He Comes to Meet Us

First Sunday of Advent
November 27, 2022 — Year A
Readings: Is 2:1-5 / Ps 122 / Rom 13:11-14 / Mt 24:37-44
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

According to Tryon Edwards, an American theologian, “Death has nothing terrible that life has not made so.  A faithful Christian life in this world is the best preparation for life in the next.” This statement of Mr. Edwards has something to do with preparation for our death.  It also has to do with the coming of Jesus Christ into our lives, especially now that we are in the season of Advent.

During the first Sunday of Advent, which begins the new liturgical year in the Church, there is an invitation for Christians to stay spiritually awake and to prepare for the Lord’s coming.  Advent, which means, “coming,” is a time of preparation for Christmas, but it is more than that.  Today’s gospel speaks of the coming of the Son of Man at the end of the age.  In this sense, Advent then also points to the unknown time that will mark the end of human history.

According to Father R. H. Lesser, an English priest and author, in his book entitled Like Honey in the Rock, Jesus Christ has six comings.  We have to get ready for Him by decorating our house, preparing sweets, and perhaps buying a new dress.  The first coming of Jesus happened in a village in a remote province of the Roman Empire.  In this sense, God is kind and merciful, since He sent us a savior, His son, to give us salvation.  This mercy of God cannot be stopped even by man’s stupidity and malice.  He saves us because He loves us.

The second coming, as I already mentioned is the mercy and kindness of God.  The third coming, referred to by the fathers of the Church as the parousia, will be a different matter.  As Saint Matthew said, “When the Son of Man comes as king, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His royal throne and the people of all nations will be gathered before Him, and He will proceed to judgment.”  Our main sins, most of them least remembered in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, are sins of omission, especially disobeying the positive commandment of the New Testament, the commandment to love.

The fourth coming of Jesus is in the sacraments.  The Lord comes in four different ways in the Eucharist:  through the meeting of the people of God, through the priest who in a special way represents Christ, through the Word of God, and through the Eucharistic species.  His real presence in the Eucharist is a real coming.  Of this Eucharistic presence, most people are aware.  We tend to neglect and forget the fact that He comes really and truly in every other Sacrament as well.  For example, we can really and intimately meet Him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as a forgiving God.  Why not take advantage of this Sacrament?

The fifth coming is through the wind, the cries of children, the song of the birds, the rain.  The problem is that our eyes are not open to see Him.  Our ears are not alert to hear Him.

The sixth coming is an even more intimate one, mentioned by the Lord Himself when He said, “If you love Me, you will obey My commandments.  My Father will love you, and we will come and make our permanent home within you.”  Most of us know something about this internal coming, but do we actually experience it?  If we have to prepare for the glorious coming of the Lord, then we must live our life in the spirit of the Lord, to actively involve ourselves in human interactions, to see in the face of everyone the face of a loving God, to believe that God is Emmanuel, God is with us, a God who is a father, friend, and companion.  This is what it means to be spiritually awake.

As we begin today a new cycle of the Church year of grace, let us resolve to shun doomsday paranoia, on the one hand, and reckless complacency on the other.  Let us resolve to be always awake in the Spirit by living a life of faith and love in service to the Lord, so that whenever He comes, we shall be ready to follow Him into the glory of eternity.

Christ continues to be present in the Church and in the world.  His presence will remain until the end of time, but His presence is not fully manifested.  There are still many people in the world who have not heard the Gospel message and have not met Jesus Christ.  The world has not been fully reconciled with the Father yet.  It is true that everything has been reconciled in Christ, but the grace of reconciliation has not been received by everyone.  It is important for us to have this longing for the Lord’s return, but in His fullness.  Therefore, we continue to pray constantly saying, “Your kingdom come.”

Not only at Christmastime, but in every celebration of this Eucharistic banquet, the joyful mystery of the coming and presence of Christ among us is made visible.  This is the reason to repeat and insist over and over the need to experience Jesus’ coming. It is through this persistent waiting and continuous experience year after year that this image of God in which we were created by love in Jesus Christ will come to full maturity.  He comes in so many ways to meet us.  Let us go to meet Him.

Where True Power Resides

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
November 20, 2022 — Year C
Readings: 2 Sm 5:1-3 / Ps 122 / Col 1:12-20 / Lk 23:35-43
by Rev. Mr. Barry Welch, Guest Homilist

Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King.  Why is this Feast Day of Christ the King placed at the end of the liturgical season?  Today we finish with the Liturgical Year C, reading from the Gospel of Luke.  We begin Year A next Sunday with the first Sunday of Advent and will switch to the Gospel of Matthew. Why Christ the King today?

Some background thoughts on the reasons for and need for this Feast:

Godless, atheistic nations and states rising in power, threatening their neighbors.  God and Jesus forced out of the public forum and leadership, forced out of politics.  Society and culture diminishing God.  It’s not safe in some places to talk about Jesus.  He’s kept in a small box at church or in your living room.

I’m not talking about society and the world today.  I’m talking about 1925.  In 1925, Pope Pius XI was looking out over the world in a post-World War I environment, and these are the evils that he saw.  He, along with the Church, decided to create a Feast, a Feast to remind the faithful and the world where true power resides, where to place our allegiance and devotion.  As we’re ending this cycle, this Liturgical Year, we’re punctuating this ending and transition time with this Feast of Christ the King.

But why not Christ the Risen or Christ Ascended or Christ the Shepherd?  Christ the King is what the Church chose.  It makes the point Pope Pius wanted to precisely make.  Jesus is Christ the King, and He supersedes all worldly views of power and influence.

But He doesn’t look like a king.  Imagine this scene from the gospels.  There are people gathered around.  Rulers were there, as were soldiers.  Jesus was hanging there on the cross with criminals.  The inscription above His head was, “This is the King of the Jews.”  Almost all of these people were deriding Him, poking fun at Him.  They were taunting Him with, “If you are the Christ, if you are the Chosen One, if you are the King of the Jews.”  These three taunts mirror the three temptations that the devil gave to Jesus in the desert.  (“If you are the Son of God, save yourself by turning these stones into bread, etc.”).

