Where Your Treasure Is

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 3, 2025 — Year C
Readings: Eccl 1:2; 2:21-23 / Ps 90 / Col 3:1-5, 9-11 / Lk 12:13-21
by Rev. Mr. Mark De La Hunt, Permanent Deacon

When you are thinking about money and possessions, what comes into your mind? What emotions and desires are evoked in you? It is good to occasionally bring to the Lord Jesus our thoughts on money and possessions, so that He can order them according to His will. That is what the Catholic Church has done by selecting today’s readings.

Today’s gospel, for example, is from a long sermon in front of a large crowd. It begins in Luke Chapter 12 and goes all the way into Chapter 13. In the passage just prior to today’s gospel, Jesus warns us that God has the power to cast us into hell after we die. (Lk 12:5) Shortly after Jesus warns us about hell, the man in today’s gospel interrupts Him with his request that Jesus command his brother to share his inheritance. Obviously, Jesus sensed there was more to the request than fairness. For Jesus said, “Take care to guard against all greed…for one’s life does not consist of possessions.” His words take on greater importance when you know He just told them about hell.  St. Paul’s words in the second reading spell out more clearly the sin of greed. He called it idolatry, which we know is a very serious sin.

Our tendency to overly fixate on money, and the things we can buy with it, is not only in the Bible. It is in popular culture too. Chris Janson’s humorous country hit song, Buy Me a Boat, has this lyric, “I know everybody says money can’t buy happiness, but it could buy me a boat.”  That sentiment did not work out so well for American financier Bernie Madoff, who made billions of dollars and owned three boats, including an 88-ft luxury yacht. He died in 2021, while serving the 12th year of his 150-year prison sentence for cheating people out of their money. He got away with the sin of greed for years, until in 2008, his own sons reported him to the authorities.

Madoff would have done well to pray over today’s first reading. “For what profit comes to a man from all the toil and anxiety of heart to which he has labored…All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest. This also is vanity (or meaningless).” (Eccl 2:23) If our financial goals and desires are rooted in this world, then they will become distorted. They can imprison us, if you will, with a desire that cannot be fulfilled, but that ensnares us, becoming an all-consuming desire.

Money, like all the goods of this world, is not good or bad. It is morally neutral. Accordingly, the Bible has examples of the greedy rich, like the rich man who ignored the beggar Lazarus, and the generous rich, like the centurion Cornelius. (Lk 16:19-31; Acts 10: 1-2) The greedy rich man ended up in hell. Cornelius, on the other hand, was visited by an angel who said to him, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God (Acts 10:4).” He became the first gentile to become Christian, baptized by none other than St. Peter.

The reality is we need money to care for ourselves and our families. Working for that money is also important, as it strengthens our God-given dignity. And as we see from Cornelius’s charity in Acts, giving money to the Church and to those in need elevates our work to heaven, where it is seen by God.

The “rich fool” that Jesus spoke of in the gospel had developed a disordered desire for possessions. Disordered means not ordered to God’s will. Jesus condemned him because the man “stored up treasure for himself, but was not rich in what matters to God.” (Lk: 12:21) That man had been very successful in using his God-given talents to produce a “bountiful harvest.” That was a good thing, assuming he did it in a principled manner.

Where the wheels came off was how he responded to his success. Instead of giving thanks to God, who gave him his talent and ability, made the crops grow, and gave him his very life, and instead of giving some of his bounty to those in need, he “stored it up for himself.” (Lk 12:18) He was duped by the Father of Lies, the devil, into idolizing God’s gift instead of thanking God the Giver. He began to think, as Father Gadenz summarizes, that there is no need for God, and he put his trust in his possessions. Luke reveals this by sharing the rich fool’s inner thoughts writing, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!” (Lk 12:19) But then he died.

So how do we avoid this eternal trap? How do we avoid beginning to idolize the gifts of work, money, and possessions to the point they rob us of the greatest treasure in the world:  love, love of wife, love of children (Madoff’s sons had him imprisoned), and eternal life in heaven abiding in God, who is Love? The answer is in scripture and human nature.

In scripture, we read in Proverbs: “Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit, but righteousness delivers from death.” (Prv 10:2) And the author of Sirach wrote, “Store up almsgiving in your treasury, and it will save you from every evil.” (Sir 29:12) But what did Jesus say?

If you keep reading today’s twelfth chapter of Luke, Jesus gives us much guidance on avoiding the “idolatry of greed” by being in relationship with His Father who cares for us. He talks about how his Father takes care of the birds and adorns the fields with flowers and says, “…how much more will He clothe you—you of little faith!  And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world (rich fools like Madoff) runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well… Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses (or money bags) for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Lk 12:28-34)

As for human nature, what we pour our time and talent into is what we care about. We feel affection and appreciation for our homes, boats, gardens, animals, arts, crafts, careers, and music. We pour so much of ourselves into them that they become a part of us. St. Augustine said we are what we love. This is why it is so important that we guard against greed by pouring some time to be in relationship with Jesus through prayer, the sacraments, adoration, and worship (Mass). Notice that by participating actively in Mass we do all four to these spiritual exercises or acts of piety.

These works of humble piety develop in us an appreciation and love for Jesus through His Church. Pursuing Jesus through our faith fans the flame He placed in us at our Baptism (what St. Paul, in the second reading, called being raised with Christ) and that He strengthens in Confirmation. This flame, the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, enables us to love as God loves, which is best experienced in the love between a husband and wife. They love each other unconditionally, with tender mercy when called for. And in caring for their children, they train to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked. This is why marriage and child rearing are so important. It is where we train in charity, to be like God. It is where we learn the godly use of work, money, and possessions.

All of this is predicated on a childlike faith that we are not an accident of nature and probability. We believe we were intentionally made by God out of pure love, and that this world is not our home. Therefore, we do not need to grasp for all the wealth we can accumulate. Instead, this world is where we train in holiness, with the grace of Jesus Christ, in communion with the Holy Spirit. We open ourselves to God’s love and then pour it out by loving those in need, family first and then the poor, the sick, the lonely, the imprisoned, and those who are mourning (make time for funerals).

Love is the only treasure that each of us will be able to take into heaven. That is why Jesus’ words that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also,” are so important. We want our hearts to be taken up into heaven when we die. We confess this at every Mass when, after Father tells us, “Lift up your hearts,” we cry out, “We lift them up to the Lord.” Recall too, that loving others requires self-sacrifice.  Father will offer up that sacrificial love in a few moments in the Eucharistic Prayer when he prays that his sacrifice and ours may be acceptable to God. Those words are only possible if our hearts are on the Giver and not His gifts.

Yes, money can buy a boat, and that can be a good thing. The first pope, Peter, owned one. But only when Peter used his boat in accord with Jesus’ will did it become an instrument for his conversion of heart and for the good of others (someone got to eat those 153 large fish). Let us seek his intercession. St. Peter, pray for us that we, like Cornelius whom you baptized, will use our money and possessions for the love of God, family, and those in need. Amen.

Eggs and Scorpions

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 27, 2025 — Year C
Readings: Gn 18:20-32 / Ps 138 / Col 2:12-14 / Lk 11:1-13
by Rev. Augustine Temu, Guest Celebrant

My name is Augustine Temu.  I am a Roman Catholic priest, originally from the Roman Catholic diocese of Tanga.  Tanga is in Tanzania.  Tanzania is in east Africa.  If you don’t know it, just remember the second highest mountain in the world is Mount Kilimanjaro, which is in my country.  The second deepest lake in the world, being four miles deep, Lake Tanganyika, is in my country.  The most precious gem is only found in my country, and it is called tanzanite.  Currently I am a priest at St. Mary Magdalene parish in the diocese of Pittsburgh, and I work for Cross Catholic Outreach as an outreach priest.

Let us focus on two things that make us come to church every weekend.  First and foremost, to listen to the Word of God, and secondly to receive Jesus Himself in the Holy Eucharist.

Today I’d like you to think about the contrast between egg and fish, serpent (or snake) and scorpion.  Fish, egg, serpent, and scorpion.  Jesus uses contrasting symbolism to teach about God’s goodness in answering prayer.  Fish and egg represent nourishment, life, and good gifts.  Serpent and scorpion represent harm, deceit, and destruction, often associated with evil.  This gospel passage reassures us that God gives what is truly good, not harmful or deceitful.  God knows our very needs, not just our wants.  There’s a difference between a need and a want.  Sometimes we want things, but God gives what we need, not what we want.

