Homilies
Homily – VII Sun, in Ordinary Time(B) ’12 Father Joseph I remember it like it was yesterday…my sister came home from the “Dime Store” one afternoon in the Fall of ’69 with a new record. We must have played that song a dozen times that day…the song, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s my Brother” made famous by The Hollies. The song was all over the charts and caught-on quickly as a symbol of the civil rights/peace movement. I think of this song fondly and listen to it often; it came to mind when I pondered today’s Gospel. Something of its words come to life in the action of the four friends of the paralyzed man and their compassion for their friend. Jesus called their good deed by its real name…FAITH! Their faith led them to do whatever was necessary to bring their friend to a place where he could be helped and healed. St. Paul speaks of this kind of faith when he says, But the one who gives us security with you in Christ and who anointed us in God; he has also put his seal upon us and given the Spirit in our hearts as the first installment.(II…
Homily – VI Sun. in Ordinary Time(B) ’12 Father Joseph I do will it. Be made clean. The leprosy left him immediately. Where did the leprosy go? And since leprosy in the Scriptures is supposed to be an image of sin we might well ask a much more important question, “Where does sin go?” When Jesus forgives sin what happens to it – does it just evaporate? Leprosy does to an individual physically what sin does spiritually. Leprosy makes one unclean, it makes one ugly, it has the potential of cutting one off from the community and, finally, it kills one. Likewise, sin makes the sinner unclean, ugly, cut off from the community and spiritually dead. From the Pentatuch, the Book of Leviticus (13:38-39) has this to say: A man infected with leprosy must wear his clothing torn and his hair disordered; he must shield his upper lip and cry, “Unclean, unclean”. As long as the disease lasts he must be unclean; and therefore he must live apart: he must live outside the camp. The only way a leper could remain alive was to beg people to throw him money or leave him food. If anyone was foolish enough to…
Homily – V Sun. in Ordinary Time(B) ’12 Father Joseph ->It seems that a “typical” day in Jesus’ earthly life saw the sickness and suffering of those around him. To one degree or another, sickness and suffering are “universal” experience. I’ve heard it said that suffering is very democratic -with a small ”d”- it doesn’t come only to the selfish, the sinful, to those who are evil. No, it comes to young and old; to the wise and foolish; to saints and sinners. ->Let’s look back to our First Reading for a moment…Job says, I have been assigned months of misery…then the night drags on; I am filled with restlessness… shall I not see happiness again. I don’t know about you but I have not had to stretch myself too far to identify with Job at different times in my life! All we have to do is remember when we have been seriously ill or someone we love becomes ill or even dies and then Job’s lament hits close to home. And… the pain doesn’t always have to be physical…I would say that emotional suffering can be more acute: a marriage in distress, a child’s rebellion or a friend’s…
Homily – IV Sunday in Ord Time(B) ’12 Father Joseph ->You might recognize this story(I believe that I have used it in another context) but it is still a good one: It is said that the following incident took place off the coast of Massachusetts back in the early 50's. It was a stormy night at sea and a large battleship saw a light in the distance. The light was directly on the ship’s course. The captain of the ship was alerted and had a radio message sent out: “Light up ahead, bear 10 degrees south.” The captain received the reply, "Sir, you must bear 10 degrees north." The captain grew furious and got onto the radio himself and yelled, "I am Captain James Smith, that’s captain in the US Navy. Whoever you are, I am ordering you to bear 10 degrees south. Who are you and what is your rank?" He heard the feeble answer, "This is Seaman 1st Class Howard Scott, Sir, you must bear 10 degrees north." The captain barked out, “I am on the bridge of the Battleship USS New Jersey, and I am telling you to bear 10 degrees south." Then he heard the…
Homily – Third Sun. in Ordinary Time(B) ’12 Father Joseph ->I’d like to speak a little bit about what we heard in our First Reading today, from the Book of Jonah. There is an interesting dynamic here…conversion…Jonah’s conversion and the conversion of the Ninevites. Jonah is called to abandon his prejudice against the Gentiles and go, as God instructed him, to preach to them. The Ninevites are called to conversion thru Jonah’s preaching. We need to remember that not all of Sacred Scripture is strict history, but frequently, the accounts are parables employed by different authors to make a very real point. The Book of Jonah was not written by Jonah, but by an unknown author some three centuries later, who named his writing after Jonah, and the point he seeks to make is the need for the Jewish people to break from their narrow-minded religious bigotry; to recognize that God's love is for everyone.. ->So…what is this “conversion” all about? Let’s put conversion in a present-day setting. The need for conversion is as present in today's society as it was in the times of which we have just been reading. Pope Benedict frequently speaks of the increasing secularization…
