Tangible Faith - Homily 21 Sunday OTC

Inspired by Blog Mackerel Snapper by Matthew Tyson "Jesus Says be Ready. Ready for What?"

(Readings)

This is a great time of year. School has started. The kids will be excited for a couple of weeks. It’s the time of year for football games and pep-rallies. Fall is almost here, a time of change in the weather – cooler days and hunting season.

Students are studying to sharpen their minds. Athletes are preparing their bodies and learning the movements needed to perform at their best.  The hunter scouts, prepares the hunting ground, and gets the camp ready.

It’s a time of making ready through tangible actions; doing something.

We prepare through scholarship, athletic ability, preparation or even just the chance of being in the right place at the right time for things not promised like wealth, fame, success, and fortune.

In all this busyness of things, we can forget what has been promised to us. It is a promise of a much greater reward then anything we could possible achieve. It is the promise of salvation, the promise of the heavenly banquet.

Not all will be prepared for that promise. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.”

We are all called to enter through that narrow gate of salvation. But, not all who call themselves Christians will be saved. Not all Catholics will find that narrow gate. Not even all religious will be strong enough to do what is necessary to prepare. 

Not all will have prepared themselves for the salvation, promised by Jesus’ death on the cross. And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see …, the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out

It is not because we are sinners. The reason is we lose focus. Just like the student’s mind that wanders or an athlete that gets lazy or the hunter who falls asleep; Christians and Catholics take their eyes and hearts off God.

That is something we can’t hide from God.  Thus says the LORD: I know their works and their thoughts…, and their hearts.

Jesus tells us again and again to be ready. .What are we to do, how do we prepare and make ready?

The answer in found in the gift of our Catholic faith. If we live and believe what our faith teaches us then we will be prepared.

Catholicism is tangible. It is doing something. It is preparing.  It is making ready. In the Mass, we don’t just sit, sing, and listen. We act. We take part in praise and thanksgiving that is crowned by partaking in the true Body and Blood of Jesus.

Jesus asked, “Do you find this hard? Whoever eats my body and drinks my blood shall have eternal life.”

Then we are dismissed from mass and sent out into the world with instructions from the Church to take every day to prepare ourselves. We are given tangible way to live as Catholic Christian’s by works of mercy and social justice.

Living just as Jesus speaks about for the final judgment: I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

The righteous will say, ‘Lord, when did we see you– hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, ill, or in prison?  

He will say in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for the least of my brothers, you did for me.

These are not just instruction on how to live our lives and treat other people; they are how we serve Christ. (mtyson) It is how he will recognize us to recline at his table.

Many will not be ready. Sadly, they will not be prepared. There will be those who stand outside knocking and saying, 'Lord, open the door for us. 'He will say in reply, 'I do not know you.”

Our salvation is found the tangible action of being ready. Being Christian is about action. Being Catholic is about action. It is our action and interaction in the real world. It is sharing the Gospel in what we do and what we say and how we live.

God calls us all to be holy people, to prepare for that marvelous time. People will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.  Some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last."

Be good, be holy, Go out to all the world and tell the Good News by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen

It's Hard to be a Man

(READINGS)

My friends the Holy Spirit is among us. I see it in you and truthfully I can testify that the Lord has protected me and the Holy Spirit has inspired me.

Last night, I was in the upper room (choir loft) praying over all at this gathering and I had to go to the restroom. I thought I would just go downstairs and return quickly, no one would know.

But that’s not what happened. About the second stair from the bottom, I missed a step and flew head first towards a crowd of my friends. In their love for me, the tried to catch me, which to be honest, was against all the laws of physics.

In that room quiet with prayer, I made a loud THUMP. The dust in the carpet made a mushroom cloud.

Everyone ran to me to see if I was hurt. A doctor was afraid I had a heart attack. I was fine, just a little sore.

Later that night, I sat before the Blessed Sacrament, contemplating my message. What message did the LORD have for me? I felt a slight pain in my shoulder, tightness in my back, and swelling in my knees and ankles. And I heard the LORD’s answer "what more do you want?"

