SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

27 JULY 2025

 

          The disciples of Jesus ask him to teach them how to pray.  In response, he teaches them the “Lord’s Prayer.”  It is not the Lord’s Prayer that we know so well from the Gospel of Saint Matthew.  Saint Luke’s version is shorter and centered more on the present, with God’s name hollowed, the kingdom come, the daily bread we receive now, and the forgiveness that we receive and are expected to give to others. 

            To explain this prayer, he tells the parable of a man who knocks on his neighbor’s door in the middle of the night asking for three loaves of bread.  The neighbor finally opens the door and grants his request because of his persistence.  The Greek word which Saint Luke uses is even stronger.  The neighbor complies because his friend is completely shameless.  Not even his neighbor’s resistance can stop him from asking for what he needs.

            We see this same persistence in the first reading from Genesis.  Abraham is persistent as he shamelessly begs God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, where his nephew Lot and his wife and two children live.  Abraham knows the wickedness of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. He knows their complete lack of hospitality and their sexual offenses.  But he asks God to recognize the innocent people of Sodom and Gomorrah.  If you have ever traveled to the Middle East, you can recognize what Abraham is doing.  He begins by asking God to spare the cities if there are at least fifty innocent people.  In Middle Eastern markets, the merchant sets a large amount for a purchase.  The buyer barters with him at the lowest amount, until they come to an agreement.  When I was on my Sabbatical 25 years ago, I bought stuff at the markets in the West Bank.  I was terrible at bartering, because I viewed the process of bargaining as an angry argument.  However, another priest in our group knew exactly how to barter.  I came to realize that in their back and forth bartering, they were entering into a relationship.  Once the purchase was complete, the merchant often invited the buyer to have a cup of tea with him.

            Abraham is not bartering with God.  Instead, he enjoys an intimate relationship with God that allows him to be shameless in his speaking.  He is aware of God’s mercy, especially in God’s merciful gift of a son to him and Sarah in their old age.  In his shameless conversation, he is trying to find at least ten innocent people.  But he learns that there are only four innocent people.  In the course of speaking with God, he learns that God’s mercy is always tempered by God’s justice.  Sodom and Gomorrah must face the consequences of their inhospitality.

            Jesus encourages us to be persistent, to be shameless in asking, in seeking, and in knocking.  That is the way we need to pray.  However, we have also learned from our experience of praying that we do not always receive what we ask.  We do not always find what we seek.  The door that we keep knocking on is not always opened for us.  That is why authentic prayer demands that we remain grounded in our relationship with God and trust that our persistent and shameless prayers will eventually be granted in ways that we do not expect.

            Jesus promises that the Father gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask.  As Saint Paul reminds us, we entered the tomb of Jesus Christ when we were drowned in the waters of Baptism.  We emerged to share in his resurrection and receive that gift of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will never disappoint us as we attempt to live the Paschal Mystery.  Just as the shameless and persistent prayer of Jesus himself in the Garden of Gethsemane was finally answered in the resurrection, we can trust that God will give to us whatever we need as we persist shamelessly in prayer.

 

 

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

6 JULY 2025

 

          Saint Paul tells the Galatians that he bears the marks of Jesus on his body.  The Latin word for marks is stigmata, the source of our English word “stigma.”  The Galatians could have understood those marks as tattoos, like those emblazoned on slaves in their day.  But Paul was never a slave.  Or they could have connected those marks as scars that soldiers bore on their bodies when they returned from war.  They were signs of wounds inflicted on them in a battle.  Certainly, Saint Paul had born wounds on his body from the stoning he received in Lystra or from the many beatings inflicted on his body.  They certainly had left a mark.  Today, some readers of Scripture interpret those marks as stigmata in his hands and feet from the wounds of Jesus on the cross, like the ones which Saint Francis or Padre Pio received. 

            We may not have tattoos or battle scars or the physical wounds of the crucified Christ on our physical bodies.  However, we have been marked in two ways.  We were marked first by the Lord Jesus when we were baptized.  The Lord wrote our names in the palm of his hand and claimed us as his own.  We were marked with the sign of the cross, which we carry throughout our lives, allowing us to drink fully from the abundant milk and goodness of the Lord.