Remember also that the people of the Roman government of that day thought their methods were good, noble, kind, advanced, progressive, and fair.  Jesus didn’t look like a king.  He was a criminal, actually a slave.  At that time, if you were not a Roman citizen and you did something against the state, you became a slave.  He had no rights.  Convicted slaves, for a crime that warranted it, were subject to the painful and humiliating death by crucifixion.  (On the other hand, Roman citizens like the Apostle Paul were given a more humane sentence of beheading.)

Jesus was there on the cross as a slave with the criminals.  He was poor, beaten, humiliated, crushed.  He did not look like a king.  He did not act like a king either.

We know that God is all-powerful.  We know that Jesus is God.  In Paul’s letter to the Colossians that we heard today, he describes Jesus: “He is…the firstborn of all creation.  For in Him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through Him and for Him.  He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.”

Do you think He was scared to death of Pilate?  Do you think He worried at all about what the emperor of that day might do?  He is all powerful.  Everything that exists, exists because of Him.  He could care less about the emperor, or the governor, or the president, or the czar, as these are merely a speck of dust in time.

Jesus had and has infinite power.  He could have annihilated everything in existence in the flick of a second while He was there on that cross.  He could have called a host of angels to save Him and everyone that was hanging there.  But He chose not to exercise that power.  We think that kings portray force, power, superiority, dominance, and violence.  But Jesus didn’t choose to lord power over us.

Even His closest disciple, Peter, did not comprehend what was going to happen.  Jesus told His disciples that He was going to go to Jerusalem, going to suffer and die, going to rise again.  Peter pulled Him aside and started to rebuke Him, saying that he would allow no such thing to happen.  Jesus said, “Get behind me, Satan.  You are thinking as humans do, not as God does.”

Jesus did not choose power, but rather mercy.  He allowed Himself to become powerless, to become a slave.  He allowed Himself to become the sacrificial lamb.  Why?  To atone for our sins and to save all of us.  His mercy is unbounded.  The good thief, the one who recognized what was happening, only asked to be remembered: “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”  In His unbounded mercy, Jesus granted that thief eternal paradise with Him right then.  His mercy is far beyond anything that we could comprehend.

Jesus did not act like any other ruler or king.  But He’s the king I choose to follow: a king that loved me so much that He gave up everything.  He suffered for me.  He took all those insults and humiliation for me.  He died, just for me and for you.  That is my king and yours.  Live that.  Be His living example in a fallen world.  Our society, our governments, think they are good, noble, kind, advanced, progressive, and fair, just like the Roman empire did.  They are far from it, and they need our help.

Go in peace, glorifying God by your life.  Serve our King in this world.  Our baptism demands it.  Jesus won’t be kept in a box, or here at church, or just in our living room.  As if He could be.  He can’t be contained.

This is the end of the Liturgical Year.  I am here on Pope Pius’s behalf, to give an annual reminder that Jesus Christ is King.  He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.

Persevere in Faith

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 13, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Mal 3:19-20a / Ps 98 / 2 Thes 3:7-12 / Lk 21:5-19
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Thomas Alva Edison, the great inventor, used to say, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” He conducted about eighteen thousand experiments before he perfected what we now call “the ordinary light bulb.” He became great through untiring work and utmost endurance.

For some of us nowadays, we are inclined to reverse Edison’s slogan by our longing for instant things. Thus, instead of ninety-nine percent perspiration and one percent inspiration, we would rather reverse that and have one percent perspiration and ninety-nine percent inspiration.

Yet Jesus, in today’s gospel, exhorts us, “By your perseverance you will gain your lives.” This statement highlights two important things. First, the need to endure. Secondly, the salvation of the soul.  The first, to endure, is absolutely necessary in order to have the second, salvation of the soul.

Why is it absolutely necessary to persevere in order to be saved? Perseverance is an active rather than a passive virtue for us Christians. Perseverance is built up against temptation to sin and apathy through a life of regular prayer, such as the rosary, our devotions to saints, meditation upon scripture, Sunday liturgy and recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours, and the graces given in Baptism and strengthened by the gifts of the Holy Spirit in Confirmation.

Today’s readings teach us the importance of perseverance. In the first reading we heard of the necessity to persevere in righteousness, because evildoers will be wiped off the face of the earth. But those who receive the Most High, the Lord shall raise them, sanctify them, and carry them to a safe place where no harm shall ever come to them. The safe place is heaven, where the Lord rules forever.

In the second reading, we heard of the necessity to persevere in our imitation of the saints. We heard St. Paul’s harsh words for those who fall short of imitating the saints. He told them that, if they were unwilling to work, they should not eat.

Why were some unwilling to work? Some of the faithful believed that Jesus was about to return at any time to establish His kingdom. As such, why work? This is wrong because, according to St. Paul, living in idleness, they occupied their time with small talk, rumors, hearsay, slander, with all of these things leading to disharmony and division. So every Christian, when he’s able to, must support himself and his brothers and sisters and not live off the income or wealth of others.

St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians gives us three characteristics of saints. First, they are human beings like us; they are made in the image and likeness of God. They have body and soul; they are made of flesh and blood. They need things all other human beings need.  Second, like you and me, they are also tempted. They can be tempted to do evil and be indifferent in their commitment to God. Third, which makes them different from us, the saints cling to God at all times. The saints rely on the power of God and not their own power.

In the gospel reading, we heard of the necessity to persevere in our living faith. We heard Jesus’ discourse around 30 A.D. on the fall of Jerusalem. While Jesus was speaking of the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, which occurred in 70 A.D., those who were present were associating this event with the arrival of the kingdom of God on earth, since the temple was associated with God’s presence. So if the temple were to be destroyed, it would mean the end of the world. Forty years later, those who were still living around 70 A.D. saw the completion of Jesus’ prophecy.

Our gospel today reminds us that, while waiting for the great moment to come, which is the end of times where God will reign as Lord, we must adjust to a long period of waiting. We must persevere in our living faith by taking our crosses and carrying them as Jesus did, so that we too may arrive into our eternal glory. As St. Paul said, we must not be idle, waiting for things that will not come to pass in the present time. We must move on with our lives and be fruitful in the work of the Holy Spirit, while awaiting the final return of Christ that will precede Judgment Day and the resurrection of the bodies.

The question is, are we ready to suffer and to shed our blood, if necessary, for our faith? Christianity is a religion of martyrdom. Jesus willingly shed His blood for our sake, and He calls us to be martyrs. The word martyr in Greek means “witness.” The Book of Revelation says that Jesus was the faithful witness who freed us from our sins by His blood.

