Marriage-Is Jesus in the Center of it?
Homily on the Gospel of John 2: 1-11
Our Gospel today is the ever familiar wedding feast at Cana. It was the first miracle of Jesus. Although familiar to us, it takes on a special interest ever since the late Pope John Paul II broadened the Rosary to include the wedding feast of Cana in a new set of mysteries it's the 2nd Luminous Mystery. Much of John Paul's life was given to the theme of love, marriage, and family. The Pope included this wedding feast story to encourage us to pray, and to reflect on the Christian understanding of Marriage. And today I want to look a little closer at this wonderful gift from God the gift of Christian marriage.
My wife Rita and I often read to our 11 grandchildren, stories from the Bible. Recently I read to them this story of the great miracle at the wedding feast at Cana. I like to stir a child's imagination, so I was explaining with enthusiasm and detail how Jesus was invited to this wedding and they ran out of wine. So He took 6 big brown stone water jars, and the waiters filled them to the brim with 20-30 gallons of ordinary water. The waiters brought those stone jars to Jesus, and how He said a prayer and miraculously changed all that water into the best tasting wine. Well when I finished, I could see in their young eyes they were thinking. So I asked them: so what did we learn from this story?" No one answered. After a moment, one of them cried out, "If you're having a wedding, make sure Jesus is there!"
I laughed so hard I cried. But the more I thought about it, it's true! If you're having a wedding, i.e a marriage---make sure Jesus is there! What truth comes out of the mouth of babes!!
Marriage occupies an extremely important place in the Bible. It expresses and symbolizes a union, not only between a man and a woman, but also between God and His people--His church!
The Bible, from beginning to end is a story about marriage. It's a story about God's love for us. Jesus---so often referred to as the groom and we the church, His beloved bride. God's love is so great, that He sent His only Son, to sacrifice all that He had, for us--His bride.
Scripture is full of references about Marriage. We read it in our first reading from Isaiah. It's referenced in Genesis, Matthew, Proverbs, Hebrews Ephesians, Romans, and 1 Corinthians. The Song of Songs is nothing more than love poetry. The very last book, Revelation gives us a reflection of Heaven. Heaven is described as the eternal wedding feast!
In ancient Palestine, a wedding like Jesus attended, was really a big deal. The wedding festivities lasted far more than one day. The wedding ceremony took place late in the evening, after a lavish banquet. After the wedding ceremony, the young couple were escorted to their new home. They were led through the village streets by the light of flaming torches. They had a canopy over their heads.
A newly married couple didn't go away for their honeymoon; they stayed at home; and for a week they had open house. They wore crowns they were dressed in their bridal robes. They were treated like a king and queen. In a life where there was a lot of poverty and constant hard work, it was a week of festivity and joy, and one of the supreme occasions of a person's life.
Marriage is one of the most beautiful gifts God ever gave humanity. I don't say that simply because I've been married for 35 years to one of the most wonderful women in the world. I say that also as a deacon who's had the privilege of joining together many couples, and to watch their relationship blossom and grow into a thing of beauty.
I say that as a deacon who just days ago witnessed a great marriage of life-long love between 2 spouses, one of them called home by the Lord. I'm talking about our long time parishioners, Frank and Pat Dickenson. After her valiant battle with cancer, Jesus called Pat home, last Monday. And it's such a great example to see a marital love that was so strong between 2 people, and as their marriage vows stated, it was until death do us part. They were married for 50 years, and our sympathies and support go out to Frank and his family.
It just seems that weddings and funerals always makes us think about our own life situation. After the memorial Mass for Pat Friday, I started thinking about my own marriage. I wondered how I would cope if I physically lost the woman I have loved for so long? How would I handle that? It really made me, think. Frank had the blessing of being able to say his goodbyes, and to tell his wife many times how much he loved her. But what if, as some of you may have already gone through, a spouse leaves us so suddenly, that we weren't given that chance? We woke up one morning, left out for work as usual, and didn't realize it would be the last time we would see our spouse again. How would we handle that? It's a sobering thought!!! Something to think about now!
No one knows the future. And because of that, don't ever let a day go by that we don't tell our spouse we love them. And really mean it! Never take our spouse for granted. Never go to bed angry. We never know what each day is going to bring us. Any issues and problems in a marriage can be worked out, if BOTH spouses will recognize God and His grace in the marital covenant.
In any marriage dangerous pitfalls are always looming. When we're first married, we have this wonderful image of love that we think will last a lifetime. That's the way it should be. But soon after the honeymoon's over, it's easy to become complacent, to lose our direction, and we find it hard to define just what that Marital Love Is.
We certainly can't look to society for an adequate definition. Society views marriage much differently than the Church. The latest nonsense is trying to allow 2 members of the same sex to marry. This distorts the very definition of marriage as Christ defined it. After decades of abortion, easy divorce, widespread contraception, pornography, and exploitation of women, is it any surprise that traditional marriage is under attack? Marital infidelity is exploited, even revered, in the media as if it were the normal thing to do. We're bombarded with commercials, television shows, and we love gossip so we buy magazines that tell about the latest marital breakup. And how men use the pretense of love in order to get sex. Women are giving sex in order to be loved. Oh it looks so attractive. But it's deadly to a marriage and our soul. So we can't look to society to define what true Marital Love is.
Marital fulfillment only takes place when we learn what it really means to love one another - husband and wife - true love. We can't do it on our own. We have to follow a plan. A tried and true plan that's found in the church in the Sacrament of Marriage.
Despite what the media tries to tell us, Marriage is one of the 7 Sacraments of the church. It's sacred. It's meant to be holy! And it makes sense. The church helps us to live in that holiness, but we have to pay attention to what she says! The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. The Sacrament gives spouses the grace, to love each other, with the love with which Christ loved His Church.
It's much more than a civil ceremony, or a contract. It's an indissoluble bond (permanent) made in the presence of God, and His church. A man and a woman form with each other an intimate communion of life and love, ordered to the good of the couple, as well as for the procreation and education of children.
The highest thing we can do is to love as God loves. It's stamped in our sexuality. A man's and a woman's body doesn't make sense otherwise. Sexuality is not used for our own selfish purposes. But if we are selfless, we seek the best for our spouse, and we bring forth life-giving love That's loving as God loves!
A good sound marriage, based on practicing virtue, has only one goal in mind it's to lead us to heaven. But it takes a lifetime of effort. I've said this before, but it bears repeating--marriage has different rings. 1 engagement ring, 2 wedding rings, and suffeRING and enduRING! Yes, it's a fact. There's problems that always crop up. But God always gives us a solution. No problem, any couple can have, is beyond solution. But here's the tough part; you have to look at yourself and not your spouse. Each spouse has to look at a mirror, instead of each other, and say I see the problem, and it's me. If they both do that BOTH REMEMBER---, then the next step is to get down on their knees together, and ask God what to do about it. It's not a question of what we want. It's what does God want?
What DOES GOD WANT?
He wants us to be loyal to each other not because it's our duty, but because it's our joy. He wants us to be selfless instead of being selfish. He wants us to be forgiving to one another. And He wants us to make a commitment to our wedding vows. Do you even remember those vows? Those vows that state: I take you. To have and to hold. From this day forward. For better or for worse. For richer or for poorer. In sickness and in health. Until death, do us part. If we renew those marriage vows everyday my dear friends, telling and showing our spouse how much we love them, we'll find that our marriage not only will survive it will flourish. And through this Sacrament we'll find, despite the trials and tribulations that come our way, our path to holiness and sanctity.

Where are you God?
With all of the devastation that took place last year; this hurricane season is receiving lots of attention. But if we travel back to 1969, in Pass Christian Mississippi, a group of 20 people were preparing to have a "hurricane party" in the face of a storm named Camille. On the night of the storm the police chief, went to the Richelieu Apartments, trying to get the residents to leave. The apartments looked sound, but they were less than 250 feet from the beach, and directly in the line of danger.
A man with a drink in his hand came out to the second-floor balcony and waved at the police chief. The chief yelled up, "You all need to clear out of here as quickly as you can. The storm's getting worse." The other party participants joined the man on the balcony, and they just laughed at his order to leave. "This is my land," one of them yelled back. "If you want me off, you'll have to arrest me."
He didn't arrest anyone, but he couldn’t get anyone to leave either. He wrote down the names of their next of kin, and he himself evacuated. They laughed as he took their names. They had been warned, but they had no intention of leaving.
At 10:15 p.m. the front wall of the storm came ashore. Scientists clocked Camille's wind speed at more than 205 miles-per-hour. That’s the strongest on record - much stronger than last summers Hurricane Katrina. Raindrops hit with the force of bullets. Waves off the Gulf Coast crested between 22 and 28 feet above normal. News reports would later show that the worst damage came at the little settlement of Pass Christian, where some twenty people were killed at a hurricane party in the Richelieu Apartments. Nothing was left of that three-story structure but the foundation.
