Deacon Bob’s Homily for Pentecost, 2025

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Deacon Bob

Here’s my homily for this weekend. God bless all!

Pentecost Sunday, Cycle C

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Cor 12:3b-7,12-13; John 20:19-23

June 7/8, 2025

Have you ever experienced the Holy Spirit? If you have, what was He like? What words would you use to describe Him? What images do you have of Him? How was He?

Unless you are in the Charismatic movement, you probably will struggle to answer those questions. I do. We only give passing thought to the Holy Spirit, except maybe at Pentecost or at Confirmation. That’s really too bad, because He is so necessary for our lives and our world. He is always doing good and beautiful things. The Holy Spirit mysteriously works. Sometimes I think He is the divine “Delta Force,” doing remarkable things in concealed ways.

Our faith teaches us that the Holy Spirit is God, the third Person of the Blessed Trinity. The Father loves His only begotten Son so much, and in return the Son loves the Father so much, that their bond of love is the Holy Spirit.

We speak often about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and rightly so. We have images and words to describe Him. He is like us in all things except sin, so we can identify with Him. He lived on earth as a human though He is a divine person, the Son of God.

We speak often about the Father, and have images and words to describe Him. Again, rightly so, for He keeps everything in existence by His holy will.  He is the source of all life. We know a lot of earthly fathers, so we can relate to God the Father.

But when it comes to the Holy Spirit, we are rather tongue-tied and blind. The images from the Bible of a dove, or a tongue of fire, or a breath of wind don’t seem to work for us. We like the images, but how can we connect with them when we are none of these ourselves?

Maybe the Sequence we recited right before the Gospel will help us. In it we hear of some of the effects of the Holy Spirit, some signs of Him and His work. He is sweet refreshment, grateful coolness in the heat, solace, one who heals and strengthens, forgives and guides, and gives joy. All these are human experiences and attempts to wrap our minds around the divine person of Holy Spirit.

Maybe our readings today will help us. They highlight three characteristics of the Holy Spirit: Speech, Unity, and Peace.

Speech: The Holy Spirit is always speaking to us. Maybe we aren’t quiet enough to hear Him speak. Maybe we are too noisy in a noisy world. I often think about that when there is a lot of chatter in church. We have a hard time even in church being silent and listening. Many of us don’t like silence. It makes us nervous. How can we hear the Holy Spirit speak in a noisy life?

Unity: Our world is divided and so are we. Unity seems like fantasy, a nice concept but not reality, so we are anxious and distracted. We long for unity, but it seems far off. That’s how we think about the Holy Spirit… far off, when in fact He is very near. Yes, God allows divisions among us to exist, but those divisions become the portals through which the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and our world.

Peace: We are so attached to our world, to our possessions and material things, that we are ill-at-ease, defensive, and quick to quarrel. We have a hard time letting go and letting God. We are not at peace. We think of peace as a goal, but not as a sign of the Holy Spirit.

One of my ministries is offering spiritual direction to men. I graduated from the School of Spiritual Direction at Franciscan University Steubenville and am certified in spiritual direction and in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. I am one of the approved spiritual directors in the diocese. I mention this because spiritual directors learn how to help others to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, and how to recognize and reject the voice of the Evil Spirit.  Quiet prayer is necessary if we are to hear the Holy Spirit speak, to recognize His presence, and obey Him. Divisions are due to some form of natural or supernatural evil.  Peace is a promised consolation that God can give for the good of our souls.

How can you be more aware of the Holy Spirit in your life and be able to describe Him to others?

1. Carve out time each day to be completely silent. Give that time to God. Start with ten minutes of silence a day. Listen and see what happens.

2. When you find yourself feeling divided, anxious, and torn, immediately drop what you are doing, and ask the Holy Spirit to put the pieces together for you, to bring about the unity He wants for you. Beg the Holy Spirit to make sense of the confusing divisions  you face. He can do it; you can’t without Him.

3. When you are in conflict with someone, remember your strength is in God, not in winning an argument. Ask the Holy Spirit to bring about the peace he wants to give to you.

I think you will be able to better describe the Holy Spirit if you talk to Him and recognize how He speaks to you. The Holy Spirit is kind of like the “Delta Force” of our spiritual lives. He is behind the scenes working, unrecognized unless we take the time to talk with Him in silence. I think that we all need to get to know the Holy Spirit better.

I know I do.

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

Posted on June 2, 2025 by Deacon Bob

4th Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

Acts 13:14, 43-52; Rev 7:9, 14b-17; John 10:27-30

May 10-11, 2025

“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)

God alone is the author of life. He alone sustains it into eternity. Once God gives us life, He never takes it back. Rather, He is faithful to the person to whom He gives this most precious gift, and He is faithful to the gift itself. He sustains the gift of life in each of us, and He requires us to protect human life from its conception to its natural end. Life is a gift, a gift to be enjoyed with God now and in eternity, and in gratitude to Him who has given it. Yes, we are to live in gratitude to God for the life we now directly experience in this world and will experience anew for all eternity after we pass through the doors of death. We must live in gratitude.

When I had my psychotherapy practice at Gundersen, and now in the spiritual direction to men in formation, I recognized over and over again that a sign of mental and spiritual health was living in gratitude.

Are we grateful for the life we have been given? I hope so.

God chose a woman, the ever virgin Mary, to be the Mother of God, the mother of Jesus who is the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Just as God chose Mary to be the one through whom Word of Life would be given to the world, so too God chose our mothers to be the ones through whom life would offered to each of us. Just as Mary said “yes” to God through the invitation of the Archangel Gabriel, so too our mothers said “yes” to God when they were told that they were to bear a child into this world, a child who would be given eternal life by grace and the will of God Himself. Just as we should be grateful to our Blessed Mother for having said “yes” to the angel, so too we need be grateful to our mothers for their “yes” to God on our behalf.

My mother taught me the sacredness of my life. You have probably heard me say this before, but she taught me that God always has my life in His hands – like we heard in our Gospel today. He always is sustaining that gift of life, every second of every day, conceiving me over and over again, willing me to live every second. Should He ever stop willing the life He gave me, through my mother, I would cease to exist, but His eternal promise is that He will never abandon me or leave me an orphan. God does the same with you. Through your mother, He gave you life and now sustains the life you have been given.

How grateful we need to be to God and to our mothers!

There is a great temptation in our world today to take life rather than sustain it. There is a great temptation in our world today destroy life rather than live in gratitude for it. We see this in so many obvious ways like abortion and euthanasia, but we see it also in the ways we undermine the sanctity of mothers and the family. If we devalue the importance of motherhood, we devalue women, and we devalue the dignity of human life.  I think our culture is doing just that. It is my contention that the ways in which our culture is demeaning mothers and motherhood and women are attacks on human life and its sanctity. If the world can accomplish that, then we no longer will live in gratitude; instead we will live in selfishness which is exactly that Satan hopes happens. Are we grateful, or are we selfish? How do we answer that question?

Now, I know many people grew up without a mother, or perhaps a less than good one. I know if you are one of those who experienced that, Mothers’ Day can be painful. My own father grew up without a mother. Grandma died when dad was only three years old. If your mom died in your infancy, or abandoned the family for some reason, I ask you to

bear this cross with gratitude nonetheless. Perhaps you have a greater reason for living in gratitude for you too were given life and now you are living it courageously. Perhaps you are the ones who live gratefully for the gift of life sustained by others, and you now live for others. I know my dad did not live in selfishness or bitterness for having been  orphaned. There was a simple gratitude for how life developed for him. He gave himself for his family’s sake.

