HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY HOMILY: LOVE SUNDAY

HOMILY FOR THE FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY   "LOVE SUNDAY"

     It’s great to be here with you today on the feast of the Holy Family.  Of course, that’s the “official Church name” for today.  But we all know what it’s called in the pews. Yes, today... is “Elbow Sunday.”  You all know what I’m talking about...right?  The famous part from Paul’s letter to the Colossians; the one everybody can quote by heart.  It starts with: “Wives, be subordinate to your husbands.”  Elbow to her ribs.  We husbands can’t jab too strongly, because we know what’s coming next.  “Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them.” With the accompanying elbow from our spouse there’s usually a nod and an “mm-hmm.”  When the words:  “Children, obey your parents in everything” are read, you’ve got elbows flying left and right from moms and dads toward unsuspecting children.  And then...the biggie:  “Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged.”  That’s the version we heard today, but the one I remember is:  “And fathers, do not nag your sons, lest they lose hope.”  On that one, I’ve had kids climbing over each other to get a shot at me.  But there’s one thing that hopefully lies behind all of those good-natured jabs; the thing that should be at the very heart of each of our families; the thing that held the Holy Family together through all of its trials:  Love.  To me, today could just as easily be called “Love Sunday.”

   “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son...”  Let’s consider how God chose to come into the world.  Jesus is the Word of God. He is the second person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the one through whom everything in the universe came into being. He made everything--from the largest galaxies, to the smallest sub-atomic particle.  He could have taken on our humanity as a fully grown man, powerful and wealthy.  He could have come as a king.  But he didn’t. He entered the world as a tiny human person, living in the womb of His mother Mary. His very first act in His plan of salvation was to give Himself a mother. This was not some divine accident. By the example of His life, He wanted us to know that the path to salvation begins in the family.  And not only a mother; God also provided for Himself an adoptive father, Joseph. Jesus didn’t need an earthly father--the incarnation happened by the power of the Holy Spirit.  And yet, He chose Joseph to be His foster father, and placed him at the head of the Holy Family. Thus, by Jesus’ own example, earthly fatherhood is at the heart of our salvation.

    Now let’s consider how Jesus grew to be a man. The gospels tell us that He “grew in stature and wisdom and knowledge in the sight of men”. Here is Jesus--fully God, yet in His humanity He placed himself in the custody of Joseph.  Fatherhood must be infinitely important if God would so humble Himself, and put Himself in the care of an earthly father.  Like most sons, Jesus probably spoke like His dad. When Jesus preached a parable, He probably used phrases and figures of speech that He learned from Joseph.  Jesus, through whom the whole universe was made, learned from the humble carpenter Joseph how to make and hang a door.  Jesus Christ, the Lord of all creation, the God in whose honor Solomon’s Temple was built, was taught by the just man  Joseph how to behave while He was in the temple.   Joseph helped Jesus grow into the man he became.

     When God the Son, Jesus, took on our human nature, the Bible tells us that “He was a man like us in all things, except sin.  His home life, work life, His worship; the pain, the temptations, the sorrows and the joys--all of it was part of His human nature--our nature. He took for Himself an earthly father and mother because it is in our nature to have both a father and a mother.  When scripture says that God created man in His own image, this is one of the attributes of that image: that in our nature, we are born into a community of persons that makes us what we are, the human family--mother, father, and child. This is the earthly image of an eternal reality; namely, the Blessed Trinity. God is a fruitful, loving community of persons, of which the human family is the image.  The Blessed Trinity is the model for the Holy Family, and the Holy Family is the model for our earthly families.                                                                                                                                                             The Holy Family certainly had its share of trials, which started with Jesus’ conception and continued all the way up through his horrible crucifixion.  This family indeed suffered much; but persevered--through their love for one another, and for God the Father.  What holds our families together in times of difficulty is also love; the love we have for each other, the love we have for God, and the unconditional love that God has for each of us.

