The Obedience of Faith | 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time | 08.07.2022 | Fr. Brian Larkin

Fr. Brian Larkin

Today’s readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080722.cfm

Heb 11:1-2, 8-19: Fr. Brian’s Bible verse that inspired him to live a life dedicated to God

Hebrews 11: All about the faith of the men and women of the New Testament

What does Faith even mean?

C.S. Lewis & Tolkien (who was a big influence on Lewis at Oxford)—“How can you grow in faith? Faith means you think this is true. Either you do or you don’t.” C.S. Lewis didn’t understand that word.

“Tonight’s story about Abraham in Hebrews 11 is a challenge from God to you in your life. What way will you live?”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Abraham here in Hebrews 11 illustrates how to be a person of great faith. If you are going to be a man or a woman of great faith, you must leave your life behind.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Come follow me to a place that I will show you.”—God to Abraham in Hebrews 11

“We always want a destination. Alright, God, if I’m going to leave something behind in my life, I want to at least know that I’m going to be OK…He doesn’t tell us that. He just says, ‘Brian, come follow me.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“It’s a radical challenge, but you can’t be a Christian if you stay at home.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“What is faith? If you have faith in what it truly is, faith will save you.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Romans 1:5

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/1

“Jesus Christ, through whom we have received grace & apostleship, so that we might bring about the obedience of faith.”

Romans 16:

“…to bring about the obedience of faith.”

St. Paul bookends Romans with an emphasis on the obedience of faith. This is called an inclusio or bookend.

“I’ve never met someone who has authentic faith who hasn’t felt like they had to leave everything.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The drama of your life and the drama of all of human history is a story about the obedience of faith, or about disobedience, which culminates in Romans 5.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Romans 5 for me is maybe the most hopeful chapter in the entire New Testament.”—Fr. Brian

“It’s the story of Adam and the story of Jesus.”

“What Adam did in The Garden, they did not trust God, they did not have faith, so they disobeyed. This is my story.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“If you don’t trust God at times in your life, you are not wicked—you’re just human.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Romans 5:18

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/5

“One Man’s trespass led to condemnation for all men. So One Man’s act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man’s disobedience, many (in Greek, it’s 'all') were made sinners, so by One Man’s obedience, all will be made righteous.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“When the New Testament talks about what Jesus did on The Cross, it calls that the moment of Jesus’s faith.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Greek: Pistis = faith or faithfulness

Pope Benedict XVI:

“A true person of faith realizes they are actually grasping something bigger than themselves.”

Balthasar describes faith as a measure:

“When we try to measure God, the person who has faith realizes they were the ones being measured by Him.”—Fr. Brian referring to Balthasar’s description of the measuring of faith

“The most amazing thing in that moment, and what I knew in that moment that his truth and his goodness measured me and not the other way around, what I knew in that moment was that I was loved and accepted, and that changed everything.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Faith does not mean that you believe something is true. Christian faith is like Abraham, who encountered God and left everything behind. Christian faith is like Jesus, who trusted The Father so much, that he surrendered everything, and was crucified a naked slave. That’s faith. That kind of faith will save you—it will save your soul.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Readings for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Steadfast & Immovable | 18th Sunday of OT

Fr. Brian Larkin

Today’s readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/073122.cfm

Almsgiving—Store up grain, which is wealth in the ancient world

Charity—Book about almsgiving (can be found in the church library)

Ecc 1:2; 2:21-23

“I want the house to be clean when they tear it down.”—Goonies

“Why clean your house if it’s just going to get torn down?”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Why have I labored so hard? I’m just going to die. Jesus, thank you, that you have answered that riddle, and you brought it to fulfillment.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Today’s readings can give the impression that as Christians, we are men and women who abandon this world. This is a mischaracterization of Christianity, but some of us as Christians do this.” “Throughout Christianity, one of the main accusations of us is that we abandon this world for the next.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Year 248 Origen argues with Celsus: Book: Contra Celsus 1.24

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/20237615.Origen_Contra_Celsus_1_24_transl_Henry_Chadwick_1953_

Nietzsche’s Book: Thus Spoke Zarathustra (Zarathustra was a pagan prophet)

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51893.Thus_Spoke_Zarathustra