I end with this prayer for all our moms. Heavenly Father, I lift up to you today all our mothers. Bless them with strength to continue to care for their children, with the same bold selflessness Mary showed Jesus. Help our mothers feel our gratitude for all they have done and truly know the effect their love has had on our lives. Grant them we pray peace of heart and the joys of life now and into eternity. Amen.r

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Deacon Bob

8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Sir 27:4-7; 1 Cor 15:54-58; Lk 6:39-45

March 1-2, 2025

There is something about which I have been thinking more and more in recent years, and with increasing concern, i.e. is how we speak in public and private about others.

Two verses stand out for me in today’s readings: “From the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Lk 6:45) and “When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks.” (Sir 27:4)

How true it is. It reminds me of a particular caution and a particular sin I’d like us to think about today.

The caution is: Think before you speak! Do not needlessly harm a man’s reputation, or your own, with rash speech!

The sin is detraction, which is according to the Catechism: “The disclosure of another’s faults and sins, without an objectively valid reason, to persons who did not know about them, thus causing unjust injury to that person’s reputation.”  In other words, telling others about the faults and sins of someone else. Everyone has a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Detraction is a sin against truth.

How many times I have regretted speaking impulsively about someone!  My mouth getting ahead of my head, ahead of my better judgment. I suspect most of you recall times when you have spoken before thinking.

How we speak about others says a lot about us. Our heart and our desire are revealed in our speech.

So much political speech nowadays is pure detraction. For me, it has gotten to a point where I almost never pay attention to what is said in politics. When I turn on the radio, it seems to flood my home with rash speech — loud, accusatory, and negative — always attacking someone’s reputation. When I log on to websites, the same thing pops up on the screen. Blogs that are written even by Catholics often fall into that category, disparaging other Catholics. Free speech, they claim. First Amendment rights, they assert. Really? Even courts of law recognize no one has the right to slander or libel another. Too often, free speech claims are invoked to justify the sin of detraction.

I recall back in the late 1970s when I was working at a factory. I heard my coworkers dumping on their wives, devaluing them publicly, exposing their faults. It said a lot about those men’s characters. I have heard wives always finding one fault after another with their husbands, rather than looking for that which is admirable about them.

I tire of all this. Enough, I say. Stop it!

Detraction is a sin against the truth. God is truth, the source of all truth. God is the source of truth for each one of us and God is the source of the truth about that person we are tempted to criticize publicly, exposing their faults and sins to others who have no right to know about them. The truth is that person is a child of God and infinitely loved by Him. How different we would treat each other if we really believed that! How different we would speak about others if we would always remember that before opening our mouths. How differently we would speak about our spouses, our children, our neighbors!

One reason, I think, the sin of detraction is so widespread is that people do not believe there is a truth which can be discovered and embraced, except for the “truth” of themselves. This denial that truth comes from God is a big deal nowadays. Do we care about what is true? For many, truth is relative to their feelings. If I feel it is true and I can therefore express it. Everything “depends” on my view. Does God exist? Depends. Does truth exist? Depends. The “depends” part refers to whether or not I see it so. When we go down that road, nothing is true and nothing is sinful except what violates my personal viewpoint. I become my own God.

No, my friends, God is the source of truth. If something is really true, then it comes from God. So, what I am about to say about someone else, is it of God, and from Him?

I read in a church bulletin (not ours) that there are three questions we need to ask ourselves before revealing the faults of others. Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary to say it?

If it is true, it is from God not from us.

If it is kind, our motivation will be pure. Lies are never kind. Half-truths are cruel. Hatred is evil. Anger is destructive. Wounding others’ reputations is sinful. Never speak quickly when angry, hurt, or armed with hearsay. Speak in love.

Is it necessary to reveal this? To answer, we must sleep on it. We must pray about it before we speak about someone’s faults. When might it be necessary? On the witness stand in a court of law. Before God in the confessional. Before God in spiritual direction. When intervening to save a man’s life and well-being. When protecting a vulnerable individual from serious harm. In other words, it is seldom necessary to reveal someone’s faults to another.

 Fill your heart with good things. Fill your heart with the Lord. Fill your heart with the truth which comes from God Himself. Fill your heart with the love of God for you and for all. Fill your heart with the truth who is God. Then your hearts will be full of good things and you will produce rich fruit as we heard in the Gospel. Then your speech will be just and true, and honorable.

Yes, from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. (Lk 6:45)

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for the Presentation of the Lord

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Deacon Bob

The Presentation of the Lord

February 1-2, 2025

Malachi 3:1-4; Hebrews 2:14-18; Luke 2:22-40

Today, February 2, traditionally is Candlemass Day when all the candles to be used in the parish were blessed for the upcoming year. It was a day, then, when light entered the church, candles, stunning and brilliant, chasing away any darkness in the building. We remembered back then how that Light,  (with a capital L) who is Jesus, entered the temple at the Presentation, today’s Feast. Light also was a symbol of our faith in Jesus, who came into the darkness of the world.  Candles remain a symbol of our faith in Jesus Christ who breaks into the darkness. So, today I would like to speak of light and darkness and faith.

In the gospel, Jesus came into the temple as an infant with Joseph and Mary. His parents came to be purified, as was the dictate of the law, and Jesus was declared to be “a light for revelation”, a light, recognized that day by just a few: Simeon, Anna, Mary, and Joseph, but today he is recognized by millions as the Light of the World, who enters every aspect of the world and of our lives, dispelling the darkness around us, and our doubts and our sins within us.

In the gospel, Simeon told Mary that a sword would pierce her heart and that her son would be a sign that would be contradicted. Like Mary, a sword will someday pierce our hearts too, and yes, Jesus continues to be contradicted even today, but here is the good news: where there is light, darkness disappears, where there is faith, doubt and fear vanish. Light purifies darkness, and faith dispels doubt and fear. In other words, where there is faith in God, there is light. No darkness. No fear.

All this happened in our baptisms. We were purified after we entered the parish church with our parents, renounced sin and Satan, and all his empty promises, and then confessed our faith in God, and entered the waters of baptism. A brilliant light entered our souls that day with the anointing with Holy Chrism and the gift of the Holy Spirit. If only we could have seen with these eyes the brilliance of that light; it would have stunned us!

You see, if we have faith in God —  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — like we professed in our baptisms, and renounce Satan and evil and all the darkness he brings into our lives,  the light of the Holy Spirit is given to us by God the Father. In baptism, we became temples of the Holy Spirit.  Faith was the foundation on which this light entered the temple of our lives. Yes, God entered the temple our lives, our souls, just as Jesus entered the temple of His time.  God –  Father, Son and Holy Spirit – is our Light. We have nothing to fear of any darkness that we may be experiencing now if we remain strong in our faith.

We often concede that, yes, Jesus is very powerful. We often admit that the Holy Trinity is very powerful.  It is kind of easy to admit that. God is powerful.  What we find hard to admit is how necessary and powerful is our faith. It is so necessary for us to remain full of faith.

