Category: Homily

By Deacon Richard Hay

“Commissioning the Church”

At the commissioning of a United States Navy ship, everything happens on the pier next to the ship during the ceremony. The crew is there in their best uniforms, honored guests are seated along with the new ships leadership and speeches are given. Then, just towards the end of the commissioning ceremony, an order is giving to “Bring this ship alive!”

At the sound of this order, the officers and men of the crew break out of their formation and rush onboard to stand along the edge of the ships main deck side by side – we called this “Manning the rails”. All these men and women are called “plank-owners” because they are members of the ships first crew.

Today, on this Solemnity of the Ascension, the four verses we hear in today’s gospel are the last verses in the 28^th and final chapter of Matthew which is actually only 20 verses long itself. It is a short chapter but encompasses the days between the resurrection and the Lord’s ascension. These last four verses make up what is known as “The Great Commissioning.”

This is where Jesus tells the apostles to “bring the ship alive!” – the ship that is God’s church and they are the “plank-owners” of this new missionary church that is to “make disciples of all nations.”

This commissioning doesn’t happen on a pier but on a mountain – whenever Jesus showed His Glory there was almost always a mountain involved and His ascension is no exception.

We hear that when the disciples saw Jesus, they worshipped him but also doubted. Earlier in this final chapter of Matthew, the disciples had heard from the two Mary’s that they had seen the risen Lord and that He wanted them to meet Him in Galilee. We have read other accounts in the gospels that the apostles encountered the risen Jesus many times during those forty-days after Easter – yet they still doubted. The lesson for us is that as long as we don’t dwell in it, doubt is going to happen and that is OK – at least for a short while.

Christ knows their doubt and that is why he approaches them – gets close to them as He prepares to commission them. They are told to go make disciples of all nations; to baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit – the same words we hear during the Sacrament of Baptism. Jesus then adds that the disciples should teach all the nations to observe all that he has commanded them. Finally, just before his ascension, He reassures the disciples that He will always be with them until the end of the age.

That is a lot happening in just four verses however, it gives us a wonderfully rich understanding of our own commissioning as Christians, commissioning’s we experience regularly throughout our faith life and that we should act on daily.

The first commissioning we receive is at our baptism. If we were baptized as a baby, then our parents and godparents accepted that commissioning to raise us in the faith, to keep God’s commandments so that we may love the Lord and our neighbor as Christ taught us to do. Those same promises were made by anyone who was baptized as a young child or adult and then they were sealed with the Sign of the Cross and anointed with Sacred Chrism Oil as we were received as members of the Body of Christ.

Another time in our faith journey when we have a commission is after receiving absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation – one of our repeatable sacraments. In the words of The Act of Contrition, we pray that we firmly intend, with the help of the Lord, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads us to sin. It is a form of self-commissioning but one we do not take on alone because Christ is with us to help. When the priest says Go in peace at the end of our confession, that is also a commissioning and how we should go out and approach our lives within the world.

At Confirmation, we are once again commissioned, this time through the words of the bishop as he extends his hands over us and calls on the Holy Spirit to be our helper and guide, to give us a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of right judgment and courage, a spirit of knowledge and reverence, and to be filled with a spirit of wonder and awe in the presence of God. The Holy Spirit we first received at our baptism, is affirmed in us through confirmation, and provides us a guide as we venture forth into the world to share the good news. 

In the Sacrament of Matrimony, couples are commissioned to celebrate fruitfully the mystery of the union of Christ and the Church, to live it rightly, and to bear witness to it publicly before all. In addition, when they both embrace the conjugal life there is another commissioning in accepting and educating their own children, they then help one another to become holy through that process.

Finally, every time we attend the sacrifice of the Mass, after the final blessing, the dismissal is when the priest or deacon commissions us as we are sent forth to announce the Gospel of the Lord or to go in peace glorifying the Lord by our lives. Commissioned to live our lives in Christ as examples of His love and forgiveness in our homes, workplaces, schools, and everywhere else we are in the world.

After receiving all of the other commissions through the sacraments, this is the one which gives us a regular reminder of our role in the Church. We are to be the hands and feet – the Body of Christ in the world. This is why attending mass regularly to receive the Lord in the Eucharist and to be sent forth is so important. As I have said before, attend as often as possible because the Eucharist is another of our repeatable sacraments.

Just before Jesus ascended into heaven from that mountain, He reminded the apostles that he would be with them always. That would be Him leaving the Holy Spirit, the first Pentecost, as their strength – there is a reason the Holy Spirit ties together everything we do in the church – He is the thread that ties it all together from the beginning of time until now and beyond.