My message "we are all falling, by God’s grace, we are not broken."

Usually, I preach on the Gospel, but today I want to talk about Joshua. This message if mainly for the men. For you see, Joshua was a soldier, warrior, explorer, and leader. Joshua knew about the covenant that can exist between men who come together for mission. But, Joshua was also a man of God, a spiritual leader, a prophet, and lived in covenant with God.

We are asked to come together as people of a covenant. As men we should come together as men in covenant. If we understand covenant, then we will see its truth. Truth is where healing begins.

A covenant bonds one to another; man to man. More important than the bond between us, men need to realize a man to man covenant with God.

Joshua knew about covenant. Joshua lived as God wanted him to live in his relationship with others and with God. Joshua was a Godly man.

That is what we should realize; the thing that makes us Godly men.

Each of us needs a man to man covenant with God that leads us to what God intended us to be; a covenant that brings us back to a masculinity touched by the nature of God.

To live this Godly masculinity, we must be in relationship with God. Joshua tells us to have this relationship we must serve God completely and sincerely. That means throwing away the false gods of this world.

These are false gods that the devil uses to destroy us. Psalms tells us that each of us walks with the gods that are important to us. By these false gods, the devil destroys our relationship with God.

It is a war on men the devil began with the first man to man covenant with God.

God told Adam to be fruitful and multiply but we have turned that into a worship of sex and lust. God said to have dominion over the earth; but, we have made wealth, power, and prestige our gods. We turned all that God gave us through Adam into false gods.

Joshua speaks that to honor the covenant with God by “putting away strange gods and turning hearts to the LORD …,"

Listen to those words. Think about your experience with all the false gods of the world and realize one thing. It is what we all know, but, probably never said: It’s hard to be a man.

We don’t say it because; maybe we aren’t articulate enough to say it. Maybe we’re too private. Maybe we’re not brave enough.

“It’s hard to be a man” when we live in a world where manhood is belittled, challenged, and degraded. Yet, it’s our fault; we’ve failed to live as true men in a man to man covenant with God. We have failed to realize true masculinity given by God. Instead, we are men tainted by sins and gods of the world.

That makes it real, real hard to be Godly men.

So, most give up. Most quit or fail at being Godly men. Most will die still trying to be Godly men; because, the devil works to destroy us.

If the devil wins, it leaves the world fewer Joshua(s); fewer leaders to bring us to our destination; fewer prophets to bring God’s word; fewer soldiers for God’s army.

It’s hard to be a man. It is hard to go through the challenges of being a child, a teenager, a young adult, middle age, and senior years without that man to man covenant. It's hard to be a man without that a man to man covenant with other Godly men that will be with us our battle against the devil. 

Each of us needs a good and Godly man to accompany us through our challenges. Godly men willing to catch us as we fall. Godly men anointed by the Holy Spirit, that lead us to realize a man to man covenant with God, realize a man to man covenant with God/man Jesus Christ; and leads us to live a man to man covenant with our Lord and savior.

To be bonded in covenant means regardless of what we know, what we see, or what we are exposed to; we will not hurt one another. We will support one another. We come to the aid one another spiritually and physically. In God's terms, it is forgiveness. 

If we have fallen or if we are broken, God wants that covenant for you. Live as a people that have declared the presence of God in their lives. Men, you are the ones that Christ calls. Men, you are the ones the Church needs.

Brothers, truth where healing can begin. The truth is that in that covenant with Jesus Christ, the best is yet to come. Joshua knew it was about the stone. Jesus is the corner stone of the covenant.

Be good, holy, and Godly men preaching the gospel by the way you live your lives and loving one another. Amen.

Flight Check - Reflection 19th Sunday OT

(Readings)

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things it seen.

The first time I flew was an experience of faith. Everyone told me it was safe. It would be comfortable and I would enjoy it.

My company booked me in a small plane that carried 10 passengers. The pilot boards looks to the back and approaches me. And he asks “How much do you weigh?”

I am going to have to ask you to change seats so we can take off. That pilot was my prophet at that time. I moved and did exactly what he told me.

