The Battle is On - Reflection 21st Sunday - OTB

(Readings)

We are made by God for good things. For that reason, we battle all that is bad every day. As Christians, we battle from the stronghold that is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The “Manual of Spiritual Warfare” (TAN Books www.tanbooks.com) begins:

“Like it or not, you are at war! No matter who you are, - whether or not you know it – you have a mortal enemy who wants to destroy you, not just in this life, but in the next.”

We as a church have been fighting this war. You fight this war. My family is been fighting this war. Our children are fighting it. And, the first rule in fighting this war is “know your enemy.”

When I say we fight all that is bad every day, do not be fooled. Our war is with the evil one, the Devil.  The world is going to scoff and say there is no such thing as the Devil. But the Devil, the enemy has blinded the world to its existence.

The Church has been fighting this war since the beginning of the Church.

The enemy has brought scandal to the Church. The proof of this is the enemy’s effects on human behavior and on the physical world.

It began in the priesthood. Demons took over the lives of many called to chastity and purity. Some may have been specifically led by the evil one to that lifestyle.

In the physical world, many are murmuring, some are running away. In some parts of the country, good holy priests are being insulted, spit on, and threatened as they walk down the street. People are turning away from the Church.

Jesus knows the ones who believe in him and the one who would betray him. 

Good and holy men who have given their lives to God are disparaged, discouraged, and disheartened; but they go on, finding strength in the words of Peter, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Each and every one of us is attacked by the Devil every day. My family is under attack. Our children are attacked. It is hard to understand this mystery of why the presence of evil is still among us.

I think Joshua understood it as he addressed the people of Israel. "If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom you will serve…”

People succumb to the temptations of the Devil by their own free choice, radically rejecting God and what is good. In that free choice, people do so many wicked deeds, sins against God and their neighbors.  

But God is powerful enough to bring out of the greatest evil the much greater good. The source of the greater good is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

"This saying is hard; who can accept it?" There are some of you who do not believe.

As we face our daily war, remember Jesus. “The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life." Remember the Holy Spirit.

The saints tell us remember Jesus. St. Irenaeus said “by invoking the name of Jesus Christ, Satan is driven out.”

The saints tell us remember the Holy Spirit. St Cyril of Jerusalem said “in the Holy Spirit we have a mighty ally and protector from God.”

In the war we are in and the daily fights we face. It is a war against the goodness that is in us; it is a war on the Church and we are the Church. Be strong, keep this on your heart and on your lips, we serve the LORD, for he is our God.

This is a great mystery; we are made by God for good things. But far be it from me to boast [in anything or anyone], except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal 6:14)

Be good, be holy and preach the gospel in the way you live and love. Amen.

Wisdom & Folly - Reflection 20th Sunday OTB

(Readings)

Imagine dropping a shaker of salt and God says, “Pick a grain of salt, any grain.”

No matter what grain of salt you choose, God says, "I am there."

Then, God says, “Pick a place, a situation, a circumstance in which you might find yourself.”

No matter what you choose, God says "I am there."

That should make us weak in the knees.

We come to crossroads, places, situations, and circumstance on a daily basis. There we must make a choice that points us in our life direction. What direction do you choose? Remember, no matter how small (grain of salt) or how large (life direction), God is there.

Each and every life has a direction. God is there as we make our choice and choose our direction. One brings us closer to God. The others lead us away. Those are choices we make every day in wisdom or folly.  

Choices that St. Paul warned the Ephesians about, “Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise.”

Friends, we are made by God for good things. Those are choices made in wisdom. We do bad things. Those are choices made in foolishness. Even those who are supposed to be our shepherds and leaders live in folly.

In good choices or in bad choices, God is there, wholly present in each breath, each thought and feeling, each turn of our head. And, God is always inviting us to reflect on the choices and direction of our life. God is present, no matter what choice you make. Even if the choice is not God’s will, even if the choice is sin.

St. Paul continued his warning do not make bad choices. “Do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk on wine and live in wickedness, but be filled with the Spirit.”

Bishop, priest, deacon, or layperson, sin is focus only on our self, our ego. That ego-self is a small and restricted place with no room for anyone else or for God. We don’t see God in our life or put God in our choices or see God in anything. That is what the devil wants. That is where evil thrives in the absence of God when we focus only on ourselves and the folly it brings.

