Fr. Brian Soliven Sermons

A few days ago, I went to Elk Grove, the town I grew up in. When my family moved there in 1990, it was considered a small rural, farming community, much how Vacaville used to be. The population was a mere 17,000. Today, it has ballooned to 180,000. I wish I went there for a happier occasion, but sadly, I returned to preside over a funeral of an old friend I had known since the 6th grade. We lost touch after we graduated high school, as relationships tend to do when we move into adulthood. His passing made me reflect on how short life truly is. It's frustratingly fragile. Funerals forces us to confront the hardships of our existence that we normally try to ignore. 

The 17th century, famous French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, poignantly said, “All of humanity's problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” When we sit in solitude and silence, you’ll begin to notice the clanging restlessness that rages within each and every one of us. Silence forces us to confront our inner demons and pain of our lives. We all develop different ways of coping, whether that’s eating, buying more stuff, or the million of other myriad of ways we distract ourselves.

Jesus shows us a better way. 

The oldest of the prayers used at the Holy Mass is called the Roman Canon. It's marked by a list of strange names that the early Christians wanted to remember. When we learn their stories, it's no surprise why. 

As the Season of Lent marches on, pay attention to the Scripture Readings at Mass. The drama is intensifying. In the Gospel passage, we find Jesus in the Temple area in the famous scene with the Lord, confronting the “money changers seated there.” Oftentimes when we think of Jesus, we see as meek, humble and kind, which he is. However, so few people imagine this Jesus in the Gospel. He is furious. Angry. In some ways, he is violent. He flips the tables of these money changers and chases them out. In John’s account of this incident, he points out that Jesus even made a whip out of cords and used it to scare them off. From this moment on, the Jewish leaders had enough. They will set in motion a dastardly plot to have Jesus murdered. How can we reconcile this temperament of Jesus with the one that is commonly shared by so many? We must first understand who God is. Remember, God is love. He loves us with an unimaginable passion. Love by definition, hates anything that hurts the beloved. Whatever hurts us, God despises, just as a parent hate that which causes their child pain. Sin destroys us from within. Our Heavenly Father sends his Son Jesus to rectify this sorry condition. The whole point of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was to bring humanity back into relationship with God but the money changers had instead turned it into “a den of thieves.” It became a place of profit and greed, rather than an encounter with divine love. Christ sees this, and comes to set things right.

To unlock the power of Lent, we need one thing—love. Love gives us the superpower to peer beyond the mere superficial. Take the prime example of bride and groom on their wedding day. Notice how they look at one another. As stunning as the flowing dresses may be or dapperly the suits, the real drama takes place on their faces. Their eyes are locked on each other in immortal affection. The miniscule muscles around the mouth tremble loftily. The rest of the body freezes in warmth, as the heart palpitates blood a thousand times over. Bride and groom stand before one another, face to face, dazed by mystery. Staring at one another at the colossal of moments, they see something entirely different then you and I. We see our friends, our sister or brother, our daughter or son, our cousin of distant relation or whatever the connection may be. The groom and bride however, recognize that the one who stands before them is so much more. Love has the power to penetrate the surface of reality, manifesting another entirely sweet dimension. 

“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked this question to his disciples in Matthew 16:13-16. Or put it another way, he asked them what do you see when you look at me? Other people answered sheepishly: “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah; and still others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” This anemic answer is stuck on the surface. But notice the response of Peter in this pivotal flash. Through a unique gift of grace, God granted him the transformative vision of love. He exclaimed, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Peter went deep, blazing past the mere appearance of Jesus as he stood there in all his normalcy and saw the hidden divine truth—the man in front of him was more than a man. Just like a bride on her special day, the man standing before her is more than a man, and she is more than just a woman to him. 