Just like he said to the apostles, the Father and the Son are with us always through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives and every time we participate in the sacraments, attend the celebration of the Mass, and are sent forth to announce the Gospel of the Lord. Every time we approach the Holy Eucharist and say Amen, we are professing that faith and belief in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. That gift is intended to feed and sustain us as we carry out our own commissioning by the Lord – to share our faith with others.

So, here’s the question to take away today, how will each one of us carry out our roles as members of this church’s crew, the plank-owners in this local and universal Church, to fulfill the commissioning that Christ himself gave each one of us and continues to send us forth with today and every day of our lives?

By Deacon Richard Hay

“Seeing is believing…”

          Two sayings we are all likely familiar with come from today’s gospel:

          “Seeing is believing” and “Doubting Thomas”.

As we hear, Thomas is not present when Jesus first visits the apostles in the upper room after His resurrection. However, when Thomas once again joins them after the Lord’s appearance, they quickly share with Thomas that they have seen the Risen Lord. Thomas then responds as many of us might have responded to such unbelievable news – that he will need to touch Jesus’s wounds to believe.

I find that a fascinating response, don’t you? Thomas has been around the other apostles for three-years as they travelled the local countryside right alongside of Jesus. Suddenly, he doesn’t seem to believe or trust what they are telling him.

However, it isn’t hard to understand why Thomas responded as he did, is it? Remember, as I mentioned last week in my Easter homily, the apostles were experiencing this in real time and did not yet fully understand all of it.

Thomas does get his chance to see and believe that Jesus is risen when He once again appears to the apostles in the upper room. He immediately addresses Thomas and offers His wounds for him to see and touch so that, as Jesus says to Thomas, he does not remain “unbelieving, but believe.”

Thomas then gives one of the most beautiful responses: “My Lord and My God.”

That moment of acknowledgement and belief is powerful and many today still use that same phrase to acknowledge Christ’s presence when they encounter Him in the Eucharist.

Jesus’s reply to Thomas after this exchange – “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Jesus is talking about us and everyone else who chooses to believe in Him after his ascension into heaven. All those over the centuries who have not seen the physical bodily presence of Jesus, that was made in our likeness, but yet they still make the decision to believe.

Thomas had the opportunity to see the Risen Christ which turned his doubt into belief but how do we do that today in our faith lives?

Believing without seeing is not an easy task, is it?

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians lays out three simple words that, when we look into them, are precious gifts from God that help us to believe, and he shares them in the thirteenth chapter of that letter.

Paul has just written about the attributes of love, scripture we often hear at weddings, many of you likely know it “Love is patient, Love is Kind…”

He ends with this verse – “So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

“Faith, Hope, and Love”

Let’s start with Faith.

We are blessed to have vast deposits of faith from the Church that helps sustain our faith and plenty is provided for us to “see and believe…”

          The sacraments are our starting point. Although we do not have the benefit of Jesus’s physical presence after the resurrection like the apostles did – we have these beautiful sacraments that He left for us as signs of God’s grace and mercy.

Baptism, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, Holy Communion, Reconciliation, and Anointing of the Sick.

These sacraments bring us to belief in God our Father and Jesus Christ His Son through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in each one of them.

As you have heard me say before, those last three are repeatable sacraments – Holy Communion, Reconciliation, and when needed, Anointing of the Sick – receive them often to receive God’s mercy and let Jesus accompany us on this earthly journey of faith.

How about Hope?

Hope is integral to our faith. The hope I am speaking of is not a wishful hope – like “I hope the Jaguars win the Super Bowl”.

No, the hope Paul is referring to is the “I hope in the resurrection” kind of hope – as in to be a part of it – I look forward to it.

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that our resurrected bodies will be glorious beyond imagination. We will never age, require no food, never experience illness, be free from all disorders and will live this way forever.”

That is the kind of hope Paul is referring to in Corinthians and it should also be the hope we carry with us in our belief in Jesus.

Love – “the greatest of these is love.”

Where would we be without the love of God?

The love of God to not only create the universe we live in but to also create us in His likeness and image.

The love of the Father to send His only begotten Son to become fully human and still be fully divine as the Son of Mary. Ultimately, offering Himself on the cross for our sinfulness.

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for a friend.”

The love of God in Christ’s full presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament – Jesus’s body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist.

The love of Christ who doesn’t appear to the apostles in his resurrected body to chastise them for abandoning Him at the cross but to offer them peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit which comes from the love of the Father and the Son – to accompany them and us on our journey – to strengthen our faith and belief.

The love of the gift, graces, and mercy of the sacraments that the Church received from God the Father through His Son Jesus to sustain us on our journey.