Homily – II Sunday in Ord Time(B) ’11 Father Joseph ->The theme of our readings this week is crystal clear: God calls us. If we use the “ears of our hearts,” of faith…we would hear God calling us day or night. He calls adults, children, sick people, people at work, and people on holidays, saints and even sinners in need of his grace…like you…like me. God never stops calling. ->We don’t always realize that it is God; Samuel thought it was Eli calling him. When mom or dad asks for help with the dishes or other chores, children can be tempted to think that it’s only mom or dad calling; and mom or dad can think: it’s only the boss telling me to show up to work on time. Youth might think: Oh, it’s only the Church that wants us to behave in this way and all the time it’s God calling. God calls us individually and by name - Samuel! Samuel! Mary! Mary! John! John! ->The Lord calls us the same way he loves us – as individuals. We are not called en masse and we are not saved en masse. Yes, salvation has been offered to all…
Homily – Epiphany of the Lord ’11 Father Joseph ->I had the privilege of attending the seminary with many seminarians from Nigeria(and my heart goes out to them now with all the strife there). One of them, Fr. Vitalis was ordained 2 years before me…he told this story: On a cold morning three fruit farmers were warming themselves by the fireside. Soon two of them were engaged in a heated debate comparing their religions to decide which one was the true religion. Okoro, the oldest among them, sat quietly listening to the debate. Suddenly the two turned to him and asked, “Decide for us, Okoro. Which religion is the right one?” Okoro rubbed his white beard and said thoughtfully, “Well, you know there are three ways to get from here to the fruit market. You can go right over the hill. That is shorter but it is a steep climb. You can go around the hill on the right side. That is not too far, but the road is rough and full of potholes. Or you can go around the hill on the left side. That is the longest way, but it is also the easiest.” He paused and…
Homily – Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God ’11 Father Joseph A few months back, I had a discussions with a young man about Jesus. He was seriously searching and needed to be respected for where he was in his journey in faith. He told me that although he called himself a Christian, he did not believe that Christ was God. He said that he believed that Jesus was a great man… I asked him how being a follower of Christ for him would be any different from being a follower of Marx, or Ghandi, or Martin Luther King or any other figure from history. He left, searching for an answer to this question because, I truly believe, he knew that he recognized Jesus as far more than just a historic figure. This question of who Jesus is(in our Church’s history), as well as the importance of understanding His divinity gave rise to the great theological statement that He is the Son of God as well as the Son of Mary. His nature, what He is, is both God and man; His person, who He is, is the Eternal Word of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.…
Homily – The Solemnity of Christmas ’11 Father Joseph ->Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Like many people my age, I remember the first time I heard the Gospel proclaimed outside of Church. It was in my parent’s living room on a black and white Philco TV. The one who proclaimed the Gospel wasn’t a priest or a deacon; it was a scruffy little boy with a blanket named Linus…during the much-beloved show, “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” ->About five years ago, Peanuts creator, Chas Schultz, was interviewed during a documentary on PBS about how that show came about. The TV executives were nervous about many things before that special aired…using real children for voices, about not having a laugh track, and REAL nervous about using scripture. Heaven forbid a Christmas Special that actually mentions Christ. But…Schultz stuck to his guns and the result…a much-beloved Christmas Special that endures! ->It is a humbling reminder to those of us who approach the pulpit every week; sometimes the most powerful pulpit isn’t a pulpit at all and sometimes the most effect preacher isn’t actually a preacher!…
Homily – IV Sun of Advent(B) ’11 Father Joseph If God were to invite you to ask Him for one gift – which you could carry along with you on the journey of life through all the problems, challenges, joys, sorrows and difficulties you would most likely encounter – what would it be…for what might you ask? This is somewhat of a rhetorical question, of course but…one that has been asked and fulfilled in our salvation history. Well, there is one thing God promised to each man and woman He called into His service. He never asked them to do anything for Him without making this promise. It was to be their greatest source of strength, encouragement and confidence and…if would never fail them! It was a simple promise, a simple gift and an unimaginably great one. To Isaac God said: Be sure that I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this land, for I will not desert you... To Jacob God said: Go back to the land of your forefathers and to your kindred; and I will be with you. To Joshua God said: As long as you live,…
