Witness to Love Marriage Preparation and Formation Program Launched at Holy Cross Melkite Catholic Church by Deacon Russ & Jody Millspaugh.
March 1, 2020.

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Homily:
As I was growing up I would watch with fascination as my mother prepared lentil soul. I quickly realized how many important steps there are to make a good bowl of lentil soup. My mother would measure the amount of lentils needed, put them in a large tray, then begin to separate the lentils from the debris and anything else that may have been mixed in with the bag...
 
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Homily.
Has anyone ever asked you: “Are you saved?” Today we heard a verse from Saint Paul’s letter to the Christian community in Rome: “Our salvation is nearer than when we came to believe” (Romans 13:11). We often use the word “salvation” but what does it really mean? As we live our faith, we need to keep in mind that salvation is not a moment but a journey.

In our daily life we see aspects of salvation when we recognize and are grateful for God’s gifts and blessings in our life. For example, when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus into the temple, Saint Symeon looked at Jesus and said “my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30). He said this because he saw the one who was the salvation of the world.

We begin our salvation here on earth through a definite commitment to faith. We may have many blessings around us, but salvation begins when we appreciate that those blessings are from God. We as Catholics do not believe that being saved is a one-time event but we do believe that we all need to make an active commitment to faith. Baptism is not enough. Baptism does not make us a Christian. It is only the entry into the life of faith, because faith is not a conveyor belt. We will not grow in our faith automatically, accidentally, or against our will. Saint Augustine said: “God created you without your cooperation, but he won’t save you without your cooperation.”

Tomorrow is the first day of Lent. Lent is a short journey that should remind us of our longer life journey of faith. We started our faith journey at baptism but if we have not progressed spiritually since that day, then we are still spiritual babies. When we were baptized someone brought us to Church but as we begin this journey of Lent let us remind ourselves to bring ourselves to Church and to make an active commitment to faith every Sunday and every day.

Take some time today to renew your commitment to Christ. Speak with Jesus as if He is your friend because He is your friend. We are truly on the road of salvation when throughout our day we tell God: “I love you. I thank you. I give my life to you. I am open to your word in my life. I want to live according to your will.”

In order to grow in faith, we need to use active language in our personal conversation with God and not assume we are already saved or that this has already happened by what we said or did in the past. For example, when the archangel Gabriel told Mary that God chose her to be the mother of Jesus the Messiah, Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Mary clearly proclaimed that she is the servant of the Lord and that she is willing to move in whatever direction God is pointing her.

Regardless of our age, we should all repeat this verse every day. Before we think of what we want to do with our lives whether in regards to school, professions, family life, or business plans we should first clearly tell God that all these things are secondary to doing your will.

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Homily.
Today is the Sunday of the Prodigal Son. By referring to the Gospel in this way we emphasize the wastefulness of the younger son.

In Arabic, today’s Gospel is known as: “Injeel ibnil-shatir.” The word “shatir” in classical Arabic means “cunning” and the verb “shaatara” means “to split or divide.” Therefore, in both English and Arabic the focus is on the son who was wasteful, cunning, and divided the family wealth. However, the true message of the Gospel is not about wastefulness of family wealth.

This section can be renamed the Gospel of the Merciful Father, the Gospel of the Repentant younger son, or the Gospel of the Ungrateful Elder Son. These aspects of waste, ingratitude, repentance, and mercy are perfect themes for our Lenten preparations.

Today’s Gospel begins at Luke 15:11. But, in order to better understand its rich message, we need to go back to the beginning of chapter 15 where the religious authorities are once again challenging Jesus. In verses one and two of that chapter we read that: “the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear Jesus. [2] And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them.’ ” (Luke 15:1-2).

Jesus does not respond by arguing with them, but tells them three stories. The first is about a man who had a hundred sheep. When he lost one of them, he left the 99 to search for the lost one. When he found it he tells his friends and neighbors: “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost” (Luke 15:6). Jesus then adds: “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).

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Homily
There are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, 7 days in a week, and 52 weeks in a year. Unfortunately, at the end of the day, the week, or the year we often wonder “How did time pass by so quickly?”

My grade 12 high school class had a sign that read “Time will pass, will you?” I did pass, but strangely enough that’s one of the few things I remember from grade 12.

Writers, philosophers, and people from all walks of life have reflected on time. Two friends were chatting and one said: “Time is money.” The other said “That is even more true when you are talking to a lawyer.” Time can mean different things to different people.

Everyone and especially religions have speculated on the general notions of time and eternity. Today, the word “mindfulness” has particularly become popular but is not new. All cultures, in one way or another, have emphasized the importance of slowing down and being more mindful of the time we have.