Storms come. Sometimes they come suddenly and violently. Sometimes they tear our world apart.
Jesus and His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee, when a furious squall came up, and the waves broke over their boat, nearly swamping it. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind died down and it was completely calm.
Storms come. They may not come in the form of a sudden squall, or even a hurricane. Sometimes they come in the form of a phone call--from a doctor confirming a diagnosis---from a police officer telling you of an automobile accident. They come in other ways--a note from a spouse saying she's leaving, or a pink slip from an employer. One thing is for certain --Storms come. Just as they came to those disciples on the Sea of Galilee, while Jesus was sleeping.
Here's what's interesting: Sometimes when OUR storms come, IT DOES SEEM as if God is sleeping. His terrified disciples asked: "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" And sometimes when we’re going though a crisis, we may think that either God doesn't hear or that He doesn't care.
When things are going good, we’re not really concerned. But when something negative happens, and our world is turned upside down, we plead to God: “Why don’t you do something God?”
Last fall a Romanian man filed a lawsuit against God for allegedly fouling up his life. The law suit states that the man was promised a good life in return for "various goods and prayers," and that the 20-year sentence he's currently serving in a Romanian jail represents a clear breach of contract.
That’s absurd of course but I meet people all the time who have those same feelings when some storm comes into their lives. “Didn’t I do all the right things? Isn’t God supposed to watch out for His own? Doesn’t He protect those He loves? How can this be happening to me? I go to Mass. I pray the Rosary. I’m a good Catholic.” Those types of statements come up all the time. But Christianity is certainly more than that. It’s not a bargaining chip that if we say so many prayers, and go to so many Mass’s nothing will happen to us.
Jesus tells us in Matthew that "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me”. Spiritual greatness will cost us something…it always does! Look at those who preceded us --Those that we venerate. Look at the apostles. All but one was martyred for their faith. Look at the Blessed Mother. Her heart was pierced as she watched her innocent Son being crucified. Look at the martyrs and quite frankly all of the saints of the church. They carried burdens. It was by the martyr’s blood that the church grew. Spiritual greatness always costs! We’re all called to be saints. That’s translates into some sort of suffering in this life for Jesus. Maybe not martyrdom, but still suffering.
Even knowing that, we still have this natural fear. When struggles happen, we turn to Him and many times all we find is an awful silence! We cry out like the apostles: “Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
Here is what a storm in your life doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love us. It doesn’t mean that God is angry with us, or that He’s paying us back for something. God is not toying with us. Sometimes the storms that come are self-made. We, or someone we love, makes a wrong choice! Many times it’s because we live in a fallen world that storms happen. Trying to analyze what happened or assign blame – it’s fruitless. Sin has wreaked havoc on our world. The Gospel of Matthew tells us that: “[God] causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” In other words, good and bad happen to us all. Here’s what is important: THAT WE PREPARE! It takes endurance. It takes a strong faith. Making sure friends and family relationships are strong. It helps when you’re going through a storm to have others there with you. Ask someone who has gone through the storm of an illness or the loss of a loved one whether close relationships made a difference. THEY DO!
We should prepare both mentally and spiritually. Building our lives on the Rock. The Rock of Christ and His church. That’s the reason we keep encouraging you with actions that deepen our faith, that prepare us: daily prayer, going to Mass daily if possible, going to confession receiving the Eucharist in the state of grace, coming to Holy Hour, praying the rosary, reading the Bible, and making acts of charity. It’s through these pious acts that we prepare ourselves, and receive the graces necessary to handle the storms. He told St. Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Trusting in these things truly is faith in action! Living according to God’s building code! When the storms of life come, we respond with faith, trust, -- and not fear.
That’s not to say that we cease being human. We will still go through all the steps associated with grief and loss--denial, anger, rejection, guilt, bargaining, confusion, and acceptance. But we go through the process without being overwhelmed! And we have someone and something to hold on to. The only real things that have meaning -- that’s Jesus, and His church. For the life of me I don’t see how people go through life with all the pain and suffering without God and His church.
Jesus will calm the storm. At the perfect time He exercises His power over the storms of life. God is never in a hurry. He knows exactly what to do at exactly the right time. He doesn’t go by our time. He knows and understands us and our situation. He cares for us. His timing is perfect.
When the storm has run its course, as all storms do, we will see how God has guided us through. If we’re wise, we reflect on the lessons we’ve learned from the experience. For this is the purpose of storms--to produce growth. We don't escape the blemishes that come with suffering and setback. We should wear them proudly, for the growth that those blemishes brought has made us stronger.
In each crisis we keep meeting Jesus in new ways. We don’t really understand who He is or the power He has until we see Him in action. The blind man couldn’t see who Jesus was -- until He was healed. The deaf man couldn’t hear Jesus -- until his ears were opened. Doubting Thomas experienced Jesus in a whole new way when he saw Him after the resurrection and placed His finger in Jesus’ hands and side. He fell down crying, “My Lord and my God!” It is in those crisis moments that we really understand who Jesus is.
If we will humbly bring Him all of our concerns and problems, placing complete faith and trust in Him, we will have a greater understanding, a deeper relationship, and a new love for Him when the storm is over. We will see His power over darkness and the depth of His love. He’s tells us to live by faith, not by fear. God never abandons us! Even when He’s silent, He’s the one that carries us.
That’s best illustrated, and I’ll close with that familiar poem “Footprints in the Sand”.
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed He was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from His life. For each scene He noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonging to Him and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of His life flashed before Him, He looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of His life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of His life.
This really bothered Him and He questioned the LORD about it. “LORD you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I’ve noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand. Why when I needed you the most would you leave me?”
The LORD replied, “My precious, precious child, I Love you and I would never leave you! During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”
We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we do know who holds our hand. God Bless you!


Me spread God's word? Mark 6 7-13
Do you remember when, as a youth, we played a team sport like softball or volleyball, and there were captains who chose up sides? Some of us got that terrible feeling in the pit of our stomach that we’re going to be the last one chosen or not even chosen at all? We’d have to sit on the sidelines, and be a substitute when someone got hurt. But if we were one of the lucky ones and got chosen early, then the anxiety left us, and we were in! We felt such a great relief to be one of the ones chosen! Well the church teaches that every person who is baptized and confirmed has been chosen -- but this time it’s for a greater team. The team captain is Jesus Himself. And He’s given us a mandate - to share in His prophetic mission. The word prophet literally means to be a spokesperson, and He’s chosen us to be His spokespersons. To use the unique gifts that we have to further God’s kingdom. He sets the criteria, and He’s chosen us. It’s certainly more important than being chosen for a softball or volleyball game.
Our mission is to speak, on behalf of God, a message that sometimes challenges people, and other times it brings comfort. To speak to those who don’t have any relationship with Christ. To those who haven’t experienced the graces, and ultimately the freedom that comes from the Sacramental life of the church. To invite others to come and participate in the highest form of worship in all of humanity – the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. To invite others to learn more about what we as Catholic’s believe by inviting them to the RCIA program. Many of the people who are in this church today are here because someone invited to come and see what we’re all about. A simple invitation!
The Baltimore Catechism gave us our true purpose in life. “Why did God make us? To know, love and serve Him in this life so we can be happy with Him forever, in the next.” So our being chosen is to bring the good news of everlasting life to others through His Church -- the Catholic Church.
But even though God chooses us – He still gives us options --“to live” or “not to live” as the chosen. We have to exercise the option. To develop our gifts -- to hone our apostolic skills. We need education and formation. We CHOOSE to be chosen! Or -- we can just be content to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. It’s sad, but many people are doing that. Father nor I set these rules. The rules were made by God. And it’s God who judges. It’s He who will judge how well we fulfilled His mandate. So being chosen by God becomes extremely important to the eternal destiny of every man, woman, and child.
In today’s Gospel Jesus sent the twelve apostles out two by two to preach and to cast out spirits. He did this right after last weeks Gospel where He visited his hometown, Nazareth. It was a visit that didn’t end well. His hometown people said, "Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and Joseph? In other words, "Who does he think he is? Why should we listen to him? He’s one of us! Mark tells us that, "He was amazed at their lack of faith and He could work no miracles there.”
But even though Jesus failed in Nazareth, that didn’t discourage Him. He went on to other towns. And He sent His disciples to even more towns. He knew that some would listen, and others wouldn't. But He kept on -- and called His disciples to do the same. He even gave His disciples instructions on dealing with failure, because they too would sometimes fail. He said: "If any place will not welcome you and refuses to hear you, shake off the dust that’s on your feet as a testimony against them."
