Pilgrim Priest

Lent, 3rd Sunday (B) The first three commandments are all about love of God and the last 7 are about love of neighbor. They all make perfect sense, with the exception of the third commandment. Why would God command his people to take a day off, especially people who were living hand-to-mouth?

God rested on the 7th day. We, who are made in the image and likeness of God, are co-creators for six days, and then rest with the Master on the seventh. If we refuse to rest, we are saying that we have to depend in on our own strength, ingenuity, and hard work. God wants us to trust that he is a good Father and he will provide for his children.

When we refuse to take a day of rest, we are allowing ourselves to become enslaved by the economy and our expectations. God wants us to to be free from unnecessary servile labor. God wants us to be rested and renewed and be re-created.

The New Testament adds a third reason, which is the Resurrection of Jesus. We prepare ourselves for the heavenly kingdom by worshiping God and resting from our labors. How would my whole week look different if instead of treating Sunday as "my day," I asked God, "What do you want me to do with YOUR day?"

(3 Mar 2024)

Going Deeper: Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Third Commandment, Paragraphs 2168 to 2195.

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Lent, 2nd Sunday (B) There are a number of disturbing passages in the Bible. This might be the most disturbing of all: God commands a father to sacrifice his son. In a kind of reverse psychology, he is teaching us not to engage in human sacrifice.

There are people that live life with radical trust in God. They believe that God is good, and that they are his beloved children. They believe in the power of redemptive suffering and hard times make them draw closer to God. St. Josephine Bakhita is great example of radical trust.

The rest of us have to wrestle with God. Job is honest about his sufferings but he won't reject his relationship with God. He wrestles until God gives him a new perspective.

Some people think you mustn't get mad at God. They bury their painful feelings under a façade of radical trust. Other people drift away from God; the relationship doesn't matter enough to stay with God.

The sacrifice of Isaac is a foreshadowing. God said, "Don't sacrifice your son; I'll sacrifice mine." God is good, and he does love you. In fact, he loves you so much that he would sacrifice his only Son, whom he loves, for your sake.

(25 Feb 2024)

Going Deeper: Much of the material from today's homily was taken from the excellent podcast episode How to Work Through Your Anger at God, Episode 107 of the Interior Integration for Catholics podcast with Dr. Peter Malinowski. Definitely worth your time to listen to it.

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Lent, 1st Sunday (B) Creation reveals a sacred order (hierarchy), with God at the top and human beings above the rest of creation but below God. We are part of a sacred order and we also have a sacred order within us.

Man is a unity of body and soul. Except that we don't often experience ourselves as a unity. We tend to experience the body and soul at odds with each other. Our physical side needs to be ordered by our spirit towards truth and goodness and beauty. If not disciplined, your body will become fat and lazy. Discipline means, "to train or develop by instruction and exercise especially in self-control" (Merriam-Webster). The spirit must also care for the body and be attentive to its need for sleep, exercise, healthy meals, etc.

At the end of the flood, God restores his authority over creation and over human life. Human beings need to accept their place in the sacred order. We also need to work on the sacred order within us. We can go to a little hungry now because the great feast is coming soon.

(18 Feb 2024)

Going Deeper: What Lenten sacrifices will help put you back in right order?

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Ash Wednesday • Anyone can say, "I love you." How do we know if someone really loves us? Real love is when someone wants what is best for the beloved. And true love is when the lover is willing to put his beloved first. We know that Jesus is True Love because he sacrifices himself for us.

If we truly love Jesus, than we will not just say, "I love you," but we also have to sacrifice for Him. Prayer, fasting, and alms-giving are all ways to say, "I love you."

(14 Feb 2024)

Going Deeper: How can you live your Lenten sacrifices in a way that says "I love you" back to God?

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Ordinary Time, 6th Sunday (B) The leper must remove himself from the community in order to save the community. Jesus is the source of healing for the leper, who can go back and be a blessing to his community.

We often think of sin as a private matter. But the seven deadly sins not only hurt us, but they are also toxic to community. Think of the ways that Pride, Envy, Anger, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust both infect the host and also corrode relationships around him.

Turn to Jesus. Kneel before him in the Confessional and say, "If you wish, you can make me clean." Jesus will reach out his hand and touch you and make you clean.

Because sin involves the will, we need to invest our wills become healthy again. The three traditional "works" of Lent speed the healing of our souls. Fasting frees us from self-serving, prayer turns us to God, and almsgiving turns out outwards to others. Lent will help you to become more pure of heart and more a blessing to the community.

(11 Feb 2024)

Going Deeper: Reflect on the ways you might have "caught" Anger or any of the other deadly sins from the people around you. What Lenten practice might help you to find new life and bless others in this particular area?