Finally, the love of the two most important commandments Jesus gave us:

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” and the second “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

So, as we all leave here and head into the world, carry the faith, hope, and love of God’s Divine Mercy and remember as Jesus said to Thomas and now to all of us, do not remain “unbelieving, but believe.”

By Deacon Richard Hay

“He is Risen – Risen indeed! Alleluia – Alleluia.”

What a glorious proclamation!

Our journey through Lent is complete, we can once again proclaim alleluia as we rejoice entering the time of Easter to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. We also celebrate our new brothers and sisters who received the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and first holy communion last night at the Easter Vigil and who have now joined the Body of Christ to continue their own faith journeys as part of Christ’s church and this community – our parish.

Many of you might remember a radio show hosted by Paul Harvey where he told “The Rest of the Story”. He would share these tales of unique circumstances behind events in the world that had some sort of historical significance or were about a well-known person. Well, today – on this Easter morning – through our readings and the gospel, we come to realize that the apostles could have used an episode of Paul Harvey telling them the rest of the story on that first Easter morning.

We begin today hearing once again, as we do each Easter Sunday, Peter’s account of Jesus’s life from when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, his three years of ministry, his passion, suffering and death on the cross, his resurrection and then his commissioning of the apostles to carry the good news to all ends of the earth.

Do you know why and to whom Peter was telling this story?

He was telling it in the home of the roman centurion named Cornelius who had his entire family and servants present to hear it. Shortly after Peter finished the story, the Holy Spirit comes down upon all present and Peter then baptized the entire household in Jesus’s name. The members of Cornelius’s family and household were obviously on a journey to belief in Christ and made it together resulting in Peter’s visit.

After our own Lenten journeys over these past forty days, we have also experienced Jesus’s life in a very particular way, especially through his entrance into Jerusalem to shouts of Hosanna on Palm Sunday, and then the most holy Easter Triduum from Holy Thursday, through Good Friday, and in the quiet of Holy Saturday. We have now arrived at the empty tomb and the promised resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

However, for the apostles’ things must have felt very different because they did not yet know the rest of the story quite yet – but as we know – very soon that will happen.

But first – can you imagine the emotions that the disciples went through early on that first Easter morning outside of Jerusalem at the tomb? Remember, they were actively living this experience in the flesh – we on the other hand are blessed to already know how this story ends – but the apostles – they didn’t have that knowledge yet.

Mary Magdalene’s first reaction in John’s gospel, when she finds the empty tomb, is to run and tell the apostles that the body of Jesus had been taken from the tomb – that it had been stolen – what else was she to think in that moment?

This news prompts Peter and John to run to the tomb themselves to see what Mary has witnessed.

John arrived first and slowly knelt down and cautiously peered into the darkness of the tomb through the opening and saw Jesus’s burial cloths right there where they had laid Jesus on Good Friday after His death on the cross. I’m sure John was still trying to understand what he was seeing when Peter caught up and went straight into the tomb, without any hesitation, to also then see its emptiness and the burial cloths that were left behind.

At this point Peter did not fully comprehend what he was seeing. It must have been frightening to find Jesus’s body missing, but, as John will write in the gospel that bears his name many years later, they did not yet fully understand that Jesus had to rise from the dead.

To them, in that moment, this was just another bad situation piled on top of the last few days as they watched their master be betrayed, judged, tortured, and then die on the cross.

That walk back into Jerusalem must have been so heart breaking. All they had were each other as witnesses of what they had seen over the last few days and now the body of Christ is gone from the tomb. Can you feel what that emptiness must have felt like in your own hearts? In that moment, the disciples were likely experiencing a deep hurt and confusion.

As I mentioned earlier, we already know the end of the story. We know that Jesus was not in the tomb because his heavenly Father, our God, raised him from the dead as he promised to do. We are able to rejoice in this moment, on this glorious day, because we know the rest of the story. The apostles would finally know the rest of the story themselves when Jesus appears to them later in the upper room.

At that point, they are also finally able to understand and rejoice in Christ’s resurrection.

Today, as we also rejoice for the empty tomb and the resurrection of Christ, it is now time for all of us to continue this journey, to continue this story and carry the Easter message of Christ out into the world because it is not a finished story – it is still being written – each and every day and we are to go out and show that we are disciples of the Risen Christ, that we are a resurrection people by the way we love each other and our neighbor.

Embrace this Easter season – find and experience new ways to celebrate the gift of Christ’s passion, death, resurrection, and the gifts and graces that come from His sacrifice. He wants to embrace each and every one of us close to his heart – and that love is not seasonal – it is unconditional and forever.

