Our suit of armor!

Twenty-Sixth Sunday Ordinary Time

Numbers 11:25-29

James 5:1-6

Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47- 48

As I have been preparing, praying, and reflecting on what I want to share with you today, I kept saying, “Lord, your words are difficult. I am not sure how to preach?” So, I thought before I say anything else, I would like us to begin by making the sign of the cross and praying silently, that God opens all of our hearts to His Word?” (All pray silently) By making the sign of the cross, we commit ourselves to Christ, and I want it to be our suit of armor. As we came into the church and as we go out from the church, we made the sign of the cross across our bodies. At the beginning of Mass, we made the sign of the cross, and at the end, we will sign ourselves by the cross, across our bodies. As the Gospel was being proclaimed, we made the sign of the cross on our minds, our lips, and over our hearts. If my homily stinks, at least take with you your suit of armor, we are all going to need it this week.  

What were the decisions we made that helped people know the love of God? Conversely, what decisions did we make that hindered people from knowing the love of God?

In our Gospel, Jesus says, “Whatever causes a person to be pushed away and not come to know me, it would be better for that person if a millstone was put around their neck and be thrown into the sea. (Show millstone) Are you a good swimmer? So if we have pushed someone away this past week, this is what is going to happen to us. Some of you may be saying, “Thank goodness, I did not do that this week?”

Here is where it gets very challenging because Jesus turns it on all of us when he says, “If your hand, foot, or eyes, causes you to sin cut it off or you will be thrown into Gehenna. Jesus is not talking literally but figuratively about the cutting off, but he is talking seriously about being put into Gehenna. In the time of Jesus, Gehenna was the local dump where all the waste and garbage went from the city of Jerusalem. It was right outside the city gates, and it was always burning, and it always smelled. It would be in comparison to living right next to the landfill down the road.

My friends in Christ, the best way to avoid leading others away from Christ is for us to be led to Christ. The best way to do this is to eliminate anything that takes our focus off from Jesus Christ. So when the chance comes to push someone away, may we look for their suit of armor and see their cross and find words to bring unity. May we use our suit of armor well?

Give glory to God!

Friday of the Twenty-fifth

 Week in Ordinary Time

Haggai 2:1-9

Luke 9:18-22

All School Mass

Q.) When you look around our Church, what do you like about it?

1. Stain glass, Stations of the Cross, Statue of Mary, tabernacle, Cross.

In our first reading, the prophet Haggai is not looking at a church but a pile of rubble that once was a great Church. The Church was destroyed, and the people were taken into captivity. But after 50 years of captivity, the people are set free and are returning to Jerusalem. The prophet tells the people to rebuild the holy temple because the Church will give glory to God.

Our Church building gives glory to God in all the things you have mentioned that you like about our Church.

But there is more than the prophet wants the people to know as he says, “If you build this church which will give glory to God there will come a time when there will be even greater glory that will be shown that will be greater than this Church.” The greater glory is in the person of Jesus Christ.

Now here is where the mind-blowing glory comes! When we come to this Church that gives God glory and celebrates the Eucharist, we experience the greater glory of God in the Eucharist. But hang on! When we do this, we become walking and talking Churches that give glory to God.

May we give glory to God in all we do today because of our Church and because of the greater glory of Jesus Christ in us!

Do we want to know Jesus more?

Thursday of the 25th Week

Haggai 1:1-8

Luke 9:7-9

St. Padre Pio

Is there a celebrity whom you have met or would like to meet given a chance? For example, I have met Mario Lemieux, who played for the Pittsburg Penguins, and I have met Gordie Howe at an airport in Saskatchewan. It was pretty cool. 

Today’s Gospel concludes by saying that Herod wanted to meet Jesus. King Herod is the same one who liked to hear John the Baptist speak and found his words interesting but would eventually have John beheaded. Herod heard of all the amazing things that Jesus was doing of calming the seas, healing the sick, and raising people from the dead. Now King Herod, if he wanted to meet Jesus, he could have because he lived in the very same area that Jesus spent most of his active ministry. Instead of getting on his chariot and gathering up a few hundred soldieries, King Herod decided only to stay in his castle and receive reports about Jesus. The problem with Herod was he just wanted to meet Jesus; he did not really want to know Jesus.

The challenge before us today is; are we just like Herod, who just wants to meet Jesus, or do we really want to know Jesus? There is a big difference.

If we want to know Jesus and come to know him better, we will be people of prayer, studying the scriptures, and coming to the holy Eucharist where Jesus offers us his body and blood.

We are not to fear where Jesus may be leading us but embrace him even more. So may we all come to the Lord more today!

The winds of change!

Wednesday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Ezra 9:5-9

Luke 9:1-6

Happy autumn! Summer is gone and the winds of change have come, and we get a good example of this as the temperature has dropped, it is cloudy and overcast and the winds are blowing. Our readings have much to do with the winds of change happening in our lives today.