    If our families fail in any way, it is often due to a lack of love on someone’s part—or a lack of showing that love.  I think that one of the greatest threats facing families today is simply that we don’t spend enough time together. We are so busy working, or playing with our smart phones, or watching some reality show on TV, that we have less and less time for each other.  We have to get back to raising our children, because if we don’t, someone else will—their friends, their friends’ parents who we may not even know, video games, the shows on TV—and our children are simply too precious to allow that to happen.  Spending time together with family is a way of showing our family that we love them.  Whenever our families are successful, it’s because they are places of love...and forgiveness.  The two go hand-in-hand.  Because we are human, we will sometimes say or do things that could be hurtful.  It is during those times where forgiveness comes into play.  We have to know that, where there is love, there too is forgiveness for the times we just don’t say or do the right thing, the times we fail to show our family members how much we truly do love them.  Forgiving one another—not seven times, but seventy-times-seven times--is a concrete way in which we show our love for others.

    There’s a song by Harry Chapin called:  The Cat’s in the Cradle.  I’m sure many of you have heard it.  It chronicles events in the lives of a father and son.  Throughout his son’s early life, the father doesn’t have time for him, and misses many of the milestone events in his son’s life.  “When you coming home Dad? I don’t know when; but we’ll get together then, Son, we’re gonna have a good time then.”  Despite his father’s absence, the boy resolves to grow up just like him.  The song ends with the father calling his son on the phone telling him that he’d like to see him, to which the son responds:  “I’d love to Dad if I could find the time; you see my new job’s a hassle, and the kids have the flu, but it’s sure nice talkin to you Dad, it’s been sure nice talkin to you.”  At that moment, the father realizes that his son indeed grew up to be just like him, which is a tragedy for them both.  Every time I hear that song, it stops me in my tracks, and causes me to re-examine and re-evaluate my relationship with my children; because I do not want to be “that character.”  None of us should look back with regret that we didn’t spend enough time with our families.  If we have any doubts about that, then the time for action, the time for love and forgiveness, is now. Today is your “wake-up” call; this is your elbow to the ribs. 

       And so, on Tuesday night, when you’re racking your brain, trying to come up with your latest and greatest New Year’s Eve resolution, why not be inspired by the two greatest commandments: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself.  In other words, why not resolve... to love, and to love more.  And what better place to start than with your family?  May Almighty God bless each of our families today, and always.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Homilia por el tercer Domingo de Adviento: Domingo de Gaudete

