Fr. Brian Soliven Sermons

From the beginning of Christianity, Mary has held a place of prominence in the hearts of the followers of Jesus. As anyone who strives to be faithful knows, it's easier to stray from the faith than you think. We need all the help we can get. The Blessed Mother never abandoned Jesus; she walked with him all the to Calvary, never flinching. We ask for the same grace.

On this great and glorious Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, God reveals how to respond to indifference. It's counterintuitive to our nature. Ever once of our being wants to retaliate. Jesus shows us another way. 

Jesus commands us to forgive those who hurt us the most. Yes that person. In some mysterious way, our entry into Heaven depends on it. 

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? 

Mother Teresa famously said, "I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."

From God's vantage, death is actually bizarre and weird. Maybe that is why it hurts so much when our loved ones pass? From the beginning it was not so. As we read in the Book of Genesis, God created us in his “image and likeness” (Cf. Genesis 1:27). He formed Adam from the dust of the earth and “breathed” life into him. Humanity was meant to live for eternity with God. Sadly, Adam and Eve disobeyed God; sin and all its misery rushes into the world like a tidal wave. Our bodies now become corrupted. We grow witheringly old, wrinkly, and weak. The suffering and pain we all experience in this life was never meant to be. Now enter the glory of Jesus Christ. Our Lord comes into the world to restore our eternity. He takes on these broken bodies of ours and unites it to himself and carries it all the way to Calvary, mounting it on the wood of the cross. He pays the price of Adam’s sin through his own body and blood, thus restoring us in the process. You and I have the opportunity to enter into the eternity of Heaven at every single Mass. It is here that Christ offers to us to “eat his body and drink his blood”. The Eucharist is not symbolic! It is truly Him. The other churches that say it is merely a symbol or unimportant are gravely wrong. They are missing out on Heaven itself! For our Lord himself clearly tells us: “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.  Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” (Cf. John 6:52-71)

Whatever vocation we embrace, marriage or celibacy, suffering will follow in some way. It's by design. We cannot escape it. However, with the eyes of faith, this suffering can be the catalyst for our holiness. Without pain, there can be no saints. 

The best part about God is how boring He is. He always uses the smallest, the least extravagant, and the underwhelming to accomplish his divine plans. 

In the middle of America's Heartland, a monastery pierces the endless horizon of rolling hills and wheat fields. It's packed with young nuns who fill the air of their newly constructed chapel with harmonious ancient chants that evaporated the sense of time. In this quiet place of work and prayer, a miracle may be unfolding before our very eyes. Thousands upon thousands are now descending upon this place. 

Algo realmente sorprendente ha estado sucediendo en las últimas dos semanas. A pesar de que he sido sacerdote por más de diez años, gracias a Dios, nunca había visto algo así. Uno tras otro, casi como una línea de montaje sagrada, la gente viene a confesarse después de décadas de estar alejados de la Iglesia. Hijos e hijas de Dios vienen al confesionario pequeño, alfombrado y mal ventilado que tenemos en la parroquia de Santa María, después de veinte, treinta, cuarenta y más de sesenta años de vivir en oscuridad espiritual. Es la cantidad constante de gente que viene es impactante. Es como si un día se hayan juntado todos y decidieran venir a la misma hora. Si recientemente ha tenido que esperar en la fila para confesarse durante mucho tiempo, permítame aprovechar esta oportunidad para disculparme por cualquier inconveniente. Cuando estas almas regresan a Cristo, un sacerdote sabe tomarse su tiempo y escuchar atentamente mientras revelan los secretos más profundos y vergonzosos de sus vidas.

Este influjo de personas que regresan a la práctica de su fe católica a través del confesionario, está revelando un hecho obvio y glorioso: ¡el Espíritu Santo está trabajando! Es a través del poder del Espíritu Santo que está moviendo los corazones de hombres y mujeres para que vuelvan al Dios que es todo misericordia y todo amor. Este día, la Iglesia celebra el momento en que Jesucristo nos envía este Espíritu como escuchamos en las lecturas bíblicas: “Ese mismo día, el primero después del sábado, los discípulos estaban reunidos por la tarde, con las puertas cerradas por miedo a los judíos. Llegó Jesús, se puso de pie en medio de ellos…. sopló sobre ellos y les dijo: Reciban el Espíritu Santo: a quienes descarguen de sus pecados, serán liberados, y a quienes se los retengan, les serán retenidos.» (cf. Juan 20, 19-23). Este mismo Espíritu Santo nos fue dado cuando fuimos bautizados; para la mayoría de nosotros, fue cuando éramos bebés. Luego, cuando recibimos el Sacramento de la Confirmación, los dones del poderoso Espíritu Santo que transformó a los discípulos cobardes y temerosos en guerreros de Cristo, de repente fueron a proclamar audazmente a Jesucristo en un mundo incrédulo. Tú y yo tenemos el mismo Espíritu, ahora mismo, pulsando a través de nuestros propios cuerpos y almas.