I had faith that God would watch over me, but you have to listen to his prophets. Even though it startled me that size could make the plane not fly properly, the truth was the pilot that prophet spoke a truth that only strengthened my faith.

The pilot was the speaking truth on the physics of flight, God’s creation. I believed him. He was preparing the plane, himself, and me for the flight.

Prepare for the flight; gird your loins.

Riding on that little small plane was one of my best flying experiences.

The Hebrews knew that the God’s judgement was coming. In faith they painted the door posts with the blood of a lamb so God’s judgement would pass over their household.

Pharaoh and the Egyptians did not believe, had no faith in God’s prophet. And the angel of death took the first born of all who did not have faith.

They were not going to prepare themselves for something they don’t believe.

Look around. We have all this sin in the world. Think of what is considered the seven deadly sins: lust, greed, avarice, sloth, gluttony, wrath, envy, and pride. Thinks that society have come to think is not that bad.

These things sell. They make money. And the people who profit from this are the ones who want to tell us what to think. They want to tell us what is right and what is wrong.

But Jesus tell us different.

Don’t get lazy in doing what you should be doing. Don’t forget what is right and moral and just.

Because we have been told that the Kingdom of God is coming. That the master is returning.

Just because we did what was right by world standards or because we identify ourselves as Christian or we come to mass does not mean we get a free pass when Christ comes again.

Believers should be making ready. Make that preflight check. Gird your loins. “Be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Speak out against sin and all that is wrong. Prepare for eternal life like a pilot who completes the preflight check for his safety and the safety of all he is responsible for on the plane.

If we have not done these things remember we will all be judged by what we have been given. “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”

Friends, I share these words with you at the end of each of my reflections: Be good, be holy, and preach the gospel by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen.

A Pure Heart - Homily Reflection 1st Friday Mass/Adoration

A Pure Heart (Readings)

Jesus came to his native place and taught the people. The people were astonished, "Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds? Is not his mother named Mary?

In the Catholic Church, the month of August is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

For mothers, the nearest and dearest thing to their heart is their children. They carried them in their womb, under their hearts. The Blessed Virgin Mary carried God under her heart.

This devotion to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a devotion to her interior life and all that is found in her most Immaculate Heart.

It is her joys and sorrows,

Her virtues and hidden perfections,

And, above all, her pure and immaculate love for God the Father,

Her immaculate and maternal love for her son Jesus,

And her compassionate love for all people.

At this time, we are asked to devote ourselves to the contemplation of one whose life and heart is so devoted to all that is Christ’s Church in this world.

A church filled with all things found in the interior life of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her Immaculate Heart.

We are the Church.

We are a church of joys and sorrows,

A church of virtues and hidden perfections,

And, above all, we are a church that loves God the Father,

Expressed by and through our love for Jesus Christ,

And we share Christ by our compassion and love for all people.

At least, we like to say that, but, we have become complaisant. We know the church; it’s not perfect. We know the priest and ministers. They’re human. We forget that the Church is the LORD’s house.

So, we question and challenge. Some protest the teachings of the Church on morals, sin, and even the sacraments. They argue these are not what Jesus really meant. They are too strict. Many say the church is out of touch with the world.

Look at the world. Is that really a bad thing? 

And Jesus said, "A prophet has honor except in his native place and his own house."

When we ignore wrong, even in our own house, we do not honor the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We do not honor the Christ she carried under her Immaculate Heart as the infant Jesus.

Honor Christ; devote yourself to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Use her as an example for our hearts: a heart pure enough to be next to God. The world needs the pure heart.  Amen

What do you believe and Why - Homily 16th Sunday OTC

(Readings)

What do you believe and why? Sounds like a simple enough question.

At every mass, we proclaim what we believe in the Nicene and Apostle’s Creed.

“I believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ his only son, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.”

If you were asked that question outside of church what would your answer be? Would your answer include God, Christ, or any reference to faith?

I heard a preacher (T. D. Jakes) who I think had it right when he said people wear churchy clothes. They do and say churchy things. And, they go to churchy places. People will worship the Lord on Sunday and forget all about Jesus by Monday.

