Fr. Brian Soliven Sermons

There is a phrase heard at every Mass that should be familiar to us all. We hear the priest say it shortly before we receive Holy Communion. Before he says it, the priest is instructed to kneel as a sign of reverence, he pauses in silent adoration, and then slowly stands upright. With one hand holding the golden chalice, and the other, delicately lifting up the consecrated Body of Christ, the priest holds up the most treasured, holiest, and sacred part of the Catholic faith. Many of our ancestors went to their deaths because of this teaching, in fact many still do around the world (Christianity is the most persecuted religion on earth but I will save that topic for another day). As the priest lifts the Precious Body and Blood of our Lord before the eyes of all gathered in the church, he proclaims, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” This phrase we hear at every Mass is dense with profundity and meaning. It’s the theological version of a galactical neutron star. Luckily, the Gospel reading this Sunday allows us to scratch the surface of this phrase. 

It begins immediately with John the Baptist with two of his disciples. It’s important to recall here the mission of John. As the Gospel of Matthew tells us in chapter 3:1-12, John preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near…. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River…. I baptize you with  water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry.”  His role was to bring people to confess their sins. If they did, they would be ready to receive the one who would come after him. We all know who that would be. It is Jesus Christ himself. Even though John got the people to confess their sins, he knew he could never take away the guilt of these sins. Divine justice demands hell for our transgressions. 

John understood this, as the son of a Jewish priest in the Temple in Jerusalem. He would have been familiar with the intricate religious rituals performed there, where Jews would come from all over the Roman Empire and bring animals to be killed. Around the clock, day and night, animals would be brought to the altar in front of the Temple, which represented the guilt of their sins. Then the priest would slaughter the animal as a sign of their sins being forgiven. To our modern ears, this is absolutely abhorrent and alien. In the ancient world, this was commonplace. Animals were offered up as a sacrifice in a religious act. But all of this was merely symbolic. How can sacrificing an animal truly take away the punishment that is due to me? It cannot! This is where the beauty and scandal of Christianity now shines forth. Jesus Christ is the true “Lamb of God”, whose blood will be shed on the cross. Precisely because Jesus is true God and true man, only he can pay the price for our sins through his death. The centuries of animal sacrifices have all been leading to this pivotal event. John the Baptist is the first to understand this, when he sees Jesus walking by and yells, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 

We all want someone to look at us. From the 4 year old who cries out, "Mommy, look! look! Look what I can do!", to the young lady with the enormous fake long eye-lashes, to the gym rat with bulging biceps who wears a tank-top in the middle of winter, to the guy in the lifted truck with huge tires, we all desire the same thing. We need someone to tell us we are good. 

The Epiphany is a significant feast day in the Christian calendar, marking the revelation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, represented by the visit of the Magi (the Three Wise Men or Three Kings) to the infant Jesus. The word "epiphany" means manifestation or revelation, signifying the moment when Jesus's divinity is recognized and revealed beyond the confines of Judaism. The inclusion of the Magi from the East demonstrates God's universal plan of salvation. This celebration emphasizes that Jesus's birth isn't limited to a specific group or culture but is intended for all humanity. It challenges us to embrace the dignity and worth of every person as part of God's plan, who desires “that all be saved” (Cf. 1 Timothy 2:3-4). 

The journey of the Magi represents a quest for meaning and truth that is at the heart of being alive. We all in one way or another, look for a greater purpose in life. The Magi that came to visit Jesus embody this desire, as they came searching for the baby Jesus. The beauty of Christianity is that we no longer have to grope desperately in the darkness all alone in the quagmire of confusion that reigns all around us. “The light came into the world”, as we heard in the Gospel reading on Christmas morning. This same light, represented by the star in the sky that the Magi eagerly followed to Bethlehem. It was here they encountered the living God. 

As we all know and see around us if we have eyes to see, proclaiming Jesus Christ is a great challenge in our culture today, which studies show is growing more and more godless with each passing year. Some sectors of society are growing blatantly hostile to traditional Christian teaching. Spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, takes grit to stand against the storm. Jesus knows this. In the Gospel of Luke, our Lord takes Peter aside and speaks to him from the heart. He knows he’s about to send Peter out into the world on an impossible mission: “‘Simon, Simon (another name for Peter), behold, Satan has demanded to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Cf. Luke 22:31-32). We need not be afraid. Like the Magi, we have the light to lead us. The star that guided the Magi symbolizes divine guidance and wisdom. It's a reminder that in our lives, Jesus provides direction and wisdom if we remain open and attentive. Reflecting on the Epiphany encourages us to seek Christ's guidance in navigating life's complexities. The Magi returned home transformed by their encounter with Jesus. Similarly, the Epiphany challenges us to carry the light of Christ into the world, sharing the Good News and embodying Christ's love and compassion in our interactions with others. Ultimately, the Epiphany celebration invites profound introspection about our relationship with Jesus Christ. It calls for recognizing Christ's presence in our lives, surrendering ourselves to His will, and being bearers of His light and love in a world that seeks truth and meaning.

Pope St. John Paul II was right, “The future of humanity passes through the family.” In a letter simply titled, “Letter to Families,” the pope wrote, “The family is the first and most important… the family is indeed— more than any other human reality – the place where an individual can exist ‘for himself’ through the sincere gift of self. This is why it remains a social institution which neither can nor should be replaced; it is the ‘sanctuary of life.’... the Church considers serving the family to be one of her essential duties.” In other words, the family is the building block of our civilization, where you and I first encounter love. We learn our value from how our parents love us and in turn, the family teaches us how to love one another. When trauma is introduced during these formative years, the ramifications can endure for a lifetime. 