“I adjure you, my brothers, remain true to the earth. And believe not those who speak to you of super earthly hopes.”—Nietzsche

“Once blasphemy against God was the greatest blasphemy. But God died. And therewith, all those blasphemers. To blaspheme the earth is now the deadliest sin.”—Nietzsche

“Today, Brothers and Sisters, Jesus refutes Celsus, Nietzsche, Marx, and he brings the hope of Qoheleth and of all of us to fulfillment, and it’s all about the Resurrection.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“One of the things that you and I get wrong as Christians, and when we get this wrong, Brothers and Sisters, the world has a legitimate critique is about escapism. 'You’re gonna die someday, so forget about this world and set your eyes on heaven,' but that’s a misread—the paradigm is not escapism—it’s that God invades, breaks into, redeems, and transforms this world.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Vanity/futility in Greek: mataiotēs

Romans 8: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/8

Genesis 3: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3

When the curse that fell on Adam was shared with the earth.

“Creation was made subject to futility, not by its own will, but by the will of Him who subjected it in hope.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Here’s what we believe in: We believe in the resurrection, and the life of the world to come.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Christians and Jews believe in resurrection, and no one else.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Your soul will not just go to heaven. Resurrection means your soul will be reunited with your body in glory, and the whole point of that is that God doesn’t give up on this world.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Gnosticism: A heresy

“Here’s where Nietszche gets it wrong. Christianity is not God calling us to abandon this world; it is Jesus Christ conquering this world and redeeming it from the inside out. That’s Christianity. This will change your life.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

N.T. Wright— Surprised by Hope—Completely changed FB’s life. His teaching on the Resurrection is dead on.

1 Corinthians 15: The longest Treatment of the Resurrection in all the New Testament

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/15

“Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord, your labor is not in vain.”—St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 15

“In this world, you are going to die, and that should bring you sobriety and wisdom.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The work you do in the Lord will not be in vain.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

17th Sunday of OT

Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk—July 24, 2022

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072422.cfm

“Teach us how to pray.”——Disciple


“Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,

one of his disciples said to him,

"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."

He said to them, "When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come.

Give us each day our daily bread

and forgive us our sins

for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,

and do not subject us to the final test."

“We think, ‘If you ask for this, you will get that,’ but it doesn’t work this way.”—Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

“With prayer, it usually doesn’t work that way to ask for a specific thing and receive it.”—Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

“The young one usually asks for something, and the parent knows whether or not it’s good for them. The kids usually want to eat cookies before dinner, but the parents always say no, because they know what is best for them.”—Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

“No matter if you are 10 or if you are 80, you always ask for a cookie, so stop it.” :) —Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

“If we ask for a specific thing, we usually don’t get it.”—Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

“I was praying for the specific things. Did I get them? No. Now I have hundreds of people calling me father. You can get much more than you ask for.”—Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

A friend of Fr. Witold’s stood up for his beliefs and declined to support a sinful industry. He lost his job because of it, and one of his mom’s friends heard his story, and in turn, offered to pay for his expensive college education. God’s will was done because of the steadfast faith of his Christian friend.

“Thy will be done.” —Jesus/The Our Father

“We always ask for God’s will, because He always knows best.”—Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

“If you take the chance, and you really say, ‘That’s what I want to do in my life, but let’s see what you want me to do.’ Your life will be changed completely.”—Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

“If you take the risk. If you keep knocking—keep seeking, you will find it. The doors will be opened. It requires faith, but if you do this, God’s will will be done.”—Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

“If you ask for His will, I can tell you, you will get much more than you can imagine. This is faith, not magic. Faith is, ‘I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I believe that This Man, God Himself, knows best.”—Fr. Witold Kaczmarzyk

Readings for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071722.cfm

Lk 10:38-42

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.

There is need of only one thing.

Mary has chosen the better part

and it will not be taken from her."

“Anxiety is a poison for your soul.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“You and I live in a world that is anxious, and it speaks to us all the time."—Fr. Brian Larkin

Greek Word: merimnaō = anxiety

Luke 10: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10

Luke 12: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/12

Greek Word for “Troubled”: therompátsoma

“Martha has allowed her soul to be in a state of uproar.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Do not be anxious about your life.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Jesus, I’m scared about the future. I’m scared about the state of the Church. Jesus, there is a storm of anxiety in my soul. But, brothers and sisters, do you know what Jesus does with a storm? He silences the storm.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Psalm 65: 7

“God you still the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples. Jesus, you calm the storm in my soul.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“If you’re anything like me, the problem is not that God can’t do that; it’s that we don’t show up.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Peace is not an outside reality. You will not have peace in your life because things go smoothly, because you have enough savings, or because there’s relatively little conflict. That is not Christian peace. Christian peace is a state of soul where you and I are in union with God.”