The Holy Spirit is God’s greatest gift, the source of truth, guidance, peace, and strength.  In the last two sentences of the gospel today, Jesus says that the Father will give the Holy Spirit.  This is the best gift we can desire because it is the source of truth, guidance, peace, and strength.

Secondly, we ask God for fish but receive a scorpion:  This is a deep spiritual struggle many of us face when prayers seem unanswered and the result is suffering.  We ask God sometimes for a job, health, for peace, and instead we face rejection, illness, or conflict.  It may feel like we asked for a fish and we received a scorpion.  But God sees differently.  What seems like a scorpion may turn out to be a path to deeper transformation, humility, or grace.  You can read an example in the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians (2 Cor 12:7-10), when Paul prayed three times to be freed from his thorn in the flesh, but God said, “My grace is sufficient for you.”  Paul asked for relief, or in other words, a fish, and he received endurance and grace, not a scorpion but something greater.

Thirdly, fish, scorpion, and the modern materialistic world:  In today’s world, driven by consumerism, greed, and superficial desires, this teaching challenges us in several ways. People often pursue material things, thinking they will be satisfied.  Fish becomes money, fame, power, and so on.  But sometimes what people get is a serpent, addiction, anxiety, emptiness.  In a materialistic culture, even parents and leaders may unknowingly give scorpions, such as overindulgence, pressure to succeed without ethics, replacing love with gadgets.  Like God, let us give what nourishes the soul—time, truth, love and virtue, not just material things.

Fourthly, beware of the serpent in disguise:  Many things today look attractive, such as wealth, status, and popularity, but carry hidden dangers.  The serpent today whispers through the following: consumerism, which means “Buy this and you will be happy.”  Secondly, ego, which means “Be better than others” and that brings pride inside—that I feel I am better off than others.  Thirdly, compromise is another way whereby the serpent whispers through.  And what is compromise?   “Everybody does it,” “It is normal,” “So don’t worry, do it.”  Be watchful.  What seems like wisdom is often a clever lie that separates us from God.

Fifthly, the scorpion has hidden poison:  Scorpions have a sting that is concealed until they strike. They represent harm hidden under the surface.  Today, many things appear harmless or beneficial but cause spiritual damage.  For example, addictive entertainment, pornography, violent media.  Toxic relationships disguised as love. Overuse of social media breeds anxiety and comparison.  Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.  (2 Cor 11:14)   What glitters may not be gold; it may be a scorpion in disguise.

Sixthly, materialism is a beautiful serpent:  The world says, own more, show more.  But Jesus says, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?”  (Mk 8:35) I should make it very clear, I don’t say wealth is bad, riches are bad.  No, it is good.  I’d like everybody to be rich and have wealth.  But if you have wealth and you aren’t compassionate, sensitive, kind, merciful, supportive, sharing that blessing with others, it’s a scorpion.  If it is used for selfishness, individualism, self-centeredness and you don’t become aware of the needs of others, especially those who are less fortunate, it’s a serpent.  But if you have wealth and riches, be they intellectual, emotional, economical, (“riches” doesn’t necessarily mean money, even if you have talent, that’s riches) and you share them with others, becoming compassionate, merciful, kind, volunteering, that an egg, that’s a fish, that’s good.   Materialism often disguises itself as security or progress, but it can choke the soul, the thorns that choke the Word. (Lk 8:14) Not every egg is safe.  Be rooted in prayer, scripture, sacraments, and the community.

Today I have come to you to ask for your support. Cross Catholic Outreach is dealing with helping the poorest of the poor in different countries, especially in the developing countries. Those who are hungry, those who are thirsty, those who are homeless, those who are naked, to empower them, to share our blessings with them. And today I have come to you to ask for your generosity, to ask for your sensitivity, to ask for your sharing, that whatever you can to help these people. These are people in different countries, in Asia, in Africa, South America, Central America, and in the Caribbean. And you can learn more information from our website (https://crosscatholic.org/).

If you donate $50 you can provide 333 meals for hungry children; $92 can deliver a lifetime of safe drinking water to a family of four; $250 can help to provide lifesaving medical care for infants in impoverished communities; $500 can help sponsor a self-help project allowing families to break the cycle of poverty, $1,500 can help to start building a house.

These are very minimal when we compare our lives in America with those developing countries. We are very blessed, but sometimes we take things for granted. For example, in my country, which is similar to other African countries, babies die and suffer from water borne diseases, such as E. coli, cholera, typhoon fever, bilharzia, hepatitis A and B. Women and girls fight and scramble for water, people walk long distances, almost four to five miles away for water, while in America I don’t see babies and children dying and suffering from water borne diseases.

I ask you today, and I know you want to give an egg, you want to give a fish to these people in these different countries. Whatever way you’d like to be sensitive, to be compassionate, to be kind. This is a standalone, nonprofit organization, 501 (3)(c) by the IRS, and therefore you can claim this on your taxes at the end of the year.

And last but not least, it is not the money you give, but the happiness, the joy, the transformation, the egg, the fish you will have given to these people in those developing countries. And on top of that, at the final day of judgement, when you die and you meet with that gentleman, Jesus, He will tell you, “Now enter in the home of my Father,” and you will ask Jesus, “Why are you welcoming me so joyfully into your Kingdom?” He will tell you, “Whatsoever you did to the people of Africa, that you did unto Me. When I was hungry you gave me to eat, when I was thirsty, you gave me to drink.”

Sent on Mission

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 6, 2025 — Year C
Readings: Is 66:10-14c / Ps 66 / Gal 6:14-18 / Lk 10:1-12; 17-20
by Rev. Mr. Mark De La Hunt, Permanent Deacon

You may have heard it said that “The Church does not so much have a mission, as the Church ‘is’ mission.” Jesus said it this way, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” (John 20:21) The Father sent Jesus on mission to save us. Likewise, Jesus sends us on mission to save others. In Luke’s gospel today, He sent seventy-two disciples on mission, and He told them how to go about it. Our challenge, adults and youth, is to open our hearts and minds to the mission.

Luke wrote that “the Lord appointed seventy-two” disciples to go on mission. (Lk 10:1) Just as the twelve apostles represent the regathering of the twelve tribes of Israel, the seventy-two disciples anticipate the mission to the Gentiles, for that was the number of nations descended from Noah, which spread across the earth (Gn 10). It also alludes to the seventy elders Moses appointed to be prophets in Numbers 11.

Pope Francis took this call to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and made it personal. He said we need to reach out to those “on the peripheries.”  Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Diocese of Newark expanded upon Pope Francis’s challenge. He wrote, “Getting outside ourselves and going to the periphery can mean any effort to reach out to others with compassion and understanding. It does not mean that we abandon our beliefs, principles, or way of life. But it does mean that we open ourselves to those who are different from us and, in so doing, share with them the good news that all are loved by God and redeemed in Christ.”

Jesus showed us the way when He went to the people on the peripheries, and it perplexed the Pharisees. The evangelist Matthew wrote that upon seeing Jesus with the people on the periphery, they asked His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” [Jesus] heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” (Mt 9:10–13)

Each of us, children and adults, are being called to ask the Holy Spirit to show us people who may be outside our usual circle of friends and acquaintances, and that we may not feel comfortable around, but that need to know God loves them and that He shows that love most powerfully in the worship/liturgy and sacraments of the Catholic Church, the only church He founded.

Next, Jesus sent the seventy-two out in pairs. We are stronger together. Marriage is a great example. The love of husband and wife draws from the fount of the inexhaustible love of Jesus and overflows in acts of charity, beginning at home and then the community. If you are single, pair up with a believing friend, especially a parishioner. A friend in Christ can boost your courage to share your faith. Whether with a spouse or with a friend, evangelizing in pairs is important, for Jesus warned us that we will be like “lambs among wolves.” (Lk 10:3).

Those who may behave like wolves are not the only part of mission work that makes us uncomfortable. Uncertainty does, too, and an essential element of mission that helps us overcome it is trusting in God’s providence, His care for us. (1 Pt 5:7) Jesus told the seventy-two, “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals…” (Lk 10:4).  When we say yes to the Lord, He provides us everything we need. I experienced this firsthand when I flew to New Orleans on mission to bring my brother, Kevin, back into the Church.

He was in home hospice, dying from cancer. Uncertainty and fear filled me. I had no training in caring for a dying person. And Kevin was separated from the Church because he could not reconcile his same-sex attraction with the Church’s moral teachings. And, by the way, this occurred before I was a deacon, so don’t think I had lots of theological and pastoral training and the sacrament of Holy Orders to help me. What I did have, though, I brought to bear. I asked people in our parish to pray that Kevin would come back to the faith before he died, and off I went, praying the rosary often.