We do this because as it was promised:

He is Risen – Risen Indeed! Alleluia – Alleluia!

By Deacon Richard Hay

“Lent?”

What exactly is Lent?

Yes, it is the forty-day period that we observe before Easter and it is also the period during which we are encouraged to spend more time focused on praying, fasting, and almsgiving to grow closer to Christ as we hear in the gospel.

However, the question I am asking is what exactly is Lent for each one of us.

Is it just dates on a calendar that we make our way through until Easter arrives? Is it just a period of time where we might give up chocolate, coffee, soda, social media, or some other thing because that is what we have always done during Lent in the past?

It might be time to try a new approach to Lent. That it not just be days on the calendar, or simply giving up something just for the sake of giving something up.

It is important to put some thought into why we are doing these things, into why the church provides this period of forty days on the calendar, and how we can individually and as a faith community spend this time truly growing closer to God which is why this season exists.

In his message for Lent this year, Pope Francis writes – “Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross.”

The Holy Father goes on to say that “tradition is a source of inspiration for seeking new paths and for avoiding the temptation of immobility.”

In these two short passages, the Pope is providing a roadmap for Lent.

First is commitment. Commitment needs to be taken to the next level and rather than just giving something up, what about adding something in our faith life. For instance, at Sacred Heart each Friday in Lent there will be a soup supper followed by stations of the cross – one of our Church’s traditions. Maybe another option is to spend more time reflecting, praying, and meditating on scripture, or learning how to pray part of the Liturgy of the Hours.

Next, how can grace be sustained?

Well, where does grace come from? It comes from the sacraments. During Lent we can grow closer to the Lord and be strengthened by grace through reception of the sacraments – in particular the Eucharist and Reconciliation. There will be multiple opportunities for reconciliation here and at other neighboring Catholic churches during Lent. In addition to our weekend schedule, we have daily masses Monday through Friday to receive the Lord in the Eucharist but Jesus is also always present in the tabernacle, and all are welcomed to stop in the church during the day to spend a little quiet time in prayer with Him.

To overcome our lack of faith and resistance to following Jesus fully to the cross, the answer is all of the above. Scripture, prayer, and receiving the sacraments for their sustaining grace.

Finally, the Holy Father mentions seeking new paths that help us avoid past immobility.

In other words, choose to not stick with the status quo but try something new for Lent. Our church is full of traditions and devotions that can be adopted and learned. It is easy to be comfortable with past approaches to Lent. The question to ask ourselves, is did those efforts become new ways for us to be devoted and closer to Christ and were they sustained after Lent was over?

If the answer to either of those questions is no – then it is time to consider a new approach during Lent because ultimately, if nothing changes – then nothing changes.

The goal is not to survive Lent but flourish by growing closer to the Lord and by seeking penance for our sinfulness. Our efforts in the next 40 days and beyond will allow the Lord to mold our hearts to be more like His and that will prepare us to celebrate the Easter mysteries. As a result – just like the Lord promised – our reward will be great in heaven.

By Deacon Richard Hay

“Scripture, Light, and Our Call”

Today, my homily has three parts – almost like three mini homilies in one – but I promise it will not be three times as long!

A few years ago, the Holy Father declared that the Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, today, would be observed as Word of God Sunday. The intention is to remind us to celebrate, study, and spend time with the Word of God. It is an opportunity to emphasize the importance of holy scripture in the life of the church and in our own lives.

The running joke has always been that we Catholics never read our bibles. That has changed significantly though, because many Catholics do spend time with scripture for prayer and reflection. However, the joke had some shortfalls because it assumes that Catholics never hear holy scripture.

While many Catholics might not have been reading the bible themselves – every Catholic who attended any Mass was hearing right from the scriptures. The obvious places were the readings, responsorial psalms, and of course the proclamation of the gospel.

We hear even more from scripture as the priest says the words of consecration at the altar in the person of Christ – the same words that are throughout the gospel accounts of the last supper when Christ instituted the mass on Holy Thursday.

We hear scripture each time we come to mass and as the mass is the source and summit of our faith – that is a very good thing.

Could we spend more time with holy scripture outside of the mass – absolutely and we should. That could be as simple as praying over the readings for the mass at home or here in the pews even as you wait for mass to begin. Maybe join Fr. Mike’s weekly bible study or use the numerous resources the church provides on the web about scripture. The goal is not to become a scripture scholar – but to simply spend a little more time reading and praying over the scriptures and letting those words speak to our hearts and our souls. As always, make sure to spend quiet time afterwards and give God a chance to speak to us through the holy scriptures.