Pope John Paul II saw the effects of this firsthand growing up as a child in Poland shortly before the outbreak of World War II. The Nazi’s invaded, trying to wipe out all Polish identity. Their brutality was followed by the Communist Soviet Union which attempted to kill the Catholic faith. Both of these hellish political movements attempted to elevate the state above the family and reality itself. When he was elected pope in 1978, John Paul II, he would make the family a central theme of his papacy. A few years later, he founded the first Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. He was signaling to the wider Church – rebuild the family! 

We see the profound dignity of the family in the celebration of the Christmas mystery. Imagine, our God had a million different options to enter into our world. In his eternal wisdom, he chose to be born into a human family. He literally became one of us, in the same manner that we all enter into the world. God became a baby. He cried like us; he cooed like us; he giggled like us. All to say, “I created you in my image and likeness” (Genesis 1:27). Humanity has forgotten this. To remind us of our true identity, he is born. The family is where salvation begins. “If you want to bring peace to the world, go home and love your family.” -St. Mother Teresa. 

Now that God has broken into human history in the birth of Jesus Christ, everything has changed. The Beloved Apostle John, shows us the implications. The only one of the original Twelve Apostles to live into old age, while the rest were killed brutally for the faith. John gives us profound insights that only come with years. 

In a few short lines of the opening words of John's Gospel, the author captures the essence and mystery of the whole Christian faith. 

Have you ever been given a gift of such enormous value, it stunned you? On the 4th Sunday of Advent, we see how Virgin Mary responds to the "gift" that the angel Gabriel announces. Her response is a lesson for us all. 

There is nothing more beautiful than to be at the bedside of a faith filled Christian in the midst of dying. The presence of God fills the room. In the suffocating sorrow and tears that comes with death, a tangible hope pierces the darkness like a blaze of sunlight. The cause of our joy is not merely positive thinking or happy thoughts. Rather, the Christian who mourns in faith is rooted in the promise of Jesus Christ: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.“ (Cf. John 14:1). When I hear these comforting words of Jesus, I immediately think of one of our parishioners who passed from cancer nearly a year ago. My phone rang at 6am in the morning, waking me from sleep. “Father, she doesn’t have much time… can you come over?” said the voice on the other end. To my surprise, the room was already filled when I arrived with other faithful parishioners, the spouse, and the adult children. We began the ancient prayers of the Last Rites, the same prayers that you and I will hear when our own time comes, if we’re so gifted the opportunity to call a priest. 

In the eyes of the world, this moment has no meaning other than the loud thud of a life now snuffed. Not us Christians. Death does not have the final word. Jesus Christ has conquered death through the cross and is risen from the dead. We share in this victory through our baptism. That is why on this Third Sunday of holy Advent, the colors have shifted from penitential purple to glorious rose. This day we call Gaudate Sunday, in Latin, it means “Rejoice!” 

We all bear heavy crosses in our personal lives from past traumas, broken relationships, illness and just plain human cruelty. In fact, even in the Church itself, we face tremendous challenges all around us, inflicted by some of her members entrusted with her care. The storms are daunting and relentless. It is during these times, we need to remember our hope is founded only on the words of Jesus Christ. He promised to be with us forever, until the end of time. Reread the Second Reading again from St. Paul that we have at Mass this Sunday: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.“ (Cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). “In all circumstances” he tells us; not only when times are happy. We must rejoice even when everything seems to be crashing down on our heads. Our joy, our hope, is built on Jesus Christ. Nothing more; nothing less. 

We're told in the Gospel passage today that the "Kingdom of heaven suffers violence." What a strange phrase. What could this possibly mean? St. John of the Cross, the great 16th century Spanish mystic, shows us. 

Whenever two different civilizations clash, history has shown time and time again the result is never pretty. Brutal war often follows. When Europeans landed in the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries, the same bloodshed seemed to be playing out across the continent. However, something unexpected happened that no one could ever imagine. In what is now called Mexico, a miraculous image would appear on a tilma (a cloth made out of cactus fiber) on December 12th, 1531. This image, known as Our Lady of Guadalupe, would unite two warring worlds into one family.  

After Hernán Cortéz conquered the Aztec Empire a decade before, the native people and the colonial Spanish were at odds. However, Our Lady of Gaudalupe appeared as a woman of mixed race. She was neither Aztec nor Spanish. She was both. The colors and symbols that are explained on the bulletin cover, spoke directly to the hearts of the native people who stared at the image. Her eyes cast down and arms clasped in prayer shows she's a woman of humility. A belt tide high above her waist shows she is a woman pregnant with a child. She stands in front of the rays of the sun, telling the Aztec observer that the one in her womb is greater than Huitzilopochtli, the pagan god of the sun and war, whom they had offered human sacrifices for centuries. 

Our Lady of Gaudalupe created a new people, united in Jesus Christ. Within a few years of this apparition, nearly ten million Aztecs would become Catholic. The Catholic priests wrote at that time that so many people came to be baptized, their arms become sore after pouring water over their heads thousands of times a day. What happened in Mexico should not surprise us, especially in light of today’s Scripture readings. The First Reading from the Prophet Isaiah proclaims, “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God…. Here comes with Power, the LORD God.” The God of ours is coming, as St. John the Baptist tells in the Gospel passage, “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Jesus comes to bring scattered, warring humanity, into the peace of His new Kingdom. Jesus comes to bring us home to Heaven.