After settling in, I walked to Kevin’s parish for 7 AM daily Mass and afterwards told the priest, Fr. Bob, my brother needed Holy Anointing, but that I was not sure he would allow it. Fr. Bob told me he would come if Kevin agreed to it. The big moment came. I sat by Kevin’s hospice bed in his living room and said I had something very important to ask him. I told him his priest wanted to come and give him the sacrament of anointing of the sick and asked him if he would allow it. I braced myself for an angry refusal. Kevin’s response was a simple and peaceful, “Ok.”  Later that day, I overheard him on the phone with a friend excitedly and happily telling them that Fr. Bob came and anointed him.

This story illustrates an incredibly important truth! The Holy Spirit goes before us on mission. We do not convert anyone. Our part is necessary, but the Holy Spirit works in their hearts before we arrive. We show them compassion and love that speaks to their mind. The Holy Spirit, who is love, speaks to their soul. This is why Kevin, who had no wife and no children and was dying, found happiness with Jesus, who came to him powerfully in the sacraments of Holy Orders (Fr. Bob) and Holy Anointing.

Further along in the gospel, Jesus also emphasizes peace, commanding the seventy-two to say, “Peace to this house!” (Lk 10:5) Note that Luke put an exclamation point after Jesus’ command. The point is to be at peace and to remain at peace while speaking with and listening to the person you felt the Holy Spirit nudge you to go to. Of course, you may not meet that person in a house. It could happen on a plane trip or in a restaurant or at work or school or at a game or concert. In all cases, a smile and sincere heart and reflective listening will bring Christ’s peace to the person.

What if that person rejects your words or cuts you off and or rolls their eyes and walks away? Jesus covers that too. He said that if you are speaking to a peaceful person, your peace will rest on them, but if not, it will return to you. (Lk 10:6) That is a win-win, Jesus-style! If your message is rejected, thank Jesus for the peace that returned to you. Also, to build up your courage, remember the first Pope’s words, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Pt 4:14)

This next advice from Jesus was practiced by the Holy Name of Mary Catholic Work Camp teens and adults, when they went on mission to the people on the peripheries in the Bristol and Abingdon area.  Jesus said, “Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you…Do not move about from one house to another.” (Lk 10:7) For the most part, the teens worked on one person’s home the entire week, helping them with basic needs like wheel chair ramps and all kinds of home repairs. They prayed with them and “ate whatever was set before [them].” (Lk 10:8). In doing so, they built up that person’s God-given dignity and made friends with them. Do not underestimate this. Many of these people are not only poor, but also lonely or cut off from their family. The teens, seminarians, and bishop visiting them means the world to them.

The teens also grew closer to those they were on mission with. When we say yes to going on mission, God’s grace always accomplishes more than we expect. And the work camp teens and adults returned like the seventy-two; they were rejoicing. You can see their testimonies on the Holy Name of Mary Facebook page.

Jesus also said, “Cure the sick…and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’” (Lk 10:9) Do not gloss over this. Healings have always been a part of our faith and mission. And when we are speaking with someone that we think the Holy Spirit wants us to bring to Jesus, we need to listen expectantly and with a loving and compassionate heart. And if they share some difficulty, suffering, or fear, we meet Jesus in that pain with them, not to be overcome by it, but that Jesus may overcome it through us.

Father Henri Nouwen, in his book, The Wounded Healer, wrote the following about the power of these moments of intimate prayer. “Let us not diminish the power of waiting [to listen to a person who is suffering] by saying that a lifesaving relationship cannot develop in an hour. One eye movement or one handshake can replace years of friendship when [a person] is in agony. Love not only lasts forever, it needs only a second to come about.”

Father Nouwen also used a powerful metaphor to encourage us to enter into another person’s suffering so that we can pray with them there and bring them to Jesus. He wrote, “Who can save a child from a burning house without taking the risk of being hurt by the flames?” He wrote that we have to be willing to lose some of our “precious peace of mind…for who can take away suffering without entering into it?”

Jesus gave us that example on the Cross. Indeed, it is the power of the Cross, that entered into us at our baptism, that enables us to go on mission to enter into the suffering of those on the peripheries in order to bring them to Christ. Jesus’ suffering on the Cross gives our suffering and the suffering of the one we are praying with a purpose, salvation, and a power resurrection.

We are the seventy-two to whom Jesus promised, “I have given you the power to tread…upon the full force of the enemy, and nothing will harm you.” (Lk 10:19) Our enemy is not the people on the peripheries. Humanity only has only one enemy, Satan, and he has no power over us who are baptized and who through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, do what Jesus commanded us to do: “Love one another as I have loved you.” (Jn 13:34) Jesus is sending us, and we were born for this. Amen.

God’s Being is Relationship

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
June 15, 2025 — Year C
Readings: Prv 8:22-31 / Ps 8 / Rom 5:1-5 / Jn 16:12-15
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, the central mystery of our Faith, and the heart of who God is:  one God in three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Though the Trinity is a mystery, beyond full human comprehension, it is not a puzzle to be solved, but a truth to be lived and loved.  The Trinity is not a distant theological concept.  It is the life of God, shared with us, and the pattern for how we are to live in this world.

In our first reading, from Proverbs, we encounter Divine Wisdom, present before the beginning of the earth.  The Church has long recognized in this passage a reflection of the second person in the Trinity:  the eternal Son, the Word of God.  “Then was I beside Him as His craftsman,” we hear, “and I was His delight day by day.”  Wisdom is not just knowledge.  It is relational delight, creative joy, and eternal communion.  God’s very being is the relationship.

In Romans, Chapter 5, St. Paul invites us into that relationship: “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  This peace is not the absence of conflict but the process of God’s life in us, poured out through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  The Trinity is not only revealed to us; it is shared with us.  In Baptism, we are drawn into the life of the Father, Son, and Spirit.  We become living temples of the Trinity.

In the gospel of John, Jesus prepares His disciples for the coming of the Spirit—the Spirit of truth—who will glorify Christ and declare what belongs to the Father.  This mutual giving and receiving, this perfect communion between the persons is the very light of God.

Notice that the Spirit doesn’t speak apart from the Son.  The Son reveals the Father, and the Father sends the Spirit.  This is the unity of truth and love we are called to mirror in the Church and in the world.  God is not solitary.  God is a communion of persons.  This has profound implications.  We are made not for isolation but for relationships—with God, with each other, and with the truth.

And yet we live in a time marked by division, relativism, and attacks on the most vulnerable among us, especially the unborn.  Today, the unity of the Trinity challenges us to bear witness to the truth with love, especially in the public square.  We, as believers of the risen Christ, must engage our consciences and communities in defending life and dignity in our Commonwealth of Virginia.

There is currently a great attempt underway—a two-year process—to add an extreme abortion amendment to Virginia’s constitution.  This amendment would not only permit abortion at nearly all stages but could possibly eliminate basic protections for unborn children.  The Virginia Catholic Conference has prepared vote reports for every parish showing how our elected representatives voted on this and other key issues.  We are called as Catholics, not just to worship the Trinity on Sunday, but to live the truth of the Trinity in our public witness.  That includes being informed, engaged, and faithful to the gospel of life.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, §234, says,

The mystery of the most holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life.  It is the source of all other mysteries and the light that enlightens them.

This mystery teaches us that God is love, and that all Christian life is a sharing in the life of the Trinity.  If we have received this gift, we must also share it, with courage, with compassion, and with clarity.

The Church teaches in the encyclical letters, Evangelium Vitae by Pope John Paul II and Caritas in Veritate by Pope Benedict XVI, that love must be truthful, and truth must be loving.  In a world that tells us to keep our faith private and accept moral confusion as tolerance, the Trinity calls us to a higher standard:  to unity in truth, charity in action, and clarity in conscience.

How can we respond to this higher calling?  Consider the following:

1. Pray and draw near to the Trinity. Make time daily for prayer, in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Let God draw you deeper into His divine life.
2. Read and reflect on the vote report when it becomes available. Share it respectfully with your family, friends, and neighbors.  Voting is a moral act.
3. Speak the truth with charity. Defend the unborn and the vulnerable with both conviction and compassion.
4. Live unity in diversity. Just as the Trinity is unity in three persons, we must learn to work together as a Church.  There are different vocations, different gifts, but one mission.
5. Let your love be sacrificial.  Love as the Trinity loves, not in self-interest, but in self-gift.  That means being generous with our time, treasure, and truth.