            The second mark is one recorded in eternity.  Jesus tells the 72 disciples returning from their successful mission that they can “… rejoice because their names are written in heaven.”  In giving this mark, Jesus echoes a Jewish tradition of a ceremony on the Day of Atonement.  When families participated in this annual sacrifice, the priest would write their names in the “book of life.”  Jesus indicates something similar has happened to us.  Because we bear his mark, our names are recorded in the heavenly book of life.

            We too have received these marks, passed on over the centuries to us.  He sends 72 of his disciples out on a mission, walking two by two.  Instead of taking a lot of stuff, they are simply to proclaim peace (shalom) as a sign of the kingdom of God.  He predicts that some people will welcome this gift, while others will reject it.  As sheep in the midst of wolves, they may even be mistreated.  But his peace will remain with them.  We continue to receive that peace as a result of the mission of those original 72 disciples.

            Like those original disciples, the Lord has just spoken to us in his Word.  He will feed us with his Body and Blood.  Then we will be sent out of this Mass on the same mission.  In our parish, we already see this mission being accomplished.  Members of our Saint Vincent de Paul Society go out two by two every week to meet the needs of the poor.  They may take food.  But the more important gift is the peace of the Lord Jesus.  Our soup kitchen feeds people in the neighborhood three times a week, not just giving soup and sandwiches, but giving the peace of Jesus Christ.  Deacon Mel and I are considering the offer of 466 Works to begin building affordable houses in our neighborhood, hopefully bringing Christ’s gift of peace.

            Both the Saint Vincent de Paul Society and the soup kitchen can use more volunteers.  If our parish decides to be part of 466 Works, we will need more volunteers.  I would argue that the Lord offers these specific missions to us this morning.  Jesus gives the same message to us that he gives to the original 72: “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.”  Whether we step forward to be part of these parish missions or not, each of us are sent from this Mass to proclaim peace and the good news that the kingdom of God is at hand.  “Peace” was the first word Jesus spoke to his disciples after the resurrection.  “Peace” was the first word of Pope Leo after he was elected.  Peace is the gift all of us can give.  We don’t need lots of stuff.  We need to convey peace through our words and actions.  Our names are written in the book of life in heaven.

 

SAINTS PETER AND PAUL

29 JUNE 2025

 

          The Solemnity we celebrate is about an “odd couple.”  Peter and Paul were very different from one another.  More than likely, Simon had no formal education.  He probably spent his teenage years working in his father’s fishing business on the Sea of Galilee.  His first encounter with Jesus occurred after a fruitless night of fishing.  He must have been impressed with this preacher, because he loaned his boat to Jesus, so that he could preach to a crowd on the shore.  In spite of his objections as a professional fisherman, he followed the instructions of Jesus and put out his boat to fish again.  To his amazement, he hauled in such an incredible load of fish that he abandoned his occupation and became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth.  During his three years as a follower of Jesus, he came to believe that Jesus was truly the Messiah, the Son of God.  Jesus included him with James and John in the most important events of his ministry.  Jesus rewarded his faith by changing his name to Peter, which means “Rock.”  He promised to establish his Church on the rock of Peter’s faith.  In the Acts of the Apostles, Peter preferred to be in the company of Jews who believed in Jesus Christ.

            In contrast, Saul of Tarsus had a formal education.  Schooled by the Rabbi, Gamaliel, he became a dedicated Pharisee familiar with all the aspects of the Law of Moses.  Saul had never met Jesus of Nazareth.  But, he encountered the risen Lord on the road to Damascus.  Blinded by that encounter, he was led to the house of Ananias, where he was baptized and became a disciple of Jesus Christ.  He spent three years in Arabia before returning to Jerusalem to meet with Peter and the other disciples.  As Paul, he became the Apostle to the Gentiles, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ in his missionary journeys throughout the Mediterranean Sea. 

            These two giants of our faith not only were very different personalities, but they also disagreed with each other.  In the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke reports that Paul was not afraid to confront Peter on the issue of eating with Gentiles.  Their different personalities and roles built up the Body of Christ.  In iconography, Saint Peter is pictured holding a set of keys, symbolizing the authority given to him by Christ.  Saint Paul is pictured holding a sword, symbolizing the two-edged sword of the Word he preached.  Ultimately, both gave their lives over to Jesus Christ in Rome:  Peter by crucifixion and Paul by the sword.