Tertullian, the second century lawyer who converted when he saw Christians singing as they went out to die, exclaimed, “The blood of the martyrs is seed. Their blood is the seed of new Christians, the seed of the Church.” Why is this the case? The martyrs witness the joy and truth and freedom of the Gospel by their life, their testimony, and by their blood.

Brothers and sisters, some of us may not have very heavy crosses to bear. Our lives have been pretty good, filled with blessings from the Lord. But we have some brothers and sisters who do have very heavy crosses to bear. We must pray for them, so they will persevere until the end, that they not be counted among those who have renounced their faith and their salvation in Jesus Christ.

We will be well prepared, too, if we try every day to live our Christian life well and full; if we do our best to build that part of the kingdom which God expects from us in the here and now, a kingdom of peace and justice; if we daily water the seed of love that Jesus has already planted; if we pass onto others the light of faith that He has already lit; if we act as yeast that Jesus has already put in the dough, in order to ferment the world with the Gospel values; and if we serve the world as its salt, which He called us to be, to preserve the world from every corruption.  All this means that we cannot sit down, doing nothing, just waiting for the end time. It means that we need to keep ourselves always busy in order to hasten the coming of God’s kingdom.

So, brothers and sisters, as we go home today, let us persevere in our living faith until the end of times, through righteousness and the imitation of the saints. Let us also pray for one another, that we all endure until the end, so we will gain our lives.

May Jesus Christ be praised.

The Resurrection

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 6, 2022 — Year C
Readings: 2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14 / Ps 17 / 2 Thes 2:16-3:5 / Lk 20:27-38
by Rev. Mr. Mark De La Hunt, Permanent Deacon

Many years ago, in a different parish, I gathered with a handful of adults to talk about the creed. That was the first time I learned that some people mistakenly think the “resurrection of the body” that we profess at the end of the Apostle’s creed is Jesus’. In fact, we are professing that our bodies will be raised on the last day.

Bishop Barron was reflecting on this miracle in his book, To Light a Fire on the Earth, and he referenced C.S. Lewis. C.S. Lewis dedicated a book to miracles, and in it he argued that of all the world’s great religions, only Christianity depended on miracles for its authenticity. He wrote, “The mind that asks for a non-miraculous Christianity is a mind in the process of relapsing from Christianity into mere religion (Barron 138).” Preeminent among all those miracles was Jesus’ resurrection. The resurrection of our bodies is at the heart of today’s readings.

In today’s gospel Jesus is countering the Sadducees’ disbelief in this. The Sadducees try to show that this belief is comical by asking which of the widow’s seven husbands is her husband in the afterlife (Lk 20:33). Jesus, by the Sadducees’ admission, gave a solid answer. First, He points out that after our resurrection, things will be different. We will no longer need to marry or to be married. In Moses’ time, a brother was to marry his dead brother’s wife to ensure she had children, and his brother’s name would carry on. But in heaven, there is no need for having children and therefore no need for marriage (Gadenz 340). Second, Jesus quotes from the book of Exodus, because it is one of the five books the Sadducees consider inspired by God. (He meets them where they are and then tries to build a bridge from there to the fullness of the truth.) He points out that Moses called God the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and says, “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive (Lk 20: 37-38).”

Some things don’t change, and four hundred years later St. Augustine wrote, “On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the resurrection of the body (CCC 996).” And as for today, many believe they will live on spiritually, but regarding our mortal bodies coming back to life too, maybe not so much. Jehovah’s Witnesses are one such example. However, bodily resurrection is a core teaching of our faith, and we need to believe it and be able to share it with non-believers.

Let’s start with God’s word “which is useful for teaching (2 Tim 3:16).”  In the first reading from 2nd Maccabees, a mother and her seven sons refuse to violate God’s law even when threatened with death, not even after watching how painfully the others died before the executioner got around to them. Why did they endure such suffering? The second brother said this, “The King of the world will raise us up to live again forever,” and the third brother added that he hoped to receive his hands again from God (2 Mac 7: 9, 11).”  Clearly, they believed that this life is fleeting, but there will be another and it is eternal, with their body, and without any suffering (Rev 21:4).

Peter Kreeft, in his personal reflection on today’s readings, points out that in the second reading, St. Paul articulates how the eight martyrs in Maccabees could find the courage and strength to do what they did (Kreeft 632). Paul wrote, “May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement and good hope through His grace, encourage your hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word (2 Thes 2:16).”  It was in “good hope and through [God’s] grace” that the seven brothers and their mother were able to stay faithful to the end. Sounds good, but what is the “good hope” Paul mentions that we receive through grace?

The “good hope” is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit (CCC 1817).” In other words, we hope in the resurrection from the dead, of which Christ was the first (1 Cor 15:12-14). And here is the good news. “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you (Rom 8:11).”

Some of you may be wondering then, what happens immediately after death? Here is what the Church teaches. “In death, [which is] the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in His almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus’ resurrection (CCC 997).”

Sacred scripture and sacred tradition speak so often of our bodily resurrection that, if we are not careful, we nod in agreement but fail to stop and, like Mary, ponder it in our heart (Lk 2:19). Obviously, the author of 2nd Maccabees pondered it, and six hundred years before Jesus was born, the prophet Ezekiel did. His words on the resurrection are prayed in the Liturgy of the Hours, “You shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and make you come up out of them, my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may come to life… (Ez 37: 13-14).” God placed His Spirit in us at baptism. Thus, the hope of our bodily resurrection is solemnly symbolized by the white pall we place on the casket, reminding us of a loved one placing a white garment on our body when we were baptized.

A friend and Holy Name of Mary parishioner named John, experienced in a powerful way this past week this connection between baptism, death, and resurrection. Ten minutes after receiving Holy Communion, John felt a pain in his chest which then traveled up to his shoulder and down his arm. His arm went limp, and his hand clenched involuntarily. They took him to the ER. A nurse walked in and said, “They call me Princess and I’m here to get you started on your way.” This was very unsettling to John because he is fond of calling himself “Prince John” in light of becoming a brother of our most high king through baptism. John said he had this discomforting awareness during all this that his soul was up there and his body down here. Our priests anointed him and prayed for him. The tests were all negative and John walked out of the hospital feeling greatly moved by all this. He said, “I cannot stop thinking about it.” In other words, John was pondering it in his heart. God has called him to a deeper awareness of the mystery of the resurrection and through John’s story all of us too.