St Paul in the second reading basically says this light of faith has the power to destroy all darkness and sin. It has the power to free us even from eternal death. He tells us that the light of faith is so powerful that it clears the slate so to speak. It purifies us from our sin and from all darkness. This indeed happened to us in our baptisms, and will continue to happen to us if we are willing to live consistent with our baptismal promises.

Has darkness entered your life? If it has, have you let the light of faith enter to dispel it?

The light of faith is so powerful and darkness is so fragile! Remember that when you seem surrounded by darkness and problems in life. Just a match shatters the darkness, no matter how dark or how big the darkness may seem. It is a fact that a small light on an open sea at night can be seen for ten miles. Think of that! Think of how much more powerful is the light of your faith, how far it can penetrate the spiritual darkness of your life. Light is so powerful! Our faith is so powerful! Jesus is so powerful! God is so powerful! Darkness, and sin, and life’s problems, and all those things are so weak and fragile in comparison. So fragile are they!

The light of Christ has completely shattered all darkness. Just as the smallest of lights shatters the physical darkness, the light of faith, no matter how small, shatters the every spiritual darkness. That light  becomes brighter the more we are purified of any sin that is within us.

Never despair if you seem engulfed with darkness, with problems, or with sins. No matter what may be happening that seems discouraging, never despair because your faith within you will shatter the darkness around you. My friends, never extinguish the light of your faith for any reason! I repeat, never abandon your faith! Never! Stay close to Jesus, stay close to the sacraments so that light of your faith remains in you!

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Homily for the 2nd Sunday of Advent

Posted on December 9, 2024 by Deacon Bob

2nd Sunday of Advent – Cycle C

 December 7/8, 2024

 Baruch 5: 1-9; Phil 1:4, 8-11; Lk 3: 1-6

God comes to us. Will we go to him?

 Imagine two scenarios and two different voices. First, I’d like you to think of the voice of the oddest member in your family, maybe your uncle or cousin. Imagine that family member being gone for a few years and then all of a sudden returning looking pretty ragged and out-of-sorts, speaking directly to you and going on and on about God coming soon and how we all have to repent and get ready.

Now, imagine another scenario and another kind of voice,. You are walking through a mountain range. Big tall mountains that seem to speak to you with their size and beauty, and the deep valleys that repeat back to you every word you speak. This voice seems to pull you farther and farther into the mountains, mesmerizing you by their grandeur and beauty, only to find that you are lost and can’t find your way back home because the mountains block your exit and the valleys are too deep to escape.

Now, my question is to which of these two voices will you listen to in your life? Is it the call of the mountains of resistance and the echoes of the deep valleys of temptation? Or, will you listen to the words of John the Baptist in the Gospel? The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness; and he went into the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Make ready the way of the Lord! Clear him a straight path! Let every valley be filled, every mountain made low! Let all mankind see the salvation of our God, for he comes! Smooth out the rough patches John said, and straighten the crookedness of your life. Fill in what is missing!

God wants to make our lives smooth. He wants to remove the mountains of distress in our lives and he wants to fill our valleys of despair with his presence, with his peace, with his justice, with his glory. Yes God comes to us! He comes so that we might not be held captive by sin and death. He comes so that we might be free from all that would tear us away from him. God comes to seeking us out.

God comes to level our mountains of resistance. He comes to fill the trenches of temptation. God comes to strengthen our hands and make firm our knees, so that we might stand tall upon the heights and declare before all the people, “The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad indeed!”

Yes, return to the Lord with all your heart. Go to him. Ready yourself, for Jesus is coming! He will complete in us the good work, the good news, which he began so long ago.

Ask yourselves, “What are the valleys of temptation in my life? Where are the mountains of resistance that impede my progress? What has led me away from my God?”

My friends, John the Baptist outlines three steps we must take to find our way out of those mountains and the valleys of life.

Step one:  we must go into the wilderness, into the desert, into those mountains and valleys. We must find time to be with God. We must find time to pray. In the wilderness we must struggle to admit our sinfulness and our need of forgiveness.  We must admit we are lost and in need of guidance and direction.

Step two, we must let the God come to us and lead us out. God comes to us when we pray. God comes to us when we read Scripture and hear it read. Yes, God wants us to seek him out by going into the desert, but he also wants to lead us out of that wilderness; he wants to free us from whatever holds us captive. He wants to give us his Spirit who guides us out of the mountains and valleys that surround us. He comes to give us the hope of rebirth! On his own initiative, God comes searching our souls, searching our hearts that have been held captive by the addiction of sin and the temptations of the world around us.

Yes, God comes to forgive us. When does that forgiveness come to us in a very personal way? When we go to confession and receive absolution. We all need to confess our sins, admit our guilt and receive the Lord’s forgiveness. We must go frequently, on a monthly basis, to the sacrament of Penance. It is our way of being prepared for his coming. It is our way to ready ourselves for the coming of Jesus.

Step three, we must go out and proclaim the faith. He sends us out to announce to the whole world that God is good and that he has done great things for us. He sends us out in joy and peace so we might give witness to his presence and his love, so that we might lead others to him. He sends us out so that others may learn the faith, and know God. He sends us out to proclaim the truth that God is found in the Catholic Church, in her teachings, in her living Tradition and Apostolic ministry.

In a nutshell, Advent is a time to go into the wilderness in order to listen and hear God’s voice, to be open to his coming into our lives, to seek his forgiveness, and then to become witnesses of his coming into our world.

God will lead us. He will level the mountains of sin and fills the trenches of temptation. He will bring to completion the work he has begun. He will grace us with his presence. Look for him! He is coming soon! Go to him! As the Scriptures say, “Let all mankind will see the salvation of God!” God comes to you. Will you go to him?

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Deacon Bob

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28b-34

November 2/3, 2024

I would like to focus today on the beginning two lines of the Gospel and in that way address everything else you have just heard.

“Hear O Israel! The Lord your God is Lord alone!” Yes, my friends, hear…. hear!… and…. God is Lord alone.

Now, I want you to imagine what would happen if I were to call for a show of hands, right now here in this church, if I asked you, “Do you believe that there is one God and you need to hear Him in some way?” How many of you would raise high their hands? I think most of us would raise them high. Surely, we all would, because it is a basic part of our faith. Now imagine what would happen if I were to ask you a follow-up question, the “truth in the pudding” kind of question, “Do you listen to God more than anyone or anything else in your life?” What do you imagine would happen? How many hands would stay up? Most of our hands would drop, right?

So I will ask the question “To whom or to what do you spend most of your day listening?” If you were to actually add up the number of hours you spend listening to people or something like your smart phone, I will wager that you would discover that you actually are spending more time listening someone or something other than God.

There is an old adage that says, “He to whom you listen, is he whom you will eventually obey.” So, to whom are you listening? Who do you obey?

There are so many people, causes, organizations, political parties that demand we listen to them, especially during an election year. Have those people, causes, organizations, political parties, and candidates — to whom we spend a lot of time listening and hearing— become our lords, to use the word from the Gospel?

The answer is “Yes”. I think I can safely say that. I think all of us break that First Commandment frequently and confess it rarely. We have lords other than God, who is Lord alone because we listen to and hear other people more than God.

Who then is your Lord? Truly, who do you listening to in your life more than anyone or anything else? If we spend a lot of time listening to someone, that person becomes our lord.

