brothers immediately followed Him.

However, Matthew may have simplified the conversion experience of these two fishermen, which may have been more complicated. It would be natural to expect some resistance to the call of Jesus because answering it would mean leaving behind all that they ever knew and their whole livelihood and heading out into “uncharted waters.” Catching people is more complex than catching fish. However, whatever tentativeness Andrew and Simon may or may not have felt, they overcame it and went with Jesus. They became great evangelists, preaching well of the gospel of Christ.

The LORD works in our lives as He did in the lives of Andrew, Simon, James, and John. He often calls out to people amid their daily tasks, in the ordinary and sometimes humdrum moments of our lives. He calls us to go beyond where we are, beyond the familiar, beyond our comfort zone, into the service of God’s kingdom. That call can come to us in small and subtle ways. We may find ourselves resisting it, but if we listen to it and allow it to echo within us, and respond positively to it, we may find that the LORD works through us for good in ways that can surprise us.

Homily for Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Jesus tells us today that by our perseverance, we will save our lives. Jesus' talk about perseverance reflects the hard reality of life for the Church, especially in the first century. Being witnesses to Jesus and to His values under the harsh rule of imperial Rome meant risking prison and even death. A believer's faith might be betrayed by one of their own family or a friend. To be recognized as a Christian could cost a person their life. It was possible to keep secret one's faith and to live a quiet life, but the danger was always there. The risk of following Jesus was genuine, especially in the early days of Christianity.

Our relationship with Jesus today isn't meant to be hidden; it should not be a private thing of no concern to anyone. If our friendship with Jesus is the most important relationship in our lives, it will affect our other relationships and guide us in what we say and do. We don't just keep our faith private but try to live it visibly. In today's culture, that is not always an easy thing to do. However, we can trust that God gives us the resources to live as Jesus' disciples and as witnesses to our faith. His abiding presence motivates us to truly live as His followers.

Homily for Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, the readings focus on the darker side of human experience, such as destruction, loss, conflict, and deception. It seems like the liturgy is in harmony with these dark days of the end of November.

This coming weekend, we will start a new liturgical year by celebrating the first Sunday of Advent. Even though the days will remain dark, the liturgical readings will take on a much brighter tone as they invite us to look forward to the coming of the light.

In today's Gospel passage, Jesus talks about the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and other dark events. No one looking at the Temple in Jerusalem in Jesus' day could imagine its destruction. After all, it had taken almost fifty years to build and was still unfinished in the time of Jesus. But even the strongest and finest buildings only last so long.

Today's Gospel warns us not to become attached to things that do not last. Instead, we should connect ourselves to the One who says of Himself in Matthew's Gospel that "something greater than the Temple is here." When everything else fails, disappears, and turns to dust, He endures, and through our relationship with Him, we endure.