Here are a few closing thoughts. Our bodies are sacred. They are not disposable shells for our immortal soul. This is very evident at a Mass of Christian burial. We reverence the deceased’s body, either in a casket or an urn, by praying at their side, and if in a casket, kissing their forehead. Once the casket is closed, we place a radiant white pall over it, sprinkling holy water upon the urn or casket, moving the casket or urn to the foot of the altar and placing the paschal candle near them just as it was at their baptism. We incense the casket or urn in the sign of the cross, tenderly placing our hand upon the casket, or putting our hand on our heart while looking at the urn, as we come forward for Holy Communion.

From birth to death our bodies smile, laugh, cry, sing, hug, kiss, learn, sin, love, forgive, bring new life into the world, and are anointed with oil and blessed. It stands to reason that all this beauty and wonder of our body, that God took on in Jesus, would be just as immortal as the soul that animates it. For, as Jesus said, “I am the life and the resurrection…In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. (Jn 11:25; 14:2-3).”   Amen.

Citations for Further Study

1. Gadenz, Fr. Pablo T. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Luke. 2018 Baker Academic
2. Barron, Bishop Robert. To Light a Fire on the Earth – Proclaiming the Gospel in a Secular Age. 2017 Word on Fire Ministries.
3. Kreeft, Peter. Food for the Soul – Reflections on the Mass Readings for Cycle C. 2021 Word on Fire Ministries.

Come Down

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 30, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Wis 11:22-12:2 / Ps 145 / 2 Thes 1:11-2:2 / Lk 19:1-10
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Benjamin Franklin was a scientist, inventor, political philosopher.  Before I could get my citizenship, I had to study a little bit about the history of the United States of America.  He helped draft and signed the Declaration of Independence and was the first postmaster of the US.

One day Benjamin Franklin met a lady walking along with her young son.  She asked him, “Why is it that the riches of the world bring unhappiness?”  He didn’t answer her.  Instead, he got an apple from a basket and gave it to the boy.  The little boy was very happy and ate the apple immediately.  Franklin gave him another, and then another one, until both of the boy’s hands had three apples.  Since he couldn’t hold them all, an apple eventually fell to the ground.  The boy cried loudly.

Franklin then said to the mother, “You see, when the boy had two apples, which he could comfortably carry, he was happy.  But look, when he had too many to carry, and one of them dropped, he started crying.  So also with wealth.”

Zacchaeus was a wealthy man, but he was lonely.  He had everything, but he was not happy.  He was at the top of his profession, but he was despised by his fellow men.

His parents named him “Zacchaeus.”  Jewish names have meanings that correspond to one’s personality, just like when we give names to our children.  For example, Gabriel means “man of God.”  Dominic means “belonging to the Lord.”  Irene means “peace.”  Ann means “grace,” Corazon means “heart.”   The name Zacchaeus means “just” or “clean.”  Yet, when the people of Jericho heard the name “Zacchaeus,” they did not think of a just man or a “Mr. Clean” guy, but a detestable and dishonest man.

Tax collectors were despised and considered outcasts, traitors, puppets of the Romans, no doubt because they accumulated great wealth at the expense of others.  Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and was much hated by all the people.  Beyond collecting his quota that he turned into the state, he surcharged the poor and pocketed the extra money that he collected.

The chances of Zacchaeus entering God’s Kingdom were minimal.  No self-respecting Jew would endorse his application.  Even Jesus Christ pointed out that a rich person would find it very difficult to enter the Kingdom.  The rich young man who actually led a clean life was not able to follow; how much more difficult for Zacchaeus, who had sold his soul for money?

Yet Jesus, in today’s gospel, singled out Zacchaeus for the honor of staying at his home.  Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.”  Imagine that Jesus said to you, “I must stay at your house today.”  How would you react to such an invitation?  Would you be excited or embarrassed?  Would your home be ready?  Would you be personally ready to welcome Jesus into your home?

Why would Jesus single him out?  It is because Zacchaeus needed God’s merciful love and forgiveness.  In his encounter with Jesus, he found more than he imagined possible.  He shows the depth of his repentance by deciding to give up half of his goods to the poor, and to use the other half for making restitution for fraud.  This shows how radical his conversion was, coupled with restitution.  Just like in the sacrament of Reconciliation, after we have confessed all our sins to the priest, the priest will advise us to return what we have taken, restore the dignity of others that we have destroyed, and more.  Then he gives penitential works to restore what we have destroyed.

We have another reason why Jesus singled out Zacchaeus.  It is because in Zacchaeus’s entire life, he was always looking down for money and business.  His focus is on profit and worldly pleasure.  But he was asked to rise up and see that the love and forgiveness of God is vast, and that he has the opportunity to change himself for the better.

When he was at the top of the sycamore tree, Jesus asked him to go down.  It means that we should not always be at the top and seeing heaven, but to go down and continue doing the mission that Jesus has given us.

There are people who keep their distance from Jesus.  They call themselves Christians, but they do not get involved.  They are in the tree observing all that is going on in the Church.  They are liberal with their comments, generous with their recommendations, and always ready with advice.  But they will stay there at a safe distance, looking down from a sheltered observation point.

Today’s gospel ends with a beautiful saying of Jesus:  The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.  Jesus Christ is telling us that He seeks the sinners and the lost in order to offer them, and us, salvation.  Such is the great love of God.  The sinners have an important place in His plan of salvation.  But seeking God does not mean that we need to wait until He finds us.  Choosing to hide ourselves from Him never helps us in the process.  Life is, and should be, a constant search for God.

So, answering the call of Jesus means to come down from our position as observer.  We cannot be spectators.  We have to join the community and participate in its activities.  We have to let Jesus enter the inner sanctuary of our personal lives.

As we continue the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us pray for those who do not have the Lord God dwelling in their homes.  Let us ask the Lord to reach out to these souls so that they, too, may partake in the universal salvation plan of God.