One of the themes of our readings and gospel today is about light and darkness – something we hear of very often throughout scripture. The connective thread from the first reading, which is from Isaiah, is the prophecy that reads the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. Then, in the gospel, is the fulfillment of that prophecy thru Jesus’s ministry.

The truth is that darkness cannot overcome light. If we walk in the light of the Lord and share that light – share that faith with our families, friends, our fellow parishioners, and even the strangers we meet – then darkness cannot overcome us. Next week, we will hear from the Gospel of Matthew about the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus shares the Beatitudes. There is a scripture verse just after that where Jesus reminds the crowd that we do not light a lamp and then place it under a bushel basket – instead that lamp is placed up on a stand where it gives light to the whole house.

That is the kind of light we all should work to be in our lives – one that is bright and lights up wherever we might find ourselves.

The second theme from this Sunday’s scripture is about vocations – we heard in the gospel how Jesus walked up and called Simon, Andrew, James, and John right from their fishing boats – and how did they react when called?

Did they challenge Jesus and ask – are you talking to me – a simple fisherman? No, they once and immediately dropped their nets and what they were doing and joined Jesus – no hesitation – no thinking about it – they just did it.

Feels like a scary proposition, doesn’t it? Just dropping everything that we know of our own lives and unconditionally following someone who walks up and just asks us to do so.

I recently shared about my own vocational call to the diaconate with the Council of Catholic Women here at Sacred Heart. I told them after joining the Catholic church in May of 1987, I started to be prompted about ordained service in the church. I even at one time told Margo that I thought I might have liked to have been a priest.

I managed to push that call aside for almost 20 years before finally saying yes in 2008. Whether it was my own disbelief in being truly called to such a vocation or fear of what it might mean to follow that calling – I managed to keep it at bay until one day during Eucharistic Adoration when I clearly heard the voice of God say to me “When are you going to hear my call?”.

Those words in that moment were as clear as any indication I had been given over the previous twenty years – but in that moment I believe I was more ready to hear them – more ready to trust them because of my own growth in faith.

God is persistent and patient – whether He gets you to drop everything you are doing in that very moment to follow him like the apostles did or He waits 20 years for it to happen – if he is calling us to be part of the light of the world – I don’t believe there is any way to ultimately deny His call. We have to be willing to open our hearts and say yes to our own vocation whether that is as a priest, deacon, religious, husband, wife, parent, single, or any other number of ministries in the church.

It all begins with our “yes”.

Our yes to holy scripture, our yes to being light in the world, and yes when Jesus calls us.

By Deacon Richard Hay

“Anticipation and Expectations of Christmas”

Anticipation and expectations are big aspects of today’s celebration of the birth of our Lord.

Our four-week journey through Advent helped prepare us in anticipation of our Saviors birth as a baby in a Bethlehem stable. There were plenty of expectations leading up to this day as we have heard in the readings. However, we also learn that God’s plan is not always our plan.

Caesar Augustus for instance was expecting his rule over the Roman empire to continue unfettered as he ordered a census to count everyone to make sure the proper taxes were being collected. He believed himself to be in control of the “whole world” – little did he know that was going to change in God’s plan.

Mary and Joseph, having said yes to God’s call to bring Jesus into the world, had their own expectations. Likely that included quiet family time in their hometown of Nazareth and the arrival of Jesus. However, they are required to head to Bethlehem for the census and end up being there when it is time for Jesus to arrive. They were surely not expecting to begin their family out in a stable using a feeding trough as a crib, surrounded by animals, but that ended up being part of God’s plan too.

The shepherds out in the fields were certainly not expecting the night sky to suddenly be lit up with a multitude of angels singing “Glory to God” and announcing the birth of a savior. In fact, as we hear in the gospel, they were already “keeping the night watch over their flock.”

Shepherds were counted at the low end of society in those days. However, they were elevated in God’s plan by being the first to hear of the birth of Christ.
All of this was God’s plan – none of it was accidental or a coincidence – it was in fact intentional in fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies surrounding the birth of Jesus.

What about our own expectations? Things like…

• Getting the shopping done for the meals and presents
• Getting the house ready for family and friends
• Getting to the various Christmas parties, the kid’s concert at school, plus of course the kids expectations approaching Christmas such as gifts, and being with their friends, etc. – it can get very busy and sometimes distracting.

The world around us has expectations as well, such as how quickly everything can shift from Christmas to the next holiday – Valentine’s Day in this case – and yes – I have already seen at least one retail store making this shift last week even before Christmas arrived.

This time of the year requires patience on our part so we can not only prepare for the arrival of Jesus but to also celebrate His birth.