Shaking the dust off their feet was something the Jews did when they left a Gentile town. It was a gesture of contempt, and no Jew wanted Gentile dust on their feet! So Jesus knew that His disciples would sometimes fail, but He didn’t want them to get discouraged. Just shake off the dust, and move on. After all, it was God who was guaranteeing the results. There would be other towns, and they would succeed there.
And that's what happened. The disciples began spreading the Gospel. Sometimes people refused to listen. Sometimes they persecuted the disciples. Rome would unleash its full force against the church. They threw Christians to the lions in the Roman Coliseum. They crucified Christians on crosses lining the roads to Rome. But Christians kept on loving and witnessing and preaching. Pretty soon Christians were everywhere.
That serves as our model today. There’s plenty of reasons to be discouraged about what the church is facing today. In the news we see that many mainline denominations are struggling, and now are adopting ideas totally contrary to the Gospel.
We live in a world that persecutes those who don’t follow the ways of the world. And it may get worse since the Catholic church will always - always stand against the tide of evil thinking that pervades this world. Even in this century, people think we’re so “enlightened”, but there’s still many places where Christians are being imprisoned or murdered simply because of their faith. The world is hostile towards us. Jesus told us it’s not going to change.
It’s been true since the first century. It certainly was no bed of roses for the apostles. Paul spent his last days in prison, and then beheaded. Peter died upside-down on a cross. Thomas served as a missionary, and was martyred in India.
But they didn't live discouraged - they didn't die discouraged! They lived in the faith that their lives counted for something. They died in the faith that God, was preparing something even greater for them beyond this life. They realized, as we should, that we weren’t really made for this world. We’re made for the next one! That’s our goal. We do well to keep that in mind.
God calls us to do what the early Christians did -- to live in faith – to tell others about Christ -- to teach our children and grandchildren the great Bible stories -- to encourage our young people to live lives of holiness and service to others -- to love the unloved – -- to invite others to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and to check out this Catholic Church of ours. Bring them here so they can see that we DO proclaim His Word and we do share in His true Body and Blood. And how simple and yet how awesome these things are!
When compared to the world's need, what we do here on Sunday and through the week might seem inadequate. But what we’re doing is part of God's plan for the salvation of the world. We’re just one small stitch, a thread in this beautiful tapestry that He’s weaving to cover the world's sin. And like the apostles, He’s uses ordinary people. The apostles weren’t perfectly polished before He sent them out. But they simply obeyed Jesus' call to go and preach and cast out demons, and they changed the world.
We get so intimidated when someone challenges us or asks us a question. If we would stop and think for a moment my bet is that we’d know more than we think we know. If we don’t know the answer, look it up in the Catechism that all of us should have in our homes, or refer that person to someone who does know the answer.
When we really get interested in something such as (cooking fishing sewing or knitting) we want to learn everything that we can about that subject. Well what’s more important or more exciting than our faith? Do we know it as well as other things? Again it’s all about choices.
Today, Christ will place each one of us in a place where we can make a difference. It might be in our own home. We might be witnessing to our own family. We need to make our home a holy place -- a place where Christ is honored -- a place where we teach our children about Him -- a place where we make an effort to eat dinner together and be family -- a place where Christ is honored by family prayer. We have a choice to make.
During the week, Christ will again place each one of us in a place where we can make a difference. It might be at work. The opportunity may arise to help a co-worker solve a problem -- or to give a word of encouragement, or just to be a good listener. The opportunity might be there to say a quiet prayer for someone who seems troubled -- or lost. It might be to perform a random act of kindness to a stranger. Maybe invite them to visit our church. We have a choice to make.
Each thing that we do, no matter how small is a Gospel seed. Each invitation, each act of kindness and each prayer is a way of manifesting Christ's love -- a way of showing others what Christ can do in our lives -- a way of inviting Christ to take our small act of faith and to cause it to blossom into something beautiful.
There’s a bumper sticker I saw recently that read: “Jesus is coming soon. Look busy!” You know what? He is coming soon, and we better get busy. The way the world is headed with trouble in the Middle East rapidly escalating and North Korea and nuclear weapons, we better always be prepared. But even If He doesn’t come while we’re alive, He will certainly come at our death. And He will judge as to how well we chose to be on His team.
Just this Friday we buried one of our parishioners –Cheryl Switzer. She was 55 years old, the owner of Café Avanti her in Pell City. She was babysitting her granddaughter in North Carolina and was walking on the beach with her. She suddenly and without warning died from a massive heart attack and was called home. 55 years old! There was no time to say any goodbyes. We never know when our time is up here on earth. So I beg you, if you’re on the sidelines, get into the game before it’s too late. We have so many opportunities to witness to others, to win souls, to do God’s will. And so little time to do it. Don’t wait. Do it now!
Look for opportunities to plant Gospel seeds. Then go home and water those seeds with prayer, fasting and sacrifice and follow-up. And then stand back! I think that you’ll be surprised as to how well God makes them grow.


The Crucifix…What does it mean to you?
I’m always intrigued to see how our Catholic Church, which has been around for over 2000 years operates. You may have seen in the 1 Voice, or watched on EWTN, a significant event in the life of the church. It’s called a consistory. The consistory is the gathering of cardinals, the “princes of the church”, for a formal meeting that takes place in Rome. This Sacred College of Cardinals meets to address various aspects of church business. The Pope periodically calls a consistory, and if he chooses, can create new cardinals in the presence of the college. On March 24th he appointed 15 new Cardinals, 2 of which came from the United States. This brings the total to 193 cardinals. 120 of those are under the age of 80, and are eligible to elect a new pope should that need arise. It’s so fascinating to see how the church operates, and has throughout the centuries. During this ceremony there were some beautiful solemn moments as Pope Benedict presented them with their scarlet vestments. Speaking to them, he urged the new cardinals, “May the scarlet that you now wear always inspire you to a passionate love for Christ, for His Church and for all humanity.” The color red (scarlet) represents the suffering demanded by great love. Next week, we celebrate Palm Sunday. Father and I will wear red vestments, and the altar clothes are red. The red represent the blood Christ poured out for our salvation. Actually the celebration of the Passion begins today. These last two weeks of Lent are known as “Passiontide.” Up to this point, we repeatedly read, 'his hour had not yet come.' Now, things change. Now, Jesus says: 'The hour has come for the Son of man to be glorified.' The most important event in the history of the world is about to begin, and the gospel seems to shift up a gear. In earlier days we used to cover all the pictures and statues in the church until the Easter Vigil. It’s not so dramatic now, but we still retain some of the elements. This week there’s a special Preface for the Passion of the Lord. One sentence from that prayer provides a good lead-in to today’s readings. The Preface reads: “The power of the cross reveals your judgment on the world.” But what precisely is God’s judgment on the world? And how does the cross reveal it? Look carefully and we can see it’s the cross that shows sin for what it is. Jesus accepted the tortures of crucifixion in order to save the world from sin. Considering all He the pain and suffering He would endure, He said “I am troubled now.” How could He not be troubled? After all, He was fully human just like us. He had the same human flesh as you and I. The Cross wasn’t something that happened to Jesus— He came to die; the Cross was His purpose in coming., and He knew it. And His burning desire to save us was greater than his natural aversion to torture. His love was even stronger than death. “Unless a grain of wheat fall to the ground and die, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit.” Jesus knew that His death would be fruitful, and being fruitful was more important to Him than being safe or comfortable. He was to be glorified. But not on a throne decked with gold, and silver. Instead of a throne, He took a cross. Instead of a crown of gold, He wore a crown of thorns. Instead of fine gold bracelets, He bore nails of steel. Instead of a cheering crowd, He was mocked by a jeering crowd. Instead of wearing a kingly scarlet robe, there was only nakedness. That’s what it meant for the Son of Man (Our God) to be glorified. He understood what it meant to be struck by a Roman whip. To have His skin torn away. To experience increasing thirst as blood flowed from His body. The Letter to the Hebrews says that, even though He’s God, Jesus called out to the Father with “loud cries and tears.” Jesus underwent such anguish because He clearly saw the purpose for which He came: to save us from our sins. His cross does judge us, because it reveals how horrible sin is. Ever since the sin of Adam and Eve, we’ve all inherited an inclination to find sin attractive. Sin often hides behind a smoke screen. We choose to sin because we think we’re saying “yes” to what’s “good for us.” What will make us happy. And we make excuses. Destroying a child in the womb is called “reproductive freedom.” When we indulge in gluttony and drinking too much, we dismiss it as harmless “partying”. We numb our senses with alcohol and we get drunk because it “makes us feel better.” It’s hard to convince someone what’s wrong with “hooking up” because we say “Sex before marriage is okay because we have to find out if we could be happily married.” When we covet and envy others it’s often called “keeping up with the Jones.” All of these sins are all disguised as being good for us! And even if we feel a slight twinge of guilt, we try and take comfort from the decadence of society, “Sure, I've got my problems, but look at what everyone else is doing. I’m not as bad as them!” But instead of comparing our self to others, I want you to consider this: When the Romans crucified a man, the cross wasn’t normally as high in the air as we picture Jesus’ crucifixion. It was right at ground level. We see the person eye to eye - face to face. Now imagine that we do something that didn’t seem “as bad as what other people do.” We turn around and find our self looking face