The mystery we celebrate today is not distant.  It is intimate.  The Trinity is our origin, our destiny, and our guide.  As Pope Benedict XVI once said, “The Christian God is not a solitary being, close in upon Himself.  He is life, love, gift, and communion.”

Let us be living icons of the Trinity in today’s world.  People of truth, communion, defenders of life, and agents of peace.  Let us walk boldly and humbly, not to impose, but to propose the Gospel in the spirit of love and truth.  In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

The Breath of Our Christian Life

Pentecost Sunday
June 8, 2025 — Year C
Readings: Acts 2:1-11 / Ps 104 / 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13 / Jn 20:19-23
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Today we celebrate Pentecost Sunday, the glorious culmination of the Easter season and the birth of the Church.  It is a feast of power, promise, and purpose, a day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and forever changed the course of salvation history.  It is not only an historical event to be remembered, but a living reality to be embraced.  Pentecost reveals to us the life-giving presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church and in each one of us.

In the first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, we witness the dramatic coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples.  As they were gathered together in one place, a sound like a mighty wind filled the house and tongues of fire came to rest on each one of them.  They were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, astonishing the people of many nations who had gathered in Jerusalem.  This moment fulfilled Jesus’ promise to send the Advocate and it signified that the Gospel was meant for all people, Jews and Gentiles, near and far.  The Spirit who descended is the same Spirit who continues to inspire and empower the Church to proclaim the Good News without fear.

The second reading, from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, emphasizes the unity and diversity within the Church.  Paul reminds us that, though we have different spiritual gifts, it is the same Spirit who gives them.  Just as a body is one, though it has many parts, so too is the Body of Christ.  We were all baptized into one Spirit, forming one body.  This image of unity and diversity is crucial in a world that so often divides and isolates.  The Spirit is not a source of confusion, but of communion.  Our varied gifts are not for our own benefit, but for the good of all.

In our gospel reading, John takes us back to the evening of Easter Sunday.  The disciples, afraid and uncertain, are behind locked doors.  Jesus appears in their midst and says, “Peace be with you.”  Then He breathes on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  This gesture of breathing recalls the moment of creation when God breathed life into Adam.  Now, Jesus breathes new spiritual life into His apostles, commissioning them to continue His mission.  He entrusts to them the ministry of reconciliation: “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.”  The Spirit is given, not for comfort alone, but for mission—mission rooted in mercy and peace.

These readings are intimately connected by the movement and action of the Holy Spirit.  In Acts, the Spirit empowers.  In Corinthians, the Spirit unites.  In the gospel of John, the Spirit recreates.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that Pentecost is the full revelation of the Holy Trinity.  (CCC 731-732) It is the moment when the Church is made visible, Catholic, and missionary.  It marks the beginning of the Church’s outward journey to bring Christ to the world.  The Church is Catholic because Christ is present in her.  Where there is Christ Jesus, there is the Catholic Church.  In her subsists the fullness of Christ’s body, united with its head.  This implies that she receives from Him the fullness of the means of salvation, correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and an ordained ministry in apostolic succession.  The Church to us, in this fundamental sense, is Catholic on the day of Pentecost and will always be so until the day of Parousia.

In the New Testament, Parousia means the Second Coming of Christ.  The way in which our Lord spoke of this Second Coming is connected to His other sayings referring to the establishment of the Kingdom of God here below and the destruction of Jerusalem which took place in 70 A.D.

In summary, the celebration of Pentecost represents 1) the day in which the Church received the outpouring of the Holy Spirit;  2) the founding of the one holy, Catholic, and apostolic church that has the fullness of the means of  salvation;  3) the beginning of the age when Jesus communicates His work of salvation through the liturgy of the Church;  4) the beginning of the dispensation of the Church’s sacraments;  5) the ordained ministry and apostolic succession;  6) the arrival of the invisible kingdom on earth in Jerusalem, a kingdom already inherited though not yet consummated.

St. Augustine beautifully reflected on this mystery when he said, “You breathe in the Spirit when you are silent, you speak with the Spirit when you preach, and you live by the Spirit when you love.”  His words remind us that the Holy Spirit is not simply a momentary experience, but the very breath of our Christian life.  In silence, we listen.  In speech, we proclaim.  And in love, we truly live.

How should we respond to this great gift of the Spirit?  First, we must open our hearts through prayer.  The apostles were gathered in prayer when the Spirit came, and so must we be.  The Holy Spirit does not force His way into our lives.  He waits to be invited.  Second, we must recognize and use our spiritual gifts.  Every baptized Christian has been given gifts by the Spirit, gifts meant to serve, build up, and bring life to others.  Third, we must strive for unity.  In a time when division, polarization, and isolation abound, we must be agents of reconciliation and communion.  The Spirit bridges differences and builds harmony.  Fourth, we must be on a mission.  Pentecost is not the end of the story.  It is the beginning.  The Spirit sends us forth to bring the peace and joy of Christ to the world around us.

In today’s world, marked by war, injustice, fear, and loneliness, we need the Spirit’s gifts more than ever.  We need wisdom to discern what is good and true.  We need courage to stand for justice.  We need understanding to listen deeply to others.  We need patience and gentleness to be peacemakers.  The Spirit is not far from us.  He is here within us, beside us, and working through us.  We must only say, “Come, Holy Spirit.”

Pentecost is not only a celebration of what God did once.  It is a proclamation of what God is still doing.  The Spirit continues to breathe into our lives, to rekindle the fire of faith and to send us out into the world.  Let us open our hearts to receive Him.  Let us speak His word with boldness, live His peace with joy, and love one another with a love that reflects the very heart of God.

Come, Holy Spirit.  Fill the hearts of Your faithful.  Kindle in them the fire of Your love and You shall renew the face of the earth.    

Not As the World Gives You Peace

Sixth Sunday of Easter
May 25, 2025 — Year C
Readings: Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 / Ps 67 / Rv 21:10-14, 22-23 / Jn 14:23-29
by Msgr. Michael McCarron, Guest Celebrant

When I was in my 20s and had just been ordained a deacon and was working in my diaconal assignment, the pastor with whom I was working was quite a character, to say the least.  He was a brilliant man, but sometimes with some rough edges.  I don’t think he would mind my saying so.  In any case, when the gesture of peace would come around, I was with him on the altar, of course, and he was a powerful man.  He wasn’t large of stature, but he had some real oomph, I would say, and he would come to give me the gesture of peace in what today would be similar to a chest bump.  He would grab me and look at me and say, “May the peace of Christ always disturb you.”  The first time it happened, I said, “Well, and with your spirit.”  I didn’t know quite what to say, but I did think to myself, “Boy, I hope this doesn’t catch on.”  But it caught on to me.  The reality is that it comes right out of today’s gospel.

“Not as the world gives you peace.”  Not that complacent, calm, serenity business, not that kind of peace.  This is His farewell discourse.  This is what He’s saying right before He gives Himself up to death for our sake.  These are the chapters in which there is so much richness. He’s proclaiming all of this to his friends, His kind of last will and testament at the Last Supper.  The whole new world is about to dawn, and they don’t have a clue as to what is about to transpire.  I don’t just mean the trouble but what the trouble will usher in—the shattering of an old world is about to happen.  To call “peace” peace and place it in the context of what’s coming.  Everything He says is true, but wow!

Not as the world gives you this peace; it’s a peace that will disturb you.  When you, peaceful in My love, see hatred, it’ll make you crazy.  You won’t like it.  You’ll feel viscerally the presence of evil when you’re in its presence and, you know, that’s psychologically true.  When we’re in the midst of something very wrong, we feel it in our gut.  Jesus feels this way when He raises Lazarus from the dead—He knew this was wrong.  It’s the peace that allows us to see that things really aren’t the way they’re supposed to be.  It’s reaching back into that primal instinct from our first days before the Fall, where the remnants of that time that we only glimpse once in a while still linger in our ancient memories.  It’s that peace that tells us this isn’t the way it’s supposed to be.  And we have spent how long, how many thousands of generations trying to bury it because it does disturb us?   We throw our hands up.  There’s nothing I can do about it.  It’s not my job.  My little bit won’t help.