In fact, the church plans for that. While the world approaches Christmas as a single day on the calendar – we celebrate what is called the Octave of Christmas – an entire week of liturgies celebrating the birth of Christ. It allows us to hold onto Christmas in a very unique and purposeful way, while the world around us moves on. It begins today and ends next Sunday with the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God.

We do this because just one day to celebrate the birth of Christ is too short – too quick. We take our time because God is now with us, God is now among us, and God is for us – for all time – and we should cherish that gift in our lives not only on Christmas, but throughout this season and every day of the year.

That – is worth celebrating more than just one day on the calendar.

Then, to take our celebrations even further, after the Octave of Christmas – we are still in the Christmas Season until January 9th – when we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord.

Through all of this, we have an opportunity to reset our own expectations of this season and find ways to extend the celebration of Christmas.

Now, our live Christmas trees might be dried out by now if they went up shortly after Thanksgiving and will need to be dealt as we do not want fire hazards in our homes, but what about a new family tradition or two as part of the season.
For instance – here is something we can all try out this Christmas Season.

Most of us have nativities in our homes so make it a special occasion on the Epiphany, that is on January 6th, when three wise men come to honor Jesus with worship and gifts. Gather the family around the nativity and bring the three wise men figurines out and place them in the nativity scene. Then, share the gospel reading about their visit which you can find in Matthew, Chapter 2, in the first twelve verses.

Here at the church, on the evening of the Epiphany, we are having a special service to celebrate and learn more about the wise men’s visit – another opportunity for a new tradition.

Something like these special family traditions or others that you decide on can really help us all focus and continue our celebrations of Christ’s birth beyond Christmas Day itself.

So, on this Christmas Day and throughout the entire Christmas Season, we should rejoice and be glad, for our salvation has come in the form of a tiny baby born in a stable. Remember to also share this good news with our families, friends, co-workers, and others by showing the love of Christ to all those around us.

Two final thoughts:

First – God has a plan for each one of us and often it’s not what we had in mind. Be willing to hear and trust His plan as Mary and Joseph did.

Second – Don’t rush past Christmas but show the world that we are Christians by our love and actions all year long – both for Christ our Savior who is born today and remains always among us – and for our neighbors wherever we encounter them.

Merry Christmas!

By Deacon Richard Hay

“Rejoice in our Joy and Hope”

Our Advent journey of preparation for the coming of our Lord is more than halfway complete. Today, on this third Sunday of Advent, we observe Gaudete Sunday.

Gaudete is Latin for rejoice.

To rejoice and show joy on this day of our continued preparation for the Lord and His coming at Christmas, you will notice two very distinctive signs that this Sunday is different from the other Sundays of Advent.

One is the vestments. We shift from purple, the liturgical color that signifies penance, preparation, and sacrifice to rose colored which symbolizes joy in the Church.

Second, the third candle in the Advent wreath is also rose colored to carry that light of joy and rejoicing which we are called to on this day.

The rose color is a much brighter color compared to purple of course but did you know they both contain the color red in them? A very important liturgical color in the church because it reminds us of the Holy Spirit, the martyrs and of course Jesus’s sacrifice.

Gaudete Sunday is not a disruption from our Advent journey, but it is part of it and integral because it is a day to celebrate with some joy as we are reminded that Christ’s birth is very near, and it reminds us of why we make this four-week journey of Advent towards Christmas and the birth of Christ.

That reason is hope.

Hope for the coming of the Lord as an infant in the manger, Hope for the second coming of the Lord at the end of time, and our continued Hope for the graces of our faith which come from God through Jesus each and every day as we receive the sacraments of our Church.

With all that said though, we continue to be in a period of preparation because Advent is not over, and Christmas has not yet arrived.

However, the world around us already has Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus and the three Wise Men out and on display in nativities everywhere, so we are also called to patience as we continue to prepare and wait for Christmas.

It can be challenging to say the least. John the Baptist also found himself facing a new challenge as we hear in today’s gospel.

John is no longer in the desert preparing the way of the Lord but has now been imprisoned. Despite his circumstances, John is not worried about himself but about the faith and future of those he ministered to during his own ministry.
That is why he sends his own disciples to Jesus – to ask Jesus if He was the one, the one that John preached about in the desert – the messiah – or is there another yet to come that they should wait for.

Jesus’s response would have provided great comfort, and dare I say some joy, to John because rather than just answering yes or no to John’s question, Jesus shares how Isaiah’s prophecy, what we heard in the first reading today, about the Messiah, was being fulfilled right then and there.