Friday night at dinner with my family and friends, some conversations had gotten silly. Two young men were discussing twinkies.

So, I asked this question. What do you believe and why?

One answered, I believe that twinkies are the best, they are so good.

I asked “What if you could choose a better way?”

He answered, nothing is better than a twinkie, unless it’s a fried twinkie.

He was being silly in that answer he gave to this Deacon. But, even for those in the presence of Jesus, that question is hard to answer.

In the readings from Genesis, the LORD blessed Abraham and said that his wife Sarah would bear a son. And even though Abraham and his wife Sarah were advanced in years, Abraham believed.

Sarah believed it was funny and laughed.

In the gospel, we have two sisters that have very different beliefs: Martha and Mary.

Martha, what do you believe and why? Martha believed in the loving kindness expected of good hosts and households of their time. Just like Abraham, she rushed about to make sure that the LORD was welcomed, was comfortable, and fed well.

Because of this, she was worried and anxious about many things. If everything wasn’t perfect, would people speak badly of her hospitality, family or manners? What if they ran out of wine or food?

Mary, what do you believe and why? Mary believed the most important thing was to be in the presence of Jesus. Why; because, He was the most important person in the room. He was the most important person she knew. She chose him, the better part to listen to his word and look upon the face of God.

The truth is they were both doing what was important.

All are called to serve like Martha. Just don't make a fuss or draw attention to it. Martha was worried about making sure there was enough food for the one who had turned water into wine and fed 5 thousand with a couple of fish and a few loaves of bread.

But, Mary focused on Jesus. Mary wanted to be near to the LORD and to adore the one who would change bread and wine into his body and his blood to feed us to eternity.

Most of the time, we tend to be like Martha.

Sometimes, I get too busy or hurried to take a quiet time for my holy hour of prayer, reading, and contemplation with Jesus. I get a phone call or someone is in need and rush off to serve. But when I miss that time with Jesus, it shows in my day and in my life.

Like Martha most tend to on things other than Jesus in their busyness of life. It’s like we have our churchy clothes; we do and say our churchy things and come to our churchy places. But, on Monday faced with all the anxieties of life, we forget the LORD.

Jesus told is disciples “Do not worry about your life, what you’ll eat, or about your body or what you’ll wear. Life is more than these things.”

In his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul tells us what he believes.

He believed he shared in the suffering and afflictions of the LORD for all believers, the Church. He was sent as a minister and servant of the LORD to bring the word of God. Why; because God chose to make the riches of his glory in Christ known to all.

Believe in the riches of God’s glory: Abraham believed and nine months later so did Sarah. And through Jesus Christ, Mary believed and Martha beleived. And Paul preached it.

If someone asked you what you believe and why; what would your answer be?

Yes we have the creed, but St. Paul sums up the creed: If we are believers, we proclaim Christ. It is Christ in you that is the hope for the riches of God’s glory.

Be good, be holy and preach the Christ in you by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen

Crossing to the Other Side of the Road - Reflection 15th Sunday OTC

(Readings)

We live in a time of troubles.

In this time of trouble think of the poor traveler on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, beaten up by the world and left beside the road. We can’t find healing in those we would normally trust.

The Priest and the Levite distanced themselves from the robber’s victim. They went to the other side of the road. I heard it said they did not want to make themselves unclean with the blood of poor soul lying beaten on the road. If they were unclean they could not complete their priestly and temple duties.

To love of neighbor is to care for their today and for their eternity.

But let us look at that victim on the road as Jesus himself. He laid their broken and beaten. And those who should have run to his aid turned their eyes away and cross to the other side of the road.

It was the one you would not expect that came to him. He came to the victim and touched him with a healing touch. Even though it was a sacrifice of his time, his mount, and his silver, this Good Man brought the victim to others so that together they could make Him strong again. .

This parable describes a time of trouble.  Today still, we live in a time of troubles.