The Pharisee & the Tax Collector at Prayer

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 23, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Sir 35: 12-14, 16-18 / Ps 34 / 2 Tm 4: 6-8,16-18 / Lk 18: 9-14
by Rev. Mr. Mark De La Hunt, Permanent Deacon

Has frustration or doubt crept into your prayer life? Two weeks in a row, the Church’s readings have emphasized prayer. The theme last week was perseverance in prayer, illustrated by that great scene with Moses having to hold up his arms for the Israelites to win the battle (Ex 17: 8-13). The battle went on so long that two others had to hold up Moses’ arms for him, and so the battle was won. Jesus assured us in last week’s gospel that God will “speedily” answer our prayers (Lk 18).

This week’s theme for prayer is, “God is a good-good Father.”  In the gospel, we meet the sinful tax collector praying, “O God be merciful to me, a sinner (Lk 18:13).” He was justified, Bible-speak for “made right with God.” St. Francis de Sales reflected on this and wrote, “Alas! Since the goodness of God is so immense that one moment suffices to obtain and receive His grace, what assurance can we have that he who was yesterday a sinner is not a saint today (Barron 408/Introduction to a Devout Life)?” May we share in God’s goodness and make the apologizing other person right with us as speedily as God did the tax collector!

The reading from Sirach describes God’s goodness. He is just, “knows no favorites,” listens to the oppressed, the orphan, and the widow (Sir 35: 12-15). Let’s put these Bible words into American English. For oppressed, think beat down or abused or unfairly treated at work. For orphan, think orphan and those rejected by or cast out of their family. And for widow, think widow for sure, but I would add widower and people abandoned by their spouse against their will. In all these downtrodden states of life, we long for goodness.

That longing wisely and often takes the form of prayer. The author of Sirach writes that our prayers reach heaven when we “serve Him and are lowly (Sir 35: 16).”  That describes St. Paul in the second reading, in his letter to Timothy, which Paul was writing as God’s servant and as a lowly prisoner. Paul said his friends abandoned him. But then, echoing Sirach, he writes, “but the Lord stood by me and gave me strength (2 Tim 4:16).”  In this stressful situation, St. Paul is able to see God’s grace and goodness.

King David, who wrote today’s 34th Psalm, obviously had a similar distressing life experience to Paul’s proclaiming, “The Lord is close to the broken hearted; and those who are crushed in spirit He saves (Ps 34: 18).”  I have heard many sad life stories over the years. However, as the song says, we have a “good, good Father,” and He answers all prayers.

I’ll share one such story of prayers answered. At this past summer’s mission trip to the mountainous, southwest corner of Virginia, near the UVA Wise campus, I met a man named David. Our group of teenagers and chaperones went to his home in the middle of the mountains on Father’s Day. Our mission was to rebuild his deck and to add a wheelchair ramp to it, all in God’s name. David only had one leg. He had almost died three times, including a motorcycle and a car accident, as well as in surgery. He had been a rough and tumble coal mine worker. He told me he used to relish a good fight, but in his own words, he would get dangerously violent and couldn’t stop himself.

We invited him to pray with us each day when we arrived, when we did our lunch scripture reflection, and before we left each day, and he always participated. He often joked and laughed with the youth, who affectionately called him Big Dave. One time, while the others worked, He and I had a deep spiritual conversation. When I asked him if he thought God made good come from the loss of his leg to rescue his soul, the only way God could get through to such a rough and tough son of a gun, David teared up, looked off into the distance, and just nodded yes. For a few minutes, David was too choked up to speak.

At the end of the week, his deck was fully restored, complete with a safe ramp for his wheelchair. At our week’s ending banquet, David took the microphone and told all the priests and seminarians, chaperones, Deacons, and youth that when those teenagers showed up at his house on Father’s Day, it was the best Father’s Day he had ever had. He wiped away tears while giving each of the teens and us chaperones a hug before saying goodbye. All of this was an answer to someone’s prayer.  David knows his good, good Father who visited him on Father’s Day, rebuilt his deck, made him laugh and cry, and affirmed his dignity.

King David, Paul, the tax collector, and Big Dave all had been made lowly by a checkered past and all experienced God’s grace born by the winds of someone’s prayer. But prayer doesn’t just transform the lives of those prayed for, but also of those who pray for them. And that brings us to the all-important question at this point in every Mass, “How do I respond to today’s readings, this homily, and the sacramental grace we are about to receive?”

Here is something to try this week. You know how an athlete will warm up and get their mind focused before competing? Fr. Thomas Dubay suggests we approach prayer in a similar fashion (Dubay Prayer Primer). Here’s one way to do that. Start your prayer by telling God that He is a good, good Father who answers every prayer and sends grace wherever it is needed.  Follow that with a prayer of recollection, recalling the times in your life He cared for you. Recalling those times will cheer your heart and strengthen your faith so that you can finish your prayer in confidence that it is being answered. Remember that Jesus said that even a tiny bit of faith can move a mountain (Mt 17:20-21).

Here are a few gems of wisdom for amping up your prayer. St. Theresa of Avila said, “…it is impossible to speak to [God] and to the world at the same time,” so give Him your undivided attention. To get centered on God like that, Bishop Barron prays the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” He suggests breathing in on the first part and out on the second part. Father Dubay says we need to go to Mass; the liturgy has sacramental power that nourishes our prayer. He adds that while praying, don’t think much, but love much. And St. Augustine, putting a different spin on today’s reading from Sirach, reminds us that, “To pray well, one must live well.”

I’ll close by sharing some wisdom from my spiritual director, Carrie McKeown. She noticed that I prayed a lot for healing of my lung disease and for help overcoming it so I could be a good husband, father, Deacon and manager. So, she asked me a simple question, “Do you believe God takes care of you?” This is one of those questions that is tempting to answer quickly but bears more fruit if we examine our life in light of it. It’s ok to pray for your own needs, but my prayer was leading to aggravation with God, not restfulness in His goodness.

St. Margaret Mary Alocoque (who developed the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus) said it this way: “Keep your heart in peace and let nothing trouble you…for God’s dwelling is in peace.”  Padre Pio and other saints have said similar things. If I’m stressing instead of seeing God’s grace like St. Paul did in prison, do I always believe God takes care of me? Since that time a couple of years ago, I mostly pray for others and sure enough, God has taken care of me. This is a key to being a wounded prayer warrior, knowing deep down God is good and cares for you. Let’s make Chris Tomlin’s lyrics our prayer this week. Lord, “You are a good good Father. It’s who you are, it is who you are…And I’m loved by you. It’s who I am, it’s who I am.” Amen.