Homilia por el tercer domingo de Adviento: Domingo de Gaudete Hermanos y hermanas, es para mí un gran placer estar con ustedes en este tercer domingo de Adviento, llamado "Domingo de Gaudete." Gaudete (GAUDETE) en latín significa "Alégrate." Nos alegramos por la buena noticia de la venida de nuestro Salvador. Encendemos la vela de color rosa en la corona de Adviento y el Padre lleva vestimentas de color rosado, porque el rosado significa la alegría que debe estar en nuestros corazones, porque el nacimiento de nuestro Salvador está cerca. El Adviento nos recuerda la buena noticia de la venida del Mesías. Celebramos su venida en esa primera Navidad, y esperamos con entusiasmo el regreso de Cristo. Los pasajes de nuestras Escrituras este tercer domingo de Adviento presentan temas maravillosos de sanación y esperanza. Jesús viene como un sanador para completar - y santificar - el quebrantamiento de toda persona. Durante el Adviento recordamos la historia del pueblo de Dios y reflexionamos sobre la forma en que se cumplieron las profecías y promesas del Antiguo Testamento en Jesús. En la primera lectura de hoy, el Profeta Isaías describe la curación por el Mesías en términos que deberían de agitar nuestros corazones: los ciegos verán, los sordos oirán, el cojo saltará y el mudo cantará. En la segunda lectura, Santiago les dice a quienes le escuchan que "fortalezcan sus corazones, porque la venida del Señor está cerca. " Hemos escuchado este mismo mensaje predicado por Juan el Bautista en el desierto, el domingo pasado, cuando le dijo a la gente que venia a él para ser bautizado: “Arrepiéntanse, porque el reino de los cielos esta cerca." En nuestro Evangelio de hoy, Juan está ahora en la cárcel, y él envía a sus discípulos a preguntarle a Jesús si él es el que ha de venir, o si deberían buscar por otro. Jesús no da un simple " sí" o " no" como respuesta. En cambio, Él les dice: "Vayan y digan a Juan lo que oyen y ven: los ciegos ven, los cojos andan, los leprosos quedan limpios, los sordos escuchan, los muertos resucitan, y a los pobres se le proclama la buena nueva." En otras palabras, ¡exactamente lo que Isaías profetizó en el Antiguo Testamento se estaba haciendo realidad ante sus ojos a través de Jesucristo! Cuando los discípulos de Juan se iban, Jesús habló a las multitudes acerca de él, preguntándoles: "¿Qué fueron a ver al desierto? ¿Una caña sacudida por el viento? ... ¿a alguien vestido con ropa fina? ... ¿un profeta?" Jesús estaba tratando de averiguar lo que la gente esperaba encontrar cuando fueron al desierto en busca de Juan. De seguro, ellos no fueron al desierto buscando una caña sacudida por el viento -- alguien cuya enseñanza podría cambiar como el viento cambia de dirección. Tampoco fueron buscando a alguien vestido con ropa fina, como una persona de la realeza o de los fariseos o saduceos. Ellos fueron en busca de un profeta; ... pero ¿de qué clase? Las escrituras contienen muchos profetas. Los profetas eran dinámicos. Ellos desafiaron a la gente a escuchar, a cambiar, y seguir. Algunos se enfrentaron a los reyes apoyando la justicia, como Samuel; algunos eran miembros de la corte del rey, como Jeremías; mientras que otros eran gente común, como Amós, un podador de árboles. Los profetas eran diferentes, unos de otros, pero su mensaje era siempre el mismo: "Arrepiéntanse y Conviértanse." El mensaje de Juan el Bautista en el Evangelio de la semana pasada era: “Arrepiéntanse, el reino del cielo esta cerca. Juan no torció o endulzó la