Knowing God requires closeness. Having a true relationship with God through Christ is transformational. For some, the ego-self is the only intimacy we know. The ego only seeks closeness with self-thoughts, self-needs, and self-desires. We come to resemble that which we know. . .

Those living totally in the foolishness magnified by the ego-self encourage by evil, only know self; forgetting God, forgetting Christ. That has happened to so many in the Church.

Focus on the self-ego and not on Christ gets us all in trouble. We make unwise and foolish choices. We begin to lose our Christ-self. We begin to lose the Christ in us and the Christ we see in others.

Our center becomes shaky, not because we don’t believe but because our belief lacks depth and strength that depth brings.

Many are shaky. Many will fall. Many have fallen.

That is why Jesus said to the crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."

Don’t settle for anything less than the truth of your Christ-self. We cannot know our Christ-self unless we make the choice to know Christ in an intimate way. That intimacy is transformational.

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.

It is a choice that brings us to prayer, to praise, to thanksgiving. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. We begin to know our Christ-self. Wisdom has built her house….

Forsake foolishness that you may live…. Friends live with the wisdom of awareness to see in each little thing, every place, every situation, and each circumstance God’s presence. Live so others recognize God’s presence in their lives, through our lives. 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind stays on you. (Is 26:3) Life has direction, what direction will you choose - wisdom or folly?

Remember, we are made by God for good things. Go and do them. Be good, be holy and preach the Gospel in every choice you make, the way you live and the way you love one another. Amen.

A Man of Hope - Homily 19th Sunday OTB

Earlier this week, Father and I were talking about all those we care about and love. Many are going through hard times, suffering, crisis, troubles, and heartbreaks. Deacon I would your message to be for them.

Friends, remember we are all made by God to do good things. One of the good things we are made for is hope.

St. Paul wrote, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with which you are sealed…”  Instead, grow nearer to God; live in the hope of the Holy Spirit.

I have been saving something Pope Francis said for this time. He said the secret to hope. “Live, love, believe and in God’s grace, never despair.”

These words remind me of my step-dad, Jack Goodman. He is a good man and my grandson is named after him. He is retired military, a retired educator, and a man of hope.

Jack is 85 years old. He has fought cancer most of his life.  A pacemaker and defibrillator keep his heart running right. Due to an automobile accident, he suffered a closed head injury; slowing his step. To tell the truth, he is just not as spry as he used to be. Despite these, He does not despair as he grows older.

He continues to live, love, and believe. By the grace of God, he is filled with hope. Every day he gets up, packs his gym bag, and goes to the gym. He attends the Lion’s club. And on Sunday, he will be at Church, usually brining someone with him.

How many live in hope? When I look in the face of this community, I see hope in you!!

Friends, with God’s grace, we should never despair. As we grow older, take this to heart. Every day, ask God for the courage to live in hope and never despair. It is the message of scripture.

Picture in your mind, Elijah a man of God; He was probably not a young man; probably he had gray hair and a gray flowing beard. Elijah stood tall for God. Because he was God’s prophet, he was a fugitive from King Ahab and his Queen Jezebel, who wished him dead.

Despondent, Elijah escaped to the desert and sat under a broom tree, and gave up. “This is enough O’ LORD. Take my life.” Then, he lay down.

That is not what God wanted. God sent an angel telling Elijah, get up and eat. The angel placed by his head a hearth cake and a jug of water.

Elijah took what the Lord gave him and lay back down.

That is what many do. Day by day we take what the LORD gives us and just get by. Some lay down in despair, despondent in their suffering. That is not what God wants.

The angel of the LORD came back to Elijah lying under the tree, “Get up and eat, the journey is long.” Elijah ate and drank. Then he walked for 40 days and 40 nights to the mountain of the God.

Elijah realized he must “Live, love, believe and in God’s grace, never despair.” He walked day and night to God. He was a man of hope.

Our journey is long, too. We grow old. We hurt. We are sick. We fight arthritis. We fight diabetes. We fight cancer. We fight all the suffering, troubles, crisis, and heartbreak that the devil throws at us. We fight the dimming of our thoughts and the dulling of our minds; but, the LORD God does not want us to give up.

Hope is experiencing these things in the light of the good news of Jesus Christ. Do not get angry, bitter, or mad at the world. We are to be imitators of God! Imitators of our Lord Jesus Christ who conquered fear and suffered for us.