1. Dubay, Thomas S.M. Prayer Primer – Igniting the Fire Within. 2002 Ignatius Press.
2. Bishop Robert Barron. The Word on Fire Bible – The Gospels. 2020 Word of Fire Catholic Ministries.

Just as He Promised

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 16, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Ex 17:8-13 / Ps 121 / 2 Tm 3:14-4:2 / Lk 18:1-8
by Rev. Mr. Barry Welch, Guest Homilist

Something that I learned this week I found pretty interesting: That is, from a really early age, some studies say that, as early as three years old, children exhibit an understanding and a sense of fairness, of justice.  At the age of three! They’re barely able to walk and talk, and yet they understand fairness.

How many have heard this: “That’s not fair!” “He got more ice cream that I got!” [Invites those watching the livestream to post comments about what’s not fair.] It’s not fair that both Virginia Tech and UVA have horrible football teams at the same time. ONE should be good, right?

Here’s a secret also, because just a few years later, at the age of around eight, children begin to understand something that many of us, if not all of us, in this room already know all too well: Life’s not fair. At the age of eight, just five years after they figured out fairness and justice, they’re learning that life isn’t fair.

And when has life ever been fair? Throughout all of history, pride and power and politics, war, wealth, sickness, accidents, natural disasters, school, work, play, taxes, death. Life isn’t fair. It’s just not.

But we learn, we adapt. We deal with it, but sometimes this unfairness, this lack of justice just builds up and beats us down. It seeds discouragement; we lose heart. We become weary. It’s just not fair.

In this parable that we hear from Jesus, He talks about this judge. This is not a good guy. This judge is about as far away from fairness and goodness as you can get. We hear from Jesus that we’re supposed to love God with everything we’ve got and love our neighbor as ourself.  And yet, this judge even repeats himself, “I do not fear God nor respect any human being.” He’s pretty much the opposite of good and just. He’s only out for himself. He’s corrupt. He couldn’t care less about justice. If someone of influence or means, or had a good bribe, or someone who’s a friend, or a friend of a friend, someone that could do him a favor, that’s where his decision is going to be swayed. That isn’t fair.

What about this widow that we hear about? Jesus chose this character of a widow very carefully and wisely, because a widow in that society was about the lowest status that you could possibly be. With the loss of her husband, she had zero status. In fact, all of the inheritance that was owned by her husband would have been claimed by his family. If there were children involved, they would have to go to court, and we just heard about the judge. In that society, life is completely and totally against a widow.  In fact, she shouldn’t really even be speaking to a civil authority. She isn’t worthy enough in that society for that. Talk about unfair. That isn’t fair.

So what’s the point? This is an unusual situation with parables that Jesus gives, because Jesus tells us what the point of the parable is before He tells us the story of the parable. He told us that it is about the necessity to pray always, without becoming weary.

We can get confused about this parable.  Jesus isn’t saying that if we nag God long enough, hard enough, often enough, we’ll eventually get Him to do exactly what we want Him to do. No way.

He’s contrasting God with this judge. He’s talking about how God is different.  If an unrighteous and unjust judge with limited power would give in to persistent petitions, how much more so would a righteous judge and just judge with limitless power hear the cries of those who call to Him?

The point, Jesus is telling us, is to pray always and not get weary. But Jesus is also teaching us something that goes a little deeper.  Typical Jesus. There’s something a little bit deeper: Life’s not fair, and it never will be until Jesus, the just judge, returns. Jesus, Son of the Creator, who came to be with us and one with us.  He lived, suffered, died, and rose, and He ascended, justifying us for our salvation, even though we aren’t worthy of that. He cleared the path for us to live with Him in love eternally, and He promised He would come again in glory. He promised, and He will do it. That’s the point.

All of our prayer, like the widow, our relentless prayer and petitions, in spite of discouragement, in spite of weariness, in spite of setbacks and trials and burdens in our life, the prayer of the chosen ones is to bring us justice, to bring us to the world that is to come. To bring us to the kingdom that is to come, forever and ever. That’s the prayer that will come speedily and when we least expect it. That’s the prayer we long for. That’s the prayer we want to pray for incessantly. That’s the point.

That’s not to say that we don’t want to pray for a cure to cancer, or world peace, or to be appreciated and loved, or health for ourselves and for our family members and for our loved ones, strength and wisdom to our leaders, and a good parking spot at the mall. Of course, we want to pray for these things, and of course our loving God hears these prayers.

But the point of this story, this parable, is an eschatological one. That means it’s of the kingdom to come. It’s for life everlasting. It’s for a just God bringing about a just end and a just life everlasting, just as He promised. That’s the point.

But…When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?

Amen.

Gratitude Completes the Gift

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 9, 2022 — Year C
Readings: 2 Kgs 5:14-17 / Ps 98 / 2 Tm 2:8-13 / Lk 17:11-19
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

A story is told about a magical horse owned by a priest.  The horse would run only if the phrase, “Thanks be to God,” was uttered, and the horse would stop when it heard, “Hail Mary, full of grace.”  One day, a Protestant man borrowed the horse, and he was instructed in the magic words that were needed to make it run or stop.  The man said, “Thanks be to God,” and sure enough, the horse started to run, and when it was about to bump a tree, he said, “Hail Mary, full of grace,” and the horse stopped abruptly.  Then he let it run again, by saying, “Thanks be to God.”  He was enjoying the ride until he came near a cliff.  Unfortunately, he forgot the magic words to stop the horse.  He tried, “Our Father” – it did not stop.  “Amazing Grace” – the horse continued to gallop.  When the horse was almost to the edge of the cliff, he suddenly remembered the words, and cried out, “Hail Mary, full of grace.”  The horse stopped just in time.  The man sighed in relief, “Thanks be to God.”

Whatever happened to the other nine?  The nine lepers were cured and did not return to thank the Lord.  Leprosy was a terrible disease; terrible not only because it destroyed the body, but also because its victims were separated from their families and society.  There were very strict laws that prohibited lepers from mixing with healthy people.  Imagine the sufferings of the lepers.  I bet the cured lepers ran home to their families. They must have been thrilled beyond description.  There must have been some grand celebrations.