—Fr. Brian Larkin

“When you and I have that union with God, whenever that storm may come, you and I can maintain our peace.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

More on Peace:

Matthew 13: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/13

The Word of God grew inside of me, and your Word changed my soul.

“But, anxiety, Jesus tells us, is like thorns in that soil. And so the Word grows, but so do the thorns. And, they choke the Word of God inside of us. This is our major problem— why we lack peace.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“What we do is we pray about the thorns. Don’t pray about the thorns when you go to prayer. God knows what you need before you even ask him. If you spend all your time praying about the thorns, you’ll never listen to Him.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“We need to figure out how to cast those thorns out.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

John 16: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/16

“Be of good cheer; I have conquered the world.”

St. John of the Cross:

Poem: The Ascent of Mount Carmel

“One dark night

Fired with love’s urgent longings

Awe of the sheer grace

I went out unseen

My house be now all stilled.”

“He’s talking about the soul that’s on its way to union with God.”

“St. John of the Cross says you cannot achieve union with God until your soul is quieted from passions.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

Practical tips for peace from FB:

Turn off your radio.

Play Gregorian chant music, and pray the Rosary.

We have to have silent prayer with God.

“To perceive means to listen in silence.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8130077-the-screwtape-letters

Says the demons hate silence, and love noise

“Jesus, may you give us your peace.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Deuteronomy 30: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/30

The Gospel says: “You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, your soul, and your strength…You will love your neighbor as yourself.”

How do you get people to love you?

Luke 10:

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is actually a parable about Christ:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10

“Who is my neighbor?”

Revelation 11: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/11

“Jericho is a city that represents humanity—it’s low, it’s earthly.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“In the story of Joshua in Jericho, when the city falls, they march around it for seven days, and they blow a trumpet seven times on the seventh day, and the walls of the city fall. In Revelation chapter 11, we’re told the City of Man (the earthly city) at the end of time, there will be seven trumpet blasts, and the city of man falls, and the city of God triumphs. Jericho in Scripture is an image of humanity that needs God.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“A man was on his way from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers.”

Mount Calvary:

https://www.elal.com/magazine/en/portfolio-items/travel/galilee/walk-jesus-footsteps-israel-pilgrims/

Golgotha: The Place of the Skull. “The skull in the images of the Crucifix, according to tradition, is Adam’s. In the tradition of Christianity, Jesus dies in the same place that the first human being died in as well.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The Good Samaritan is Christ and the man he seeks after and finds is Adam—it’s the human race.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Leviticus 21:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/leviticus/21

In ancient times, a priest or Levite could not walk next to a dead body, because they are thought to be “unclean.”

Greek word: spláchna=Bowels

“The verb form that is used today in Luke means that Jesus, or the Samaritan, was stirred from the depths of his bowels.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

You are loved by God in a way that should shock you, that should get you out of bed in the morning, in a way that you don’t deserve, and that’s such good news.

The key point to the parable today is understanding the question that the lawyer asks: “Who is my neighbor?” What that means to a Jew is, “Who belongs to my family? Who are the people who are mine?”

Leviticus 19:18

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/leviticus/18

N.T. Wright:

https://www.amazon.com/Lent-Everyone-Luke-Daily-Devotional-ebook/dp/B00APMP6RU/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_2?keywords=Nt+wright+lent&qid=1553011903&s=gateway&sr=8-2-fkmrnull

https://ntwrightpage.com/2016/03/30/the-road-to-new-creation/

“The point was not that the samaritan regarded the Jew in the ditch as his neighbor, nor is the story simple a moral encouragement. More directly related to the question, ‘Which of the three turned out to be neighbor to the Jew in the ditch?’ In other words, which person in the story counts as the neighbor? Who’s in the family? The Jew in the ditch, the person lying on the side of the road, discovered that the Samaritan was his neighbor. And by all implications, he also discovered that the two travelers on the road were not his neighbors.”

