St. Thomas the Apostle Parish

Homily for the Memorial of St. Leo the Great

In today's parable, a wealthy man confronts his steward about misusing the man's property. He commands him to make a full accounting, telling him that he will no longer be employed by him.

The steward recognizes that he will need the help of his master's many debtors, so he calls each of them and lowers the debt that each one carries. While this does bear a little bit of dishonesty, it points to a much more significant message.

We see that the master is no longer as angry with the steward after he lowers the debtors' burdens. Perhaps, in seeing the mercy with which the steward treated the debtors, he also tempered his response with mercy.

In the LORD's Prayer, we ask God to be merciful just as we are merciful. May the story of the dishonest steward guide us in our response to people in our lives.

Homily for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome

The early days of the Church saw the start of the authorized persecution of Christians with the words of Emperor Nero, who said, "Let there be no more Christians." After his death, persecutions continued on and off for the next 240 years until 313 AD, when, about a year after he converted to Christianity, Emperor Constantine gave religious liberty to Christians and all people of goodwill. To the Pope, Constantine gave the Lateran Palace, which had been seized by Nero from an early Christian family named Laterani.

Within a few years, a baptistry dedicated to John the Baptist and a large basilica dedicated to Christ the Redeemer were built next to the palace. Pope Sylvester consecrated it on November 9, 324. 

Since that time, the Roman Empire rose and fell. The Coliseum, where Christians died for their faith, was abandoned. Throughout the centuries, wars, earthquakes, and fires severely damaged or entirely destroyed the cathedral church and the palace six times. Each time, they were restored with even greater magnificence. The empire is gone, but Christians still celebrate the Eucharist in the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran.

The Lateran church reminds us how wonderful it is to have religious freedom. Sometimes, though, that freedom is taken away in some parts of our world. When persecutors say, "Let there be no more Christians," the grace of the early Church is needed again; the grace of martyrdom and courage to publicly embrace the Cross of Christ is required once again. For we know that the future of Christians is not in palaces like that of the Laterani Family, nor in hidden catacombs where early Christians would worship, but in heavenly places, in the presence of God, where the Church will indeed be free.

Homily for Wednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Many people struggle with today’s Gospel passage, especially about people needing to “hate” members of their family. Not only does this rub us the wrong way on a personal level, but it also seems to fly in the face of other things that Jesus has said, that the Scriptures have said, and that even the Ten Commandments have said: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” So, what is Jesus really saying here?

Well, Jesus is not really speaking about “hate” as we commonly understand it; He is saying that we must love Him and our heavenly Father even more than we love our own parents or our own family members. He is saying that when faced with a choice to follow Him or not, we must always choose Him, even when it involves a choice between Him and family.

It does sound harsh as Jesus said it in our Gospel passage, and sometimes Jesus harshly said things to get the attention of those who were listening to Him. But He wanted to acknowledge that, at times, following Him can be challenging and, at rarer times, put us at odds with even those we love most. We must be willing to choose Him over them.

Let us pray that our faith and trust in Jesus may be strong, even when following Him means taking up some painful crosses and burdens.

Homily for Tuesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

A few years ago, there was a Super Bowl™ ad for the Chevy Silverado™ pickup truck. In just over thirty seconds, the ad shows a man using his truck to save his young accident-prone son, named Tommy, from five different life-threatening situations. 

First, it shows the dad pulling Tommy out of a deep well, using his truck and a winch. Next, it shows someone telling the dad that Tommy is stuck in a cave. Then it shows the dad pulling home a hot air balloon a few yards off the ground, presumably with Tommy in the basket. The fourth scenario shows the dad carrying Tommy as he runs down a dock, asking Tommy how he got into the belly of a whale. Finally, it shows the dad running from his house toward his truck and calling back to his wife, saying, "I didn't even know this town had a volcano!" Click here to see the ad.

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a man who invited people to a dinner, but they were too busy to come. He sent his servants to find others, but the home was still far from full. So, the man sent his servants again to keep inviting people until the house was full.