But why did only one return?  I’m sure all intended to return and thank the Lord.  Perhaps we can understand if we put it in modern day language, so here it goes.  Mary had to return home and clean the house; there were only men living there and the place was a mess.  Aaron arrived home just in time to save the harvest; he worked day and night.  Martha had to catch up on her favorite TV series.  David found his business in crisis and dedicated himself to getting it in order.  Amos returned to find his wife had remarried and moved away; he drank his pain away.  Peter lost his old job and was looking for a new one.  Anna headed back to thank the Lord but could not resist that sale sign in the shopping mall.  And so on.

So, there you go, brothers and sisters – excuses, excuses, excuses, all except Simon the Samaritan.  Jesus had given the sick the gift of life, and like any gift, it cannot be complete without a thank you.  Yes, we teach our children to say thank you.  We celebrate Thanksgiving each year as a national holiday.  We have a need to say thanks.

We celebrate the Eucharist each week, and the word Eucharist means thanksgiving.  A gift requires a thank you, not so much for the giver, but for the receiver.  The poet George Herbert wrote, “Oh God, you have given us so much.  Give us one more thing – a grateful heart.”  We see miracles all the time.  We have seen how many times people have been cured of diseases, sometimes with no logical medical explanation.  When people are sick or dying, they take their relationship with the Lord seriously.  Many return to the sacraments and change their priorities in life.  But when the crisis is over, some of them are never seen again in the church.

If we examine our lives, we can see God’s hand in so many instances and close calls.  We all have been touched by Jesus.  This Sunday, let us ask ourselves, “Have our lives changed as a result of the encounter?”  Are we like one of the nine, superficial in our relationship with Christ, except when we think we really need Him?  Or have we responded like the Samaritan?  Today we are reminded to be grateful for everything.  Gratitude is something that we cannot ignore at the expense of our decency and integrity.

The first reading, according the Second Book of Kings and the gospel of today, presents to us an attitude of gratitude. Naaman after being cured of leprosy and the Samaritan after being healed by Jesus.  Why is an attitude of gratitude to God crucial to the wholeness of mind, body, and spirit?  Apparently, to be made well, we must add thanksgiving to our faith.  The person who makes such acknowledgement experiences a salvation that goes beyond the merely physical cure.  It is a reorientation of the inner life.

How is our impulse to thank others related to our impulse to thank God?  What does gratitude contribute to our being made well in body, mind, and soul?  Why is it so important that Jesus would chastise those who didn’t value it?  Gratitude keeps us connected to the giver of the gift.  It helps us recognize the source of a gift.  Furthermore, it keeps us grounded in the value of the gift as we take it into new pursuits and places.  All good gifts come from God.

The attitude of gratitude keeps us focused on the source of life, love, and each new day.  Maybe when we acknowledge the source of love, we are more likely to share it with others.  Maybe that is why it is important enough for Jesus to lament its lack from the other nine.  So, brothers and sisters, we will not forget to thank the Lord for all the blessings that we have received in our lives.

May Jesus Christ be praised.

Trustful and Steadfast Faith

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 2, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4 / Ps 95 / 2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14 / Lk 17:5-10
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

An elderly woman lived in one half of a duplex apartment.  She was extremely poor but was a good woman.  She prayed a great deal.  In the other half of the duplex lived the owner.  He was a man of no faith, no prayer, no religion.  He often made fun of the old lady’s trust in God.  One day, this woman was praying quite loudly, telling the Lord that she had no food in the house.  The godless one heard her and decided that he would play a trick on the old lady.  He took a loaf of bread, laid it at her front door, rang the bell, and hurried back to his apartment to hear through the wall her cry of delight:  Thank you Lord.  I just knew that You wouldn’t fail me!  With a devilish grin, the man came back to her front door and told her, “You silly old woman!  You think God answered your prayers?  I’m the one who brought that loaf of bread.”  Without any dismay, the old woman exclaimed, “Praise the Lord!  He always helps me in my needs, even if He has to use the devil to answer my prayers.”

The readings this Sunday teach us lessons about faith and trust in God.  In the first reading, the prophet Habukkuk complains to God: How long, O Lord?  I cry for help but You do not listen.  The prophet is asking whether or not God cares for His people.  There is war and violence, misery and death all around their place.  The powerful Babylonians are about to demolish the people of Israel.  How can God allow things like this to happen?

Habukkuk is trying to question the loving presence of God, perhaps like many of us when we are confronted with so many problems and so much pain.  Remarkably, God appears not to be displeased with Habukkuk, since He answers him with gentle and reassuring words.  It sounds as if He’s telling the prophet, “Be patient.  I have a plan.  I will intervene when it is time.  What I ask of you now is faith and if you have it, you will live.”

What kind of faith does God ask of Habukkuk?  The prophet believes in God’s existence.  In fact, he is already imploring for divine intervention.  Yet God wants Habukkuk to develop a kind of faith that is trustful and steadfast in the face of trials and difficulties.  God would like Habukkuk to keep believing that God will not abandon His people, and that He will save them in His own time.

In today’s gospel, the Apostles ask Jesus to increase their faith.  The Apostles themselves realize their need for a more solid kind of believing in order to persevere in following the Lord.  Real faith is necessary, considering the fact that it is not easy to understand the radical teachings of Jesus, like leaving homes and families, daily carrying the cross, forgiving one another, and loving one’s enemies.  It is even more difficult to follow the Lord’s way of life, like living simply, serving the poor, teaching the ignorant, exorcising demons, touching lepers, and challenging authorities.

The Lord says in reply, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”  Jesus compares faith with a tiny mustard seed whose power does not depend on its size, but on its great potential hidden within itself.  Faith, even when it’s little, has the capacity to do unbelievable things in the life of individuals and communities.

The use of the image of the mustard seed also suggests that the quality of faith is more important than its quantity.  We might think that the more we know theology, the more prayers we recite, the more religious organizations we join, the stronger our faith becomes.  Such is not necessarily true.  In the Gospel of John, the Lord says, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me?  The words that I speak to you, I do not speak on my own.  The Father who dwells in Me is doing His works.  Believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me.  Or else believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will do the works that I do.”  (John 14:10-12)

Somehow these words can help us understand the kind of faith that we need to develop in our lives.  Faith is our unqualified acceptance of Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of humankind.  Our faith is genuine if we believe in the person of Jesus, His salvific words and actions, and if we trust in His absolute power over darkness and sin.  The believer would manifest this faith meaningfully by participating in the saving works of Jesus.