“Divine love begins where human love ends.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“We become lovable because we were first loved.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The people out there who think they hate Christianity, the person who thinks that you’re a bigot because you believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, who thinks that you’re judgmental and hateful—when you love that person till the end, they don’t discover that you’re a good person, they discover that you are their family—that they belong at a table they didn’t think they did.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The mark of Christians, brothers and sisters, is not human love—it’s divine love.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“When we love others—when we love the poor, when we love the loveless, they know that they actually belong somewhere.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“Why does this [relics] matter? Why is it important? How does God want to speak to us through one of his saints?”

St. Ignatius of Antioch—one of the first martyrs, eaten by lions in the Colosseum in Rome.

https://catholicexchange.com/st-ignatius-of-antioch/

“We having taken up his bones, which were more costly than precious stones, and refined more than gold deposited them where it was fitting. And in that place when we meet together as we can, the Lord will grant us to celebrate with joy and gladness the birthday of his martyrdom.”—St. John Henry Cardinal Newmanhttps://www.newmanreader.org/works/development/chapter10.html

A.D. 155, St. Polycarp was burned at the stake: https://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=107

A 4th Century Writer wrote:

“Corpses were an abomination in Judaism. But when death is for Christ, the relics of saints are precious. It was anciently said to the priests and Nazarites, if anyone shall touch a corpse, he shall be unclean until evening, and he shall wash his garments. Now, on the contrary, if anyone shall touch a martyr’s bones, by reason of the grace dwelling in the body, he receives a participation of his sanctity.”

“Here’s what happens in the bodies of the saints: God made the world good. And when sin entered the world—God’s good world—was corrupted. And the ultimate consequences of corruption in the world is death. Guess what Jesus does in the resurrection: He conquers death. And he works to make all things new.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“The basic logic of relics is that when God wanted to redeem us, he didn’t stay in heaven. He took a human nature to himself, and divinized it. He rose from the dead on the third day. And those who grow in holiness, who give their lives to Christ—God’s new world breaks into this world in them.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The story of Christianity is when God invaded a broken world to make it what it should be, and He did that in her (St. Bernadette’s) life. A body that through the working of God’s grace, defies the effects of death itself. What an amazing witness of hope.”

“God works through his saints, and we pray that he does it in us.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“We all know that [the overturning of Roe v. Wade] was a victory of Your Sacred Heart.”

—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The end of abortion isn’t here yet. We’ve got to fight for that, by our holiness of life, by submitting ourselves in faith, hope, & love to God you and I are the men and women who fight against corruption and death in this world. That’s who we are. That’s who God calls us to be.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Galations 5:13

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/galatians/5

“Your call to freedom, brethren—do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, be servants of one another.”—St. Paul

“Americans love freedom. That’s the word, isn’t it? When people think of America, or at least when we think of ourselves, we think of ourselves as the Land of the Free. True freedom is always, always, always at the service of what is good. And when freedom is not at the service of what is good, it’s corrupted, and becomes a counterfeit.—”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The only way to authentic freedom is that freedom always is tied and is subordinate to what is good.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Our job right now—but also with your children and your grandchildren—is to teach them that real freedom is always submissive to what is good, and true, and beautiful.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“God wants to break into this world to make all things new. And He did that with this poor girl in the middle of nowhere France. She lived a destitute poverty, she was uneducated, and her very corpse is a rebellion against death itself. That’s who we are.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Luke 9:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9

“It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.” —Mother Teresa:

Readings for Corpus Christi Sunday

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061922.cfm

Dads: What Is Your Word? | Fr. Brian's Homily | Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ | 06.19.2022

"Today, the Eucharist calls us as men to something incredibly profound."—Fr. Brian Larkin

"In the history of religions and philosophy, the general movement of religious people and deep thinkers is to move away from the flesh."—Fr. Brian Larkin

"According to Plato, the body was a prison for the soul, so death was never a sad thing."—Fr. Brian Larkin

"Either death is a state of nothingness and utter consciousness, or, as men say, there is a change and migration of the soul from this world to another. Now if death be of such a nature, I say that to die is to gain; for eternity is then only a single night."—Plato

https://www.azquotes.com/quote/671403

"For spiritual people, death is also freedom, because it allows us to ascend to the heavenly realms."—Fr. Brian Larkin

"Today’s culture is hedonistic. Our culture revels in sensuality, and almost worships the body."—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Today we celebrate the true presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. God breaks the dichotomy. The flesh is healed and purified, and even united to God. The fact that we have a feast day that celebrates a body would have struck ancient people in a very strange way.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The normal thing for us is that we want to escape the flesh and become spiritual people.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“Et verbum caro factum est.”—And the word became flesh (The writing on the mural above the sanctuary in the church)

“I am a family man.