In our first reading, it is all about the winds of change as Ezra is the priest overseeing the spiritual renewal of the people. Ezra is speaking out against those who have not returned to rebuild the holy city of Jerusalem. What we have to remember is only a small remnant returned to rebuild th3e city. Many of the Jewish people stayed to live in Babylon. Ezra is speaking out of the evil of those Jews who have remained back in Babylon and have married outside of the Jewish nation. It was forbidden for a Jew to marry anyone else other than a Jewish person. Ezra only has the Word of God, and in his prayer, he tears his garments in.   

In our Gospel, it to is all about the winds of change as Jesus sends out his disciples only armed with the Word of God. Jesus gives them power and to overcome evil. This is the real proof of bringing the Good News to the people if you can rid out evil. The disciples return, speaking about all the evil they were to overcome.

My friends in Christ, may the winds of change happen in our lives on how will we speak out about the evils in our lives and bring the Good News to those who need to hear it today?

If you want to be great, be last in all things!

Twenty-Fifth Sunday Ordinary Time

Wisdom 2:12, 17-20

James 3:16-4:3

Mark 9:30-37

I have two questions for us to ponder. The first is, “Are we satisfied with the direction of where the world is moving?” The second question is, “Are we satisfied with the direction of where our lives are moving?” If we are not satisfied, then what are we going to do about it? So, if you like me, answered, “If you are like me and dissatisfied with both questions, then our readings today give us a framework to work within.

In our second reading from James, he is giving us a framework to answer our two questions. The writer says, “If you want to change something in the world or ourselves, make sure we are using the wisdom of God. The wisdom of God begins by rooting out any evil within us. If you want to be at war with something, be at war with the evil in us. The writer goes on to say, “Use the wisdom of God to be gentle when resolving conflicts, and show mercy.” He says, “The wisdom of God will help us not to seek our agenda, but the common good for all.” I believe this is a significant change from what is done now.

In our Gospel, it is all about answering the questions, “If you are dissatisfied with the direction of the world or with ourselves, what are we to do?” The first thing to know is the whole first part happens on the road walking to Capernaum. As Jesus is walking with his disciples, he tells them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and in three days after his death, the Son of Man will rise.” The disciples once again love Jesus, but they do not understand him. As they continue to walk, they begin to argue with each other about who is the greatest.

The second thing to know is that Jesus waits until they are in the privacy of someone’s home to ask them what they were arguing about. I believe this is intentional because he wants his disciples to know what he means about dying to ourselves. And remember, Jesus doesn’t have to ask a question; he knows the answer, but he asks, “What were you arguing about?” The disciples are silent, and he says to them, “If you want to be great, be the last in all things.” In his reply, Jesus is not saying we cannot be great at anything. What he is saying is, “What would it look like to be last in today’s world?”

To make his point, Jesus places a small child in their midst and says, “If you want to be great, then welcome such as one like this child.” Now, what does this mean? At this time, children had no power, and they were vulnerable to lots of things until they could be old enough to be beneficial to society. Hospitality was valued, but you would only extend hospitality to someone who would reciprocate that hospitality. So Jesus is saying, “If you are dissatisfied with the direction of the world and or ourselves, be hospitable to those with who you may be in a disagreement.

My friends in Christ, “Why do we not follow the ways of Christ when we disagree with someone, or we want to change something in the world?” If we are dissatisfied with the direction of the world or ourselves, let’s be mindful of the parameters with what Jesus and others set before us. Change comes when we come to the cross, and die to ourselves and seek the wisdom of God. Introduction:  We define greatness by

We are on TEAM JESUS!

Friday Twenty – Fourth Week of Ordinary Time

I Timothy 6:2-12

Luke 8:1-3

Q.) Who is on any team?

Q.) What do you like about being on a team?

The purpose of being on a team or a group is to work to a common goal to accomplish a task together as a whole. Our readings today speak nicely about working together as a team to a common goal.

In our first reading, St. Paul wants Timothy to work with the people as a team to a common goal of knowing Christ. Paul tells Timothy that he wants the team to pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness for the common goal.

In our Gospel, Jesus has assembled a team of people. He has twelve disciples, some women and others who give their resources for the common good.

Today we celebrate being on the team of Jesus here at Holy Spirit School by “Walking in the Spirit!” Just as Jesus gathered others, men, women, and children, to walk with him around to share their resources, we will be doing this today, just as Jesus did.

There is no better place to learn about Jesus and to put our faith into action than our Catholic School. So may we walk for Christ and be the Light of Life.

Misunderstood!

Thursday Twenty – Fourth Week Ordinary Time

I Timothy 4:12-16

Luke 7: 36-50

St. Cornelius, Pope, & Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

Have you ever been misunderstood? Have you ever misunderstood someone else? This week I misunderstood someone, and boy, am I glad we could sit down and talk our misunderstanding through. Our readings have a lot to do with misunderstandings.

In the first reading, Timothy is being misunderstood because he is young. St. Paul gives his young Church leader sound advice when he says, “Do not forget your goodness, just stay true to yourself, and focus on preaching well.”  

In our Gospel, there are a few people who are misunderstood. The first is the woman, as she is understood as a sinner but completely misunderstood as a person. She is referred to three times as a sinner. However, I believe the woman understands herself very well as she knows she has done something wrong and needs to be with Jesus.