Has anyone here ever experienced a Japanese tea ceremony? I am very fortunate to have attended several. There are very few other things I have experienced that have forced me to be so mindful of the seconds, minutes, and everything around me.

The Japanese tea ceremony is usually an hour but can take up to 4 hours. It takes over 10 years to be certified as a master to learn the over 300 different ceremonies. Every action of both the guest and the master are mindful and particular. The passing of time becomes secondary to the beauty of the ceremony of preparing the water, cleaning the utensils, mixing the tea, admiring the decorations on the bowl, and of course, finally drinking the tea. We have gotten used to doing everything so quickly that we often miss the beauty of the moment, the beauty of the people we are with, and the beauty of the things we are doing.

Prayer and in particular the Divine Liturgy is meant to slow us down so we can appreciate the seconds, minutes, days, weeks, and years God has given us. We sometimes want shorter prayers so we can get on with the rest of our week. Actually, our prayers here in Church should help us be more mindful of God’s presence in our lives, the blessings we have, and the people God has given us because without these, life is meaningless.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a story about two people who went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee brags about how good he is and how bad he thought everyone else is, whereas the Publican bows his head, beats his breast, and says “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” Jesus places the actions and words of the publican as an example for us of true prayer, mindfulness, and self-awareness.

In today’s culture that focuses so much on looking good and feeling good, we have forgotten the more important virtue of being good. Cosmetics and fashion are multi-billion dollar industries because they give us the false illusion that how we look is more important than how we are doing on the inside and in relation to others. Unfortunately, the cost of our clothes bears absolutely no relation to the quality of our character. We have to all ask ourselves whether our desire to impress people is simply our way of hiding what is broken and hurt within us.

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Homily.
I enjoy spending time with families and answering questions, especially religious ones. Recently, I was visiting a home and the question of sin came up. Then, one of the young children asked me: “Father, do you ever lie?” Of course I wanted to say “never,” but was afraid that my answer may be a lie, because lying is much more than just what you say.
 
It is easy to say that we should never lie, but more important, can we say that we work hard to tell the truth. Or even more, can we say we are convinced the truth is so important that we consciously work hard to find the truth, to speak the truth, and to live the truth in all its aspects? Not lying is important, but it is much more than just speaking falsely. We should not lye because in the bigger picture, when we do we are not living the truth.
 
Since I was in high school, I’ve made a point, despite how difficult it may be, to tell the truth. At the Church our family goes to, there is a large icon behind the altar, with Jesus carrying an open Gospel book that has the inscription from John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” This verse has always struck me as very powerful, because Jesus not only asks us to speak the truth, He says He is truth.
 
Jesus also connects being His disciple with the truth. In John 8:31-32, He says: “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, [32] and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” This is a very rich verse because Jesus says when we live the truth we become His disciples, and if we are His disciples then we will know the truth and the truth will make us free. Therefore, the truth is not just not lying. It is an important aspect of becoming a disciple of Jesus. When we live in the sphere of truth, we live in a relationship with Him who is the truth.

Of course, the truth is not easy, because it takes discipline to discover the truth, it takes courage to live the truth, and it takes perseverance to remain strong when people oppose us for speaking the truth. In addition to these, today’s readings cover at least three additional aspects of the truth. First, the truth is worth it, second, the truth transcends age or time, and third, the truth is not just what we say, it is also what we do.

Saint Paul tells St. Timothy “this saying is true and worthy of full acceptance” (1 Tim. 4:9). He reminds us the truth is worth it. Has this been your experience in life? Have you found it worthwhile to speak and live the truth?
 
 Around 30 years ago, I bought a racing bicycle and the guy at the counter charged me a $100 too little. I told him he made a mistake on the price and he thought that I was telling him that he overcharged me. I told him he wrote the wrong model number and undercharged me by $100. I still remember the startled look on his face as he knew I could have easily paid $100 less.
 
 Because I had previously made a conscious decision not to lie, it was an easy decision to speak the truth even though I did not have to or could have gotten away with it. I decided that my integrity was worth more than a $100 and I have remembered that incident during other difficult decisions.
 
 Coincidentally, around 10 years after, when I bought a mountain bike, a different guy, at a different store, in a different city, also made the same mistake and wrote a bill for $100 less than the actual price. I also told the person who wrote the bill to make the correction. It was worth it, the first time, it was worth it the second time, and if it ever happens again it will be worth it again. We all have to decide whether the truth is worth it.
 