I traded in my mustang for a mini van

This is not what I was headed for when I began”—Song, Andrew Peterson

https://genius.com/Andrew-peterson-family-man-lyrics

Luke 9:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/9

“Jesus’s miracle today is in anticipation of the Last Supper. These are the same words Jesus will use in Luke 22 where Jesus gives us his flesh and blood.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Jesus provides ordinary bread that will point to the Eucharist, which is supernatural and mystical.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“All you men: There is a natural level where God brings us to live for others, but that is meant to point you even deeper. Just like today’s miraculous multiplication points to the very flesh and blood of Christ, natural fatherhood is meant to point us to the supernatural love of God.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Natural fatherhood is meant to transform you into something supernatural.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

"In the Eucharist, the flesh becomes a word. Today, when you come forward to receive the flesh and blood of Christ, I hope you hear a word—the word of the Cross. And I pray that you hear that word.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“As often as you eat this bread and drink the chalice, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The Eucharist is the crucifixion of Christ. And the Cross of Jesus, ironically and powerfully, the moment the word is silenced, that moment is the most powerful word he ever spoke.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“This is my body, which is for you.”

“What happens is God calls you into your vocation, and you begin to feel like you are losing your life…and I hope you do.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“The purpose of your life, gentlemen, is to be able to say to the people you love: ‘This is my life—this is my body, which is for you.’ This is the logic of the gospel.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Dads, your life is called to be a word. And your wife and your children—the day you die—they should be able to look at you and say, ‘His life was a word.’” —Fr. Brian Larkin

"What is your word?"—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Father God, thank you for your word. Dads, what’s your word? What’s your word to your kids? There’s the small, everyday things that are important, but underneath that, are you teaching your family that they are loved, that God is real, that there is wisdom in Jesus Christ? This is our calling.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Readings for Trinity Sunday

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/061222.cfm

Idols & Immorality | Fr. Brian's Homily | Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity | 06.12.2022

The Reason You Were Created

Balthasar: Trinity Image

https://zoboko.com/text/lmm3j22r/the-holy-trinity-hans-urs-von-balthasar-and-his-sources/5

A Ray of Light/Prism=all the feasts of the year

The Ray of Light equates to every mystery of our faith.

Romans 1: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/1

Idolatry: The greatest sin of humanity

Paul’s Critique of the world is this: The central problem with the world is idols.

“Immoral behavior is the twin sister of idolatry. The one that is always born first is idolatry. The ray of God’s trinity heals us of that sin.”

Your central problem with God is not a sin of weakness. It’s not a sin where you’re prideful or love money too much. The root of our sin is that we worship false gods.

Matthew 22:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22

“To be a Christian means to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

“How can I possibly love God more than [the one I love]?” By the end of Fr. Brian's conversation with the young man who struggled with this idea, the young man said,

“You know, FB, maybe I’m not there yet, but I think I understand how that’s possible.”

“The sin of idolatry comes in three forms: power, pleasure, and money.”

“Another form is when you and I worship other things that we think will fill us up, but are not God.”

Romans 1:23

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/1

“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles.”

“The one message I have for you tonight is that God is infinitely more beautiful than you have ever imagined he is. Beauty captivates us, and when we have an image of something beautiful, it’ll help us get through anything. It’ll help us to overcome temptations, get us through struggles—beauty heals our souls. So, what Satan wants to do is give us a false image of God. When we have a false image of God, everything else is thrown off.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“All glory means is ‘divine beauty.’”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“When we don’t see God correctly, what happens is we set our hearts on lesser things.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Perpetual light, perpetual glory… this is why you were created.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“You were created for one reason—to share in God’s glory.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“When your heart is set on something beautiful, you reject lesser things.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

One image of God’s perfect exchange of love:

“God is the eternal foundation of that mysterious word we call, ‘love.’”