Thank God for the Saints, regularly appearing in the midst of that denial to remind us that the disturbing peace of Christ does, in fact, do wonderful things.  Oh, that’s not just a story.  We all know that.  Anybody here happily married?  If you are happily married, even with all the struggles in that happy marriage, you felt this peace.  Why else would two normally sensible people look at each other at the ripe old age of 18, 19, 20-something, and say, “I’m going to be with this person forever?”  Right.  Yes.  Why would a man lie on the floor of a cathedral and say, “I will foreswear sexuality and my own will for the obedience to a Bishop I don’t even know, and I will live with God’s people as my family until I’m as old as McCarron and longer?”  Why?  Because the peace of Christ disturbs us enough to have a glimpse of what the world is like when we listen to it. And so, when we don’t listen to it, what do we get?  We get dry, and wizened, and dark.

The readings today are filled with fabulous one-liners.  I mean if you are going to embroider something, go to these readings.  Put them on a cushion.  Like the second reading from the Book of Revelation, one of my favorite books in the scriptures.  Of course, it’s everybody’s favorite for all the right and wrong reasons.  In this wonderful, wonderful statement where John says, as he looked at the new Jerusalem coming down out of Heaven, that no sun or moon was needed for light in the city of God, because the glory of God shone on it and the Lamb was its lamp.  You hear what he is saying?  He’s saying that, when you have Jesus, you don’t need the lesser lights, the lesser lights that we rely on.  We all rely on a lot of things to protect ourselves from what people think or say, to build ourselves up.  John is basically saying, if you’re relying on Jesus, you don’t need to rely on anything except His choice of you.  Don’t rely on your worthiness, because you ain’t got it!

I was a vocations director for about 18 or 19 years in our diocese, and I remember asking one person what was preventing him from becoming a priest.  He said, “Well, I don’t think I’m worthy for priesthood.”  I looked at him and said, “Really?  What sacraments ARE you worthy for?”  And the answer is none, but we are chosen for all of them.  The Lamb is its lamp.  When we are in love with Jesus Christ, when we spend time with Him, and yes, sometimes that is time for prayer, and sometimes it’s time before the Blessed Sacrament, but it’s also time before the blessed sacrament that is your husband, the blessed sacrament that is your wife, the blessed sacrament that’s your girlfriend, the blessed sacrament that is your boyfriend, your brother, your pesky little sister.  It’s spending time before them.  Do you think your guardian angels are looking at you and they linger because of your good looks?  Sorry, they see in you the spectacular gift of the Lamb shedding light in the image of God.  You are that gift, and the persons you live with are, too.  How cool is that?

And if that weren’t enough, of course, we have in today’s first reading the sending of this letter.  These poor people are getting bombarded by folks telling the Gentiles, well, it’s OK, you are welcome to be a Christian, but you’ve got to become a Jew first.  And they meant it!  They said that God made this covenant, and God’s covenant is made full in the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, who is a Jew and a rabbi, and so you must follow what He followed, and He followed the law.  So, the apostles didn’t know what to do, because the Gentiles weren’t having any of that.  I mean, you can imagine, I want to be a Christian, but you have to be circumcised first.  Never mind!  And you know, they weren’t being silly.  I mean, obviously, there was pain involved, but that wasn’t the problem.  The problem was that the pain involved could be lethal.  This wasn’t the days of antibiotics and antiseptics.  The knife you were doing a circumcision with today was the one you used to cut your fish with tomorrow and the day before.  People died of circumcision; they said, there must be something wrong with this.

And so, they say in their letter that “it is apparent to the Holy Spirit and to us.”  Don’t you love that line?  Can you imagine using that line when your teenage son comes home after curfew, and he knows he’s wrong?  You know he’s wrong.  He gets to the door and you go, “It appears to the Holy Spirit and to your mother and I that you are grounded for a week.”  I mean, what is he going to say?  The Holy Spirit said it had to happen.  The reality is that Jesus is giving us that Holy Spirit that allows us to see through Him the very way the Spirit is working.  That’s the peace that disturbs—when we see the way the Spirit is seeing, when we don’t just see through the vision of Christ in the Holy Spirit, we see WITH the Holy Spirit, and suddenly we see that people are people—not a race, not a religion.  The people who have hurt us are people who have hurt us.  The reality is that I’m bigger than any hurt I can receive.  There was no light in the city, no light in my life, no light in my dryness, no light in the hurt, no light in the sins I’ve committed, no light in all these things I need to be forgiven for, BUT it had no need of those lights because the Lamb was the light.

That’s the peace that disturbs us; it disturbs us enough to believe that when I look in the mirror, I really am God’s chosen one, but I’ve done this, and I’ve done that.  Do you think He doesn’t know that?  Oops!  If I had only known he was such a jerk, I would never have asked him to be mine.  God’s not surprised.  You cannot disappoint God, because disappointment means surprise and God’s not surprised by anything.  He knows whom He calls, and when He calls us to the table, when He gives us his very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, it is to transform us.  It’s to make us different.

In a few moments, I’m going to read a prayer that says that basically everything we are is being placed into the bread and wine that’s being offered to the Father, who will receive it and transform it by the Holy Spirit into the Body and Blood of the Son.  That means that all of us, all of our ups and down, our sins, our foibles, all of that is being picked up, put into the bread and wine, and offered to the Father who accepts it.  The light is the Lamb, and as long as we have our eyes on Him, well then suddenly that girlfriend that we burn for is a daughter of the King, that guy that  we can’t live without is to be respected as the Holy Sacrament, that we should treat our sexuality with the same kind of reverence we give to the Eucharist, that we should look at those who have hurt us and pray for them.

I get in a lot of trouble because I watch the news and my heart is heavy, and I see these horrible people who have done horrible things, and I hear all of these things about people wishing they were dead, and they belong in Hell, and blah, blah, blah.  I pray for the perpetrator.  Do I think he’s good?  No.  I think he is a good person who has done horrible things, but he’s the one in danger.  He’s the one chosen who has thrown away his chosen-ness.  I’m disturbed by the hatred that he feels for himself.

I heard a story about a young priest who went into a little town in Italy, and he was sent there because it was an awful little town and he wasn’t a particularly good priest.  He didn’t know much and didn’t have a lot of education.  His superiors didn’t have a lot of hope for him.  So, as a young priest he went there, and he got up the morning after he arrived and opened the doors and he went outside. He walked down the center part of the main street in town, and he said, “Repent.  Believe the good news.  It’s awesome.”  Then he went back home.  He went about his priestly business, but every single day, the entire time he was there, he’d get up and he’d walk out and he’d shout at the top of his lungs, “Repent.  Believe the good news.  It’s awesome.”  One day, after about ten or eleven years of doing this, a little kid came up to him and said, “Father, with all due respect, you haven’t done anything.  The place is still a mess; everybody is still who they are.  You haven’t done a thing to change them.”   The priest stopped and looked at the little kid, and he said, “Change them?  I’m trying to keep them from changing me.”

The peace of Christ that disturbs us keeps us from being like our society.  The peace of Christ that disturbs us makes us see things that no one else will see, keeps us from being blinded to the goodness of those who hate and those who are hated, makes us see in the immigrant, and the poor—people who aren’t a problem to be solved, but a family member to be helped.  It’s not outside our grasp, and if it seems like it’s too big of an issue, well, okay, start at home.  Feed the hungry child who desperately just needs Dad’s attention.  Feed the teenager who’s beset by a thousand options, all of them alien to the Gospel, by proving in yourself as a parent, that it’s awesomely joyful to be a Christian and a Catholic.

Today, you and I will receive the Body and the Blood and the Soul and the Divinity of Christ.  The same One upon whom St. John, who wrote the second reading, lay his head at the Last Supper, will be in our hands or on our lips.  The same One.  If we sit down without a smile on our face, if we sit down without that peace that’s disturbing us, and maybe prompting us to write that letter to the elderly aunt we haven’t talked to in so long, or to tell our teenage kids how much we love them, or to tell a husband or wife you’re still the best looking thing I’ve ever seen, then maybe we should rethink how we are receiving Him and try again.

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless You, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world.  If that’s not peace disturbing you, I don’t know what is.

Becoming Like God

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
March 2, 2025 — Year C
Readings: Sir 27:4-7 / Ps 92 / 1 Cor 15:54-58 / Lk 6:39-45
by Rev. Mr. Mark De La Hunt, Permanent Deacon

Jesus said, “When fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” (Lk 6:40) Our teacher is Jesus who is God. How can we be like God?  St. Gregory of Nyssa said that to become like God, one must live a virtuous life.  (CCC 1803) Lent begins this coming Wednesday. It is a season for us to replace vices and distractions with prayer and virtuous acts.  In preparation for Lent, in this homily we will reflect on our fallen human nature and on how practicing virtue with Jesus’ grace and the power of the Holy Spirit helps us become like God. 

