Fr. Brian Soliven Sermons

The Japanese Catholic martyrs that we remember today inspire us to live out the Catholic faith boldly. No matter what. 

Growing up Catholic has been the greatest gift my parents could have given me. Even though I would not have recognized it as a bratty, stubborn kid, they gave me a foundation without realizing it. Going to Mass each Sunday exposed me that there is something in the universe greater than myself. It rooted me to a 2,000 year old history that spans empires, kingdoms and cultures. It subconsciously whispered into my little brain that there’s more to life than what I see on the surface. Or as the old Transformer cartoon I watched religiously on Saturday mornings told me, there’s “more than meets the eye.” 

My Catholic faith told me I am more than a beast. I am loved, willfully desired into being, whose value shines more brilliantly than a thousand swirling galaxies. My public school upbringing paid no attention to my burgeoning soul. As caring as my teachers were, God talk was an anathema, barred, and poo pooed. I am a mere byproduct of random genetic mutations that somehow learned to walk upright and speak. I am a primate with less hair and an iphone. Then on Sundays, a ray of sunlight would pierce the clouds. “You are created in God’s image and likeness,” I was told (Cf. Genesis 1:27). There’s more to you than the endless pit of more money and things. In fact, more glorious still, I was told I was created for the worship of Him who created me. My desirous heart that was designed for Him but has been infected with a terminal  ancient disease that corrupted my transcendent purpose earthward. Instead of the Heavenly banquet, I settled for stale breadcrumbs. The world lured me away from my God; I forgot who I was. I allowed strangers to tell me my worth. 

In the cacophony of confusion, God set forth a rescue mission to pull me from the pit. “When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman…” (Cf. Galatians 4:4). God sent his beloved Son? I say again, God sent his most prized, precious Son. He united this weak human flesh of mine to himself and walked among us. As if that was not enough, Jesus would pick up my heavy cross and yours and carry it all the way to Calvary as the crowds hissed and spat on his body. 

I give thanks to my parents for this gift of gifts. Without them I would be lost and tossed about by the relentless waves of this world. But most of all, I give thanks to Jesus who gives still more. At every single Mass, the same Risen Jesus comes. The same ritualistic Mass of common gestures and prayers, the Mass of kneeling and standing, the Mass we’ve grown accustomed to and maybe even a tad blasé, still triumphantly proclaims in every century and creature: “you have approached Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and countless angels in festal gathering, and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven, and God the judge of all, and the spirits of the just made perfect, and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.”

God never abandons us, regardless of what the Devil may whisper into our ears. Today's Solemnity of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple proves otherwise. God has returned, as He promised. 

Feeling overwhelmed? The answer is found in a vision that St. John Bosco received in one of his famous dreams. 

There is no ignoring Jesus. Wherever he goes, he compels a reaction. In the Gospel passage from this Sunday’s reading, we see Jesus enter the synagogue in Capernaum. This city along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, is the scene of some of Jesus' most powerful encounters: He heals the mother-in-law of St. Peter, chooses the first men who will become the Twelve Apostles, and most strikingly, it’s in Capernaum that Jesus teaches his most controversial doctrine – the True Presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Notice what immediately happens when Jesus walks through the doors of that packed synagogue. As soon as begins to teach, “a man with an unclean spirit”, cries out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” (Cf. Mark 1: 21-24). He recognizes precisely the divinity of Jesus Christ. He is not simply a wise teacher or someone who said nice, interesting things. No. Rather, this man sees God in the flesh. He is in the mighty presence of the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. 

Jesus, seeing the man, Our Lord commands the evil spirit to “come out of him!” (Cf. Mark 1: 25). This dramatic scene shocked the entire crowd. But we must ask ourselves, how did this man get an evil spirit within him in the first place? Here, Jesus touches upon an important subject in the spiritual life, namely, demonic possession. How does a person get possessed? Does it happen randomly? Is it contagious like the flu? Can I catch it in church if I am sitting next to someone with a demon in the pew next to me? The answer is no. Full blown, demonic possession is actually quite rare. It’s a decision we make when we open ourselves to the occult. For example, common dark practices such as consulting with so-called psychics, tarot cards readings, crystals and the ouija board are popular ways people get entangled with the demonic world. This is a direct violation of the First Commandment, to have no other gods besides the True God. Oftentimes, these psychics will use Catholic imagery of Our Blessed Mother and saints in their shops, in order to mislead Catholics.

If you have ever participated in these practices, you have opened a window, like this man did in the Gospel reading. To shut it closed, go to confession immediately.  

The greatest military general of all time is arguably the Greek, Alexander the Great. By the time he was in his mid-thirties, he conquered the known world. He famously said, "I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion." That statement captures the essence of us Christians. 

It's hard to imagine that anyone would willingly worship the devil. Yet many do. In fact, if you ask any excorcist, they will tell you the phenomena is growing worldwide, especially among the young. The rational that satanists give should sound extremely familiar to us. It's the same reason why we sin and why Adam and Eve disobeyed God in Genesis 3. Simply put, we don't believe that God is our loving Father. 

Why is the Catholic Church the largest private healthcare provider in the world, running 26% of all healthcare institutions on the planet? It's the same simple reason why St. Marrianne Cope went to the island of Molokai to care for the lepers: every person is created in God's "image and likeness" (Genesis 1:27). 

The best part of living the Catholic faith in California is being on the frontlines of the abortion battle. As our state tries to be an abortion "sanctuary" for the rest of the nation, we stand prayerfully resolute. The beating heart of our opposition is simple: every human life is created in God's image and likeness.  

What would it take for you and I to leave everything behind and follow Jesus? That is the heart of the great question that this Sunday’s Gospel reading confronts us with. Let’s jump in our imaginary time machine and return to the shores of the Sea of Galilee where the drama unfolds. It’s probably a sunny day, warm and breezy. It’s a t-shirt and shorts kind of day. The rays of the high sun glisten off the calm waters into our eyes, we have winch our eyes from time to time. Birds squawk in the distance, hoping for a free meal from the hard-working fishermen pulling in their nets from the day's catch. It’s a familiar day like so many. Unexpectedly, a stranger suddenly appears. This is where the Gospel passage begins, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men”, says the bearded man. Simon and his brother Andrew are confronted with a compelling mysterious choice. Do they follow this man whom they’ve never meant before? How can they possibly leave their livelihood behind? How will they make money, pay their bills? What about all the big plans they envisioned for their future? Millions of questions and fears must have passed their brains as they processed this strange request, from a perfect stranger. 

Here lies the juncture of our free-will and God’s. Part of being created in the “image and likeness of God” as Genesis tells us in chapter one, is precisely this gift. You and I have the ability to follow God’s plan or not. We have within us to rebel or acquiesce. The echo of the Fall of Adam and Eve is to always choose the former. The Devil enticed our first parents with ultimate freedom from God’s design and look how that turned out for humanity. Look at the bloody history of the world to behold the price of this “freedom”. 

Jesus has come to lead the world back to its original glory. The mind boggling part of it all is that he elicits our help. Yes, you and I, these mere ordinary people. To redeem broken, sinful humanity, he will recruit broken, sinful humans. This is where we now join the drama of salvation or not. Jesus looks at each of us as he did Simon and Andrew along that beautiful, shimmering Sea of Galilee, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” What say you?