verdad. Él no les dijo a la gente lo que él pensaba que querían escuchar. Él no iba con la moralidad o la inmoralidad del día. John no era una caña sacudida por el viento. Él proclamó la verdad, y la verdad no cambió. La verdad atraía a la gente. Su bautismo era un bautismo de arrepentimiento. Las personas que escucharon su mensaje, y que estaban dispuestos a prestar atención a el, se dejaban sumergir en el río Jordán, decididos a cambiar sus vidas. Pero ¿qué pasa con nosotros hoy - ¿Qué es lo que vamos a ver al desierto? ¿Una caña sacudida por el viento? ¿Venimos a la iglesia para recibir una emotiva experiencia con un guiño hacia la moralidad, una especie de "permiso implícito" para seguir la inmoralidad del día? ¿Queremos que nuestros sacerdotes y diáconos proclamen una nueva moralidad, una que no es auténtica, una que está más en sintonía con el relativismo moral que está dominando el mundo? ¿Venimos esperando que se nos de un conjunto de normas, con la creencia de que, a medida que cambian las costumbres de la sociedad, también lo harán las de la Iglesia? ¿O venimos buscando un profeta? ¿Venimos a la iglesia ... por la VERDAD?; ¿venimos buscando la gracia y el estímulo para hacer frente a las presiones de la sociedad?; ¿venimos a orar para que el reino de Cristo esté verdaderamente cerca y que, como católicos, tenemos el valor de nuestras convicciones para vivir ese reino aquí en la tierra? - ¿y para animar a otros a hacer lo mismo, a pesar de los ataques diarios? Ahora déjenme hacerles una pregunta aún más difícil: ¿A quién viene la gente a ver en ustedes? Ustedes tienen los miembros de sus familias, amigos, compañeros de trabajo, vecinos, que vienen a ustedes con sus preguntas. ¿Vienen a ver una caña sacudida por el viento? ¿Vienen para tener a alguien que valide su estilo de vida - para decirles que "sean felices?" O , ¿están buscando a alguien que esté dispuesto a decir la verdad sobre Dios y sobre sus enseñanzas, sin importar el costo? Hermanos y hermanas, ustedes son profetas. Todos lo somos. Un profeta es alguien que está comprometido con la verdad de Dios. La gente viene a todos nosotros, sacerdotes, diáconos y fieles, para escuchar la verdad. La gente tiene el derecho a escuchar la verdad. Más importante aún, los católicos tienen la responsabilidad de proclamarla. ¿Por qué la gente viene a escuchar la verdad? Porque la verdad es atractiva. Nos lleva a una mejor comprensión de lo que somos. Esto nos lleva a donde podemos encontrar la felicidad. La verdad es atractiva porque nos hace libres para ser quienes Dios nos creó para ser. Este domingo es Domingo de Gaudete. Es el domingo en el que nos enfocamos en la alegría que tenemos porque el Señor vino al mundo esa primera Navidad y continúa entrando en nuestras vidas hoy. Nosotros lo amamos. Queremos seguirlo. Y sí, eso podría significar ir en contra de lo que muchos dicen es la nueva forma de vida. Al hacer esto, podemos estar negándonos “los placeres del día”. Pero rehusamos a negarnos a nosotros mismos lo que realmente importa: la presencia de Dios en nuestros corazones y en nuestras vidas. El mundo necesita profetas. El mundo necesita personas que vivan la Verdad de Dios, así como proclamar Su Verdad. Necesitamos profetas. Y necesitamos ser profetas para otros. Nuestro valor para vivir nuestra fe, traerá a otros a la felicidad ... a la Verdad ... a Dios. Oremos hoy por el valor de vivir nuestra fe, el coraje de ser profetas de la verdad, el coraje de ser profetas del Señor . Amen.