to face with Jesus – nailed to His cross. He’s bleeding profusely. He’s in terrible agony. You’re not looking up to Him – you’re looking directly in His sorrowful eyes. He’s piercing your soul. He’s dying for you! How can we rationalize our sin away, - and make excuses? It wouldn’t work. Our words would be hollow. Without meaning. The cross does that. It judges our sin. If that were the only thing the cross did, we might simply despair. However the cross also judges us in a more profound sense. It not only reveals the ugliness of sin, but what Jeremiah prophesied in our first reading. He spoke about a day when God will make a new covenant with His people. The law that God once wrote on stone tablets, He will now write on each person’s heart. We still see sin for what it is, but we shall also perceive something else: His mercy! “All from the least to the greatest, shall know me, says the Lord, for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.” So the cross judges sin, but it also reveals the depths of God’s mercy. One of the most beautiful devotions in the church today is the Divine Mercy Novena. It begins on Good Friday and continues through the Sunday after Easter. Pope John Paul II did much to popularize this devotion. He even canonized Saint Faustina, the Polish nun who brought us this revelation. At our shrine on my left we see one of her visions. She saw the Risen Christ with the rays of mercy shining from his side. That vision has given us the beautiful image of Divine Mercy. Today in is the first anniversary of Pope John Paul’s death. What an incredible grace that, as he was in the final few hours of his life, the Pope asked that the Mass of Divine Mercy be said for him. He did so much to help us. Remember him in your prayers and pray for his canonization. In his last book, the Holy Father wrote: The limit God imposes upon evil “is ultimately Divine Mercy”. In sacrificing himself for us all, Christ gave a new meaning to suffering. It is this suffering which burns and consumes evil with the flame of love and draws forth, even from sin, a great flowering of good” Like a rose growing from a compost heap, God always wants to bring forth good - even out of evil. It doesn’t mean that we continue unabatedly to sin. Far from it! Remember Jesus said: “Now is the time of judgment on this world.” That judgment – the cross – reveals how terrible sin is! But it also reveals how much greater is His Divine Mercy. That alone always leaves us with room for hope. So as Lent winds down and Holy Week approaches, keep your focus on the cross. The heart of salvation is the Crucifix. Salvation cost God so much! It was on the Crucifix that God and sin collided. And all the cost and pain of that collision was absorbed by the heart of God. It’s the ultimate act of love! I want to close with a quote from Saint Thomas Aquinas. St Thomas, a philosopher, theologian and a doctor of the church, said he learned more from the Crucifix than from all the books of theology he ever read. Here’s what he said, and I ask, as I read this, that you keep your eyes fixed on the crucifix. He said:
If you would like to know God,
look at the Crucifix!
If you would like to love God,
look at the Crucifix!
If you want to serve God today,
look at the Crucifix!
If you wonder what your worth,
look at the Crucifix!
If you wonder how He tries to prevent you from the jaws of hell,
look at the Crucifix!
If you wonder how much He will help you ,
look at the Crucifix!
If you wonder how much you should forgive others,
look at the Crucifix!
If you wonder how much you should do for the salvation of souls,
look at the Crucifix!
If you wonder how much your faith demands of you in every virtue,
look at the Crucifix!
If you want to know what unselfishness and generosity are, look at the Crucifix!
If you wonder how far your own unselfishness should go, look at the Crucifix!
If you want to understand the need for self-denial and mortification, look at the Crucifix!
If you wish to live well, look at the Crucifix!
If you wish to die well, look at the Crucifix!


Love
Matthew 22:34-40
What’s the strongest expression, of the most powerful emotion and experience in the world? Well, in any language it’s of course, “I love you.” There’s been thousands of songs written about love, but old timers will remember one sang by Dean Martin, with the words “You’re nobody till somebody loves you. You’re nobody until somebody cares. If that’s true...then everybody is somebody. Why? Because - God loves every one! We just can’t grasp how much He loves us. I mean He created the entire universe so that He could create a galaxy, so that He could create earth so that He could create us and then love us as a FAMILY!!! We’re God’s family! He opened our eyes to how we are to love in today’s Gospel. Listen again to HIS words: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” What a powerful statement!! Our very eternity hangs on these 2 commandments. Jesus plainly taught that God, in His love, created human beings. You see: Life doesn’t precede love...love precedes life! Despite what we may think, love is a decision, and in this passage, Jesus tells us about three key decisions we have to make in order to properly love...to decide to totally love God...to decide to love others...and to decide to love ourselves. Our love for God is an upward love. It has to take priority over everything else. We show the measure of that love when, as Catholics, we come to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. In spite of the desire to sleep in or doing something else, we come to Mass to show our love in the highest form of worship to God. Other ways to specifically love God is our encounter with the 7 Sacraments, especially when we ask for His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the monthly Holy Hour of Adoration, our private prayers and devotions. All sorts of ways to love God. He deserves all of our love...not just part of it. We should love no person or thing more than we love God. That includes spouses, children, moms or dads. Scripture tells us: “God is love.” The love of God is what gave us life. The love of God is what sought us out. If our love is to be fully manifested we must: Love God first, Others second, and Ourselves Last. How many times have we gotten this completely backwards? The proper sequence is to Give Him the #1 priority! That means first in everything. Then our love for others will grow even greater...because this upward love supernaturally produces a love for others...and then for ourselves. Putting God first, does 2 things: it solves many of the problems in our life- or we receive the grace and wisdom to bear them. In fact, if we love God the most, we will love others the best. C.S. Lewis, a great Christian writer once said, “When I have learned to love God better than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.” Jesus calls us to love our neighbor. And, our love for God inescapably motivates us to love others. Is it always easy? No! It’s hard to love everybody.... Someone once wrote: “To love the whole world – that’s no problem. My only real problem is to love my neighbor next door.” The guy who grates on us. I remember, as a child, we had a neighbor across the street who would not---for some reason--give my family the time of day. That didn’t stop my parents from cheerfully saying: “Hi!” every time our neighbor was in his yard. One day I asked my parents, “Why do you bother to say “hi” to that guy? He never even looks our way. He never says “hi” back!” My parents answer...very matter of fact... with no explanations or complaints...but with a hint of surprise at my question said: “Because we’re Christians.” That stuck with me. That impressed me. We parents have a lot to teach our children about life and love. Children normally imitate their parents. If there’s one virtue to cultivate in our family, it’s to love God and love our neighbor. Just think of how much more bearable this life would be if all of us practiced and taught love! Remember love is a decision! Most businesses would benefit greatly if the boss truly loved their employees and they knew it! Most marriages would thrive if spouses heard and saw constant reminders that they were loved. Most families would be happier if the parents constantly and lovingly affirmed their children. There are two very simple but extremely powerful principles that can transform any relationship almost overnight...Here’s the first: When it comes to love, say it. We need to say it....we need to hear ourselves say it....others need to hear us say it....and we need to hear it from others. What’s wrong with a general telling his troops he loves them? Why doesn’t a boss tell his employees he loves them? Why shouldn’t a coach tell his players “I love you.”? Football is usually thought about as a game of winning. It’s such a tradition here in the south. We go week to week wondering who will win the high school, college and pro games. Here’s a story about a coach who said football is about winning, but also about loving! His name is Joe Ehrmann. Joe played football for thirteen seasons with the Baltimore Colts. After retiring from pro football, he began a ministry with kids, and several years ago, became the defensive line coach for the Gilman High School football team in Maryland. Ehrmann practices his faith, and he brought a whole new philosophy to coaching football. He doesn't think of his job as just winning games. He thinks of his job as turning boys into men -- -- responsible, decent, caring men. When he begins a practice session, he shouts, "What’s our job as coaches?" The boys yell back in unison, "To love us!" Ehrmann shouts, "What’s your job?" They respond, "To love each other!" You might imagine a football team trained to love each other might be a bunch of sissies -- but you would be surprised. In their conference games, Gilman High School was undefeated for four of the past seven seasons -- and they were number one in Maryland in 2002 – and ranked 14th in the nation. And so far this year they’re undefeated. Other teams have noticed, of course, and are scouting the school to see if they can figure out Ehrmann's secret. Ehrmann has a couple of secrets -- neither of which is much of a secret. First, he knows football. He was a winner with the Colts, and now he’s a winner at Gilman. But just as important, he’s determined that his most important goal is to help boys grow into men -- responsible, decent, caring men -- so he teaches his team to love each other. He teaches them to love other people too. He teaches them to watch for a kid eating lunch by himself. He teaches his players they’re expected to go and eat lunch with that kid -- to talk to him -- to help him to feel included -- to help him feel important. Ehrmann says, "Well, we’ve had pretty good success. But winning is only a byproduct of everything else we do. It’s certainly not the way we evaluate ourselves." Which brings me to the second relationship-transforming principle: When it comes to love, show it! Love must not only be articulated – it has to be demonstrated. In the great “love chapter” of the Bible, the one we so often hear at weddings, 1 Corinthians 13, the apostle Paul constantly says, “Love is....Love does.......Love is not...Love does not.” Paul is illustrating that Love is proactive...it’s tangible...it’s practical...and it’s personal. A simple touch can convey an incredible sense of love, affirmation, and acceptance. In a study conducted at UCLA, researchers found that to maintain physical and emotional health, men and women need eight to ten meaningful touches each day. They defined a meaningful touch as