It seems many have lost sight of the true Christ.  Instead of worshipping God, people turn to worship the world and their place in the world.  In this fault, people can turn to worship the messenger instead of the message.  See this in super star evangelist and preachers. Their followers fawn over them. They do no wrong. Some say they are Christ-like; some say they are Christ.

Many begin to worship the person instead of the one true Trinitarian God.  Idolatry is putting something or someone before God or equal to Christ.  Remember, the person is only God’s vessel in the world.

As a Deacon, I am a vessel that proclaims the Word of God to the world. I should not seek glory or fame or advancement in position and fortune by my service to God and to the Church. This is a truth that holds for priest and preachers and religious no matter if they are Catholic or Protestant.

St. Paul writes of Jesus Christ in his letter to the Colossians, “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church.”

Forgetting this, one can turn one away from God. A person no longer serves God or the Church when they put self before God; like the Priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan who forgot they were called by God to do God’s work.

Turning their eyes away from the needs of others and thinking only of self, they crossed to the other side of the road. Many in these times of trouble do the same thing.

By baptism, each is called to do God’s work above and beyond self. It is a promise all consecrated religious and ordained clergy take when they profess vows of obedience to God and his Church. It is obedience to the Bishop or a religious superior in their vows made to God.

As a Deacon, I made a vow to be obedient to my Bishop and assist the priests. I am to serve the people of the diocese, especially in my parish. And, I am to defend the faith, the church, and the Bishop. I have also taken a vow of chastity. If I were to become single again through death or some other misfortune, I have pledged myself and my chastity to God.

But, I also took another vow before God at my marriage. I promised God, I would be true to my wife and to love her in sickness and in health, for richer for poor, and till death do us part.

People ignore the vows they made to God.  Some don’t even see marriage as a true sacrament. More and more don’t think marriage is even important enough to make their vows as promise to God.  Even those that do may abandon their vows. And one person or both will put self before their marriage, their relation with their spouse, and their promise to God.

Sadly, the same happens with priest, deacons, and religious.  They too can abandon the vows they made to God at their ordination.

In our vows to God, some have become jaded. Too often, people of faith are not offended by infidelity or divorce that breaks the marriage vows made to a spouse and to God.

Some are jaded to the point that they are not offended by infidelity or divorce from the vows made to God by a priest, deacon, or religious. Infidelity and divorce manifest in the abandonment of any vow including chastity or poverty or prayer or obedience.  

We live in a time of trouble.  We live in a time when many have forgotten the sacraments. We live in a time when some abandon the vows made to God. We live in a time when people turn their eyes away from what God has asked and cross to the other side of the road.

But, God never forgets his promise. Jesus vow to us from the cross, Father forgive them.

It is times like these we must remember the greatest commandment "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

To love of neighbor is to care for their today and for their eternity.

Be good, be holy and preach the gospel by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen.

Declare Peace - Reflection 14th Sunday OT C

(Readings)

There is a whole lot in the gospel of the sending of the seventy-two. One message is peace. So many are anxious about this world; it is the time to bring peace. It is a time for us to find peace.  

Peace is found in different ways. Most think of peace as absence of war and violence. There is also peace in a society free of civil unrest. Peace is found in family, friends, and communities were love abounds. Yet, we forget that true peace begins must begin in one’s self.

The truth to peace is no secret; but, it is a truth that is hard for the world. Peace is found in answering God’s call to share the good news that is the Kingdom of God.

It is a peace of inner tranquility and freedom.

That is the peace we must find it our self though Christ. Then we are to bring it to those around us in the community and society we live; sharing the peace that is a relationship with God through Jesus Christ with one another person. Realizing and sharing the peace found in the Kingdom of God. By that, one person can bring true peace to the world.

Jesus sent out seventy-two others in pairs to proclaim the Kingdom of God. He instructed them share their peace.

Sharing peace is promoting justice. Justice is respects the dignity and personhood in everyone. Since we are to share peace we must bring justice. Justice found in the truth each and every person is made in God’s image and is loved by God.

The virtue of this truth gives the justice of dignity. Dignity is the justice of recognizing the image of God in each person. Peace and mercy come to all who follow this rule.