            What both of them held in common was their sinfulness.  Instead of always being the rock, Peter often became a stumbling block in blurting out his unreflective thoughts.  He became a huge stumbling block when he denied knowing Jesus three times in the courtyard of the high priest.  Saint Paul participated in the execution of Saint Stephen, the first martyr.  He was on his way to Damascus to arrest and execute the disciples of Jesus Christ there.  Because they both gave over their sins to the Lord, his mercy allowed them to be more effective in their ministry.  Especially in the midst of their weaknesses, they knew that the Lord was working through them.

            These two giants of the faith give us great hope in this Jubilee of Hope.  We are part of a Church where there are many differences and arguments and personalities.  We are aware of our own sinfulness and the failings of the current leaders of our Church.  Just as the Holy Spirit worked through them, the Holy Spirit can work through us.  Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us!

 

 

THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST

22 JUNE 2025

 

          In writing to the Corinthians, Saint Paul hands on what he has received from the Lord.  In using those words, “to hand on,” he uses the root word in Latin, “traditor,” literally to pass on from hand to hand.  Our English word is “tradition.”  Saint Paul is giving to the Corinthians and to us the most sacred and important tradition which we have:  the celebration of the Eucharist.

            To understand this tradition, there are at least six key points for us to consider.  First, when we celebrate the Eucharist, we recall the dramatic events of the Last Supper, the night of the betrayal of Jesus by one of his closest friends.  Whenever we partake of the Eucharist, we participate in the Lord’s passion and death.  Second, the foundational elements of the Eucharist are bread and wine.  These elements recall Melchizedek’s offering in the first reading.  They are the everyday staples of the Mediterranean diet.  It is through these ordinary means that he sustains his presence among us.  Third, there is a thanksgiving performed by Jesus.  The Greek word for thanksgiving is eucharisteo, which gives rise to our common name for this sacrament, the Eucharist.  Fourth, the bread is symbolically broken.  This action sustains the memorial of Christ being broken for us on the cross.  Fifth, the whole celebration is a remembrance ritual.  In this ritual, Saint Paul says that the Corinthians are not just recalling some event which happened a long time ago.  Instead, the remembering is a participation in the singular event of the Last Supper and the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Finally, the elements of which they participate are identified as the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, signifying the new covenant which Jesus has forged with God.

            This is exactly what we will do in a few minutes, depending on how long I go on and on.  We will take gifts of bread and wine, along with the gift of our sacrificial tithe.  In the name of this assembly, I will pray the Eucharistic Prayer, giving thanks, praising and thanking the Father for the sacrifice of Jesus made present in our liturgical remembering (in Greek, anamnesis).  Then, we will pray the Lord’s Prayer, exchange a sign of peace to signify our intention to be reconciled with one another, and I will break the consecrate Host, during the singing of the Lamb of God.  Finally, we will give the real presence of the Lord in the form of bread and wine, as we come forward singing the Lord’s praises as members of this Eucharistic Assembly.

            We recognize these four actions in the miracle of the multiplication of the five loaves and two fish in Saint Luke’s Gospel.  After the Twelve complained that it was impossible to feed a crowd of five thousand people with so little, Jesus takes the bread and fish, gives thanks to the Father for his faithfulness, breaks, and then feeds the entire crowd.  In feeding this crowd, Jesus is instituting a new exodus.  In the exodus from Egypt in the wilderness of Sinai, God fed the people with manna.  Manna was not to be kept, except on the Sabbath.  In this New Exodus, the leftover fragments are to be picked up and placed into twelve wicker baskets.  We, who are the Church built on the foundation of the twelve apostles, continue to be fed and connected through the Eucharist with the Paschal Mystery until the end of time. 

            Saint Augustine reminds us that we who are fed on the Body of Christ become the Body of Christ.  On this Solemnity of Corpus Christi, we give thanks for this greatest Mystery given to us.  We are also reminded of Abram’s response to the blessing of Melchizedek.  In gratitude, Abram gave a tithe of ten percent of his wealth to Melchizedek.  In his gift to us, Jesus Christ gives his entire self out of love.  We, the Body of Christ, can also give generously of ourselves in gratitude to those who need our assistance, nourished by the Lord’s self-giving gift on the cross.

 

THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

15 JUNE 2025

 

          Today’s Gospel speaks of a tender moment between Jesus and his disciples.  Jesus and his disciples know that things are tense for them in Jerusalem.  The authorities want to put an end to the work of Jesus, most likely in a violent manner.  This causes a shadow of worry to hang over the disciples.  They have so much more to learn, so much that they do not understand.  They want their relationship with Jesus to continue.