a gentle tap, stroke, kiss, or hug, given by a “significant other” like a husband, wife, parent, or a child. There’s a place and a real need for tangible expressions of love. There used to be a billboard that asked parents: “Have you hugged your kids today?” Good coaches high-five their players....good husbands hug their wives...good bosses give employees encouraging pats on the back...and good Christians hug each other, smile at each other, and treat each other with respect. Loving our neighbor is so important. How much did Jesus say we should love them? He said: We should love them as MUCH as we love ourselves. Here’s how true love flows. When we love God the way we ought to love God... ...we will love others the way we ought to love others... ....and when we love God and others the way we should... ...we’ll love ourselves in a proper and healthy way. After all, we’re all temples of the Holy Spirit. God’s love gives us a healthy mental picture of ourselves... ...it enhances our self-esteem... ...without getting into self-worship and self-idolization. God is love...and God loves us more than we can imagine...it’s unconditional and selfless. Therefore we ought to love others and love ourselves in the same way. Mother Theresa sat in a squalid slum in India one day, lovingly cleaning the sores of a dieing person. “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars,” said a nearby reporter. “Neither would I,” replied Mother Theresa. It wasn’t money or fame that drove her to do these things. She loved God so much that it trickled down so that she could love all of mankind. The poorest of the poor. The weakest. Those that no one wanted to love. This weekend is World Mission Sunday. Another wonderful chance that our Catholic church gives to practice unconditional and selfless love to our neighbors in the mission countries of the world. The money we collect from this is distributed in our name to help the Catholic missions all over the world. We can’t go there to evangelize. But we can show love for our neighbor in other parts of the world with our contribution. Please be generous. Our contribution is just another way of helping us become better at loving. It’s today second collection. On the local level, make it a point to tell every member of our family, especially our spouse that we love them. Give them several loving touches, pats, hugs and kisses every day... If you’re a boss, manager, or employer, tell your employees that you love them and appreciate them for the work they do.... If you are an employee, do the same for your employers... If we’ve been at odds with someone - if they’re in this church right now, let go of your pride and affirm your love for them--regardless of your differences! Now here’s the warning: loving others and expressing our love verbally and tangibly opens ourselves up for risk. But that’s the difference between a winner and a loser in life...in becoming a saint. A saint is willing to risk not being liked by others in order to practice virtue...to rise above all forms of evil and hatred, responding in kind with love. A loser let’s their pride get in the way of truly loving. You know the kind. “I’m right. They’re wrong. I’m not budging from my position. They can come to me, but I’m not coming to them.” Let me tell you that allowing God’s love to flow through us sometimes involves risk, pain, and heartache. But it brings a tidal wave of joy that washes the tough times away! St. Augustine said “Love is the beauty of the soul”. Love cures. It not only cures those who receive it. It cures those who give it. Our circle of life is drawn with the ink of God’s love. So, let’s realize that, and be the saints that God created us to be...because we really aren’t living unless we’re loving. If we’ll do that, we can be sure that we will be pleasing God. Pleasing God, will bring us everlasting joy. He might even make it possible for us to win a few football games. But even if He doesn’t,- by loving, He makes it possible for us to win in the most important game. That’s the game of life. So keep on Loving! God Bless you!


Don't think human, think like God!
What a difference a week makes! Last week we read about Peter. He was the hero. He made the great confession that “Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Peter understood that Jesus was no mere man, but a living part of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And for that moment, Peter, as Jesus pointed out, was listening to His Heavenly Father. He was had put it all together. He was “in tune” with God. But in today’s Gospel, in the very same chapter, Peter quickly changes from hero to goat. This time he stopped listening to God. Peter told Jesus that “God forbid that you should suffer,” Jesus told him this statement didn’t come from God, but from Peter alone. Jesus equates him with the devil when He says, "Get behind me Satan". These were harsh words. But Peter was tempting Him and trying to hinder His work. He wanted Jesus to stop talking so morbidly. That bad things don’t happen to good people especially when they’re as good as Jesus. Peter wanted to protect Jesus - to make him feel better, as well as changing His mind about the course that He was suppose to take. It’s quite a turnaround to go so quickly from the hero to the goat in just a few short passages! After all, Jesus had just called Peter “The Rock”, and upon this rock I will build my church. And now, as He was praised by the Master, suddenly he’s rebuked. He gets shot down. Why? Because Peter was thinking like everybody else. He missed the simple fact that God's law is greater and different than human law. That God thinks and works differently. He wasn’t thinking correctly, - even though he had acknowledged Jesus as the Son of God. Isn't that our problem today? We have millions of people - many of them in the church - who think like everybody else rather than like God. Let me give you a few examples of when we think like everyone else. We think like everyone else 1. When we want TO BE SERVED, instead of SERVING OTHERS. 2. We think like everyone else when we want to WIN AT ANY COST, instead of JUST WORKING TO DO OUR BEST. 3. We think like everyone else when we want “OUR RIGHTS” instead of taking OUR RESPONSIBILITY. 4. We want to be the ONE WHO IS LOVED, instead of SHOWING LOVE TO SOMEONE ELSE. Thinking this way causes problems. We’re thinking like most of the world – we think the way Satan, who is the prince of this world, wants us to think. And so we get in the way of Christ, and of His power, His miracles, and His teaching. And most importantly, in the way of our salvation. Here’s what Christ said . Glory comes only after sacrifice. And although His own incomparable sacrifice afforded us an opportunity for salvation, it doesn’t make things EASY FOR US, - It blazes a trail that we too must walk. When Jesus told the disciples that He would suffer and die, He was explaining to them the concept of the suffering servant. Sometimes it’s hard to understand suffering in His plan for us. We have our own thoughts about God’s plans. But it was God’s will that His only Son must suffer. It wasn’t glory, or riches, or a grand army, but suffering, death and the cross. Then God raised Him on the 3rd day. Now He brings life where there was only death. God did all of this because He is a God of love. So through this example everyone must take up his cross to follow Christ. It’s not easy, but God intended our salvation to be MORE than just a ticket to heaven. The church isn’t here to transport us to heaven with as little inconvenience as possible. Billy Graham once said “We in the church are making a great mistake by trying to make Christianity popular and pleasant. We have taken the cross away and substituted cushions.” In Christianity there is sacrifice and suffering. There’s giving up things. There is setting proper priorities in our life. I’m sure at one time or another, especially when we’re suffering, we ask: “Why am I here” and “What is the meaning of Life”. The church spells it out so clearly. It’s to love God with all of our heart, - and to love our neighbor as our self. The great commandment Jesus gave us! That’s the true meaning of life. Nothing else. It’s not ours jobs, or our pleasure. It’s serving God and neighbor in this life, so we can be happy with Him in the next. That’s really all that matters! Serving and loving! That becomes so evident when we attend a wake or funeral. My wife and I have been to so many these last few weeks. We look at that body laying in the coffin, and it hits us - the soul has gone to be judged and eventually will end up in only one of 2 places – heaven or hell. We can’t help but wonder if they made it to heaven. We pray they did, but it’s all based on how they practiced the great commandment of love and service to God and neighbor on earth. Realizing what’s at stake, it becomes SO important. Jesus says that whoever loses ones life for Him, will find it. Whoever forgets about the demands, the values, the standards of this world, - whoever is willing to live totally for Jesus, - it’s that person that will find life. Peter and the disciples couldn’t quite get it. Their enlightenment only came when the Holy Spirit descended on them at Pentecost. Before Pentecost, they ran from suffering. After Pentecost they ran toward it. Peter didn't understand the ways of God. - and all too many of us don't understand His ways either - and that’s why the fire has gone out of so many of the churches - and that’s why the fire has gone out in so many of us - it's gone out because we’re IN THE WAY instead of ON THE WAY. -we block out grace because we’re thinking like everybody else instead of thinking like God. A good example is how we view the Eucharist and the Mass - Some say “Oh well we can take it or leave it. It’s not that important!” If something else like vacations, coming in late the night before or something else comes along I’ll skip it. What we’re “really saying” is that the Mass and the Eucharist are not our first priority. Listen to these words again: Then Jesus said to his disciples -- "If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find it." (Verse 24-25) We are in the dying business. It’s our job - our duty - and most of all our need - to die to self. God wants us to die to self if we’re really to discover what living is all about. To forget about our needs, wants, and desires, and become more concerned about the needs and wants of others, and the desires of God – the commandments of God - the love of God. Those things which are good and eternal. There’s a story about St. Augustine, who was a womanizer before he converted and changed his worldly ways. He was approached one day by a former mistress some time after he had made his conversion. When he saw her he turned and walked the other way. Surprised, the woman called out, "Augustine, it is I". Augustine, as he kept walking the other way, answered her, "Yes, but it is not I." You see he had changed his ways and now he wasn’t the same person. His priorities changed. He was no longer the man he had been. When Christ calls a person to follow Him, He calls him to die to self. To shed sinful ways. Have we died to self lately? Have we given up something for God? Have we given up something that we really value for someone else? For some poor, or insignificant or annoying person. Have we given up something so that someone who didn’t deserve it could enjoy it? That’s what Jesus did for us on the cross. That’s what Jesus wants us to do for ourselves - and for others, and for Him when He says "If you want to be my followers you must forget yourselves, you must take up your