Homily for Gaudete Sunday

It gives me great joy to be with you on this Third Sunday in Advent, called “Gaudete Sunday.” Gaudete (G-A-U-D-E-T-E) is Latin for “Rejoice.” We rejoice because of the good news of the coming of our Savior. We light the pink candle in the Advent wreath and Father wears rose colored vestments because the pink and rose colors signify the JOY that should be in our hearts because the birth of our Savior is near. Advent reminds us of the good news of the coming of the Messiah. We celebrated His coming on that first Christmas, and we eagerly await His coming again. Our scripture passages this 3rd Sunday of Advent present wonderful themes of healing and hope. Jesus comes as a healer to make whole--and holy--the brokenness of every person. During Advent we recall the history of God's people and reflect on how the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament were fulfilled in Jesus. In today’s first reading, the Prophet Isaiah describes the healing by the Messiah in terms that should stir our hearts: the blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will leap and the mute will sing. In the second reading, James tells his listeners to “make your hearts firm, because the coming of the Lord is at hand.” In our Gospel today, John is now in prison, and he sends his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the one who is to come, or should they look for another. Jesus doesn’t give a simple “yes” or “no” answer. Instead, He tells them: "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.” In other words, exactly what Isaiah prophesied in the Old Testament was coming true before their very eyes through Jesus Christ! As John’s followers were leaving, Jesus spoke to the crowds about him, asking them: “What did you go out to the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind...someone dressed in fine clothing...a prophet?” Jesus was trying to find out what the people expected to find when they went to the desert in search of John. Most assuredly, they did not go into the desert seeking a reed swayed by the wind—someone whose teaching would change seemingly as the wind changed direction. Nor did they go seeking someone dressed in fine clothing, like a person of royalty. They went seeking a prophet; but what kind? Scripture contains many prophets. The prophets were dynamic. They challenged people to listen, to change, and to follow. Some stood up to kings in support of justice, like Samuel; some were members of the king’s court, like Jeremiah; others were everyday people, like Amos, a trimmer of Sycamore trees. The prophets were different, one from the other, but their message was always the same: “Repent and Reform.” This was the message of John the Baptist in last week’s Gospel: Repent; the kingdom of heaven is at hand. John didn’t “bend” the truth or sugar-coat it. He didn’t tell people what he thought they wanted to hear. He didn’t go along with the morality-or immorality-of the day. John was not a reed shaken by the wind. He proclaimed the truth, and the truth didn’t change. The truth attracted people. His baptism was a baptism of repentance. The people who listened to his message, and who were willing to heed it, allowed themselves to be plunged into the Jordan River, determined to change their lives. But what about us today--What do we go out to the desert to see? A reed shaken by the wind? Do we come to Church to receive a lovely emotional experience with a wink towards morality, a sort-of “implied permission” to follow the immorality of the day? Do we want our priests and deacons to proclaim a new morality, one which is not authentic, one that is more in tune with the moral relativism that is taking the world by storm? Do we come expecting to be given one set of standards, with the belief that, as society’s mores change, so will those of the Church? Or, do we come seeking a prophet? Do we come to Church...for the TRUTH; do we come seeking grace and the encouragement to stand up to the pressures of society; do we come to pray that Christ’s kingdom is indeed at hand and that we as Catholics have the courage of our convictions to live that kingdom here on earth—and to encourage others to do the same, in spite of the attacks we face on a daily basis. Now let me ask you an even harder question: Who do people come to you to see? You have members of your families, friends, co-workers, neighbors, who come to you with their questions. Are they coming to see a reed shaken by the wind? Are they coming to have someone validate their lifestyle—to tell them to “just be happy”? Or, are they seeking someone who is willing to tell the truth about the Lord and about his teachings, no matter the cost? Brothers and sisters, you are prophets. We all are. A prophet is someone who is committed to the truth of God. People come to us all, priests, deacons and parishioners, to hear the truth. People have a right to hear the truth. More importantly, Catholics have a responsibility to proclaim it. Why do people come to hear the truth? Because the truth is attractive. It leads us to a better understanding of who we are. It directs us to where we can find happiness. Truth is attractive because it sets us free to be whom God created us to be. This Sunday is Gaudete Sunday. It is the Sunday that we focus on the joy we have because the Lord came into the world that first Christmas and continues to come into our lives today. We love Him. We want to follow Him. And yes, that might mean going against what many say is the new way of life. In so doing, we may be denying our-selves the “pleasures of the day.” But we refuse to deny ourselves that which really matters: the Presence of God in our hearts and in our lives. The world needs prophets. The world needs people who will live the Truth of God as well as proclaim His Truth. We need prophets. And we need to be prophets for others. Our courage to live our faith will bring others to joy...to the Truth...to God. We pray today for the courage to live our faith, the courage to be prophets of the Truth, the courage to be prophets of the Lord.