Now, please understand that I am not suggesting we stop listening to each other. Or that husbands should stop listening to their wives or wives to their husbands, or children to their parents. No, we need a lot more time listening to each other and in that way reduce the tensions in our relationships and our world. Listening is a good thing! But on the flip side of the coin, and this my point, we all know what history teaches us if we fall into the trap of listening to someone who has become our lord and who drowns out the voice of God in our lives. Recent and ancient history are full of examples. Let us learn from history if not from the Scriptures. We are now finding out what happens when a piece of technology — our iPhones and Androids— become our lord. We spend most of our time listening to them, don’t we? In the Bible God kept telling His people to stop giving their allegiance and their lives to false gods. God kept calling them back to Himself.

For over 15 years now, I have been living without television or internet in my home. I’m not bragging, just stating a fact. I have done this for several reasons, but mainly to help me not succumb to the temptations TV, the Internet, and technology bring, tempting me to me to listen to someone other than God throughout my day. I way too easily fall into trap of idolatry. My forgoing of them is my way of listening to God as much as I can. I know that if I listen to Him more than I listen to the world, He will become my Lord, my one Lord, and I will be set free.

I like to think that by trying to hear God more, I will be better able to accept Him for who He is, i.e., my Lord, the one Lord of my life, who alone makes sense of my life and all that has happened to me. I hope that by living in this way, I may be free from anything that will become a false god to which I become a slave.

That’s one of the wonderful things about God; the more you hear Him and obey Him, the freer you become. He wants you to hear Him and freely serve Him. He wants you to find in Him the freedom which comes in loving Him completely. You were made for freedom and you will only find that freedom by hearing God, having Him as your one Lord, and responding with the love He has first given you.

My challenge to you is take a look at your life. Who are you listening to? Are you hearing God? Can you shut off the computer, the iPhone or Android, cut way down your screen time? Can you begin to question who you pay allegiance to, and where is God in all of that? How can you better hear God? Are you listening to Him every day? Can you honestly say God is Lord of your life because you listen to Him more than others?

Let the words of Moses be my words to you today. Hear these words not as enslaving commandments, but rather as words that will free you from all forms of idolatry and slavery to sin and to the world.  “Hear O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! Take to heart these words I enjoin upon you today. Love God above all, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength.”  In all humility, I testify that I have found this to be true.

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Posted on October 5, 2024 by Deacon Bob

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

October 5/6, 2024

Gen 2:18-24; Heb 2:9-11; Mk 10:2-16

    It was April of 1977, and I was sitting at the reception desk at Kelly Hall at what was then St. Mary’s College, my alma mater. I was pouring over my notes on metaphysics, which was an upper level philosophy course I had been taking. Metaphysics deals with the first principles of things, being, substance, cause, and space. It is very abstract. An elderly priest approached me and asked what I was studying. “Metaphysics,” I told him. He then looked at me and said, “Young man, remember one thing. Do not let anything or anyone confuse you about this. What is, is, and what is not, is not.” Yes, what is, exists, and what is not, doesn’t exist. I have never forgotten the face of that priest, and I never have forgotten his simple wisdom. It has served me well in life.

    Today’s readings are all about marriage. In some ways, I may not be very credible when it comes to marriage, but I did spend 38 years as a marriage therapist, during which time I heard it all. I was married for 42 years. I experienced the highs and lows of married life. I experienced how much God loves marriage and how He blesses it in every way possible.  I also experienced how Satan hates marriage and those in it, and how he attacks it viciously.  Now, I am just a celibate deacon and will remain so the rest of my life, seeking new ways of living and loving and serving God’s people. When I was ordained in 2009, Holy Orders and Matrimony became for me a fully integrated vocation. They were distinct, yet inseparably united. They were two lungs breathing life into me. For me, there was no confusion. Both were the answer to the questions, “Who am I? and, “What am I to do?” There was no division between the two sacraments. I had no need to rewrite the truth of Marriage or Holy Orders. I accepted them both as they are.

    My friends, more and more people are confused about marriage, and, frankly, about Holy Orders, but I will talk only about marriage today. The reason, I think, for the confusion is people are confused about themselves. They are unsure who they are and what they are to do in life which spills over into uncertainty about marriage. They are unsure of themselves and so they live in a great and painful uncertainty. This is causing so much division, so much division, in the world, in the Church, in our families, and yes within each of us, so much so that many are thinking they need to redefine what marriage is.

    What is, is, and what is not, is not. What is marriage? God’s Word, which we have just heard, is clear. It is the indissoluble union of one man and one women who freely and totally vow to give themselves to each other until death. It is the union of two bodies, the union of two hearts, and the union of two minds. It is the sharing of a home and children. Marriage is the primordial sacrament. It existed from the time of Adam in the beginning, before the fall, before the seven sacraments we now know. It is rooted in our very nature as men and as women. It exists by God’s design, not ours, and it is expressed in human nature. Marriage is not what it cannot be, such as the union of two men or two women or a relationship of a human and something else in creation. Such relationships do exist, as is so evident in our society now, but those relationships are something other than marriage, and cannot be marriage, no matter how much we may want them to be. Those in such relationships are searching for a way of understanding themselves and the world, and they take what is known to them (marriage) and lay claim to it and apply it to their situation, doing themselves great harm, rather than undertaking what is of vital importance to them, and what would be of great service to us all if it were undertaken, i.e., to better understand who they are, what is their vocation, and the meaning in their lives in the light of God’s design for them and the world. Rather than take what is (their relationship) and try to make it what it is not (marriage) if  they would only ask the deeper questions about God, themselves, and the importance of their lives and their God-given vocation.

    I don’t think anyone needs to ask these deeper question alone. There are resources and people available to assist them. I heartily recommend Courage as one of those resources. It is a solidly Catholic apostolate available to anyone willing to undertake those deeper questions.  If you want to know more about it, talk to me.

    You know, back in April of 1977, I went in for that metaphysics final examination. I aced it. I got my degree in philosophy. Although I cannot credit that elderly priest for my degree, I do credit him with giving me needed and helpful advice that cut through not only the speculation of metaphysics, but also the uncertainties of life.

    May we all grow into a deeper understanding of ourselves, our lives, and marriage. For all of you who are called to the vocation of marriage, may you experience its joys and many blessings. For all called to other vocations, know that God loves you, and the life He has given you is an expression of that love, and He has a beautiful plan for you.

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2004

Posted on September 7, 2024 by Deacon Bob

Here is my homily for the weekend. God bless all!

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Isaiah 35:4-7a; James 2:1-5; Mk 7:31-37

September 7/8, 2024

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened, the ears of the deaf be cleared; then will the lame leap like a stag, and the tongue of the mute will sing…. be strong, fear not!

What are the impediments in your life? What are the things that keep you from hearing and seeing and speaking about your faith?

Have you ever heard God say to you, Ephphath, be healed? Believe me, God wants you to hear it now. Will you hear him? What blinds you? What keeps you from speaking boldly about your experience with Jesus, like the man in the Gospel did?

The answer, I believe, is we are sorely wounded and have not yet been healed. I have come to believe that we are impeded by our wounds, and we think it’s normal. We have become silent and incoherent, and we have been okay with that.