That's how God is. Like the man in the parable and like the father in that truck ad, God constantly seeks us out to save us and to invite us to his heavenly home. Sometimes, we refuse the invitation because we are too busy or too focused on other things; sometimes, we find ourselves in situations that keep us from accepting God's love. But God is unwavering in His attempts to rescue us from sin and danger.

May we cooperate with the grace of God in our lives, that we may reach out in our need and find ourselves, one day, at the eternal banquet of heaven.

 

Homily for Monday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

In today's Gospel, a wealthy Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner. This was unusual because Pharisees usually ate only with like-minded friends. While there, Jesus suggests that his host should regularly invite to dinner people whom he would not usually invite, people who were outsiders, and those experiencing illness, hunger, and poverty.

In contrast to the Pharisees, Jesus regularly dined with various people, rich and poor alike, with the educated and uneducated, with the devout and outsiders, with men and with women.

The wide range of his dining companions was characteristic of his personality. No one was excluded from his presence. No one was excluded from His mission to preach the kingdom of God and His call for conversion to the ways of His Father. His purpose was to reveal God's generous welcome for everyone, particularly those who were considered outsiders.

By his authentic lifestyle, and notably by the company he kept, he echoed the wide hospitality of His Father. In contrast, the Pharisees envisioned a God who was exclusive rather than inclusive.

While we are called to that same hospitality, it is tempting to associate with only a small group of friends who share our attitudes and can return the favor. God calls us to broaden our circle and our compassion to be more like His Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Homily for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

The late comedian Milton Berle once told a story about two psychiatrists who were at a convention and boasting to one another about their cases.

One asked the other, "What was the most difficult case that you solved?"

The other answered, "I once had a patient who lived in a pure fantasy world. He believed that somewhere in South America, he had a wealthy uncle who would someday leave him a great fortune. Every day, all day, he would sit in his house and wait for a letter with the good news from some fictitious attorney. He never went out or did anything. He just sat around and waited for this non-existent letter."

"Well," asked the other psychiatrist, "what was the result?"

The psychiatrist boasted, "It was an eight-year struggle, but with determined skill and insight, I finally cured him."

"That's amazing," said the other psychiatrist. To which he replied, "Yeah, and then that stupid letter arrived……"

That story is about pride, and we're delighted to hear stories like this because we like to see people's bubbles burst. Indeed, pride always goes before a fall.

But pride has many sides. In today's Gospel, pride is about hypocrisy, and hypocrisy is about not practicing what we preach; it's also about saying things we don't believe to get something like some position in society.

Why do people do this? Again, it's about pride. It's pride that makes us embellish our deeds. Pride makes us say things for appearance's sake, things we don't actually believe or practice. Pride wants a place of honor without true, deeper honor. It's pride that wants all the accolades without integrity. It's pride that is behind hypocrisy and which fuels hypocrisy.

Perhaps the worst kind of hypocrisy is religious hypocrisy, which is why Jesus was so hard on the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the day. It's worse because it is not expected from those who are "officially" religious and because it is often so subtle.

Alan Paton tells a funny story about a rabbi, a cantor, and a janitor. The Days of Atonement came, and, as required, the rabbi stood in the synagogue and did the traditional gesture. He struck his breast and intoned three times, "I am nothing. I am nothing. I am nothing." Then, the cantor took his turn. In a well-modulated voice, he sang, "I am nothing. I am nothing. I am nothing." The poor, humble janitor, seeing this, also struck his breast and said, "I am nothing. I am nothing. I am nothing." And the rabbi turned to the cantor and said, "Well, well, look who thinks he's nothing!"

There's another reality in the Church that some people call hypocrisy, but it isn't. If it's anything, it's noble. This refers not to those who don't practice or believe what they preach. It refers to the person who isn't quite sure about what the Church teaches, who struggles with things that happen in the world and wonders why but goes to Church and prays anyway. They aren't there so much out of conviction but in search of God. They aren't hypocrites; they are on a journey to find God, and they have hope that either somewhere along the journey, they will get a glimpse of God or find God at the end of the journey. This journey has an honorable place in the Christian tradition. This is the discipline of someone keeping up appearances, not to mislead, but to find some sign that God really is there and really cares.