With all that said, what do you see when you stare at the Eucharist? Through all appearances, your senses tell you one thing. The eyes see bread and your palette tells you the same. The wine still tastes and smells like fermented grapes. Yet, the words of Jesus in the infamous Gospel of John, chapter six, haunts us, methodically and scandalously. “This is hard; who can accept it?” they said, when Jesus commanded them that his “flesh is true food and his blood his true drink.” If they want eternal life, they must gnaw on him. This was simply too much for many of those who followed Jesus. The majority of the people abandoned him here. They “saw” Jesus and balked. Turning to the remaining few who lingered, he asked them the question that love dreads to ask, “Do you also want to leave?” For love to be authentic love, it must be given freely and accepted without coercion or force. Jesus gives them the option to stay or flee, to return to life as the status quo and go back to the surface. Peter now, with eyes enraptured in love replies, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, we have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” Peter saw love. Peter saw Jesus in the Eucharist. The saints see Jesus giving every ounce of his love to go after the lost sheep. What do you see? 

The Christian prays differently, according to our Lord in today's Gospel. He possesses something that the pagans "who babble" and "think they will be heard because of their many words." Once we understand this from the depths of our souls, we can never pray the same ever again. 

Ask any priest in the world and they will tell you that Ash Wednesday draws the largest crowd than any other day of the year. It can even be bigger than Easter or Christmas. This tells me one important thing -- the desire for God is not snuffed in the human heart despite the world telling me that I don't need God. 

Welcome to the spiritual battle! Each Lent, we join Jesus in hand-to-hand combat with our ancient foe. The blessed ashes smeared across our foreheads remind us that life is short. We refocus our gaze to higher transcendent realities. Whatever hardships and denial we've taken on for this holy season, the goal will always be the same -- grow in love for Jesus Christ. 

Have you ever wanted to read the Bible but did not know where to start? The Bible can be intimidating for many. It’s filled with strange alien places and funny names that it can be difficult to grasp what’s happening. It’s similar to walking into a crowded theater mid-movie: you don’t know the plot, the main characters, or the drama unfolding on the screen. In much the same way, picking up the Bible for yourself can be a confusing mess. This Lent we will have an opportunity to get deeper into the Bible. I want to invite you all to St. Mary’s Lenten Parish Bible Study. We will have it both in Spanish and English. Starting on the eve of Ash Wednesday, we will meet one evening a week, throughout the season of Lent. We will focus on the Biblical events that we find in the ancient and well-known prayer of the Holy Rosary. 

Why the rosary? Since the Middle Ages the rosary has been a powerful spiritual weapon during difficult periods of the Church’s history. In 1208, St. Dominic, a Spanish priest, working in France was battling against a heretical group known as the Albigensians (the name comes from the small town Albi in southern France where this group was flourishing). This heretical group was leading many Catholics away with their confusing teachings. They taught that everything physical is bad and only the spiritual is good. Therefore, our body is evil and if we truly want to be good Christians, we must reject all things of the flesh. Fr. Dominic prayed for guidance on how to combat this group, which was threatening to divide the Church. The rosary was given. This prayer focuses the mind to meditate upon the earthly life of Jesus Christ, directly contradicting the teachings of the Albigensians. 

Then in 1571, a new threat emerged. The Islamic Ottoman Turks, which conquered much of Eastern Christianity, now began to threaten Western Europe. An alliance of Catholic nations stood between them and us.  The two armies stood face to face on the morning of October 7th. Pope Pius V, realizing that Western Civilization was facing an existential threat, asked all faithful Catholics to pray the Holy Rosary for victory. Against all odds, our soldiers defeated the Turks, which was the largest empire in the 16th century. We commemorate this triumph in the Church every October 7th; it’s called the Feast of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. As a parish named after the Blessed Mother, we now turn to this same prayer that our ancestors used during their own time. We face much confusion in the world today. We face challenges that threaten to tear our world apart. In the midst of these relentless storms, we turn to the Holy Rosary this Lent. Come to the parish Bible Study, where we shall learn the Biblical roots of this powerful spiritual weapon of the saints.

The Christian is called to see the world differently than nonbelievers. We look past the surface of things and penetrate the deeper spiritual realities. When pain and suffering eventually comes upon, the Christian, rooted deeply in faith in Christ, says, "good." 

If you've ever tried sitting silently in a room for any length of time, you'll immediately notice how uncomfortable it quickly becomes. There's a  spiritual reason why. Jesus, in today's Gospel, shows us the root cause.