We must change. We must be healed. We will only be healed if we have a direct experience of the Incarnate God, i.e., Jesus, like the man in the Gospel.

We need to understand what it is that has hurt us so much that we fail to speak out about our faith, we fail the poor, the elderly, the sick, and the “worthless” in our society, like St. James warns us in the second reading.

We need to figure out what it is, what deep wounds we are carrying around inside us, as individuals and as a nation, that make us hate — I use that word deliberately — hate ourselves so much that we accept the violence toward our unborn children, we are increasingly accepting euthanasia of our elderly and those considered useless, and think these crimes are acts of love. The pro-life battles we have been fighting are never going to end until we figure out what it is within us that we dislike so much that we accept abortion, physician-assisted suicide, and the indirect killing of the poor through our neglect of them.

The problem is in us. We are the problem. We have to start with ourselves. We need to be healed so we can hear better, see better, and speak boldly about what is the truth.

What I just tried to say in a psychological way (thank you Dr. Freud), I’ll now try to say in a theological manner. Satan has entered our lives and his work is evident. He is the father of lies and hatred. Satan plants hatred in anyone who listens to him. Satan wants so much for us to hate— especially when we don’t even know we are doing it. He works undercover and disguises hate as something good. He couples his hate with his lies. Satan wants us to think that hate is good, so we will choose to do it thinking we are loving someone. That is the great lie of Satan, i.e., that to hate is good.

What lies, have we accepted? How deeply have I been wounded in this way?

Healing and truth are found only in an encounter with the Incarnate God, who is Jesus. How will you encounter him and be healed? When will you hear him say to you, Ephphatha? It is not that difficult to hear him. 

Jesus is the Incarnate God now ascended into heaven, but He lives yet in his people. How then will you encounter him and be healed? Look at the crucifix! Who and what do you see there? Jesus, yes, but look deeply. Who is there with him on that cross?

I see an unborn child in danger of abortion. Mary’s pregnancy would be considered a “problem pregnancy” nowadays. Think of it. A fourteen year old girl, pregnant, and Joseph was not the father. Can you imagine the scuttlebutt, the questions about her character? Nowadays, Mary would probably be counseled to have an abortion.

I see a terminally ill man. Jesus was dying on that cross. What did the people do? They wanted him to be put out of his misery before sundown so they could get on with the Sabbath. So, I see every terminally ill person in danger of physician-assisted suicide.

I see an unjustly condemned man. On the crucifix, I see every man on death row.

I see a homeless man. Jesus had nowhere to lay his head. On that cross I see the homeless of today.

I see a foreigner. Mary and Joseph took Jesus across international boundaries to save his life. So, I see all those foreigners seeking the same in our country.

I see what Mother Teresa would call “the poorest of the poor.” Jesus owned nothing except the tunic on his back.

My point is we can and will encounter the Incarnate God in all these people of our day. If we encounter them, and not turn away from them, we will be healed. We can encounter all of them by gazing on the crucifix. Satan does not want us to gaze on the crucifix because he knows it is the sign truth which defeats him.

If you want to encounter Jesus and be healed, here is my challenge. It is both easy and difficult. For 15 minutes a day, every day for 90 days, gaze on the crucifix in this church. If you simply cannot get to church every day, then gaze on the crucifix in your home. If you don’t have one, buy one. I believe your hearts and minds will be changed if you do this.

I challenge you to do this. I challenge you to be healed. Get rid of your impediments. Do it, then come and tell me what happened.

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle Bob

Posted on August 4, 2024 by Deacon Bob

Here’s my homily for this week. God bless you all!

18th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle B

Ex 16:2-4, 12-15; Eph 4:17, 20-24; John 6:24-35

August 3-4, 2024

Have you ever had to walk a long way without food or water? Perhaps some of you who have served in the armed forces remember those marches in boot camp. Maybe others here have been lost for a day or two in the wilderness and had to find your way without food or water. I recall my earlier years as a long distance runner and struggling through ultra-marathons – over 30 miles.

To have to travel long distances without food and water is not only very difficult, it is extremely dangerous, without being prepared.  You soon will collapse and be unable to continue the journey. Yet, we regain our strength quickly after eating and drinking. We are quick to recover.

What would you say if someone were to tell you “Prepare yourself to eat this once a week and drink this once a week, every week and you will live forever, but if you are unprepared to eat and drink, you will die!”? What would you think? What if an angel poked you in the ribs when you were exhausted and down and out from the demands of daily life – work, family, community –  and what if that angel were to tell you that if you eat this and drink that you will be able to go a long way?

The question is, “What is it that sustains you in your life, especially when life may seem dry and exhausting? To whom or to what do you turn? What is the source of your strength?”

We hear in the first reading today that God’s people grumbled against God and Moses because they were hungry and thirsty. They were unprepared for the long journey.  We hear how God prepared them, told them what they needed to do so as to eat the manna he would give them and the flesh that would sustain them on their long, 40 year journey through the desert. God said He would test them to see whether they would follow His instructions.

The older I get, the more I can identify with the weariness of the Hebrew people in the desert. The older I get, the more I realize how little I need to grumble and complain and how much I need to be fed and refreshed frequently. The older I get, the more I realize in other words, how much I need the Bread of Life that sustains me and the Word of God that refreshes my soul.

My friends, we as Catholics know that we cannot spiritually live without the Mass, without the Eucharist, without receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus. It is the source and summit of our lives.  It is the source of our strength. It is the source of our lives as Christians! We are to be fed by his Body and strengthened by his Blood. 

In this week’s first reading from the book of Exodus the Hebrew people became hungry and thirsty when they left Egypt and traveled in the desert, and they began to murmur against God and Moses. Even though they were being fed with manna – bread sent from heaven – even though they drank from the spring of water gushing from the rock, they grumbled. 

In today’s Gospel we hear how Jesus Himself says that He is the Bread of Life. He Himself will sustain us with His very Body and Blood. If we eat His Body and drink His blood, we will have eternal life.  He gives us Himself so we can live, now on this earth, and forever in eternity. If we worthily receive Him, we will be refreshed and strengthened to live the lives we are to live, even if our lives are lived in a desert, so to speak.

So, we can ask ourselves, do we grumble about our lives? Do we grumble against God and his Church, even though each day we can be fed with the Body of Christ and refreshed with his Blood? Why do we murmur and grumble? Is it because we don’t listen to the Truth?

Somewhere it is written, Truth stands alone, but error requires the grumbling of many people.  God’s Word is truth. The Body and Blood of Jesus is the Truth. Truth is powerful; grumbling and murmuring are weak.

If we don’t listen to God’s word of truth then we will not believe.  We will lack faith. Faith comes from hearing God’s word spoken and proclaimed by his sacred ministers – the bishops, priests and deacons. Faith comes from acknowledging the truth of the Word of God. Faith comes from meeting Jesus Christ. If we listen to truth, then we will have faith and our hearts will be open to receive Jesus’ Real Presence and to the graces given to us in the Eucharist. If we do not listen and do not believe, then we turn away from our nourishment, we turn away from the Eucharist, we turn away from Jesus himself.

We all need to stop grumbling against God and the Church and start listening and believing!