cross and follow me." Are we IN THE WAY, or are we ON THE WAY to salvation? It’s something to think about seriously! It’s a question upon which our life with Christ or our eternal death without Him hangs. Yes, the Christian life isn’t easy. It’s difficult to live. But if we’re faithful, the rewards are eternal. And anything worth having is worth working for. Heaven and eternity with our God! The Catholic Church gives us all the tools necessary to succeed in our quest. The Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Adoration, Holy Hours and devotion to one of the saint s of the church. Please use these tools. Don’t let them sit there. Set up your life around them. Make them your priority. It’s the things we make time for that we put a priority on. What are we making time for in our life? There is a great opportunity coming up in 2 weeks, where we can truly die of self, and contribute to the well being of our Catholic Christian community. I’m talking about the upcoming Stewardship drive to be held 2 weeks from now. To be held the weekend of September 10 -11th. It’s here that we will come together after Mass in the parish hall, to have some food, drink, and an opportunity to win some very nice prizes as we look at the various ministries the parish has to offer. There are over __ ministries that the church offers that we can participate in. You are invited to participate in one or more of those ministries. We have the perfect opportunity to practice dying to self by giving to God and others. God knows we need you. This parish is fast growing and so full of both young and old energetic people. We’ll have the chance to contribute in 3 ways: time, talent, and treasure. And best of all this dying of self doesn’t come with a whole lot of pain. It’s actually quite fulfilling. We’re asked to take stock of what God has given to us, to look at our lives and the meaning of life, and to use our talents and gifts using God’s mentality. Sharing, giving and serving. It’s not hard. It just requires that you say YES. These parish ministries affords us the perfect opportunity to witness to our neighbor and to Christ with the Stewardship Process. Our Gospel is a challenge for us to live a life that is not centered on self, or on the world, but a life that is given over to Christ and His demands. A life that is willing to sacrifice something, some priorities, some worldly values, some creature comforts so that we might serve our Lord and others around us. The Stewardship Process is a wonderful way to do that. Because the pearl of great price is worth anything we have to pay for it. So mark your calendars! You will be hearing more about it. Read more in the bulletin. Again, I hope to see all of you at the Stewardship fair 2 weeks from now in the parish hall after both Mass’s September 10 -11th. God Bless You!!


Miracles they still happen today!
One of the ways the church comes up with church doctrine about God and His ways, is for theologians to submit theories to the magisterium of the church. The magisterium, that body of bishops in union with the pope, then prays, discusses, and debates the issues, and eventually with the aid of the Holy Spirit, comes up with authentic church teaching. One theory presented, was by a Dutch theologian, in the 17th century. His theory said: "Even God cannot make two times two not equal four." Think about it for a moment. It’s very thought provoking. The point he was making was that God created our world with dependable physical laws. Two and two equals four -- it always has and always will. If two times two equaled four today and six tomorrow, we would soon have total chaos. We couldn’t manage budgets, buy groceries, or take accurate measurements. God has given us a world that makes sense: Two and two always equals four. Gravity always pulls us toward the earth. The sun always rises from the east in the morning, and sets in the west in the evening. He established physical laws. They’re dependable. They make sense. They could be called God’s math! But if we really think about it, that doesn’t mean that God can’t tamper with our world. That He limited His own power, so that physical laws can’t be suspended -- even by Him! If that were true, and He couldn’t affect our lives, then we are truly alone! And He can’t help us. Our prayers would become meaningless. So today we read this scripture about the miracle of the Feeding of the Five Thousand. A feat that took place with only five loaves and two fish. This is the only miracle story told in it’s variations and fullness in all four of the Gospels. Some theologians think that God's physical laws are so dependable that not even God can suspend them. That there’s a logical explanation for what happened. Maybe all of the people had bread in their coats and, after seeing the little boy give his, they eventually took theirs out. But Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all say that something happened in Galilee that went against those physical laws. Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes. Actually, it was far more than five thousand people, because Matthew tells us that there were five thousand men besides women and children. It could have easily been more like 10 thousand that were fed. With 12 baskets left over! Christians find this miraculous story easy to believe. Why? Because we know that God does intervene in people's lives. God does, on occasion, suspend the laws of nature for a particular purpose. God does work miracles. God can and does make two plus two equal anything that He wants -- when it serves His purposes. God doesn't do these things to drive us crazy. He does it out of love. He works all kinds of miracles to get our attention – to bolster our faith and lets us know the extent of His power and love for us. Sometimes it’s a miracle of healing -- not for everyone and in every instance, that’s a mystery-- but He does it for some of us. All of us know of people who were diagnosed with a deadly disease or illness -- not expected to live. But by prayer, and miraculous intervention, the doctors were confounded because they operate on that person, or treat that person and there’s nothing there. They were totally healed. This parish has a very active prayer line and they’re been some amazing healings that are recorded there. Other times, it may be a miracle of nature, where storms or hurricanes are averted or lessened, or a normal rule of nature altered. All for the benefit of God’s purpose. He’s showing us the power of prayer and divine intervention, on a grand scale. He also gives us miracles of deliverance, where the heavens open, and things we think are humanly impossible to solve, suddenly get repaired. Things like drug and alcohol addictions. Broken marriages are repaired, or financial conditions improve, or just maybe our faith is renewed as miraculous blessings pour down on us. Something wonderful happens! We’ve heard and seen stories like this in this parish. Our trouble is that we try and limit God in fixing something that we believe can’t be fixed.That’s wrong! Yes, the Feeding of the Five Thousand -- was quite a miracle, and it demonstrates the power of God's math. It tells us that God has the power to change anything in the world that He wants. The Bible is full of stories that demonstrate the power of God's math. Many are in the Old Testament. Remember the story of Gideon, who had twenty-two thousand soldiers to battle the huge army of Midianites. But God told Gideon to send all but 300 of them home. Then He told Gideon what to do with the 300 soldiers that were left, and he did it – and Gideon won the battle. In God's math, three hundred soldiers can be more powerful than twenty-two thousand. You see, in God's math, one person plus God is always a majority. Or what about the story of David and Goliath. Goliath said to the Israelites: "Send one soldier to face me. If he wins, your army wins. If he loses, your army loses." Saul had plenty of soldiers -- veterans -- men who were accustomed to battle and used to winning. But Scripture tells us that they were "dismayed and greatly afraid." Goliath was a huge giant of a man. So David, an untested recruit, who couldn't even manage the heavy armor and sword, volunteered. He went against Goliath armed with only a slingshot and a few smooth stones. You know the rest of that story. God plus a shepherd boy was greater than a giant. Another example of God's wonderful math. I wanted to know how many major miracles Jesus performed in the New Testament so I did a search on the internet, and found that Jesus performed 36 major miracles. 9 miracles were concerning nature, such as stilling the storm and walking on water. 20 miracles were of a healing nature, such as healing of Peter’s mother in law and the healing of the blind and of the deaf man. There were 3 resurrection miracles such as the raising of Lazarus, and there were 4 miracles concerning the casting out of demons. That’s not counting the many times Jesus healed all of the sick of a particular village. So, not only can He do so, but He does do so. God acts in the lives of people then as well as now, and wonderful things happen. At the heart of the loaves and fishes story, that little boy surrendered his meager gifts of five loaves and two fish to Jesus, and look what mighty miracles God did with them. God wants to do the same with us. He wants us to bring our meager gifts to God, -- our meager and ordinary talents and gifts. The simplicity of who we are. And then see what mighty miracles God can do with our little lives. When we surrender to Christ –truly surrender—then we will see the miraculous things God can do in and through us. God uses our inadequacies. All we have to do is to humbly submit. To open our eyes to God's possibilities. To open our minds to God's math. To open our hearts to God's ways. It never ceases to amaze me at how much energy we put into making excuses. “I don’t earn enough to feed my own family, how can I be expected to give?” or “I haven’t studied the faith enough to be a religious education teacher. Let someone else do it. ”or “If I try and explain my Catholic faith to someone, I trip over my words so I don’t say anything when I’m confronted.” That’s not my job” Yes, our financial resources, talents, and even our holiness are clearly inadequate to meet the needs of a hungry and confused world. So what else is new? This gospel commands us to offer what little we have anyway, trusting that God will multiply them. Who could have guessed how God would multiply the loaves and fishes offered by an Albanian nun named Mother Teresa when she walked into the slums of Calcutta to minister to those dying in the streets? Imagine if she had said “No, Lord, this is beyond me. I’m just one person”. Imagine if Peter didn’t reconsidered after saying “Leave me, Lord, for I am a sinful man”. And he left, never to come back. Imagine if the apostles had saved the five loaves and fish for themselves instead of offering them to the crowd because they “just knew” there wasn’t enough for everyone. If these people hadn’t given their inadequate gifts to God, look at all the good that wouldn’t have been accomplished. In this year of the Eucharist, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the liturgical references in this Gospel passage, about the Holy Eucharist. They’re so clear. Jesus took the bread...looked up to heaven...gave thanks (gave Eucharist)...broke the bread...gave it to his disciples...who gave it to everyone...and they all ate and were satisfied. These actions parallel the Eucharist. If we read the 6th Chapter John, we discover that the feeding of the five thousand in that same chapter, is a prelude to the “Bread of Life Discourse.” We find the most complete description of Holy Communion in all of Scripture. Christ says: “I am the Bread of life. