Sunday Series: September 28, 2014

I begin today with a simple question. Who are we?

Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:
"What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
He said in reply, 'I will not, '
but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, ‘but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him."

Here in the Gospel from today Christ poses a very familiar question if we have been paying attention the last few weeks. Who are we? Which son are we? The first son says he will not do his father's will but then does anyway. The second son says he will do his father's will but then doesn't. In the end, one son is penitent and the other treacherous. The pharisees and elders of the Jewish community knew that Jesus was calling them out, as he often did. They were known for their legalistic approach to the faith. They knew all the prayers and they stuck to the letter of the law, but there was nothing in their hearts. It is said that the holiest of men are the ones most aware of their sinfulness. The pharisees and elders were not aware of the great sin in their lives: pride. They thought they were better than everyone else because of status and education, but we all struggle with sin making us all guilty. No man is better than his neighbor. Once again, Which son are we?

Thus says the LORD:
You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!"
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,
he does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.


How wondrous is the love of God that he would be merciful to we lowly sinners. It is in our sin that we die, but in God's mercy we live. Ask and you shall receive. That is all the Lord requires of us. If we genuinely turn to him and leave behind our sinful ways we shall be forgiven. God is our Father, and he loves his Children. He wants us to live in his mercy and grace, mercy and grace that will help to cease being sinners and become saints.

Sunday Series: September 21, 2014

We all have those days when we feel that everything is against us. We feel that our friends have left us and that our prayers are not being answered. We feel alone. This is a common feeling amongst mankind, but it is one that should never be felt.

Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.

As we hear this passage from Isaiah, we should all come to realize that we are never alone. The Lord is everywhere. He is in each and everyone of us. He comes to us when we are in need. But there is one thing that we must do. We must seek the Lord. He is generous in forgiving, but we must accept his generosity and show that acceptance in our own lives. How hard it is at times for us to forgive our neighbor, but do we not say in the Lord's Prayer, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." God forgives man for the most heinous crime ever committed, the cross, and it is by that crime that he forgives man. If God can forgive us for nailing him to a tree, how much more should forgive the little things our neighbors do to us.

This now leads into today's Gospel: Matthew 20: 1-16. It is harvest time, and the owner of the vineyard goes out to the market to hire laborers. The workers agree to the normal daily wage. The owner of the vineyard will do the same process throughout the day hiring more workers throughout the day.  When it became time to pay the workers, the master gave the workers who worked an hour the same as the workers who were there the whole time. The ones that came late were grateful for the master's generosity, but ones who had been there a while became envious. They thought they deserved more. The question now rises: Who are we in this story? Are we the workers who are grateful to the master for his generosity, or are we the envious ones who have been there longer? Are we the prodigal son who found a new devotion to his father, or are we his jealous older brother? Are we the pharisee who says, "Thank you Lord that I am not like this Tax Collector, a sinner," or are we the Tax Collector, aware of his sinfulness, that says, "Have Mercy on me, a sinner."?

Sunday Series: September 14, 2014

Today in the Church calendar we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross. It falls on every 14th of September, so I guess everyone knows what I am going to talk about already. To start, let us turn to Today's Gospel.

Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“No one has gone up to heaven
except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man.
And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him. 

Everyone is familiar with this passage of scripture. I remember hearing all the time growing up and it was just about everybody's favorite passage. The heart of this verse starts in the second half. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son." This is very similar to what I spoke about last week. Why did God send Jesus, his only begotten son, into the world? He loves us and wants us to have life. It is unfitting for God to allow that which he loves to continue in corruption. Therefore, he came down from heaven to die on a cross so that we through his sacrifice might become sons and daughters of the Father.

Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

This is the second reading of today from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians. In it is contained the very heart of what we celebrate today. Christ in the greatest act of humility came down from heaven in the form of a child. He humbled himself to death on a cross. For those who don't know, Crucifixion was developed by the Romans and used specifically for rebels and thieves. It was considered the most humiliating way for one to die and definitely the most painful. Now we have turned the cross into a sacred image. We hang crosses around our necks, many of them ornate with jewels, gold and silver. In the end though we must return to the wood of the cross. Upon entering the Church the first thing we see is the Cross. It's not just a cross though. It is the Crucifix, a cross with the Corpus of Christ still hanging upon it serving as a reminder of what is required of all of us.

My household (small faith communities at Franciscan University) is named Pater Noster (Our Father in Latin). In household it is our mission to be Sons of the Father so that in turn we might Fathers to the world, whether biologically or in the Priesthood. In order to be Fathers (Mothers, this goes for you too) we must first emulate the Son and His Sacrifice. Christ gave up himself so that the world might have life. We also should give of ourselves so that the World might see Christ in us. As Christ said, "Whoever would come after me must deny himself, take up his Cross and follow me." This life is not about us. It is about Love. It is about the Cross. It is about making our lives living Sacrifices, Holy and pleasing to God.

Sunday Series: September 7, 2014

Hello Internet, I’m back. I apologize to any of my readers for being silent for so long, but now I am going to try to write every week. Today I am going to start what I call my Sunday series. I know today is Monday but I will be talking about yesterday’s readings followed by a post every Sunday. So, without further ado, let’s begin.

            Brothers and sisters:

Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another;

for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery;

you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, ”

and whatever other commandment there may be,

are summed up in this saying, namely,

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love does no evil to the neighbor;

hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.

What you just was Sunday’s second reading from Romans 13:8-10. What I want to talk about are the first three lines. Owe nothing but love. What does that mean? When we look at the Catholic Faith, the end goal is really the perfection of Love which is to put the needs of others before our own. As the Scriptures say,” No greater Love than this than for a man to give up his life for his friends.” This doesn’t mean we have to die for them, at least not physically. It means that we cannot place ourselves at the center of our own existence.

            St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote a number of discourses on love and in one of them he divides love into four levels. The first is man loving man for man’s sake. This is a selfish love since man places himself in the center. The second level is man loving God for man’s sake. While better than the first level, this is still a selfish love because we are only loving God because of what we can get from Him. The third level is man loving God for God’s sake. This is selfless because God has now been placed at the center of our love. The fourth level is the most difficult for it is loving man for God’s sake. This requires us to love our fellow man not because of what they are to us but because of what they are to God: His sons and daughters who have been created in His image and likeness.

            I want to use this opportunity also to speak about how abortion and contraception are not compatible with Love. God is Love. We have all heard that before. When God loves us he gives us Life. I was sitting in Mass yesterday and during the Homily the priest posed the question, “Can Love be sterile and still be called Love?” He then said, “What if God said, ‘I’m contracepting today.’” Yes, I was a little stunned when I heard that but as Father explained it, it made a lot of sense. Imagine if God separated the Life giving property from his Love. After confession we would be spiritually dead and there would be no hope of heaven within the Eucharist, even tough God would still “love” us. The thing is God doesn’t do that because He wants us to have life and have it abundantly. Therefore when we Love we must also give life or at least be open to it.

            Anyone who does not love shall be treated as Christ says to treat the Gentiles and the tax collectors from Sunday's gospel. They will be separate from the Body of Christ. Even though they are separate God still wants them to have life, but they must choose it. We too, if we are truly loving, should desire the same.

PS: Please comment if you have something to say.  I would love to have discussion.