God draws us and lifts us up with the Body and Blood of Jesus.  Jesus takes us who have been called and raises us up to new life by our partaking of his Body and Blood which is a sharing in his life, death and resurrection. This is such a mystery! It is called the Paschal Mystery! It is a gift to which we must respond with faith, acceptance and gratitude, not with idle murmuring and disbelief.

Jesus gives us Himself in the Eucharist which sustains us on our journeys of faith.

My friends, God wants to feed you. God has sent his Son Jesus to accomplish this. Jesus gives us living bread from heaven. That bread is Jesus himself. We must come to believe in him and eat his Body and drink his Blood in order to have life. The bread that Jesus gives is in fact his flesh and blood.

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2024

Posted on June 10, 2024 by Deacon Bob

10th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Gen 3:9-15; 2 Cor 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35

June 8/9, 2024

I’d like to speak about the danger of divisions. This is something I think Jesus is addressing in the Gospel today, something about which He had some rather strong words, so much so that people thought he had lost his mind. (I hope you don’t think I have gone crazy at the end of this homily and call my family to come and cart me away like they did with Jesus!) Division is something about which I am very concerned, because I see it everywhere, and I know the damage it is doing to not only to the world in a general sense, but also to the lives of individuals in a particular sense.

I think that divisions are evil and the work of the Evil One. Mind you, I said divisions, not diversity or distinctions or differences. Diversity and distinction and differences can be very good things. They can help us understand things and in the long run bring about unity, not division. For instance, it is impossible to know wrong unless you know right. We cannot really know man unless you know woman. You cannot know hard unless you know soft, and so on. Diversity and distinction and differences can unify us if we embrace them in faith, and not despise and misuse them in faithlessness.

No, Jesus today is talking about divisions AND he is talking about what unifies us. Let’s look first at how divisions have infected our lives, and then look at what unifies us.

What are some of the divisions?

Social: There is no need or desire to delve into all this. Suffice it to say, we all know well the reality of divisions in our country and the level of violence it has created. What used to be political and social diversity and distinctions and differences that led to increased understanding of the issues at hand, and resolution of those issues, nowadays has become a divisive stalemate, and incapacity of resolving pressing issues. This is the work of the Evil One, I believe.

Religious: How tired I am of being confronted over and over again with the divisions within the Church. “Traditional” against “progressive” as one example. Renegade priests against their bishops. Liturgical rigidity and liturgical laxity. We are all Catholics! There is only one body of Christ. Enough, I say, to all this! I find it scandalous.

Family: Divorce, aborting children, estrangement one from another, unhealed hurts and wounds, abandonment of our elderly, and euthanasia. These divisions are perhaps the worst evils we face.

Personal: Is your heart divided? Are you living in doubt and fear?

Satan wanted Adam and Eve to be divided from God. He wants the same for us. Satan knows so much depends on the family, so he attacks the family. Satan wants to divide in the Church, so he attacks the Church. Satan wants to create division in our hearts, so he attacks with doubts and anxiety. Satan so much wants to divide that he causes his own downfall, as Jesus tells us. He is addicted to sinful divisions.

Here is the good news. Jesus said, “[If] Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand; that is the end of him.” (Mark 3:26) The good news is Satan is so intent on creating divisions and evil that he defeats himself. He’s like someone who is so compulsive that despite all its negative consequences, that person simply cannot quit doing whatever it is he is compelled to do even if it kills him. 

Here is more good news. Jesus himself said today that there is unity among those who do the will of God, and all who do his will are his one family. Divisions come from faithlessness; unity from faithful obedience to God’s will.

More good news: St. Paul said today that we all have the same spirit of faith and we know that the One who raised Jesus from the dead will raise us also. Grace is bestowed in abundance on more and more people and this glorifies God, so we should never be discouraged. That even if our earthly dwelling should be destroyed, we have a building from God that is indestructible. Jesus Christ is victorious and heals divisions, removes sin, cast out the Evil One, and brings about unity.

Each time we are tempted to do or say something that divides, let us take heed and be cautious.

I would close with a quote from today’s responsorial psalm, which says, “I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in his word. More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is kindness and with him plenteous redemption; and he will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.

Amen!

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for the 6th Sunday of Easter, Cycle B

Posted on May 4, 2024 by Deacon Bob

6th Sunday of Easter

Acts 10:25-26, 34-35,44-48; 1John 4:7-10; John 15:9-17

May 4/5, 2024

I have chosen you. I have loved you. Remain in my love. These, I think, are at the core of what Jesus is saying to us today in the Gospel. It can be quite daunting to think about obeying the first and the greatest of all the commandments — Love God above all things and your neighbor as yourself — unless you begin to understand and accept that God has chosen you, and has loved you, and he wants you to remain in his love. So, let’s try to begin today.

We must start with our goodness and God’s desire for us. God has chosen you! He wants you because he created you good. He has a plan for you. He thinks about you all the time. He desires you. He wills you into life every second of every day. You exist only because God chooses you. He recognizes that you were created good and God wants what is good, so he chooses you. In his perfect freedom he chooses you. This is almost incomprehensible. Why would God want you? Why would he want someone so frail, sinful, broken, confused, and afraid? Why? He chooses  you because you were created good, and God wanted for all eternity in your goodness.  He is willing you into life, so you may be with him for all eternity. You are individually desired and chosen by God.

We have to wrap our mind around the reality that God has not only chosen you but he has loved you. That is the second piece. God wants what is good for you. He wants what is really good, the best of all goods, not some lesser good. In other words, God wants you to have him because God is the best of all goods. He loves you so much that he wants to give Himself to you personally. He loves you so much that he became the Son of Man so you may be united to him. God wants you to be able to obtain him, to obtain God for all eternity. He wants you to choose him, and he enables you to do this through the Church, the sacraments, and the infusion of grace and the Holy Spirit into your life. He has given you all you need. In other words, you are loved by God through the Church, the sacraments, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Did you ever think of that?

Finally, we must remain in God’s love. We must stay in love with him just as he is in love with us. We must want to give God our best.  If we accept our chosenness, our belovedness, then we can be in love. We can relax and live in love. That’s why Jesus says his yoke is easy and his burden light. Anyone man has fallen in love with a woman — or woman with a man — has experienced this on a human level. “This man/woman has chosen me and loves me! I live constantly in love,” we think. No matter what may be happening in life, especially when times are tough, if we are convinced that we are chosen and loved, then we will be able to stay in love. Stay in love through it all. I often have thought about this in my own life. On a spiritual level, whatever happens around me or in me, I can remain at peace and in love because God has chosen me from all eternity, and he loves me. 

All of us have experienced the opposite of all this in our lives. We all have experienced rejection (the opposite of being chosen) and being unwanted (the opposite of being seen as good). Anyone who has been the victim of divorce knows what I mean, i.e., being “not chosen” and “not loved” by your spouse. So, too, anyone who has been abused and then thrown away understands. When these experiences arise, it is very difficult to remain in love, is it not? It is impossible, save for God’s grace. It is difficult to love the person who has done this to you. It even can be difficult to love God. Yet, while this may be someone’s the earthly reality, the spiritual reality can and must be an unshakeable conviction that God has chosen us, and God has loved us, so even when we are rejected and unloved, we can remain in love knowing God has chosen and loved us. We can continue to be in love, not only with God, but even with the person who has rejected us. This is why the saints could forgive those who persecuted them. This is why Jesus could forgive his executioners from the Cross…. Because he knew he was chosen by the Father, loved by the Father, and he remained in love even for his persecutors.