Homily for the Second Sunday in Advent

SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT HOMILY Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. When I was thinking about what I would talk about in my homily, what came to me was: my Dad, and Looney Tunes. You remember Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Sylvester the Cat and Tweetie Bird. Invariably on those cartoons the bad guy would step off of a cliff and make that long fall to the valley below (whistling)—and then there’d be that little puff of smoke at the end. And my Dad? Well, he was the king of the bad "one-liners." I remember my brother and I watching cartoons and one of those falls happening, and my Dad saying: “you know, it’s not the fall that kills ‘em, it’s that sudden stop at the bottom.” Sounds right doesn’t it? But, “upon further review” as they say, we realize that it’s not. You see, he de-emphasized a crucial part of the process: the journey. The journey—the fall--is what took the character from safety to destruction; from life to apparent death. All too often in today’s world, people want to de-emphasize the journey. We have expressions like: “cut to the chase,” and “just give me the bottom line.” We have instant coffee; minute rice; drive-through windows at fast food places; microwave meals—the list goes on and on. We have turned into a nation of corner-cutters and short-cut takers. “I want what I want...and I want it NOW.” Remember the old expression: you have to take time to stop and smell the flowers? Well, today, I don’t think we take the time to realize there are even flowers there, much less smell them—that’s how big of a hurry we’re in to get from point A to point B with as little effort as possible. Unfortunately, the same is often true in our faith-lives. Many people want Christmas without Advent, Easter without Lent, happiness without sacrifice, peace without justice, heaven without conversion of heart. "I have a personal relationship with God, that’s all that matters, so let me live my life the way I want to—after all, it’s MY life. I’ll decide what’s good and bad, what’s right and wrong, to ME.” Under those circumstances, we are either de-emphasizing the journey, or we’re eliminating it all-together—neither of which is satisfactory to God. John the Baptist warned the people against this in the Gospel today when he said: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He told them that how they lived their lives was very important to their salvation. John’s references to the unquenchable fire, the ax, and the winnowing fan, all point to the separating of people that would accompany the coming of God’s reign. John hoped that the message he preached would shake up the lives of his audience so much that they would repent. His preaching in the desert, the clothes that he wore, and the food that he ate all called attention to the seriousness and urgency of his message. He didn’t say: Repent, the kingdom of heaven is coming at some point in the future a long time from now; he said the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Therefore, his listeners needed to reform their lives right away, and not just give lip-service to such a reform, or to merely follow the crowd and claim to be reforming because everyone else was doing it, like the Pharisees and Sadducees in today’s Gospel. John told them: “produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance.” They had to do something, to change the way they lived their lives; in other words, they had to “walk the walk,” not just “talk the talk.” By the same token, we today cannot simply claim “I’m saved” and get to heaven. Everything John told the people 2000 years ago applies to us today. And John’s words are later echoed by Jesus. Did Jesus say: just accept me as your personal savior and you’re in? No, he said: pick up your cross and follow me; deny your father and mother and even your very self... and follow me; sell all that you have and give the money to the poor, and then you can follow me. Jesus emphasized the journey—the journey he took first, and asks us to take by following in his footsteps. We must try to live our lives each and every day according to God’s will. But, because we are human, we will fall from time to time. In the cartoons, the fall always ends with that puff of smoke at the bottom. Once Wylie Coyote starts falling, he can’t stop. But WE can—and we must. We can call “time-out” if you will, right in the middle of our fall from grace, and not only stop our descent, but reverse our direction, and head back toward life—back toward God and our everlasting salvation. How? By repenting. We have the Sacrament of Reconciliation at our disposal. Our fall doesn’t have to have that sudden, final stop at the bottom—the one that could end with eternal separation from God. With the sacraments—especially Reconciliation and Eucharist—we can complete the journey we first began at Baptism. Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In this room, there is a former atheist. In this room, there is a man who was away from the Church for thirty years. In this room there are countless others of us who were, or are, falling from that cliff. We need to realize that, whenever this happens, we can turn our descent away from God into an ascent toward God and his everlasting kingdom. But it takes a journey. During our journey, when these falls occur, we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation to purify our souls, to help us get back on track. And we must not dwell on our failings in the past. The past is not what’s important...it’s the present, and the future. When we go to Reconciliation (Confession for us old folks) and our sins are forgiven by God working through the priest, they are forgotten. We shouldn’t remain fixated on them, or even think about them again. God has forgiven them and forgotten them; what’s important is the way we live our lives from the moment we walk out of that confessional. What’s important is that we, as the priest says as he’s giving ashes on Ash Wednesday, “turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” That was John’s message in the desert—Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The hardships we face with this conversion of heart may be many, but the rewards are... everlasting. And so today, we pray that this Advent we fix our eyes on God, so that our journey doesn’t end with a puff of smoke at the bottom of some cliff; but with a make-shift cradle, in an animal-filled stable, gazing adoringly upon our Savior, Jesus Christ.