Notice Jesus did not tell John’s disciples in the gospel to go and tell John what he, that being Jesus, was doing. Instead, Jesus instructs them to go back and tell John what they have heard and seen…

• The blind receiving their sight…
• The lame walking…
• The lepers being cleaned…
• The deaf hearing…
• The dead being raised…
• The poor having the good news proclaimed to them…

A very powerful witness that likely eased John’s concerns about who Jesus was and what he was doing in his ministry.

We too can be witnesses to what Jesus is accomplishing if we are paying attention by watching and listening with our hearts each day for when we encounter Jesus either in ourselves or in others.

There are always blessings and joy to be found from Jesus in the events of our life. Whether it be losing a job that brings us to an unexpected opportunity, reconnecting with family after long absences, the loss of a loved one, a new addition to our families, and the graces we receive through the sacraments as we grow closer to the Lord in our daily lives. Only things of God can give us this true joy and these graces.

How can we help bring joy to someone as we prepare for Christmas? Well, we do that by being of service to others.

As Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his book titled “The Joy of Giving to Others”, he said:

“Being happy with God means loving like him, helping like him, giving like him, serving like him. God abides in those who love like this and their souls rejoice.”

It’s a circle of giving to others in the ways of God and in turn our souls will rejoice because we are abiding in God’s will and fulfilling His call for us to love others. It’s a great way to share joy with our families, co-workers, friends, others we know, and even strangers.

So, as we continue our journey towards Christmas over these next two weeks, let’s each endeavor to share the reason for our joy, hope, and rejoicing with someone else who might just need to hear that message.

By Deacon Richard Hay

“Heaven on Earth”

When I first start preparing a homily I typically read, reflect, and pray on the scriptures for that upcoming Sunday. After that, I start to jot down thoughts that come to me during continued prayer and reflection. This week as I focused in on the gospel that we just heard, that question the Sadducees asked Jesus about one wife and seven brothers relating to death and marriage following the resurrection was daunting.

However, as we learn, the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, so it was meant to be this very sensational proposal. Their goal was to see Jesus falter in his response.

Of course, Jesus knows what is in their minds and on their hearts, and as he does in many other similar situations, he doesn’t directly answer the question.
Our ideas of normal relationships such as marriage, family, and friends – don’t even translate to what we will experience in heaven as we hear in this gospel.

Now, I am not here to tell you how heaven is going to be because I am in the same position you are – very human and very incapable of understanding the breadth and depth of what that will be like.

However, in not answering their question, Jesus gives us some insight about being in heaven.

He says – “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.”

In these words he describes heaven as a place where there will be no marriage as we know it and that there will be no more death as we know it. Why will things be different in heaven compared to here on earth?

Because as Jesus says “they are like angels”, “like the children of God” and those who will be in heaven are the “ones who will rise” from the dead and they can no longer die. Our existence is completely changed in heaven.

The reality is that the happiness and joy we will experience in heaven will surpass what have been our happiest moments in our current lives. There is simply no comparison that can do justice to what being in heaven with God is going to be like. There is no reason for us to extend our family lines through marriage and children because we will all be alive forever in heaven.

Part of the reason it is tough for us to comprehend all of this is that heaven is a profound mystery of our faith. Not a mystery like a puzzle to be solved – but a mystery of the deepest kind that is simply beyond our ability to fully understand. That is OK though because our faith helps us with this belief.

This also does not mean we can’t get close to heaven here on earth.

First – God gave us the sacraments as a visible sign of His grace for us, and each sacrament we receive gives us God’s grace to strengthen us for our journey in this life. Receiving God’s grace brings us closer to heaven and that of course is God’s plan.

However, the closest we can be to heaven in this life is by being right here where each one of us chose to be today – at church participating in the celebration of the mass. The Eucharistic miracle which happens on this altar at every single mass is described as the “source and summit” of our faith and the mass is where heaven and earth come together briefly at that summit.

In the preface to the Eucharistic Prayer, when the priest says “…and with the angels and all the saints, we declare your glory as with one voice we acclaim…” and then we respond with the Holy, Holy, Holy – that is a reminder that it is not just us here celebrating the glorious sacrifice of this mass but the angels and all the saints are present as well – it’s a foretaste of heaven here on earth.

Another aspect of the mass that connects heaven to earth in a special way is Christ’s presence in four very distinct ways:

First – In His Body: In this Congregation – that means all of us here present…

Second – In the Ministry of the Priest – who is in Persona Cristi – the person of Christ…

Third – In the Proclamation of Scripture – especially the gospel because those are His words…

And fourth – In the Sacrament of the Altar – in the true presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist – the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus…

Imagine what it might be like to see this meeting of heaven on earth during the mass. It just so happens to be possible through the eyes of a film maker.