We may object and say, “But I am not a saint! I am not Jesus! I am a sinner and only human!” I think that is a cop out because every saint that lived could have said the same. We all can be saints. Jesus lives within us. We all can remain in love, live in love, in God’s love, if we have first come to know God has chosen us and loved us.

Undoubtedly, this is a great challenge for us. I know from my own life of 68 years. Yet, I will attest, it is possible by accepting God’s love for us and his desire for us. “Remain in my love,” Jesus says.” I call you friends. I chose you. This I command I now give you: remain in my love.”

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for Divine Mercy Sunday

Posted on April 7, 2024 by Deacon Bob

Divine Mercy Sunday

April 6/7, 2024

Acts 4:32-35; 1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31

When I was growing up in the fifties and sixties, almost every Catholic home prominently displayed a painting of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and a crucifix somewhere on wall. Nowadays, this praiseworthy tradition has fallen by the wayside. How much I wish it were to return! I would encourage all of you to get a crucifix and a painting of the Sacred Heart and hang them on a wall of your home. Look at them often, because they will help you answer two important questions. The first is, “Who am I?” and the second is, “What am I to do?” These are questions about your identity and your mission.

While it is true that each of us has a unique identity and a unique mission in life, and that God created us for that reason, it I is also true that we all have a common identity and a common mission. What are they?

I believe our common identity and mission can be found meditating on the crucifix and the Divine Mercy flowing from the Sacred Heart. We are to be men and women of mercy. How necessary mercy is in our world today!

In your heart must beat the Sacred Heart of Jesus! Yes, the Sacred Heart of Jesus within you! St Paul said, “It is no longer I who live; Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20) How can this happen in us? Where must we go?

We must go to the sources o f m mercy here on earth. We must go where Jesus’ mercy are most abundantly found. We must go to the Eucharist and to Confession. The merciful, Sacred Heart of Jesus beats in the Eucharist and in the confession of sins, filling us with His mercy! He has a merciful heart, a living heart, a forgiving heart, and He pours His mercy into our hearts at each Mass and each time we confess our sins. We must come to the Eucharist and to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, if we are to live lives of mercy. We must not stay away. We must come to Mass every Sunday and Holy Day of Obligation. We must come to the Sacrament of Penance where we will encounter Divine Mercy. We all n need forgiveness and mercy to deeply penetrate our souls if we are to be men   and women of mercy. The Sacred Heart beats in the confessional. God is always ready to remove any sin. That is why we must confess any mortal sins as soon as possible, and to regularly confess even venial sins.

Your heart will beat with mercy if y you soak in the mercy of God. To the extent you accept mercy into your life is the extent to which your heart will be capable of showing mercy to others. Accept God’s mercy, and then show mercy to others.

Do we do this? Do we allow the mercy of God to penetrate our hearts? Will the Sacred Heart of Jesus beat in our hearts for our husbands, wives, children, parents, neighbors, fellow parishioners, and yes, even for our enemies? Will we be merciful to those who do not deserve it? If we are going to be capable of this, then we must be connected to the sources of Divine Mercy that God has provided for us. Mercy and forgiveness are at the center of the Eucharist and at the center or the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Jesus had mercy on the repentant thief.  Will we? Jesus was merciful to the woman caught in adultery. Will we? When Peter denied Jesus three times, He did not ask, “Why did you do that?” but three times he did ask, “Do you love me?” How are we when someone denies us?

Will we have mercy on the man on death row, or will we seek vengeance? Will we wage war or seek peace?  Will we love those who hate us, o r will we hate in return?  These are serious questions. The answers we give will determine our eternal destinies.

To be merciful to those most difficult to forgive, those most difficult to love, we must have a deep faith, and pray, “Jesus, I trust in you.”  If we find it difficult to show mercy, maybe we should look at how open we are to God’s mercy in our lives, how often we really pray the Mass, how often we sincerely repent of our sins in Confession.

If we neglect the Eucharist and Confession, our spiritual lives will dry up and die.  Our   faith will weaken, if we don’t come to these sources of mercy. I dare say we will be unable to show mercy to others.

Jesus, I trust in you! This is our constant prayer. Jesus, make my heart like yours, we beg. Make my heart beat with the mercy you have shown me. Jesus, I trust in you! Amen!

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

Posted on April 4, 2024 by Deacon Bob

3rd Sunday of Lent, Cycle B

March 2/3, 2024

Exodus 20:1-17; 1 Cor 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

How zealous are you? In other words, how much zeal do you have for your souls, and for the souls of others?

Jesus was zealous, we hear today, for His Father’s house, the temple of God’s presence, and he cleansed it of all that would profane it, from all that would diminish it. Jesus is zealous, also, to cleanse our souls from all the sins, distractions, and obstacles keeping us from holiness.

So, maybe a question we all should be asking ourselves this Lent is, if Jesus is zealous for our souls, how zealous are we? How zealous are we for our salvation? How zealous are we for the salvation of others? How zealous are we to rid our souls of all the clutter, all the sins, all the false idols, all the “money tables” and any other obstacle that keep us from holiness? How zealous are we in seeking out the sacraments, giving Jesus an open door into our lives? How zealous are we come to Mass and go to Confession? How zealous are we to we pray and to give alms? Is Confession, and Mass, and prayer, and almsgiving a part of our Lenten practice this year?

Jesus teaches us today by His example that zeal must consume us! Zeal! We must be not merely curious and obedient students of a wise teacher seeking signs or looking for some new teaching from Him; no we must be, as St. Paul wrote, zealous to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, Who is very power and wisdom of God. Our salvation and the salvation of the world are found in the person of Jesus Christ, not in some new interesting teaching that someone offers.

We look for signs, do we not? We look for some wisdom to teach us what to do, don’t we? We want Father and Deacon to give great homilies so that we will learn something. But, remember, Jesus did not come into this world primarily as a wise teacher or a moralist, or some sage, like so many who came before him and after him. If we think of Him in that way, we are in trouble. If Jesus is only a wise teacher, he is only another Confucius or Buddha or Mohammed or some other wise man in history. Christianity, our faith, is built, not on a set of precepts or teachings, but on a Person, the person of Jesus, the Son of Mary and the Son of God.  Jesus came into our world as a divine Person to be our Savior, not a just a wise teacher, and zeal filled him to the brim to do just that! Jesus came as the only Son of God to be given in sacrifice so we may have eternal life in Him, and only in Him.

Jesus did not say, “My teachings will raise you up!” What He said was He would raise us up. He, Jesus, will do this. The repentant thief at Golgotha, I dare say, probably knew little of Jesus’ teachings or his wisdom, but he knew who Jesus was, that He was Savior, and he turned to Him, and was raised up that very day.

Yes, Jesus was wise. His teachings were profound. We will do well to know them. If we know the truths of the faith, we must obey those truths. But if our salvation rested on the teachings alone, all infants would never be admitted to heaven, and all death bed conversions would be of no value. What is most important is that we make that profession of faith that Peter made, “To whom else shall we turn? You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.”