There is a story of a small boy, a passenger on a luxury ship.  The ship was nearly sinking because of a very strong typhoon.  Everyone was in panic, grabbing lifeboats and life jackets from each other.  This little boy was sitting in a chair as if nothing was happening.  One adult passenger approached him and asked, “Boy, it seems that you don’t mind what is happening.  Don’t you know that in a few minutes, we are going to sink?”  The boy answered, “Excuse me, sir, the captain of the ship is my father.  Because he is my father, I trust him.  Why would I be afraid?”  The captain of our lives is none other than God Himself.

Saint Paul writes from prison to encourage Timothy to keep the faith.  His words to Timothy remind us that we have all received a special gift from God, a gift which is more than enough to enable us to remain strong in faith.  That is the Holy Spirit:  the spirit of power, the spirit of love and self-control.

So today, let us ask God to increase our faith.  As we try to face with courage our own problems in life, let us not forget that our difficulties can never equal the sacrifice of Jesus which He offered for our sake.  When we pray to the Lord, “Lord, increase our faith,” we are opening ourselves to be moved more and more by the power of His spirit.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, we can stir into flame the gift of faith.  We become capable of guarding this rich trust and of witnessing to our faith before others.

Share the Abundance

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 25, 2022 — Year C
Readings: Am 6:1a, 4-7 / Ps 146 / 1 Tm 6:11-16 / Lk 16:19-31
by Rev. Mr. Barry Welch, Guest Homilist

The parable we heard today is certainly an indictment of the rich man.  But the rich man didn’t really do anything wrong.  He didn’t kill anybody; he didn’t harm Lazarus; he didn’t call the cops and have him sent away.  He didn’t really do anything wrong, but still he was indicted here, and he was indicted because of what he did not do.  In the beginning of the Mass, we recite the Confiteor:  Forgive me for what I have done and what I have failed to do.

When Jesus was giving this parable, the people who were present probably all had a rich man in their hearts – especially the Pharisees, because that’s whom he was directing His message to.  At the very beginning it says “He said to the Pharisees…”

Frankly, there is probably a little bit of the “rich man” in all of us today.  In this message, we have the “literal” or surface meaning:  It’s pretty clear that Jesus is calling out greed, self-importance, selfishness, gluttony, all of those things that are clearly ailments of our current society and culture.  That surface message is a strong lesson for all of us to pray about, meditate on, and to consider in our lives.

Also, this severe contrast between the very rich and the super poor spotlights God’s love for all human beings and also our role in bringing about His love and His kingdom.  I think the riches, the superabundance, the sumptuousness that we see on the rich man’s table in this story represent the grace of God, overflowing.  And it’s available to all.  But do we all know it?  Do we all sense it, feel it, and believe it?

Israel, the people of God, in a very special way were called apart and gifted with the knowledge of this grace of God.  God spoke directly to them; He walked with them, and talked with them, and brought them out of slavery in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and eventually brought them to the Promised Land.  Ultimately, he made salvation available to everyone through the Chosen People, in the person of Jesus Christ.

The rich man had all of this showered upon him in his house:  the food, the abundance, the overflowing table representing God’s grace every single day – not just Sunday – and yet, he keeps it to himself.  He’s comfortable.  He’s fine.  He’s taken care of.  He’s secure.  Or so he thinks.  But we’re not called to gorge on God’s grace for ourselves.  We, too, have these things, like the rich man had:  We have Moses and the prophets; we have the Word of God; and we have the One who rose from the dead.  We also have the Church and her sacraments.

In the story, Lazarus was close to the feast.  He was right there: he could have picked up the scraps.  There are probably Lazaruses even here in this gathering space or at home on Facebook, poor in spirit and desiring but a small scrap, not really knowing Jesus and His love for them, but do we see them?  Do we even get close enough to know their names, the way Jesus knew Lazarus’s name?  Note that this is the only parable Jesus told in which someone was named.  In all the others, it’s “the father”; it’s “the women”; it’s “the blind man”; it’s “the virgin”.  In this one, Jesus named him, because it’s important.

Then there are those brothers.  There are those who are out there that may not be “close to the feast” of God’s grace:  our friends and family, children and grandchildren, co-workers, fellow students.  After we’re gone, it’s too late; we can’t reach them then.  They have the prophets, they have the Word, they have Moses, they even have someone who rose from the dead, but do they know?  It’s your job now — your job and my job.

We go through our lives in this material world and this Western enlightened culture with it baked into us:  individualism.  It’s all about me.  I have a right.  And consumerism.  I, me, mine.  I worked hard for this; this is mine.  It trains our brains toward selfishness, even with grace, and the knowledge of salvation and the forgiveness of sins.

But here we are, we’re called to come.  We’re here to worship.  We’re not here to worship the priest, or the deacon, or the choir, or the altar servers.  We’re not here to worship each other, or the architecture, or the décor.  Don’t get me wrong:  All of those are very, very important, because every single one of them either represents Jesus Christ or points us toward Him.  They’re all very important.

But why are we here?  We’re here to worship our Lord and Savior:  the One who willingly sacrificed and died on the cross.  We’re here to receive that abundant, sumptuous, overflowing grace poured out on this altar, on this table.  We feed on that sumptuous altar with the Word and the Eucharist.  And then we go out, and we take it out into the world where our brothers and sisters are.  That’s why, at the end of Mass, the very last element of the Mass is “the Dismissal”.  The Dismissal is so important that the Mass itself gets its name from the Latin word for dismissal.  The Deacon, when present, gets the privilege of executing the Dismissal: “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.”  “Go in peace glorifying God by your life.”  “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord!”

Think about that:  At the end of every Mass, we’re given that Dismissal; that call.  Think about how important that Dismissal is.  Because we’re to take those graces – that overflowing abundance of graces – and not hoard them for ourselves but take that abundance and that love of Christ out into the world to our brothers and sisters to make them aware of the knowledge of salvation and the forgiveness of their sins.

There are lots of ways we can do it:  We can do it by words, smiles, hugs, encouragement, our actions, with our love and care for every human, with our charity, and with our prayers.  Please pray – It works!

Certainly, we can help – and we are called to help and assist – everyone in need with physical needs, material needs, medical needs, all of those things.  We’re always called to do that.  Always!  But foremost is to bring them the grace of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  They have Moses, and they have the prophets, and praise God, they have you.