Our homework for this week is to view a short video called “The Veil Removed” It is available on YouTube and I also posted a link on our Facebook page.

Sit and watch that seven-minute visualization of what happens at the mass each and every time it is celebrated. Then, spend some time in prayer with the Lord and thank Him for the wonderful gift and blessing that is our faith and all it entails, including the parts which we don’t fully understand.

By Deacon Richard Hay

“Perseverance, Persistence, and Prayer”

In the last couple of weeks, scripture readings from the daily Mass and now in today’s readings, have been focusing on prayer.

One of the readings tells us about when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, he taught them what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. In the very next day’s gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the Persistent Friend – this is the one where a man goes to his neighbor’s house at midnight to ask for some bread to give to a friend that has just arrived at his home following a long journey. Initially, the neighbor refuses but ultimately provides the bread after his friend’s persistence.

Prayer is integral to so many aspects of our faith – to use a cliché – it is some of the glue that holds our faith together. In every liturgy and devotional act the Church participates in – prayer is a key part.

Prayer is such an important part of our faith, that Jesus not only taught us to pray but also set the example of how to pray at times by finding solitude – a quiet place – so that we can spend contemplative time with God to hear the whisper of his voice.

Taking a closer look at our readings today we see that in Exodus, the story of the battle between Amalek and Joshua, that as long as Moses held the staff of God over the battlefield, the Israelites were winning. However, overtime, as his arms grew tired and he tried to rest, Amalek would then gain the upper hand. Eventually, Aaron and Hur devised a way to help Moses by providing him with a rock to sit on and then helping to support his hands holding the staff of God over the battle. Ultimately, the Israelites won. Moses hands with the staff of God in them, being extended were like prayer, being offered persistently but as he tired and stopped praying – the situation in front of him changed. When other members of the community came to his assistance, participating in that prayer by supporting Moses, it proved successful because of the power of joining together in prayer.

Don’t we all often ask others to pray for us or for a special intention? That is a good example of joining together in prayer.

In our responsorial psalm, we hear about persistence because the Lord is always there to hear us in prayer, to watch over us as we sleep, protect us from all evil, guard our lives and our coming and going. One thing that is distinctly different between our persistence and God’s – He never grows tired of always being there for us.

In our second reading, St. Paul writes to Timothy saying that we should be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient. There are going to be times that being persistent in prayer and our faith will be easy and other times it will be hard – it is how we approach our prayer and faith in those circumstances that help us build up our persistence in both. In other words, it is easy to be persistent in prayer when things are going sideways in life because we are troubled, and we turn to God – as we should. However, many of us, and I include myself in this group, can get less persistent in prayer when things are going pretty well. We tend to let things ride in those times of less stress, worry, and concern.

Can we be persistent in prayer when it is convenient and easy plus when life is throwing multiple curve balls at us? By definition, persistent means that we should be, however, it is admittedly easier said than done.

We now arrive at the parable in today’s gospel – that of the Persistent Widow. This is another example of how persistence in prayer can help us. In this case, the widow has obviously tried to get a proper judgement for her situation multiple times but as we hear, the judge has no fear of God or of man and refuses to grant her a ruling. However, her persistence results in the judge eventually deciding to give her the ruling she seeks out, but he does it out of fear that the widow would strike him.

Now just a note here, God doesn’t answer our prayers out of fear but according to His will and what he knows we need. More about that in a minute.

Whether they are a request for a particular need or for thanksgiving for prayers that have been answered – yes prayers of thanksgiving are something God loves to here from us as well – we should try to always offer these prayers with persistence.

Now let me go back to how God answers our prayers – because this is important for all of us to understand.

In the past week, I came across a quote from Fr. Donal, our retired pastor, that was part the October Faith Moment for Habitat for Humanity here in Clay County.

In it he reminds us that what we perceive as unanswered prayers are not due to a weak faith on our part, or position in life, or any other expectation or qualification. Those prayers are in fact answered but in accordance with God’s will.

God as our Father knows what is best for us and of course His knowledge is infinite, His will for us is always good. He will never give us anything that is bad for us. So, when we pray for a miracle healing and that prayer seems unanswered to us, we may need to look and see what blessings might be surrounding that situation and try and discern God’s will in those circumstances. Sometimes, those blessings might be very clear but at other times, it might take some time for them to be revealed to us.

Our faith requires a belief and trust in God’s will for us – that he would never give us a rock when we ask for bread or a snake when we ask for a fish.

And when all else fails in our human understanding of God’s will for us – it just might be time to be persistent and take that lack of understanding into prayer too.