The other person misunderstood is Jesus. Simon understands Jesus to be something great but misunderstands Jesus as the savior of the world. So when this sinful woman anoints his feet with oil and her tears and dries his feet with her hair, everyone in the room misunderstands who Jesus is as the savior. Jesus wants to be understood as the savior who has come to love and forgive sinful people.

When we are misunderstood, may we know our goodness, stay true to who we are and preach the truth? When we misunderstand others, may we learn to love and to forgive? God bless!

Our Lady of Sorrows!

Our Lady of Sorrow

Hebrews 5: 7-9

John 19:25-27

Yesterday we celebrated the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and the Church, in her great wisdom, has today’s feast of Our Lady of Sorrows to follow because they fit alongside each other perfectly.

Today’s feast is for anyone who knows the pain and suffering of losing a child, a spouse, or having a relationship broken so severely that our hearts are damaged beyond repair. We hold up to Mother Mary all of our pain as she watched her Son dying on the cross.  

There are two things to reflect on for today. The first is that the shepherds and Simeon told Mary that she would suffer in silence. Mary took all these things are she pondered them in her heart. We, too, contemplate our sufferings, and we wonder why and wonder what we could have done differently. We are to know that Mary felt these same things.

The second thing to know today is that in Matthew, Mark & Luke, Jesus dies alone. All of his disciples have left him and are all standing at a distance. In our Gospel story today, Jesus does not die alone. He is surrounded by his mother, Mary, Mary Clopas, Mary Magdalene, and the beloved disciple. We need to know that we do not suffer alone as Mary and Jesus look on at the foot of our crosses in our sufferings.

My friends in Christ, as we ponder our sufferings, may we know that we do not suffer alone. May we take our sufferings to Mary so she will, in turn, take them to her Son. Mother of all sorrows interceded for us. 

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross!

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Numbers 21:4-9

Philippians 2:6-11

John 3: 13-17

Today we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross because we are people of the Cross. Our Christian’s lives begin at the time of baptism with the signing of the Cross on our foreheads, and our Christian’s lives will end with the signing of the Cross on our foreheads at the time of Last Rites. All the days in between are filled with moments of the Cross, as we blessed ourselves with holy water as we came into the chapel, and as we leave, we will make to sign of the Cross. Mass today began with the making of the sign of the Cross, and it will end with the making of the sign of the Cross.

But it was not always like this. In ancient times the Romans used the Cross to strike fear into people as the Cross was used to put people to death. To be hung on a cross would be the worst way to die because it would take days, and then you would die from not being able to breathe anymore.

So why do we celebrate the Triumph of the Cross because Jesus Christ changes everything in his life, death, and resurrection? Jesus turns a sign of torture and death into a sign of victory and peace. And for us as Catholics we should know that we have the corpse of Jesus on the Cross to be reminded of his life, death, and resurrection. This is very important for us!

My friends in Christ, when we are suffering in torture and death we need to come to the Cross and come to know the victory and peace of Jesus Christ.

Who do you say, I am?

Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 50:5-9

 James 2:14-19

 Mark 8:27-35

Today we remember that tragic day when the planes crashed into the World Trade Center. We watched as people ran away, and we watched as the police, fire, emergency personal ran to the buildings to help. We watched in horror as the buildings tumbled down, knowing there would be 1000 causalities. I listened to an interview of a woman who lost her husband that day. The man was a New York City Fireman, and he left his wife a voice message, and this is what the man said, “I must go, I don’t know what will happen, but I love you!” After playing this voice message, she said, “He was doing what was expected of him, and he gave his life.” We have expectations of “First responders,” and that is when they show up, help has arrived. Our readings all ask us, “What do we expect of God this day?”

In our Gospel, there are a few things we should all know. We are at the halfway point of Mark’s Gospel, and things will change as Jesus is at the height of his popularity, and it will be all downhill from here. In our story, Jesus is traveling with his disciples, and along the way, he stops and asks a question of them. Let’s be clear about one thing, Jesus does not need to ask a question because he knows the answers! He asks the questions so that everyone will know the answer. We get an excellent example of this in our story today.

Jesus knows what the disciples think, but he asks the question anyway, “Who do the people say that I am?” All the disciples respond, “Some say, John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.” Jesus then asks, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter steps forward and says, “You are the Christ.” Peter gives a great answer, but when Jesus goes on to talk about rejection, suffering, and death, Peter takes Jesus aside and says, “We gave our lives to you to take away our pain and suffering, not to add to our pain and suffering. We want you to overtake the Romans and put us on top.” Jesus now rebukes Peter by saying, “Get behind me, Satan. You are thinking like God but like men.” Those are strong words of Jesus to Peter.

But I think what Jesus says next is even more frightening. I would bet when asked, “What is your favorite scripture passage? I would guess that no one will say, “It is Mark 8:34” because it is too difficult. Here is what Jesus says, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me!” We expect Jesus to take our cross away and make our life simpler! 

My friends in Christ, Jesus looks at us and wants to know, “Who do you say that I am?” I hope we would respond, “You are the Christ, who is always with us when we suffer and are in pain. You are there to help carry our cross. We commit ourselves to you because you have suffered and died for us, and we want to see you in everything we do.”