Justice for all is not always popular. Peace is hard even for clergy and religious. All fall to the temptation and allurement of the world. It is hard to find peace when the world tell us it is not Jesus but stuff that will brings peace.

Temptation tries those with the closest relationship with God. It tempted Adam. It tempted Eve.

Jesus warned his disciples about this, “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

Peace is not found in possessions, but in prayer. Peace is not success feeding your ego; but, it is surrendering to the Holy Spirit. Peace is not found in any relationship made of this world; but, it is found in a relationship with Christ. Peace is found in recognizing truth, justice, and dignity. Friends, these are the building blocks of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus entrusts us with the same message given to the seventy-two. “Know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand.” That is a message we should declare to all, beginning with our self. .

But he also gave this this message, “Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'” The household begins in each and every one of us.

Be good, be holy, and preach the good news of the Kingdom of God by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen.

It's Real - Homily Most Holy Body and Blood

Today we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi; solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The first thing that comes to my mind is that old southern gospel song: There is Power in the Blood.

Would you be free from the burden of sin? There's power in the blood, power in the blood ; Would you be free from your passion and pride, There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.

We as Catholics have the body and the blood. And we have the real presence of Jesus Christ in that body and blood.

Parents have faced this question - Why do I have to go to Mass? Many grown people ask the same question. For believers the answer is simple, to worship, give praise, and receive Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. We come to mass to be with the risen Lord.

Since the very first mass, Catholics have recognized the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. When we say the Real Presence, it means that Christ is literally and wholly present—body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Holy Eucharist—under the appearance of bread and wine.

But many have found this teaching hard so they departed from it. In fact, many Christians say it is “unbiblical” and the bread and wine are just a symbol.

Jesus does not say it is a symbol. Jesus told his disciples: THIS BREAD IS MY BODY and THIS CUP, THIS WINE IS MY BLOOD. When he said that, many of his followers found this teaching hard and departed from him.

Even Catholics don’t understand the realness of the Eucharistic. A 2010 Pew study found 50% of Catholics didn't know the church's teaching on the real presence. Many believe it a symbol.

It is not just a symbol. Weak faith makes it easy to say. It is hard for those with a weak faith to grasp that a piece of unleavened bread is Jesus: Body, blood, soul and divinity.

Believers know the real presence and have celebrated this mystery throughout Christian history. Many have given their lives for the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Believers have been martyred in concentration camps, communist prisons, and the Middle East. Even today, believers are martyred for Christ and the Eucharist. Tomorrow, it may be us.

Would we be willing to give our life for the reality of Jesus' presence in the bread and wine of the Eucharist? Through the priest’s prayers the mystery of transubstantiation takes place. Transubstantiation is Jesus' declaration, "This is my Body. This is my Blood." Our senses still tell us what we taste, smell, touch, and see is bread and wine; yet, the substance has changed. They become the body and blood of Christ.  

As each of us comes forward to receive the Holy Eucharist, we are invited to adore the real presence of Jesus Christ. Before we receive the minister holds up the host and says, "The Body of Christ."

Our adoration is the "Amen."  Amen - we believe it is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. In that moment, we are joined to Jesus as an offering to God.

To do this, we must be right in our hearts and in our lives. We should not receive communion if we live a life completely contrary to Jesus.

Many never notice their lives of contradiction. It is one thing to sin, recognize it, and repent. It is quite another to sin and rationalize it. "Well, everybody is doing it."  One is a sinner the other a hypocrite. There is a difference. The sinner struggles; the hypocrite judges. The sinner repents; the hypocrite rationalizes. The sinner confesses; the hypocrite gossips.

The world will try to weaken us. It calls us to be compassionate and accepting of sin. They rationalize it by saying even Jesus as He accepted the woman caught in adultery, But they forget his words of compassion to the woman. "Go and sin no more."

The Eucharist is more than a symbol. It is the sacramental sign of our faith. It is our faith the world is constantly fighting against.

The world can be successful in that fight, one example is how the world can weaken our faith every time we receive communion irreverently.