To understand this tradition, we can look at Simeon of the Gospel, a man who for thirty years came to the Temple every day looking for the Messiah and who for thirty years went away disappointed. Who came out of duty, out of hope, out of need, out of simple routine. Who eventually got bored and felt as if he got nothing out of being at the Temple, but he was giving much. His was true worship, focusing away from himself and instead on the search for God's Chosen One. That's why he eventually got to look into the face of the Messiah, cradle him in his arms, and sing a song of thanksgiving. For him, it all came together on one day, as it will for many people like him.

These people are not hypocrites. They are not full of pride. If anything, they are full of humility. They are, in a word, faithful. Because of their persistence and hope in things they cannot see, they will surely be welcomed into the house of the Lord.

 

[Adapted from a sermon by Fr. William Bausch]

Homily for the Memorial of St. Charles Borromeo

Before St. Paul's words in our first reading today, some Christians at Philippi asked about those preaching about Jesus but did not partake in their worship. They didn't think they had the right to do that. However, St. Paul replies that whenever anyone proclaims Christ, whoever they are or whatever their motivation is, it makes him joyful. He condenses the entire message to that single word, "Christ," the one who lives among us as our Risen Savior. He says, "It is not ourselves we preach but Jesus Christ as LORD." (2 Cor 4:4-5).

Unlike those of the Gospels, St. Paul's writings do not convey the words or actions of Jesus. His message centered on the Risen Christ, living among the people. The Church's actions and words become acts or statements of the "Body of Christ." St. Paul was happy when that message was passed on to others by merely mentioning the name "Christ."

Homily for Friday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time

In our Gospel passage, Jesus is attending a meal at which some Pharisees and other righteous people were present. There is a hypothesis that the man with the open wound was intentionally brought into the dinner to trap Jesus to see if He would perform a healing on the Sabbath. Usually, a sick person would never have been invited as a guest. But Jesus was quite happy to take the bait. 
Immediately, He healed the man and then sent him on his way.

Even today, there are many instances when people appear particularly religious and pious yet fail to show respect for and care for others in times of need.

Our LORD's approach is always to treat others with love and respect regardless of the circumstances. He calls us to follow His example. Jesus' way of relating to others must be our way as well. All religious and pious practices are nothing if we do not have love, mercy, and compassion and act upon these qualities to help those in need.

Homily for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)

Today, we remember those we have known and loved who have gone before us in death. The entire month of November is a time for us to remember our dead .in a special way.

As Christians, our remembering of those who have died is always done in the context of faith and prayer. Praying to God for our beloved deceased is one of the ways we consciously and spiritually experience our abiding communion with them in God. We believe that they are with God and that God is also with us in this life. It is that shared connection with the Lord that keeps us in communion with our loved ones who have died.

In praying for our beloved deceased, we ask God to bring them to the fullness of life. We also pray in thanksgiving for the gift of their earthly lives and the many ways God blessed us through them.

Today, we entrust our beloved deceased to God. As “God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given to us,” (Romans 5:5) we pray they will experience that love fully in God's kingdom of everlasting love and peace.

Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints

All Saints Day, which we celebrate today, is not simply a day on which we honor those who have attained sainthood; it is also a day when we celebrate our call to follow and become disciples of Jesus, our call to live the lives of the saints.

The late Trappist monk Thomas Merton was once asked, “How does one become a saint?”

There are many answers to that question: the proof of a miracle and the living out of a holy life. Of course, technically, one isn’t made a saint by the Church; the Church recognizes the sanctity of the person’s life and the belief that the person is in heaven.

But sainthood is the byproduct of a larger goal – to know and to love God with all our hearts, with all our minds, and with all our souls. Such a strong and pure desire is what each of us is called to possess, and those who live out that passion in every aspect of their lives achieve that byproduct of sainthood.

But sanctity is something that we should all strive for in our lives. The lives of the saints that we celebrate today and throughout the year are models of inspiration for us in our pursuit to be one with God.

Let us pray that the saints will be examples of holiness for us and that their lives will give us the inspiration we need to truly live as God’s holy people.