Fr. Pablo T. Gadenz says, “In asking us to remove the beam in our eye first, Jesus is teaching us the lesson of not judging others’ faults without first addressing our own worst faults.”  Fr. Gadenz, in his commentary on Luke’s gospel, says this is not meant to say we cannot correct someone who is in sin, for Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” (Lk 17:3) But Jesus was saying that “we should not have a critical spirit” like the scribes and the Pharisees who “watched Him closely…so that they might discover a reason to accuse Him.” (Lk 6:7) 

Regarding accusing others with a critical spirit, we would do well to remember that in Revelation, the Apostle John called Satan an accuser. “For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night.” (Rev 12:10) Why do we tend to be accusers of others? 

One reason is because it is easier to try to fix someone else than to battle our own weaknesses.  Another is that our ego is fragile, because we have centered our life too much on self and not enough on Jesus.  In this weakness, we accuse others to make ourselves feel better about our own faults.  We must be careful not to feed this instinct. Could there be a dark reason that streaming reality shows of men and women behaving badly are so popular?  While watching them, could Satan enter our thoughts or dim our spiritual sight so that we become blind to our faults?  Maybe abstaining from those shows would be a good Lenten discipline that frees up time to do those things that help us become more like God. 

How do we know, though, if we are becoming more like God?  Reality TV is not our standard.  Nor are the poorly behaved people at school and at work.  Our standard is Jesus.  But how do we know how far we are from that standard?  The readings for the first three and half weeks of Lent are going to focus on helping us see where we fall short, as does today’s first reading and the gospel.

In Sirach, we are told that what we say helps us see our shortcomings, and in the gospel, Jesus says, “from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”  What words come out of my mouth when I am stressed or upset?  Do I gossip?  Do I brag about myself and belittle others?  Do my words cause others to fall into sin?  For Lent, take to heart St. Paul’s spiritual direction to the Ephesians on how to speak.  “Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for edifying as fits the occasion, that it may impart grace to those who hear.” (Eph 4:29) 

Jesus said you can tell if He is your standard by the fruit your life is producing.  Do I produce rotten fruit or good fruit?  What does good fruit look like?  I struggled with this question as there are so many ways to answer it.  So, I asked myself what is good fruit that is common to people of all ages and circumstances?

One answer is that good fruit is those things you do and you say that you would want the most innocent person to imitate.  Another answer is the good fruit listed by St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (5:22) How do we become like that?  This Lent, ask the Holy Spirit for the power to do so. 

When you meet a person who exhibits love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, would you call them a happy person (and a godly person)?  Yes!  How did Jesus describe happiness?  If you recall, He used the word “blessed” for happiness, preaching: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.  Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.  Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.  Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.”  (Lk 6:20-22)

Let’s unpack these beatitudes to see why Jesus ties them to happiness and the good fruit.  The poor who love God are blessed because they trust Him and rely on Him. Their poverty does not allow them to rely on wealth or power.  Those who voluntarily choose poverty are also happy.  Mother Teresa’s smiling face was absolutely radiant, for she relied on God so much.  She would refuse large donations, because she wanted her sisters to experience God’s loving care.  Those who have money and love God find happiness in using their wealth to build up the Church and to help the poor.  

Those who are hungry or weeping and love God are blessed because they share in Jesus’ suffering on the cross.  Through His cross their suffering has the power to help others. Also, in their suffering they more clearly hear God in prayer.  C.S. Lewis wrote, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” 

Those who are hated, excluded, insulted, and called evil for their love of God are blessed, for they have been found worthy to be treated like Jesus.  Remember the apostles, after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, rejoicing after the Sanhedrin whipped and threatened them?  (Acts 5:40-41) The first pope, Peter, said it this way, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Pt 4:14)

So, we want to follow Jesus so that our life bears good fruit that really describes a happy person (who is like God), and Jesus tied happiness to the beatitudes.  How do we put all of that together so we can live it?  Father Gadenz shows us three steps to living a happy life that we would want the most innocent person to imitate:  Step 1) Practice the Virtues. Step 2) Live the Beatitudes. Step 3) Call upon the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Doing these three things make us like God, filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

What are the virtues? There are seven, and they are theological and moral. The theological virtues are faith, hope, and charity. (1 Cor 13:13) To live the beatitudes, we must have faith in Jesus’ power and hope in His promise of eternal life.  Faith and hope free us so that we can practice charity.  These virtues keep us mindful that we are made for eternal life in heaven. Therefore, we do not need to grasp for all the pleasure and money we can get because our life is NOT short, for our life is eternal in Christ Jesus.

The moral virtues are also called the cardinal virtues. They are prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. (Wis 8:7; CCC 1805-1809)  Prudence is knowing and doing the right thing in all circumstances.  Justice is giving God and neighbor their due. Fortitude is dogged determination to resist temptation and to conquer fears that make us turn inward in a selfish manner.  Temperance is keeping our desires within the limits of what is honorable and moderating pleasures.

This Lent, memorize these seven virtues and make daily resolutions to live them so that you may become like God.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you the power to live these seven virtues.  He does this through seven gifts:  wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.  (Is 11: 1-2 & CCC 1830-1831) The Catechism says that these gifts “perfect and complete your virtue.” 

I recommend you look up the seven virtues and seven gifts in your Catechism or Google “Catechism – moral virtues / cardinal virtues/seven gifts of Holy Spirit.”  Write them down with definitions beside each one, and pray over them daily.  Make a daily resolution to try to live the virtues you most need to practice, and ask the Holy Spirit to increase the gifts you most need to be successful doing so.  Do the same for the beatitudes.  All of these work together to help us be more like God.

If we set a Lenten goal to be more like God, we will more than likely fail one or more times during Lent.  Instead of giving up, though, we should accept that failure as the gift that it is, for it reminds us that we need a savior.  That realization puts us in the perfect frame of mind for Lent, and then we begin again. 

Jesus’ love for us destroyed death and weakness through the cross and resurrection. His perfect love cast out all fear, giving us the courage to cast off our old self this Lent and to put on our new self in Him. (Eph 4:24; 1 Jn 4:18) And here is the good news. Through our baptism we already have been given a new self.  We simply need to remember that “[We] have been crucified with Christ [and] it is no longer [we] who live, but Christ who lives in [us]; and the life [we] now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave himself for us.” (Gal 2:20) Practicing virtues and living beatitudes with the help of the Holy Spirit help us reawaken that new self we received when we were baptized. 

Speaking of courage, the Latin word for virtue is virtus. It means: courage, valor, or manliness.  So, do not fear to strive to become like God this Lent!  With the love and grace of Jesus Christ, we can practice the virtues and live the beatitudes with the power of the Holy Spirit’s gifts. In doing so, regardless of our circumstances, we can live a life that inspires others to desire the godliness they see in us:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  And when others ask you, “How can you be so joyful and loving and peaceful all the time?”  THEN you can share the good news that God loves them and made them for a purpose and gives them gifts to achieve that purpose, filling them with love, joy, peace and patience. Then invite them to come and see Jesus at Mass.  

Holy Spirit, increase your gifts in us that we may practice the virtues and live the beatitudes so that the good fruit from our lives may attract the world to Jesus. Amen.

Citations

Fr. Pablo T. Gadenz. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture – The Gospel of Luke. Baker Academic 2018. 

Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church. Doubleday publishing 1995. 

The Abundance of God’s Love

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
January 19, 2025 — Year C
Readings: Is 62:1-5 / Ps 96 / 1 Cor 12:4-11 / Jn 2:1-11
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

Today’s readings beautifully converge to reveal the abundance of God’s love and grace in our lives.  At the center of this message is the story of the wedding at Cana, where Jesus performs His first miracle, turning water into wine.  This event not only reveals Jesus’ divine power, but also highlights the tender intercession of Mary, who notices a need and acts to ensure that God’s grace flows abundantly.

In our first reading, Isaiah speaks of God’s deep love for His people, using the imagery of a wedding to describe the relationship between God and Israel.  The prophet declares that God will no longer forsake His people but will delight in them as a bridegroom delights in his bride.  This passage is rich with hope and restoration, reminding us that God’s covenant with His people is rooted in love and joy.  The imagery of a wedding resonates with the gospel in which Jesus’ miracle at Cana prefigures the eternal union between Christ and His Church.  Isaiah’s words remind us that God’s love transforms us, giving us a new name and identity as His beloved.