 Second, the truth transcends age or time. St. Paul tells St. Timothy: “Let no one despise your young age” (1 Tim. 4:12). And Zacchaeus, who is an elderly man, climbs the tree to discover the

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Epistle: Colossians 3:4-11.
Brethren, when Christ, our life, appears, then you too shall appear in glory. Put to death whatever in your members is of the earth: immorality, uncleanness, lust, evil desire, covetousness, which is a form of idol-worship. Because of these passions, God’s wrath comes upon the sons of disobedience and you yourselves once walked in them when they were your [way of] life.  But now, you too put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, abusive language and foul-mouthed utterances.  Do not lie to one another.  Strip off the old man with his deeds and put on the new, one that is being renewed towards perfect knowledge according to his creator’s image (Cf. Gn.1:26) Here there is no Gentile and Jew, no circumcised and uncircumcised, no Barbarian and Scythian, no slave and freeman, but Christ is all things, and in all.

Gospel: Luke 17:12-19. 
At that time as Jesus was entering a certain village, there met him ten lepers, who stood afar off and lifted up their voice, crying, “Jesus, master, have pity on us.” And when he saw them he said, “Go, show yourselves to priests.” And it came to pass as they were on their way that they were made clean.  But one of them, seeing that he was made clean, returned, with a loud voice glorifying God, and he fell on his face at his feet, giving thanks; and he was a Samaritan.  But Jesus answered and said, “Were not the ten made clean? But where are the nine? Has no one been found to return and give glory to God except this foreigner?”  And he said to him, “Arise, go your way, for your faith has saved you.”

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Homily:
About twenty years ago I was driving with someone who bought a brand new fully loaded car. He was so proud of this car that as we were driving he kept saying “look, look” then he began to press almost every single button and turn every single knob in the car.

Finally, it came time to show me the most impressive feature that his previous car did not have: the impressive cruise control. “Look, look, you press one button” he told me “then you take your foot off the gas pedal, and the car keeps going at exactly the same speed.” He was so excited he lifted his knee up next to the steering wheel and said: “Look, look, my foot is not even near the gas pedal.”

He then got a little too excited. In addition to lifting his foot off the pedal, he took both hands off the steering wheel and said: “Look, look, no feet and no hands. I’m in cruise control.” I immediately grabbed the steering wheel and said: “That is not how cruise control works. You can take your foot off the gas pedal for a few minutes but you can’t take your hands off the steering wheel even for one second.”

As odd as this may sound, we sometimes live our spiritual lives like we are driving a car with cruise control. We believe in the basics of our faith, but then take our feet off the gas pedal and say: “Look, look, I’m still a good person. I don’t need to learn new things about the Bible anymore.” Regardless of whether we’re making progress or not, we’re sometimes content that our speed is just fine. Then we might start taking our spiritual life for granted a little more. After taking our feet off the pedal, we then take one hand off the wheel by saying: “Look, look, everything is still ok even when I skip my daily prayers or stop praying at all.” “Look, look, I’m still making good decisions in life.”

We then might end up taking the other hand off the wheel and start to drive down the highway of life with our feet nowhere near the gas or brake pedals and our hands nowhere near the steering wheel and we say “Look, look, things are still ok, without all that religion stuff.”

If there is no one around us and the road is flat, then for a few seconds we can drive in cruise control with our hands and feet up in the air, but that thrill doesn’t last very long. Likewise, if we do not hold on to our spiritual wheel of faith to remind ourselves that our spiritual lives cannot be lived in cruise control then we will not be on a spiritual highway for very long.

We heard in today’s Gospel: “Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ ” (Matthew 4:17). The word “repent” can mean different things. One way to understand this rich word is by looking at how cruise control works. God made all of us with more exciting features than any new car. But despite all these features we always have to keep our eyes on the road and our hands on the steering wheel. We always have to be careful and we can never completely let go of the steering wheel nor keep our feet far from the pedal. Repenting reminds us that we always have to “look, look.”

We may be a talented athlete or singer, we might really excel in school, we might be very successful at work or other aspects of our life, but these will not endure if we take our hands off the steering wheel. Professional athletes and singers practice for hours not because they are not good but because they want to make sure they are the best they can be. They are the best in their field because they are willing to spend ten hours a day to make sure that their 10-minute performance is as close to perfect as possible.

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Homily.
Christ is Born. Glorify Him.
And a happy and blessed new year.

If someone gave you new clothes you would be happy. If someone gave you a new car you would get excited. And if someone gave you a new house you would be hysterical. Getting new things always brings us great joy and that is one of the reasons Christmas is such a happy time of year.

In addition to all the new things you recently purchased, in the next week or two you will receive at least one more new thing. It will be something you did not have before and something that may be with you for a very long time. Look for it in the mail. You will get a specially marked envelope announcing to you that in addition to all the new things you purchased you now have new bills and you are the proud owner of brand new debts. So, congratulations on all your new purchases, your new bills, and your new debts.