“God is infinitely wealthy, and he is also infinitely poor. In trinitarian theology, we Catholics believe that God possesses all wealth; He is infinite in himself. But because he’s infinite, each member of the Holy Trinity perpetually loses himself in the others. The Son can be infinitely poor because he knows that the Father infinitely and eternally empties Himself into the Son. So, they never have to cling to anything because they are pure love.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“When you understand who the True God is, it destroys idols.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Christ has the freedom to be infinitely poor. And His wealth and his poverty go hand-in-hand.” —Fr. Brian Larkin

“Set your sight on the Trinity. If you live a good life and cast idols out of your life, and you learn to worship the only true God, you will, for all eternity, participate in this mystery. It is something above you; it is something that will give you eternal joy, and it will change your life, here.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

“Holy Trinity, tonight, may your glory cast down our idols.”—Fr. Brian Larkin

Fr. Sean’s Pentecost Homily

Peace from 2 aspects:

1. With Jesus in the readings, today

2. Pentecost & the coming of the Holy Spirit

“The Lord desires to give us peace, today.”

Peace: The absence of division

“I think we all know when we have that peace within us.” —Fr. Sean Conroy

“We all desire peace in our lives.”—Fr. Sean Conroy

Peace at The Last Supper:

Matthew 26:17–29 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/26

Mark 14:12–25 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/14Luke 22:7–38 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/22I Corinthians 11:23–25 https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/11

“Jesus knows his men will betray him, yet what does he tell his apostles at the Last Supper? ‘Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you.’ Despite knowing the betrayal and the fractures that would happen in the Church. Then, the Apostles go and abandon him when He needs them the most.” —Fr. Sean Conroy

“The first words Jesus speaks after the Resurrection were, ‘Shalom’—‘Peace be with you.’ In the city of peace, Jesus speaks peace.’” —Fr. Sean Conroy

“One of the last things Jesus says before his death, and right after he resurrects—‘peace.’”—Fr. Sean Conroy

“Where do we find anxiety? Where do we find divisions in our hearts? What is weighing on us? What do we need to bring to the altar today where Jesus will pour out His peace upon us? Not just what, but who?”—Fr. Sean Conroy

Matthew 18: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/18

“‘Seek forgiveness from your brother before you approach the altar.’ ‘This is why at every Mass we have the sign of peace, so we can reconcile with one another before we approach the Lord.’”—Fr. Sean Conroy

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060522.cfm

“Jesus sends the Holy Spirit—the fire, the wind, the breath… where is the Holy Spirit? What does He give us?”—Fr. Sean Conroy

Galations 5:22–23: The Fruits of the Spirit

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/galatians/5

“Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Self Control”

When the Holy Spirit is active in our lives, we have peace.

Pentecost comes 40 days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit bursts forth on the Apostles

“Do you have the presence of peace in your life? Do you have the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life?” —Fr. Sean Conroy

“Who do we spend more time with?”—Fr. Sean Conroy

“The Holy Spirit wants to give us peace.”—Fr. Sean Conroy

“Do you feel called to be a priest by the Father, the Son, or by the Holy Spirit?” —one of Fr. Sean’s interview questions upon entering the seminary

“In the Holy Spirit, there is no waiting room for God. The Holy Spirit gives us access. Why? Because from the love of the Father and the Son processes forth the Holy Spirit—the personification of the Father and the Son. And in the Holy Spirit, we don’t have to wait.”—Fr. Sean Conroy

”The Holy Spirit breaks into our world, and says, come to know The Son in Me.”—Fr. Sean Conroy

“Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, Oh Lord. Our hearts have no peace until they find peace in You.” —partially taken from St. Augustine, and added interpretation by Fr. Sean Conroy

Come Holy Spirit Prayerhttps://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/devotions/come-holy-spirit-13402

“Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of the faithful

And Kindle in them the fire of your love

Send forth your spirit

And they shall be created

And you shall renew the face of the earth.”

You Cannot Serve Two Masters | Fr. Sean's Homily | 6th Sunday of Easter | May 22, 2022 by Lourdes Denver