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, I live in that person and that person lives in me.” “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood will never die but live forever.” Incredible words. Incredible promises! For the first Christians, the receiving of Our Lord’s Body and Blood was a miracle. THE miracle. It’s a miracle for us today. In the papal encyclical Mysterium Fidei, Pope PaulVI states: “To avoid any misunderstanding of this type of presence, which goes beyond the laws of nature, the Eucharist constitutes the greatest miracle of its kind.” With the Eucharist we see the transformation of selfish human hearts! Forgiveness. Strength for the trials of life. Food for the soul and the spirit. The miracle of the Holy Eucharist is a sacred time. In the Eucharist we bring the very ordinary and inadequate work of our hands, bread and wine, and join to this, the offering of our very ordinary lives. Through the invocation of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, this offering is transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. He transforms these things into perfect humanity and life-giving divinity. He not only feeds us but empowers us to feed the whole world. We’re strengthened to face the impossibilities of this life. What are those impossibilities in our life? What crowds do we have to feed? What battles lay before us? What giants do we have to face? There’s plenty of them out there. No one is immune. Do we just give up and stop trying? That’s no way for a Christian! When faced with these impossibilities, face them hand in hand with the one who makes all things possible. Read His word; kneel before him in prayer; receive His precious body and blood, and seek His will for your life. Come before Him in the Mass or at Holy Hour. When Father raises up the Eucharist, ask Him with sincere and humble hearts for all of your needs. Ask for intercession from Mary, His mother, and all the saints in heaven. When we do that, then we’re “doing the math.” God’s math! And then proceed on with the confidence that comes, not from our strength, but from His. You plus God are greater than your adversary. You plus God are greater than the tasks that challenge you. You plus God add up to whatever God wants. Walk with God in faith, and see what wonderful miraculous things God can bring about in your life. God Bless You!

Are you a worry weed? The parable of the sower and the seed.
There is the story of an Indian chief telling a gathering of young braves about the struggle within all of us. He said, “That struggle is like two dogs fighting inside of us. There’s one good dog who wants to do what’s right and the other dog always wants to do what’s wrong. Sometimes the good dog seems stronger and winning the fight, but sometimes the bad dog is stronger and wrong is winning the fight.” One of the youngest braves asked, “Who is going to win in the end?” The chief paused for a moment and then answered, “The one you feed.” Are we feeding the wrong dog? Are we becoming just another statistic, that succumbs to selfishness, materialism and greed; those things that hurts marriages, families and ultimately our very soul? Skewed priorities reap nothing but broken dreams and anguished hearts. The parable today, illustrates the sad consequences of distorted priorities. As we review this Gospel, let’s grasp His Word. Let’s grow in deeper faith as we analyze our lives. The parable begins with a farmer. He goes out to sow His seed. The seed of course is the Good News of Jesus Christ. “As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path and the birds came and ate it up.” In spite of the farmer’s skill and efforts, some of that seed first falls on the trampled down path. I remember a lady, a lapsed Catholic, who I invited to come back to Mass. Her polite but firm response was, ”I’m not interested in anything religious.” As we continued the conversation, I realized it was her beautiful home, the finely manicured lawn and fancy car that revealed where her true priorities were. Those “things” were all that she wanted in life. She had no time or need for “religion.” Maybe someone said or did something that turned her off. But the sad result is that she had hardened her heart. She made the conscious effort to be unreceptive. We shouldn’t become smug, because we too can suffer with hard hearts. Even Jesus’ own disciples struggled with these, and they missed many of His spiritual truths. At one point, Jesus asked, “Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes – but fail to see, and ears - but fail to hear?” Hardness of heart is a terrible spiritual “soil condition.” And we aren’t above the problem. Sin, doubts and unbelief constantly threaten to keep our faith from growing. I know there’s times when we feel that God has left us on the “hard pavement of life.” That life isn’t fair and sometimes gets turned upside. When it happens we’re tempted to block God out. Or turn in a different direction for answers; but to God is the exact place we should turn. Don’t run from Him, but to Him. Only Christ can help us in those times. He’s already remedied our sins and failures. They shouldn’t haunt us any longer. Christ won forgiveness for them. And He gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation to have them forgiven. He’s put the cross in our lives to keep us humble and contrite. He’s stirring things up so that we can practice virtue. Trust in Christ and Satan flees from us. He promises never to leave us or forsake us., to walk with us through this life – whatever comes our way. He uses every event in our life for our eternal good. He continues, “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It spring up quickly, because the soul was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered because they had no root” The spiritual counterpoint for us is that, “The seed that fell on the rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” We see it happen all too often. We hear the Gospel, receive the Holy Spirit, and for the first time – it makes sense! We’re excited, joyful and enthusiastic. We’re like sponges. It’s what we call “having a conversion.” Christ becomes the highpoint of our life. After a while however, that period of grace – that instruction period – ends, and the persecution and dryness begin. Many of us can’t take the heat – the heat of ridicule, peer pressure, disappointment or disillusionment. We become complacent. Someone or something challenges us and we begin to lapse in our faith. Being a Christian in the world isn’t very popular. It’s hard to be a confessional Christian in a world that would just as soon water down Jesus’ teachings so that it says whatever people want it to say. Yet, in reality, it says nothing at all. It’s called secular humanism. If we are not rooted deep enough in the truth of God’s Word, and aren’t drawing on His love, then we run the risk of withering away. Plants of faith that lack roots won’t survive. There were some grandparents driving across the Midwest on vacation with their five-year old granddaughter. They were enjoying the sights, especially the beautiful fields of corn. The wind was blowing hard and the grandmother commented: “Looks like the wind could blow the corn down.” Their five-year old granddaughter piped up, “Oh, no, it’s planted deep, Grandma and you don’t blow down when you’re planted deep.” We need to be planted deep in our faith growing in the grace and knowledge of Christ; and to pray for one another asking God to grant us strength. Such plants of faith will stand up and thrive even when the winds of sin and temptation blow. We continue with the parable. “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.” Anyone who gardens can appreciate this picture. It’s a constant battle to keep out weeds! Weeds take away from the good plants and can actually choke them to death. What are our weeds? One that’s quite common is getting caught up in the daily snare of worry or concern – often over trivial things. The “worry weed” becomes prominent. It pops up without notice, fast growing and robs us of our faith. Did we come to Mass today with a clear mind? Or, are we stewing over what someone said to us before Mass? Maybe we’re distracted by an event in the paper. It could be we’re tired because we chose not to get the proper rest and now we’re struggling just to listen. Our thoughts might be on a certain financial worry. How many of us are here today in body, but our minds are on some worry? If so, the worry weed has sprung up and garnering our attention. It threatens to strangle the proper adoration, worship and proper reception of God in the Eucharist. Only God’s promises can root out the worry weed from our lives. God promised to be our Savior and He kept His word. He’s the author of our salvation. Give your burdens to Him! He’s in control over all things. All we’re asked is to do our best and then to pray and trust. Easily said, but hard to do. Jesus I trust in You! We are blessed to have the Divine Mercy Shrine here in our church, live what it says and we’ll be OK! Jesus I trust in You! Now, not all of Jesus’ work was in vain: “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty fold.” I’m sure all of us would hope that this soil represents us. We’re the good soil. But do our priorities in life always reflect that hope? Do we regularly pray and read Scripture? Do we take every opportunity (i.e. daily Mass) to come and receive strength from His body and blood? Do we take time to talk to our children about things that are important and equally important, do we listen? Do we seek the counsel of our clergy and the teachings of the church when faced with challenges? D we produce a harvest in our lives? Good questions to ask ourselves. There are four kinds of soil. At times we’ve all been one of those soils. We’ve been hardened or open. At times we’ve been fired up with enthusiasm only to have it die down quickly or we’ve simply let the weeds of worry choke our faith. But the Good News is that: The quality of the soil doesn’t affect the potential of the seed. Let me repeat: The quality of the soil does not affect the potential of the seed. The message is still the same. We still proclaim Christ crucified and risen. We still proclaim the Good News of the forgiveness of sin. We still tell the story. We still plant the seeds. No matter that our hearts are often hard, shallow and infested with worries; the seeds of the Gospel tell us of a Savior who’s done everything for us. We hear of a love so great it’s hard to imagine. God sent his own “seed”, His only Son, to sacrifice Himself for us. As Catholics, we are privileged to partake in that sacrifice with every Mass we attend. Thus we have the grace to bear much fruit. What is that fruit? It’s the fruit of the Spirit. St. Paul says it as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” The Gospel, Eucharist and other tools given to us in our Catholic faith do work. But a tool is just a tool unless we use them. When Jesus finished telling parable of the Sower, He cried out: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” Clearly for His explanation, we learn that not all those who have ears to hear, really listen! It’s important that we not only prioritize our life, but that we listen well when God’s Word is being proclaimed. That is how faith grows and bears fruit. And then as the wise old Indian chief said: we won’t be feeding the wrong dog. God bless you!