            Jesus acknowledges their concern and says, “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.”  He too wants the relationship to continue.  Over the three years they have traveled together, he has grown close to them because of who he is.  He is the Second Person of the Trinity.  He is God.  God is love.  Love is being in relationship.  As the Second Person of the Trinity, he promises to send the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit will come as the Spirit of Truth and will guide them to all truth.  The Holy Spirit will connect them with the Father, with whom Jesus and the Holy Spirit have an intimate bond.  His words fulfill the Book of Proverbs.  The wisdom of God is Trinitarian:  One God in three distinct Persons, an eternal exchange of love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.       

            Throughout the course of ninety days, we have entered more deeply into the saving action of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  We spent forty days preparing to renew our baptismal promises, knowing that we have failed to live them many times.  We spent three days in the Sacred Paschal Triduum celebrating the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Then we spent forty days rejoicing in the victory of the resurrection, culminating in the Mystery of the Ascension.  We completed the Easter Season last Sunday with the Feast of Pentecost, assuring us that the same Holy Spirit given to the original disciples is given to us.

            Today we reflect more deeply on the Mystery of the Trinity.  We attribute to the Father the work of Creation, to the Son the work of redemption, and to the Holy Spirit the work of sanctification.  But in making those distinctions, we become more aware that the Trinitarian God has been involved in all of those works.  As Saint Paul reminds us, we have been justified by faith and given the gift of peace.  Because of the action of the three Persons in One God, our faith allows us to boast in hope of the glory of God.

            Pope Francis has designated this Holy Year as a Year of hope, a virtue which we need desperately in our broken, fractured, and violent age.  Confronted with so much evil in the world and so many divisions, it is easy to give up and retreat into our safe places.  As Saint Paul says to the Romans, the wisdom of the Triune God allows us to boast of our afflictions.  No matter how heavy our crosses may become or how dark the way we must walk may appear, the wisdom of God remains in us a strong belief that our afflictions will produce endurance.  Saint Paul himself boasted of his afflictions, because they allowed him to endure so many obstacles in his travels.  His afflictions helped the persecuted Church in Rome to endure the persecutions and suffering with hope.  Saint Paul promises us that our endurance will produce proven character also.

            At the highest level of being, there is perfect love and absolute communion in three distinct and different Persons.  At our level of being, we know painfully well that we do not have perfect love and that our differences often cause divisions.  But, we cannot lose hope, which does not disappoint.  We have been created, redeemed, and sanctified so that we can eventually share the perfect love of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in eternity. 

 

 

PENTECOST SUNDAY

8 JUNE 2025

 

            Today we hear two different versions of the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Luke presents the Holy Spirit given to the disciples of Jesus on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, celebrated fifty days after the Passover.  Faithful Jews would travel from all around the Mediterranean Sea to celebrate the giving of the Law through Moses on Mount Sinai.  They would recall the display of God’s might in the strong driving wind.  They would speak of the signs of God’s presence in the burning bush calling Moses to lead his people out of slavery.  They would remember God leading his people through the desert in a pillar of fire.

            Saint Luke places the giving of the Holy Spirit on the fiftieth day after the Passover of Jesus from death into resurrected life.  Luke connects the giving of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem with the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.  The disciples are in one place where a noise like a strong driving wind fills the entire house.  Tongues as of fire appear and come to rest on each of them.  They receive the gift of the Holy Spirit that fulfills all the expectations of the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.  Instead of being unable to communicate at the Tower of Babel, they speak so that Jews of every nationality and language can understand them.  The gift of the Law had guided the twelve tribes of Israel in their passing in the desert from slavery into freedom. The gift of the Holy Spirit now guides all who have come to believe in the Lord’s passing from death into life.  It is the birthday of the Church, built on the witness of the twelve apostles. 

            In the Gospel, Saint John describes the giving of the Holy Spirit in a different way.  The disciples lock themselves in one place out of fear following the death of their friend and master.  On that first day of the week, the risen Lord has appeared to Mary Magdalene, who had come to the tomb in the darkness of that morning.  On that same day, he breaks through the locked doors in the darkness of the evening.  Instead of yelling at them for abandoning him in his darkest hour, he gives them the gift of peace.  Transformed in the resurrection, he shows them his hands and his side, bearing those same wounds of his crucified body.  When they recognize him, he gives them the gift of peace again.  Instead of a mighty wind, he breathes on them and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit.  He sends them out in the power of the Holy Spirit to give that same gift of peace and mercy to all whom they will encounter. 