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he speaks of the diversity of spiritual gifts within the Christian community.  He emphasizes that these gifts come from the same Spirit and are given for the common good.  Each gift, whether wisdom, knowledge, faith, or healing, is a manifestation of the Spirit working in and through us.  This reading connects to the gospel as it reminds us that God’s grace is not limited.  Just as Jesus abundantly provides wine at Cana, God generously bestows spiritual gifts on His people. These gifts, when used for others, glorify God and build up the community of faith.

The wedding at Cana is a profound moment in the gospel of John.  Mary, noticing that the wine has run out, approaches Jesus with a simple, yet faith-filled request.  Her words, “They have no wine,” reveal her deep compassion and attentiveness.  Mary’s heart as a mother shines here. She sees a need and intercedes, sparing the couple from embarrassment on their special day.

In the Mediterranean region, wine is a very important part of every meal.  At this wedding feast, the wine has run out.  It is an important moment for Jesus to perform His first miracle, showing His glory and at the same time helping His disciples to grow in faith.  Although this miracle is His first one, it is not a small one.  The jars that the servants fill at the Lord’s command are large, Jewish in style, and made of stone of the type that was used in those days for their purification ceremonies.  The gospel reading tells us that each one held one hundred liters, and they filled several.

Jesus does not content Himself with just pleasing His mother and helping the family and the newlywed couple.  He does all of this by giving them a wine of excellent quality. When the head waiter tests the water that has become wine, he says to the bridegroom, “Everyone serves good wine first, but you have kept the good wine until now.”  In other words, as wondrous and as marvelous as the saving acts of Jesus in our lives have been in the past, more and better is yet in store.  In the words of Isaiah, “For the Lord delights in you, and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride, so shall your God rejoice in you.”

The gospel this Sunday teaches us that, when we pray to the most Holy Virgin Mary, asking her to help us, we will always find her ready to intercede with her Son for us.  If we ask for something that is good for us and we pray with faith, Christ will certainly perform a miracle for us, first to please His mother and then to help us in our need.

We might also be wondering about Jesus’ response when He says, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”  This may seem puzzling.  By calling Mary “woman,” however, Jesus is honoring her as the new Eve.  This title connects back to Genesis 3:15, where God foretells the victory of the woman’s offspring over the serpent.  Mary, as the new Eve, plays a pivotal role in God’s plan of salvation, culminating in Jesus’ victory over sin and death.  At Mary’s prompting, Jesus performs His first miracle, transforming water into wine.  This act reveals His divine power and foreshadows the ultimate abundance of grace that He will pour out through His passion, death, and resurrection.

This event also highlights Mary’s role as an intercessor who leads us to her Son.  Mary’s action at Cana shows the depth of her maternal heart.  She notices the couple’s predicament before anyone else and takes it upon herself to help.  Her sensitivity to her friends’ needs reflects her role as our spiritual mother, always attentive to our struggles and bringing them to Jesus.  Her words to the servants, “Do whatever He tells you,” remain a timeless instruction for all Christians.

Mary launches Jesus into His ministry, knowing that at this moment she’s letting go of her Son.  To think that this beautiful exchange between mother and Son took place prior to all else Jesus would say and do only reaffirms the beautiful love between them and foreshadows the sacrifices both would make for the Kingdom of God.  This mystery is a prophetic foreshadowing, an assurance that indeed the best is yet to come.

We are reminded today, through the message of the gospel, that as Christians, we are called to trust in Mary’s intercession.  Just as Mary interceded for the couple at Cana, she intercedes for us.  We can confidently bring our needs to her, knowing she will lead us to Jesus.  We are called to recognize God’s abundance.  Jesus’ provision of wine reminds us that God’s grace is limitless. In times of need, we are invited to trust in His providence.

Let us also use our gifts for others.  Like the servants who obeyed Jesus, we are called to cooperate with God’s plan and use our gifts to serve others, bringing joy and blessings to our communities.  Most importantly, let us see Christ in our daily lives.  The transformation of water into wine reminds us that Jesus sanctifies the ordinary.  We are invited to encounter Him in the routines and relationships of our lives.  The wedding at Cana reveals the loving heart of our mother, Mary, and the abundant grace of Jesus Christ.  Mary’s intercession and Jesus’ miracle teach us to trust in God’s love and providence.

As we go forth, let us strive to live in accordance with the gospel by being attentive to the needs of others, trusting in God’s abundance, and using our gifts to glorify Him.  May Mary our mother guide us always to her Son, who transforms our lives with His grace.

We Are Beloved Children

The Baptism of the Lord
January 12, 2025 — Year C
Readings: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 / Ps 29 / Acts 10:34-38 / Lk 3:15-16, 21-22
by Rev. Nixon Negparanon, Pastor

The Baptism of the Lord is a profound moment in the life of Christ and the Church.  Today we celebrate not only Jesus’ baptism, but also the revelation of His identity and His mission.  It is a reminder of our own baptism, where we, too, are given a new identity and mission as beloved children of God.  The words of the Father at Jesus’ baptism, “You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased,” resonate deeply as the cornerstone of today’s reflection.

The prophet Isaiah, in our first reading, speaks of comfort, hope, and renewal for the people of Israel.  He proclaims the coming of the Lord, whose glory will be revealed for all to see.  The imagery of valleys being lifted and mountains laid low signifies that nothing will stand in the way of God’s salvation.  This passage sets the stage for the revelation of Jesus as the Messiah, the One who comes to shepherd His people with tenderness and strength.

In the second reading, St. Paul emphasizes the grace of God, who brings salvation to all.  This grace teaches us to live lives of holiness, and points to the mercy of God revealed through Jesus Christ.  Through baptism, we are reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit, becoming heirs of eternal life.  This transformation connects directly to Christ’s baptism, when the Spirit descended upon Him, symbolizing His mission to bring salvation to humanity.

In today’s gospel, John the Baptist prepares the way for the Messiah, emphasizing the greatness of the One who will come after him.  When Jesus is baptized, the heavens open. The Holy Spirit descends like a dove, and the Father’s voice proclaims, “You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.”  This moment marks the revelation of Jesus’ divine identity, and His mission to redeem humanity.

The readings converge in terms of revelation, transformation, and mission.  Isaiah foretells the coming of the Lord’s glory.  Paul explains how God’s grace transforms us into His children.  Luke recounts the moment when Jesus’ divine identity is revealed at His baptism.  These messages remind us that baptism is not just a ritual, but a profound encounter with God’s grace, revealing our identity as His beloved children, and our mission to live as disciples.

Last Sunday’s Epiphany celebrated the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles, through the visit of the Magi, revealing Him as the light of the world.  Today’s feast continues this revelation, focusing on Jesus’ identity as the beloved Son of God, and the start of His public ministry.  Both feasts highlight how Jesus is revealed as the savior for all humanity.

When Jesus stepped into the Jordan River, He didn’t do so for His own sake.  He was sinless and had no need for baptism.  Yet, He chose to be baptized for our sake.  By entering those waters, He sanctified them, transforming baptism as the gateway to grace and salvation.  At His baptism, the Holy Spirit descended, and the Father’s voice declared, “You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.    This moment was not only an affirmation of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God, but also the beginning of His mission.  Anointed by the Spirit, He would go on to preach, heal, and ultimately redeem humanity through His death and resurrection.

Anointing isn’t just a holy function; it is a declaration.  It revealed that He was the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Christ.  One is anointed to be a priest, a prophet, and a king.  That’s exactly who Jesus is forever.  He’s the great high priest, the greatest of all prophets, the eternal king.  From His baptism, He went into the wilderness to battle Satan.  Moved by the power of the Holy Spirit, He fulfilled His mission.  The Father declared over Him, “You are my beloved Son.”  Baptism revealed Jesus’ identity and mission.  His identity is that He’s the beloved Son, the Christ, the Anointed One, the priest, prophet, and king.  His mission was also revealed.

For us, baptism is more than an entry into the Church.  It is a moment when God declares over each of us, “You are my beloved son,” or “You are my beloved daughter.”  Through baptism, we receive a new identity as children of God, and are entrusted with a mission.  As baptized Christians, we are not only given a new identity as beloved children of God, but also entrusted with tasks and responsibilities toward our brothers, sisters, and community.  Baptism calls us to live in service, love, and solidarity, following the example of Christ.  We are called to foster unity and understanding among those around us.  St. Paul reminds, in his letters, that we are one body in Christ.  Our mission, as baptized Christians, is to tear down barriers of division, and build bridges of reconciliation.