Celebrate ‘The Holy Family’ everyday…Is your family a holy family? It can be…
Every year right after Christmas, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. When I was young, I used to think that if you seriously wanted to pursue holiness, you had to opt out of marriage and enter a monastery. Holiness was about lots of quiet prayer and apostolic work, while noisy family life was a distraction to all of this. The feast of the Holy Family shows how far off base I was. It reminds us, as Vatican II teaches, that everyone is called the heights of holiness. That all states of life, including student, teenager and parent offer abundant opportunities to grow in faith, hope and love. The nitty-gritty of family life, if approached right, can be a road to profound personal transformation and communion with God. Think about this. Jesus spent over 90% of His time here on earth in the obscure nitty-gritty of family life. Despite the cuddly image of our nativity scenes, the original Christmas was anything but cozy. A woman, nine months pregnant rides 75 miles on the back of a donkey over bumpy, dusty roads so that she can have her baby in a stable full of dirty, smelly animals. Quickly after the birth they have to pick up and flee for their lives, seeking asylum in a foreign land. A few years later, the now adolescent son goes missing for several days, and there ensues a conversation characterized with a lot of emotion. Joseph is a saint, Mary is without sin, Jesus is God incarnate and yet, there are still challenges, difficulties, tense moments and opportunities for misunderstanding. Welcome to the real family life. This is exactly what, not only they go through, but we do as well. If we read what the Church teaches—what we will find is that everything in the Church is at the service of the family. The family is the place where the consciences of the young people—the next generation—are being formed and developed. They’re growing in maturity, hopefully in age, grace and wisdom. They’re going to be the leaders of tomorrow. The Church knows full well that the family is the foundation of both the Church and society. The ‘domestic church’ as it’s called is the most important body in society. The family must be upheld, it must be supported and that’s what parents should do, and precisely what the Church does—support family life. This is critically important because in our society, the family is not being supported. In fact, everything is directed to destroy it, whether, it’s from the laws that are passed to favor people who live together without being married, whether it’s the laws (China) that are made to insure that couples will not have more than two children or they will be punished. Whether it is the societal attitude that what is really most important is one’s career and not one’s family. We may have the attitude: “What’s most important is me, not the person whom I have vowed to love, not the little ones who’ve been conceived in that love. But what is most important is me and my selfish desires and my wants”. We’ve gotten everything backwards. Even among Catholics, rather than look to Christ and His Church, many of us have been influenced by the world, and the family has been seriously hurt by that influence. Everything is here for us to be able to live according to the way of Christ, but it requires making a choice to live in a way which is different from what our society lives. That shouldn’t be a difficult choice but there’s a tremendous amount of pressure from all of the external forces around us. It is easy to understand why people have fallen prey to individualism, selfishness, hedonism, pleasure and everything about the self. These values are pounded into our heads, but they’re completely skewed. They threaten families with unnecessary pain and suffering. Only the principles Christ and the Church lay out for us, the way to happiness, fulfillment, to peace, unity and ultimately to eternity in heaven. So it begins, then in the marriage, living the vows that have been made to love one another, to seek the good of one another, to build up one another, to help one another and to grow in holiness. The family is the place where saints are made. Marriage isn’t second class; it’s a holy way of life. To try to raise children this society requires a saint—it requires two saints! To be able to live with a spouse who doesn’t think the way we do, who doesn’t act the way we do, who doesn’t see things the same way we do, and to be able to serve that spouse that, requires a saint. It requires that we pray more than one hour a week on Sunday. We must be praying everyday. We must have our own prayer life. We must pray with our spouse and with our children. The statement, “The “family that prays together stays together” is true. Show me a family in big trouble, and I’ll show you a family that lost their sense and desire for prayer. We all know the answer. We just don’t want to follow it. It’s just like a diet. The only way to lose weight is to follow the hard road of dieting and exercise. But that’s too hard. So we wait until our health deteriorates and then out of fright we start, but many times that’s too late. The same principle applies to our family. We wait until the family breaks down and then we want to know what happened. Before trouble begins follow the road of prayer and sometimes, if necessary, tough love and discipline. There are parents today who never, never, correct their children. They don’t want to offend them; they always want to be “nice.” But in the final analysis, never correcting is not loving! It’s depriving the children of the instruction and formation that they need, that which will form them into good adults, into good and respectable members of the family. If parents correct with love, with a desire of forming their children into good citizens, the children will one day realize that their parents really did love them and acted like responsible parents. If your children have followed the path of the Prodigal Son and got caught up in the worldly allurements and have fallen away from Christ and His Church, there are two things that need to be done. Number one, pray the Rosary devoutly every single day for your children and give them to Our Lady. She will bring them back. Trust in that prayer. Trust in Our Lady’s maternal love for your children and she will bring them back. It may be on their deathbed; we don’t know when or how it will happen, just pray and trust. The 2nd thing is to give them to Our Lord. Honestly and earnestly, from the depths of your heart, tell Our Lord, “Do whatever is necessary to bring my child back and save their soul.” We don’t know what that may be, perhaps something serious like a financial catastrophe, or various health difficulties, we simply just don’t know. It may be something very simple. If you’ve laid the foundation in your children’s lives; they know what the truth is. Perhaps it will just take a small gift of grace from God to bring them around. Other times, it takes something much more difficult. But whatever’s required, even if it’s something serious in order to save their soul, remember that God loves that child infinitely more than we do, and desires only the best for that child. Let go. Give the child to God and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Ask God to do whatever is required, and then trust. Leave it in their hands and continue to pray. Don’t try to tell them how to do their job! Just pray and be faithful. That’s what’s required. The creator of the universe spent most of his human life as a carpenter, working with dad in the family business. Mary, the holiest of all creatures, spent most of her time changing diapers, cooking and cleaning. The secret to holiness is not to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love and gratitude. We don’t become holy despite the hustle-bustle of family life. We become holy in and through family life. If we put these principles into practice in our own lives and in our own families we will truly have a holy family. We’ll be raising saints and we will be becoming saints, bringing out from deep within us God’s Holy Spirit. The same powerful Spirit that God placed within us when we were baptized and confirmed; that same Holy Presence who leads us throughout life to trust in His providence and plays a role in bringing God’s presence into our families and into the world around us. So for all families, I wish you a Happy Feast Day! Today is your day!