March 23, lent 3 Homily Prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 4:00 PM, 8:00 AM and 12:30 PM on Sunday

Do you renounce Satan and all his empty show?

March 16 video Homily prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30 and 9:30 and 12:30

Have you rejected Satan, and all his works?

Do you reject Satan?-Sunday, March 9 prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30 sat and 11:00am Sunday

Do you reject Satan?

Homily Prep March 2

 -This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
 -I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30, 8:00, 6:00pm.

Servants of Who?

Servant of the "Self". It may be just my perception rather than a fact but the message I hear in the public square is constantly saying that simply obeying the law (avoid hurting other individuals) makes us virtuous, paying taxes (with all of our legal deductions) is an unjust burden of having to care for the lazy poor, and being tolerant (no hate crimes) is the highest form of civility(being a good neighbor)

There's a few obvious problems with this.  One, it has resulted in a distorted sense of what it means to be human, especially in the young. Two, it is an understanding of goodness or morality(civility) that is imposed upon us - not chosen by us out of devotion to our beloved citizenship.  Three and most troubling, it has produced a very low functioning "collective" of individuals we call society. The participants int this collective busy themselves with adoration of broken heroes (that make us feel good about ourselves), celebration (with religious devotion and fervor) our annual "high holy days” of Superbowls and shopping frenzies, excitement in almost weekly fads (to dull our sense of loneliness) - all with an almost schizophrenic demand that the world "leave me alone"(privacy).

That's apparently who human beings are in American society.  Servants of the "self".  At least that is what our behavior and story line says. This Sunday's scripture call us to be something very different: the Servants of Christ.

In contrast to the worldly servants of the "self", the servants of Christ are formed into their identity by living with and among a community(not a collective of individual isolates), a living organism, a body, whose mutually dependent members (not privacy-demanding paranoiac's)  are dedicated to God our creator and redeemer as the beginning, center, and goal of life. What we learn from these children of God is that obeying the law is simply the beginning of righteousness (which is the cause of holiness), paying taxes is what others can demand of us and ultimately is all about our our survival ( having very little to do with our need to give ourselves away for the sake of love and the least), and tolerance is not loving at all and it is to be applied only to the unavoidable pain and losses of life so that through those, the wisdom of our Suffering Saviour, can increase in our hearts and minds.

As with the servants of the "self "in our society, there are a few obvious problems with the storyline of the servants of Christ. A huge majority of Catholics (75%) live lives in the world and in relationship to the church that say that the communion of the faithful is not necessary for a full and happy life. Even more startling may be that some Catholics who regularly celebrate the holy Eucharist do so from under this worldly delusion  or storyline. Jesus has identified this worldly attitude of the self lived by religious people as that of the Pharisees. Remember, that his sermon on the mount of this Sunday's Scriptures was begun with "your righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees".

Which storyline is your life the product of? Which storyline is closest to your experience of church? Which story line is your life in the church communicating to the world?

Servants of who?

Homily Prep for February 23 - right?

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-his Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 4:00, 12:30, and 6:00pm

Is being right, righteousness? Don't think so.

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend on Sunday at 9:30 and 11:00am


Is Right Righteous?

I think we might be in for a big surprise this weekend with the call to be righteous.  I'm thinking that we won't be able to respond to the call because our society has basically forgotten what righteousness is. Our society has replaced the call to righteousness(which by the way means right with God and neighbor according to justice) with the insistence with simply always being "right". 

This idea of being "right" all the time is the manifestation of our society's loss of humility and a sense of personal sin.  People today pretty much strive to always see themselves as "right".  What I mean by right is that I can never admit to any fault, sin, or wrong.  So that endless television programs and radio talk show keep presenting to us this line of thinking...."according to my self-created standards, I haven't done anything that anybody else can judge as wrong. In fact, no one has the right to judge me at all."

The fancy word fo this societal rationale is relativism.  It is at work in our daily lives.  Everyone has decided that no one else is allowed to judge them for believing what they believe.  And everybody is allowed to do or say whatever they feel/determine is best for them at that time in their circumstances.  And even if other people don't like it, that doesn't make it wrong.  That just makes other people cranky and judgmental.   The mantra of this "rightness" is "Only God can Judge Me(by the way they have created their version of God so even God won't judge them".


A Pharisee was someone who had achieve a certain level of righteousness (right order with God and neighbor), someone who also took created for it.  Just another self-centered, God-imitator.  Jesus says that we ought to be minimally as righteous as the pharisee - but exceed that to give God the credit.  It is tough being someone who plays by the rules in a world where everyone else is changing the rules whenever it suits them. 

So Jesus is calling us and empowering us to recognize laws that come from God, obey them as they are interpreted by the Church, and live them in humility and service to other who have no clue or interest in God, obedience, faith, Church, humility or love of neighbor?  That is righteousness. 

Homily Prep 2/9

-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 4:00 Sat and 8:00am and 6:00pm Sunday

"Revelation is Re-creation" or "Show Your Stuff"

Do you know that we lose 10% of our muscle mass for everyday that we lay in bed?  We must exercise the muscles we have to preserve them for tomorrow. The point of the scriptures this week is "use it or lose it"

The disciples of Jesus and the people of God for that matter are taught to be what they are. A light.  In fact, be what they are by shining (through good works) and you will become more of what and who you are. So, revealing who we are as the children of God makes us more of who we are. Revelation is re-creation.