Jesus’ mission often focused on the marginalized and downtrodden.  As His followers, we must show compassion and care for those in need, whether through acts of charity, advocacy, or simply offering a listening ear and a loving heart.  Like Jesus, who began His public ministry after His baptism, we are tasked with sharing the good news.  This doesn’t always mean preaching from a pulpit.  It can mean living a life that radiates Christ’s love, joy, and hope in our daily interactions.

St. Maximillian Kolbe, a modern martyr and profound witness to Christ’s love, once said, “Let us remember that love lives through sacrifice and is nourished by giving.  Without sacrifice, there is no love.”  Our baptism calls us to this sacrificial love; to give ourselves for the good of others.  St. Maximillian Kolbe embodied this love when he gave his life to save a fellow prisoner in Auschwitz.

While most of us will not face such extreme circumstances, we are called to make daily sacrifices for the good of our families, communities, and even strangers.  Our baptism not only affirms our identity as God’s beloved children but also calls us to action.  Just as Christ’s baptism began His mission, ours commissions us to live out our faith in practical, sacrificial love for our brothers and sisters.

Today, let us hear again the words spoken over Jesus and know that they are meant for us: “You are my beloved son; with you I am well pleased.”  Let this truth guide us and guide our lives.  In moments of doubt and struggle, remember that we are God’s beloved children.  May this identity inspire us to live out our mission with courage, faith, and love, as Jesus did.

Bartimaeus Begins to See and Follows Jesus

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
October 27, 2024 — Year B
Readings: Jer 31:7-9 / Ps 126 / Heb 5:1-6 / Mk 10:46-52
by Rev. Mr. Mark De La Hunt, Permanent Deacon

Today I will continue to preach on the theme of evangelization in accord with the third year of the Eucharistic Revival, which is focused on mission. And since part of our mission is to vote in harmony with our Heavenly Father’s will and purpose, I will take some time to look at the upcoming elections through God’s eyes.

In today’s gospel, “Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’” (Mk 10:49) Jesus is ever on the move, but He stops when someone calls out to Him in humility: “Have pity on me.”  He also commands us to bring those people to Him: “Call him.”  Is Jesus commanding you to call someone to Him? If so, will you “spring up” and follow Jesus that way?

Your answer to these questions has much to do with whether or not you are aware of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you received at your baptism and to the degree that you have intentionally opened the Holy Spirit’s gifts that were given to you in Confirmation. Let’s start with the gift of Knowledge.

The gift of Knowledge is to truly know God. Jeremiah reveals God’s heart to us in today’s first reading. God speaks tenderly to His people, whose country has fallen into ruin. “I will gather them from the ends of the world…They departed in tears, but I will console them…I will lead them to brooks of water, on a level road… (and those astonishing words) for I am a father.” (Jer 31:8-9) As Chris Tomlin’s song says, “You’re a good, good Father. It’s who You are.”  Knowing this is true and remains true even when we have messed up terribly, enables us to emulate Bartimaeus, to hear Jesus’ call and to spring up and follow Him when we do.

Two other gifts of the Holy Spirit can be seen in Psalm 126, Wisdom and Fortitude. Psalm 126 speaks of God’s people, “Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing.” (Ps 126:8) Through the Holy Spirit, we can persevere through difficulties, tiredness, and fears that can bring us to tears. This is Fortitude.

Fortitude enables us, in trying situations, to hang in there, so that we can use the gift of Wisdom. Wisdom helps us to see others as God the Father sees them. We see this playing out in the gospel. Jesus told his followers to call Bartimaeus. But they were only able to do so, because Jesus removed their blindness first, so that they could see Bartimaeus as God does, not as an annoying blind beggar on the side of the road, but (gift of Wisdom) as a beloved child. And because they evangelized as Jesus commanded, God opened Bartimaeus’s eyes, and he began to follow Jesus too.  In the Spirit, we sow the seed of the good news of the gospel. And when those people who hear us, like Bartimaeus, join our faith family here, that is a great day! This Psalm shows the hope of us as evangelists, carrying God’s Word to a hurting and lost world.

When evangelizing, as Jesus commanded his followers to do in the gospel saying, “Call him,” we should combine the Spirit’s gifts of Wisdom and Understanding. Understanding helps us to share the Faith’s truths with confidence and humility. The reading from Hebrews says, “He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness…No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God.” (Heb 5:2) This is not written only for deacons, priests, and bishops, but for all the baptized.

The gospel too speaks of being called. Mary Healy describes chapter 10 of Mark’s gospel as being “all about Jesus opening the eyes of His disciples to His messianic mission and their call to follow Him.” (Healy 210) Bartimaeus shows us how to hear Jesus’ call in five steps:

1) Hang out where Jesus will be (Mass & Bible).

2) Call out to Him with humility as a beggar (Prayer).

3) Seek the help of His followers (Parishioners).

4) Repent and let Him change you (Confession & Eucharist).

5) Spring up and follow Him (Care for those in need and call them to Jesus…words are necessary).

The purpose of our Catholic faith is mission: a mission to evangelize, empowered by the Holy Spirit. He has given the baptized and confirmed seven gifts that enable us to share our faith effectively. (Is 11:1-2) However, for us to effectively evangelize inside and outside these walls, we must be free, which brings me to the upcoming elections.

They are important, because our freedom to follow our God-given conscience is being eroded (Little Sisters of the Poor vs. State of New York). I am not going to tell you who to vote for, but I am going to speak from the wisdom and heart of the Church, so that our votes are informed by our conscience, where the Holy Spirit speaks to us.

It is said that we should not vote on a single issue. Using the Holy Spirit’s gift of Understanding, which enables us to see through falsehoods, I would call that a false teaching. Here is one way to think about it. If a doctor discovers you have cancer, does that doctor dilute their treatment of it so that they can also focus on your bunions and allergies? No. They focus everything on that cancer, because they know it can spread and damage organs and bones and eventually bring death. So too, there is a single issue that spreads like cancer in our society. It is secular humanism.

Secular humanism is a deadly belief that we can solve all our problems, that there is no God, that we are accidents of evolution. This means there is no absolute moral standard and that human beings are not made for an amazing purpose by a loving God. Laws have been passed, are being passed, and are being proposed that impose this falsehood on our society.

Within secular humanism, humans, like gods, decide who lives and who dies…when people are too weak to defend themselves. The list of these defenseless people includes babies, prisoners, the elderly, the sick, and the despairing. These unjust laws communicate that human life is not sacred, that people are tools to be used as long as they are productive and can give us what we want, and that some people cannot be redeemed from the wrongs they have committed.

This secular-humanistic belief spreads from legalizing the taking of human life to other parts of society like cancer spreads to other organs and the bones. Secular humanists say, “If we can take human life like God, then we, like God, can define marriage. It can be between two men or two women.”  They are blind to how all of creation cries out that is false.

Marriage is to society what bones are to the human body. It gives society a foundation upon which communities grow strong and thrive. In marriage between one man and one woman, society becomes life giving (children), and within a family people learn to serve out of love for one another.

When secular humanists define marriage as being two people of the same sex, they open the door to redefining what a man or woman is. They say to themselves, “If we can define marriage to be between two people of the same sex, then why not choose our sex?” Thus, this cancerous belief spreads through laws that support this choice. Maybe no other choice more explicitly declares that God does not exist, and that if He does, He makes mistakes. And, not only can a person choose their sex, but they can punish those who follow their God-given conscience and refuse to recognize and celebrate that lie. Again, all of creation cries out that the ability to choose your sex is a false teaching.

Our votes need to support those who will best protect the truth that God is God, and we are not, that He alone decides when a person’s life is over, that He alone decides if we are male or female, that He alone defines marriage, and that He defined it as between one man and one woman.  We see these truths throughout creation. We do not need a bible to know they are true. (Rom 1:20)

We can kind of sum this up like this: God is a good, good Father. And His children vote for life not death, for fruitful love not sterility, and for the wonderful gift of our manhood and womanhood, not confusion and despair.

You see, cancerous beliefs like secular humanism are not the only thing that spreads. Where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. (Rom 5:20) Love, life, and truth spread so much more effectively than falsehoods, for all people are made for Jesus, who is the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6) So be bold in hope and share your faith and vote for the truth. We were made by God and for God, and it is only in our relationship with Him that we find true joy and peace. Amen.

Citations

1. Mary Healy STD. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, The Gospel of Mark. Baker Academic 2008.