When our suffering and heartbreak seem insurmountable, remember Jesus lives in you and through you and is in the world by your life. It is he, who with his humbleness and meekness gives us strength to overcome all that is against us.

Elijah ate the bread of angels and found strength to live and not despair. My brothers and sisters, we are invited to eat of something that is even greater, the bread of life. Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever….”

That alone gives us hope. That alone gives us strength to live, love, believe, and by the grace of God, never despair.  Believe in God’s noble and beautiful truth, hope. Trust, that by the Holy Spirit, God is bringing you to the goodness of Christ’s embrace.

We dream of heaven, but do not forget this life. Don’t fail to see the goodness of the LORD in a life lived; God was with you and protected you. God is with you still.

Be lifted up, by the Holy Spirit to live in hope and share hope. We are here because we are made by God for good things.  

Be good, be holy, with the grace of God preaching the Gospel to live, love, and believe. Amen.

Desert of Forgotten - Homily 18th Sunday OTB

(Readings)

I have a new motto. From today, it will be, We are made by God for good things!!! I want everybody to claim it and say it aloud. We are made by God for good things!!!

My mother told a story about a doctor’s visit with two of my aunts. It was similar to this:

A man came in, sat down, and began to read his bible. My aunt says “I see that you are a good Christian man reading your Bible."

He asks, "Do you read your Bible?"

My aunt replies "I read my Bible every day.”

My mom then confides in me, “Sometimes, I think she takes it to the extreme. She locks herself in her prayer room to pray three to four times a day.”

Mom, I’m a Deacon. I lock myself in a room and pray, a lot. That’s a good thing.

Mom is not concerned about the praying; but, she is afraid her little sister worries too much. Worrying about the things mothers worry about. Worrying the world is falling apart because it has forgotten God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

I have told her and I tell you, even though it appears the world has forgotten God, God has not forgotten us.

Who remembers this from Catechism? “Where is God?” The answer is “God is everywhere.” This, the world has forgotten.

In the desert, the People of Israel forgot and everything began to fall apart. The whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. We just want to go back to our fleshpots in Egypt and have our fill.

The crowd Jesus fed with a miracle had already forgotten and grumbled as they said, “Our ancestors ate manna in the desert. What can you do for us to believe?”

All of us are a desert of forgotten; having forgotten God or forgotten He is everywhere. That is where everything falls apart.

Crowds grumble against the Church and religion. What can you do so we believe? We’d rather gather around the fleshpots of the world and have our fill of a self-indulgent, pleasure seeking lifestyle.

The world doesn’t want God. The crowd doesn’t want God in their relationships or marriages or sexuality. They grumble when they are told what is moral and right or wrong.

God’s truth is absent from worldly life, from things enjoyed, from family, from jobs, and from entertainment.

Still others have forgotten God because of tragedy and crisis.

Even, when what we desire is not God and everything has fallen apart, the LORD says, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you.” God is everywhere. Our lives are covered by His grace, the bread that rains down from heaven.

Most of the world just throws it away. Instead of wanting bread from heaven, the world wants the fleshpots.

We throw away God’s manna for addictions, unfaithfulness, pornography, jealously, envy, deceit, and lies. Then, everything falls apart.

There is only one way to put it back together. It is through the one who said, I am the bread of life.

Jesus was all about God is everywhere. He saw God in sinners, enemies, failures, outsiders, and those who have forgotten. He is everywhere and forgets no one. Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.

It is us that forget God.

Many come to mass and fail to recognize His presence in their life. They walk out the door calling themselves Christians; yet, leave God with the priest or in the pew or behind the doors of the tabernacle.

It becomes easy for those in the world to throw away Christ’s presence by the freedom God gives us.  We don’t want the bread from heaven in our life. That bread will keep us from wanting what is ungodly.

So, we walk out the door and leave God behind to the fleshpots of worldliness’ call. Made in the image of God, we make ourselves over in the image of the world.

Paul describes it as living in futility of the mind.

God has forgotten us. Remember the promise from Jesus the bread of God, which comes down from heaven, gives life to the world.

Don’t worry; it is by the bread from heaven we are renewed in the spirit.

God is either in all things or God is in nothing. He is in us; because, we are made by God for God.

He has not forgotten us. Go to find you a quiet place to pray three or four times a day. Because, the work of God is to believe in the one he sent.

Friends, we are made by God for good things, go do them!! Amen.