I hear two challenges for contemporary believers.

1. Many of us are not convinced we are light in The Lord. That's a believing problem. So, we have to hear again and believe.  So, a lack of spiritual "self-esteem" is causing us to atrophy. Fake it til you make it would. E the advice for this crowd. Shine AS IF you  are light and your wound will be healed.

 2. Many of us believe that we must do good works in order to become light in the Lord. That of course is backwards and problematic because it denies God's power in us and for us. God and grace precede us in everything. Rely on God even in blindness and you will see and be the light.

Any thoughts from your life?

January 19th Homily prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 9:30am and 6:00pm Sunday

I Did Not Know Him

Is it possible that those of us who claim to be the children of God, the members of the church, baptized Christians, like John the Baptist "do not know him"? How could John, who is so closely related to Jesus, claim twice in the Gospel text today that I "did not know him"?

I wonder if this all has something to do with this "familiarity breeds contempt"? What I mean is, that we finally realize at the latest revelation of who Jesus is that we have "not known him"?  That's a pretty honest and bold admission for those who are so presumably close to Jesus.

I wonder if this is not the danger of being a church person? Meaning isn't not possible that we have clung to some knowledge or impression of Jesus and operated out of that impression and only to find out now that we "do not know him"?
What do you think?

Baptism of The Lord - get it?

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30 Sat and 9:30 Sunday

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January 5 - the Epiphany

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email -
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 4:00 on Sat an 9:30 AM and 12:30 PM and the 6:00 on Sunday

Little Christmas

Back in Pennsylvania (where my parents grew up) my grandparents used to speak about "Little Christmas" or "Russian Christmas" which was typically January 6 the feast of the three Kings : The Epiphany of today. As I came to find out the ethnic groups from Europe brought to these little coal-mining towns the European custom of celebrating the Three Kings as Christmas or according to the Russian orthodox calendar. My grandmother always said that the Russian lady across the street always got her Christmas tree cheap because they celebrated Christmas two weeks late.

What does the feast of the three Kings, little Christmas, or epiphany hold for us. It is another Christmas "epi - phanie" = revealing to everyone. Do you see the star? Can you find the king? Are you looking still?

December 29th - Holy Family Sunday

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-Christmas homily was lost in space
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30 on Sat and 9:30 on Sunday

Perfect Family - Got One?

I'm thinking about the universal "neurosis" that I am thinking is the enemy to our good functioning and peace.....imperfect family/dysfunctional family grief.  The holy family is not a perfect family - in fact their family origins, relations, and agreed upon arrangement don't really fit into what I hear people longing for or the church recommending.

But the holy family has something better than family-systems psychology going for them.  They have their divine vocation dominant in their lives, consciousness, and daily living. To love god above all things and your neighbor as yourself is the divine vocation that drives them together and drives them through life unto death. No death bed regrets in the holy family. Why not? Because they all did what God was calling them to do before responding to what they might have preferred.

Think about the biggest sadness in your life. I'm thinking it is going to be the result of you or someone you loved or someone who was suppose to love you NOT doing what God was asking. That never happened in the holy family. Thus, no regrets.

The five regrets of the dying....all have to do with failing to do what God asks of us.

So, we can stop grieving over our imperfect families and stop insisting on perfect relationships in the family. Like the holy family we could start realizing that our joy will come in looking for God's will in our daily lives and striving to live it perfectly. The family relationships will fall into place. And then no regrets when it's over.

A new Spirituality. Want one?

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 4:00pm Sat and Sun 8:00am and 12:30pm

New Vision, a new morality, a new Feeling, and now a new Spirituality

Can this new vision that god has of your future be translated into a new habit of holiness?  Let's see!

December 15 Homily Prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass and preaching this weekend on Sunday at 11:00 AM and at 6:00 PM

Can you feel what's new in God's vision for you?

http://youtu.be/2VKxK2jTSFs

December 8 homily prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30 Sat eve and 9:30am Sunday

"What ought we to DO?"
"

Homily prep for Advent I, December 1, 2013

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 4:00pm on Sat and 11:00 on Sunday

What's New?

New York? New Jersey? New Vision of your life with God!

Click HERE to view homily prep Vlog

Video Homily Prep for Nov 24 - Christ the King

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30 on Saturday and 8:00am and 12:30pm on Sunday

To Where Does Your Suffering Lead Others?

Nov 17th Homily prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30 Sat, 11:00 am and 6:00pm Sunday

What is your suffering saying?

It is the manner of our suffering, the way we endure or persevere the tough stuff,  that speaks most loudly of our relationship to Jesus Christ.   "No whining on the yacht" is the classic line one of our parishioners has coined meaning that our complaining about discomfort is "oxymoronic" - doesn't make sense.   What our complaining does reveal is our level of or lack of connection to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

So, how's your suffering?  What is it revealing about your friendship with Jesus?  Or lack thereof?

November 10 video Homily prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 8:00 and 12:30

Do you have any resurrection in your Christianity?Click here

Nov 3 homily prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 9:30 and 12:30

Where are you looking for the encounter with Jesus? 

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October 27 video Homily Prep

-Last Sunday's homily is available by email
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at USCCB.org
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 4:00 Sat, 11:00am and 6:00pm Sunday

Where are you on the map? On which map?

Click HERE to see October 27 video prep