There were a group of men in a very important meeting. They were all asked to turn off their phones and leave them in their jackets. But, during the meeting someone’s eel phone started ringing.

One of the men quickly answered in a low voice then left the meeting and said “Sorry honey I can’t talk for long.” The woman on the phone said “Don’t worry, I just have a quick question. I was at the mall today and saw a beautiful dress. It is a bit expensive, but…” The man cut her off and said “Sweety, don’t worry, just buy it. I gotta go.” She was so surprised at his positive answer, then said “Honey, one other quick question. Before I left I noticed a very nice gold collector’s edition watch. I’m not sure how much it costs but it looks so nice and….” The man quickly cut her off again and said “Sweety, don’t worry, just buy it. I gotta go.” I promise I only have one more question: “As I was driving home our car was giving me some trouble. I went to the car dealership and the salesperson gave me a great deal on a brand new car with thousands of dollars of extras, outstanding features, and...” He stopped her and said: “Sweety, don’t worry, just buy it. I am in a very important meeting and I definitely have to go. Good-bye.” She said “Have a good meeting and try to be home by 6 because I’m going to prepare the best dinner ever.”

He hung up then went back into the meeting and said: “Sorry guys, I just realized this is not my phone, but whosever phone this is, your wife wants you home by 6. She is preparing a great dinner for you and your family.”

We live with the joy of getting and giving new things but we also live with a delusion when we think these new things have a lasting value. Things that are new may seem exciting for a while but the happiness they bring us does not last very long. In fact, most of the things we purchased has either made us fatter or given us a bigger debt. Usually the joy we get from new things quickly turns to disappointment.

The Bible teaches us that we should be careful about becoming too happy when we acquire new food, new clothes, and new items. The Bible even warns us about new friends that like us for the wrong reasons. For example, we read in Proverbs 19:4. “Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.”

We all wished each other a happy new year? But what is happy and what is new about this year? If our happiness comes only from what we bought or received, then we will not have a lasting happiness.

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Jesus’s Exciting Genealogy.
 Sunday, December 22, 2019 homily by Father François Beyrouti.
 Hebrews 11:9-10, 32-40. Matthew 1:1-25.
 Sunday Before the Nativity of our Lord. Genealogy of Christ. 

 Homily.
 As you were listening to today’s Gospel reading, I’m sure you were thinking “This is the most exciting Gospel I have ever heard.”
 
 What could be more exciting than finding out that “Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab, and Amminadab begot Nahshon?” Of course, things get even more exciting when we find out that “Nahshon begot Salma, and Salma begot Boaz and Boaz begot Obed.”

Weren’t you excited when you heard this? Maybe not so much.

 Actually, when Matthew compiled this genealogy he was very excited and when people first heard it they too were very excited. Matthew spent many hours compiling this list. He also had to check with many people to make sure that the names and their relationship to each other are correct.
 
 Perhaps today we have lost excitement for genealogies because most of us probably cannot name our great grandfather. Even if we were to name our ancestors, we would not really think there’s an important connection between them and us.
 
 However, this genealogy is important because in the Old Testament, God became known to the larger world by the witness of those who believed in Him. In the midst of a variety of cultures, everyone believed in different kinds of gods. The difference in the Old Testament, is that the one and true God revealed Himself to people.
 
 This is exciting because God is not an idea or a force. God makes Himself known through creation and nature, but more importantly through people. That is why the phrase “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” became a way to reinforce that God makes Himself known to many people in successive generations. Therefore, the Bible reveals who God is as the God of the universe and also emphasizes the personal nature of God who reveals Himself to each and every one of us.
 
 This genealogy is very exciting because it is not intended to be an abstract list of names. It primarily emphasizes the important role God played in the life of all these people. This list also shows that God not only works in the past but is faithful to every generation. He remains faithful to generation after generation right down to our own generation. The God of our ancestors is not only a God who works wonders for others in the past, but is our God who works wonders for us when we respond to His blessings.
 
 After reading this genealogy, our interest should be heightened and our curiosity should lead us to learn the story of each and ask how each responded to God. We can ask: “How did God appear to Abraham? And how did Abraham respond?” “How did God speak to Solomon? And how did Solomon respond?” “How did God guide David? And how did David respond?” Then we should ask: “How did God appear to Joseph and how did Joseph respond?” And “How did God appear to Mary and how did Mary respond?”
 
 When we find the response story of each, this list becomes very exciting. No one on the list we read today was always perfect. They all had their doubts and some of them committed very serious sins. However, despite their imperfections, God remained faithful and kept revealing Himself in many ways to them and to their descendants. God never gave up on them and despite our imperfections God never gives up on us.

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