To what or whom will you turn? For what or whom will you be zealous, zealous enough to overturn the money tables cluttering your soul, getting rid of whatever it is that obstructs your relationship with Jesus who alone saves us and the world from sin? Do not turn to the author on the New York Times best seller list. Do not turn to a popular political leader. Do not turn to radio talk show hosts. Do not turn to paganism that is being renewed in our society today. Turn to Jesus. Be zealous for Jesus. Be close to Jesus. He alone will save and raise you up. He alone is your Savior. In Him and through Him, is the salvation of our souls.

Be zealous for Jesus!

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Deacon Bob

Here is my homily for this weekend. God bless all of you!

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

February 3/4, 2024

Job 7:1-4, 6-7; 1 Cor. 9:16-19, 22-23; Mark 1:29-39

The title for today is Job’s Reality is Ours. My homily may not necessarily put a smile on your faces, but maybe it will bring you some peace and hope to those of us most in need.

In this first reading, we hear about an experience Job had in his life, something so many people have endured in their lives. Hundreds of patients at Gundersen Clinic came to me with this story over the years. Broken-hearted people, broken by the world, feeling alone…. perhaps you have felt this way. Few of us who live long enough will escape it… broken and wounded by unfortunate tragedies and events in life.

I call it the reality of Job is our reality.   It seems to me that if we understand Job, we begin to make sense of our own lives because so often his reality is our reality. To understand this first reading, we must understand the bigger story, the complete story of Job. To understand ourselves we must know our complete story, which is a story of how God is working in our lives over a long period of time.

You see, today’s reading is only the middle of Job’s life. The beginning is a story of riches and blessings, and the end a story of a great restoration and promise.

The beginning, the middle and the end must be taken together if we are to understand Job and what God was doing in his life. One without the others is not enough. The whole story, stitched together as it were, must be grasped. God stitched it together in Job’s life. God will stitch it together in our lives too.

What is that story? In the beginning, Job was a man greatly blessed by God. He had a large family, lots of land, many cattle, sheep, and animals. He lived in a very nice home, had many servants, and was well-regarded by all. He was a man who did not seriously sin. He was a friend of God, you might say. He was also man Satan chose to test, and God permitted the test for reasons Job and others didn’t understand at the time. The worst of evils befell him. His life became miserable. His health, his family, and his possessions were all suddenly taken away from him. He lost everything, except his unwavering faith in God and a conviction of his sinlessness before God. After severe testing, God restored him to his former glory; indeed, God gave back what Job had lost, and even greater things. Yes, Job was restored. His life renewed.

What is the reality of Job in your life? What are the beginning, middle and end of your story? Remember, your beginning, middle, and end must all be taken into account if you are going to make sense of it. They must be seen as a whole. To focus only on one and not on the others is a mistake. How has God stitched your life together for you?

When you are in that middle part of the story, where suffering is all around, maybe remembering today’s Gospel is needed. Imagine Jesus entering the house of your heart. It is in your heart where the meaning of your suffering will be found. Imagine Jesus seeing your pain, your inner sickness, the very stuff you hide from others, things that  bother you so much that you lock it up inside, even if it gives you a “high fever”, so to speak. Imagine all this sickness came into your life after having once been happy and content.  Imagine Jesus approaching you, grasping your hand, and helping you up out of the pain. Imagine your fever, your inner pain, your concerns, worries and problems vanishing!  Not only your problems vanishing, but God restoring you and blessing you in ways that are lavish. How would you feel? What would you do?

My friends, this can happen for you. The beginning is not the end, and the middle is not the end. The beginning and the middle are what leads to a great restoration and blessing for you.

It describes the life of the Son of God who became man for us all, who came to us from the glories of heaven (the beginning), who suffered, died for us (the middle), and then rose and ascended to heaven in the greatest of glory (the end). It describes the life of each of us who follow Jesus. Actually, it is the life of every faithful Christian.

For those of you who are living in the first part, never having experienced significant pain and loss, remember it all can be taken from you in a moment’s time. To those of you who may be living in that middle part of the story, the part of loss and suffering, remember it’s not the end of the story.  For all who are living in the third part and have experienced a healing and restoration, live in gratitude. May God bless you all!

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Deacon Bob’s Homily for Epiphany

Posted on January 6, 2024 by Deacon Bob

Here is my homily for the weekend. God bless all of you!

Epiphany

Isaiah 60:1-6; Eph 3: 2-3a; Mt 2: 1-12

January 6/7, 2024

The Epiphany is the revelation to the entire world that the Christ child is God of all nations. The Epiphany is the revelation that Jesus is Lord of every nation on earth, every person, and indeed, Lord of the universe. He came to save everyone, however similar to or different from ourselves, and to make all one in Him.

Jesus, who was first revealed on Christmas morning to a familiar people, the Jewish nation, is now revealed to the entire world with the coming of the Magi. Today, a great light shines, as the Gospel says, piercing the darkness of the whole world. There is not a single corner of our lives or our world that is not illuminated by the light of Christ!

How will Epiphany affect you? What impact will it have on your life? Finally, how does God want to make you an epiphany in today’s world? 

We have a beautiful manger scene set up in our church. Take a look. What do we see? Yes, we see the baby Jesus in a manger with Mary and Joseph, along with the shepherds, animals, and angels. We see approaching Jesus three wise men from foreign countries, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. These gifts are given to kings, priests, and those preparing a body for burial. Now, try to imagine you are that child lying in the manger. Or try imagining you are Joseph or Mary seeing strangers suddenly coming, strangers attracted by a beautiful light, a star that shines. How do you feel?

Meditate on this thought: What happened that day two thousand years ago with those Magi is meant to happen today through your life. How, you may ask? Imagine this: You must look like Jesus. You must look like him so much that people see him in you and come from afar, attracted to you. How comfortable are you thinking you are like Jesus?  Are you ready to become a light in our world?

I think what happened to these Wise Men can and should happen to the world today in some manner. I think God is telling us who are Christians that our spiritual job is to be so much like Jesus that we become an “epiphany”. No, we are not God; yet, we are made in his image. God took on our humanity, took on our nature, and looked like us, and so we can grow more and more in holiness, and look like him and live like him. People should see Jesus in us. So many people search for God, like those Magi did, so will they find Him in us? Are we shining like the star in this world’s darkness? Will we be an epiphany? Will we reveal God to others by how we live? Are we enough like Jesus that people are drawn to us, to our light? The first Christians did and they changed the world. Why don’t we?

Perhaps the great epiphany this year for us is realizing that we are to become an epiphany in our world today. We must reveal to the world who God is by how we live. We must be so like Jesus that people come to us.  Maybe the epiphany for us is that God wants us to be a light to the nations, to shine on all people, yes, even foreigners.

My friends, my point is this: everyday needs to be an epiphany. We are facing important problems today in the world and even in our Church that threaten to deface Jesus, disfigure his face. The Evil One wants to keep him hidden.  Will we have the courage to resemble Jesus enough to reveal him? Do we really believe what we say we believe? If we have been begotten of God, as St John says in his writings, then we have the very life of God within us and this life can and must shine from within us to the world. Satan very much wants to dim that light, that life in us.

Will we resemble Jesus, reveal him, so much so that yes, many will come from far and away to be with us in our parish and diocese and our country? Will they see Jesus in us?

The answer must be “Yes!” For our sakes, for the sake of the Church, for the sake of the world.

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