Today, many have abandoned communion on the tongue. So many, priest, deacons, religious persons, and lay people have all begun to reach out and grab the Blessed Sacrament. We reach and grab as if it were a Big Mac or a moon pie. (examples) Irreverence hardens our hearts.  

Sure, not everyone will receive communion on the tongue; but, think about the last time you were sick or weak (sin makes us that way) and someone who loved you fed you. Remember the intimacy and the love experienced in that act.

Yes, receiving in the hand is acceptable, but please remember the proper and reverent way: place your left hand on top of your right, forming a cross, a throne to receive your King. After you say "Amen" step to the side and reverently place the host on your tongue.

Why do I go to mass? For me the answer is quite simple, there is power, power, wonder working power of the body and the blood and the real presence of Jesus Christ.

Be good, be holy and preach the gospel by the way you live your lives and love one another. Amen.

Love, Trinity, and Fathers - Reflections Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Readings

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity and Father’s Day.

If I asked a child to explain the Holy Trinity, it might give a great big story full of imagination. With that vivid imagination, a child might get close.

If I asked anyone reading this to explain the Holy Trinity, probably they could give me this answer: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three persons yet one God. Asked how to you explain three persons, yet, one God; and, the imagination dies. Our imagination is stuck in this world.

In our studies for the diaconate, we had all these big text books. Two or three for each class, but, the text book studying the Holy Trinity was less than  a  ½ inch thick.

Even there, the Holy Trinity was a mystery hard to tackle.

Jesus said “I have much more to tell you but you cannot bear it now.”

One description of the Trinity is Infinity, Immanence, and Intimacy (R. Rohr). Most will say it makes since as God the Father is infinity. Christ Jesus is immanence. And, the Holy Spirit is intimacy.

We’d be wrong. The early Fathers and great doctors of the Church had a different experience of the Trinity. Jesus told us the reality of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Most Holy Trinity is that ALL truth is given to the other.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming.

He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you."

That sharing of ALL truth comes from love. The truth and mystery of the Blessed Trinity is Love. That is why the reality of the Trinity is that all is given to the other.

That brings us to the ALL giving that is the truth of being a father. It is not just a truth for father but for every parent or those who desire to be parents.

Look at the reality that is family. It is a trinity of father, mother, and children. In the love of family all is given to the other.

Since this is Father’s Day, I will focus on fathers.

Using the description of family as a trinity of infinite, immanent, and intimate where all is given to the other look at the father’s role.

To a child, a father’s love must be infinite. The father is powerful, the protector, and the provider giving all to his family. The child looks to the father and loves without reservation. Fathers should love the child without end; but, many fathers are in love with self or the world more than their family. They forget the importance of a child’s need for a father’s infinite love in a child’s life.

To a child, the father’s love must be immanent. The father should hold a position in the family that is permanent, pervading, and sustaining. The father should be in every aspect of the child’s life. This is where many fail. Career, money, possessions, and ego become the important things in the father’s life and the father becomes less immanent in the child’s life.

To a child, a father’s love must be intimate, close, and familiar. It is a love that must be found in the love for a child but also love for the family, and the mother. It is the reason of a Godly marriage. It is to strengthen familial love. That is the intimate, close and familiar love a child needs. Because the father has answered the world, where he is the most important, the intimate love a child needs from a loving father is lost.

The world is broken. People can’t understand the trinity. People don’t understand how important love is to those around us; especially to our children.

We say we are Christians; but, God knows us. And, Jesus knows us. God knows we are a hard hearted people. It is our hard hearts that make it hard to give others the love they need; even our children.

The hard heart the world has given us stifles an imagining of the love that is the Holy Trinity and tramples an imagining of the love we should have for each other. But by the Holy Spirit, we are to know peace with God through Jesus Christ. God, (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) the blessed Trinity wants to soften the affliction of our hard hearts.

St. Paul writes: “Knowing that affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”

Happy Father’s Day.

Be good, be holy, and preach the gospel by the way you lives and love one another especially our children. Amen.