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Ordinary Time, 4th Sunday (B) The APA tells us: Anxiety is an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure... Anxiety is not the same as fear, but they are often used interchangeably. Anxiety is considered a future-oriented, long-acting response broadly focused on a diffuse threat, whereas fear is an appropriate, present-oriented, and short-lived response to a clearly identifiable and specific threat.

Why is everyone so anxious these days? Right from pregnancy, a mother and father need to establish a sense of security for their children. The Bible recognizes that anxiety is a part of everyday life. You need to let your anxiety talk to you. The parts of us who are anxious need to share their burden. Then we need to move through that anxiety to a place of security.

So where can we find security? The very things we gravitate to when we feel anxious are probably making things worse. Security comes from safe, healthy relationships. But our human relationships will never be enough. Jesus is the rock who speaks with authority. He leads us to our true parents: God our Father and Mary our Mother. This is where we find the peace that passes all understanding.

(28 Jan 2024)

Going Deeper: Make time to thank God every morning for the gift of a new day, and talk to God about whatever part of your upcoming day might be making you anxious. At the end of every day, notice: 1) a blessing, 2) a challenge, 3) how God was with you, and took care of what you were anxious about, and 4) a way that you were Jesus to someone else. Begin and end each day with gratitude.

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Ordinary Time, 2nd Sunday (B) In today's first reading, Samuel hears a call from God. Perhaps we don't want God to call and interrupt, or perhaps we are trying to discern our vocation and we wonder if God lost my number. We need to listen with our heart. Here are five ways that God commonly speaks to us.

1. Nature. The world around me is speaking to me of God. Our own bodies also have a lot to say to us. Learn to listen to nature and your body and respect them.
2. Church teaching marks out a safe path for us to trod.
3. Legitimate authority, like parents and priests, can help us hear God's voice. Even though Eli is not a great dad, his voice still sounds like God.
4. Our conscience. That still, small voice in our head that speaks to us of what is true and beautiful and good.
5. Daily prayer, especially with scripture. How often do we go to prayer expecting to talk but not making space to listen. Prayer needs to be a conversation.
   

Once we hear God's voice, we need to point Jesus out to others. Like John the Baptist, priests point out Jesus to their flock, and those people can point others to Jesus. Learn to listen with your heart.

(14 Jan 2024)

Going Deeper: Consider making a stop at your local parish church in the morning on the way to work, after school, or while running errands in town. Spend a few minutes talking to God about your day and then a few minutes listening with your heart.

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Epiphany of the Lord (Three Kings Day) On December 29, the Holy Eucharist was stolen from the Most Blessed Sacrament Perpetual Adoration Chapel in Oshkosh, WI. Since Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, was this a theft, or a kidnapping?

I recount for you the miraculous recovery of a stolen host in Cowley, Alberta. Father and the other searchers had a Eucharistic "epiphany."

The magi search for the newborn King of the Jews among a people who are not excited for his birth. The can see the light that the Jewish people cannot see. They continue to believe in the value of the gift even when others do not value Him.

Every Sunday, you come here to pay homage to the King of Kings and to place your gifts before Him. I pray that every Sunday might be an Epiphany moment for you. We all believe that Jesus is the answer, but when the rest of the world doesn't seem to value him, we can begin to doubt what we have here. Pray to see the Eucharist in a new light. Pray that we can each have a "Eucharistic Epiphany."

(7 Jan 2024)

Going Deeper: Read about the Eucharistic Miracle of Cowley, Alberta, Canada.

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Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God • Today we celebrate a very controversial title of Mary. Two Patriarchs disagreed about whether it was wrong to call Mary the Mother of God. The Council of Ephesus in AD 431 settled the debate in favor of this title.

We could not possibly honor Mary any more than God honored Mary. God raised this humble servant to be the Queen of the Angels. Mary shows us what God can go with us when we give him 100%. Mary will help you fully receive all that God wants to give you in the New Year.

(1 Jan 2023)

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Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph (B) We each image God in our own way. But we also image God when we form a community of persons in the family. When bonds of family love are secure, we can experience a pervasive sense of peace and joy. Family members are able to thrive and develop to their full potential. This heals the core wound of fear.

On the other hand, when the parents are not rooted in God's faithful love, the family experiences fear and insecurity which leads to self-protection. We develop pockets of woundedness that keep us from truly loving and being loved.

Spouses eventually realize that only the love of God that surrounds them can make their marriage succeed. Intimacy with God allows them to receive what they need to love one another. If neither spouse is willing to plug into God, they end up slowly draining one another.

Around the Holy Family are Simeon and Anna. They are grandparent figures. They show the love of the community that surrounds each family. The Holy Family offers us a glimpse into God's desire that our families be holy, holy, and happy.

(31 Dec 2023)

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