            On this fiftieth day after we have celebrated the Passover over of Jesus Christ from death into life, we are given the same gift of the Holy Spirit.  As the Pentecost Sequence assures us, we too are connected with the Father of the poor to reach out to the poor.  In our labor, the Holy Spirit gives us rest in our labor, coolness in the heat, and solace in the midst of woe.  The Holy Spirit is truly our blessed light divine, healing our wounds, renewing our strength, and washing the stains of guilt away.  The Holy Spirit bends our stubborn hearts and wills, melts the frozen and warms the chill.  The Holy Spirit guides the steps that go astray.

            The Holy Spirit can accomplish these incredible actions through us if we are willing to surrender ourselves and be open to the Holy Spirit’s presence in our lives.  Jesus fulfills the Law of Moses by giving his entire life for us and by commanding that we love God and neighbor as ourselves.  That law is both very simple and very demanding, requiring the gift of ourselves in the service of others.  We can love others as Christ has loved us.  In the process, Christ loves us in living his law.  Ask anyone who has ever participated in a twelve-step program.  Despite our weakness, our brokenness, and our attraction to sin, we can do this!  But we can do it only in surrendering to the power of the Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit.  Fill the hearts of the faithful.

 

THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD

1 JUNE 2025

 

          Today we hear two accounts of the Ascension from Saint Luke.  In the second account we heard, Saint Luke brings his Gospel to its conclusion.  He has given his account of passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He has described the scene at the empty tomb when the two men dressed in white ask the women, “Why do you seek the living one among the dead?”  He has told us of the two disciples who encountered the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus and how they have recognized him in the breaking of bread.  He has described the meals eaten by disciples with the risen Lord after his resurrection.  Now he leads his disciples out to Bethany, as Moses had led his people out of slavery and into freedom.  He is taken up to heaven away from their midst.  They return to Jerusalem with great joy.  Saint Luke’s Gospel account of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord and Savior, is now complete.

            Saint Luke’s other account of the Ascension is what we heard as the first reading today.  It is the beginning of his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles.  He tells us that the risen Christ has been physically present to his apostles for forty days.  This symbolic number indicates that there has been a sufficient period of time to prepare those who had witnessed the Easter event for the mission of the Church.  He reminds them of the kingdom of God which he has established and tells them to wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  Prompted by the Holy Spirit, the work of the Church will begin.  Then he is taken from their sight.

            The Ascension is an integral part of the Paschal Mystery, along with the death of Jesus Christ, his resurrection, and the sending of the Holy Spirit.  This Paschal Mystery is at the heart of everything we believe as Christians.  A mystery is a reality that we cannot fully understand.  That is why artistic representations of mystery can be helpful.  An interesting painting of the Ascension pictures the twelve apostles looking intently up to heaven.  There, the physical body of Jesus has disappeared in a cloud, symbolic of God’s mysterious presence.  However, the apostles can see the feet of Jesus, with the wounds of the nails of his crucifixion clearly present.  Although Jesus is taken up to heaven to reign in glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, he is present to us.  We are invited to walk with him on our feet to share his majesty and power and to go eventually to where he has gone.  That is why those same two men dressed in white ask a similar question, “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky?”  They are assuring the apostles that the Lord will be present to them, and that they should walk with him as they wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to begin the work of the Church.  They are the Body of Christ, sharing Christ’s power and glory.  But, that power is not like the power of the rulers of this earth.  The rulers of this world rely on force and other intimidating methods to secure their power.  It is the power of the crucified and risen Lord, supporting their efforts to exercise the power of love as humble servants.

            The risen Lord is present to us, who are his Body.  He is truly present to us in the Sacramental life of the Church.  He speaks to us in the Word we have just heard.  He feeds us with his Body and Blood in this Eucharist.  He sends us out of this Church to walk with him and reveal the presence of his kingdom in the humble ways we share in his power and glory.  Like those first apostles, we wait for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit next Sunday on the Solemnity of Pentecost.  If we are open to this new outpouring of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, then we too can produce good fruits in a world that badly needs them.