Homilies

Let me begin with a comment on the liturgical calendar. It is easy for us to think about the Advent-Christmas cycle where we encounter the mystery of God becoming a human being in Jesus Christ. We see Jesus give up his life for us during Lent and raised from the dead at Easter. With the Ascension and Pentecost, our Lord returns to heaven and sends the Holy Spirit among us, giving birth to the Church...
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If you have ever read a story to a youngster, you know that often he or she already knows the story, and how it will end.  The child in your lap is not looking for information, as much as comfort and togetherness with you the storyteller.  At times, to draw the experience out, when the story ends the child will ask...

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The Jews have a prayer called the “Shema”.  It’s as common to them as the Our Father is to a Christian or the Hail Mary to a Catholic.  It goes, “Shema, Israel, Adoni, AlahenU.  Adonie, Echod.”  And that’s all of the Hebrew I know.
            It means, “Listen, Israel, The Lord is God, The Lord…. Is ONE.”

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In whom do you find your identity, in a world climate that presents the most extreme identity politic?  Archbishop Sample addresses this with the Confirmandi, reminding them that they are the beloved son, the beloved daughter of the one true God.

Watch the full homily here >>>
(Please note: There is not printed script for this homily)
 

Today’s readings give us one of those examples where the Evangelists differ in historical facts.  John has Jesus breathing out the Holy Spirit upon the Disciples immediately upon appearing to them that first day…. While Luke has a similar appearance narrative, but reserves the Advocate’s release until after the Ascension, on the 50^th day… when the time for Pentecost was fulfilled.

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Happy Feast of the Ascension.  If you haven’t done so, take some time to meditate on our beautiful window of the Ascension… Just don’t do it now, during the homily.
Did you hear about the man who was given the honor of speaking to God directly…
 

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In our Gospel from John we heard the words of Jesus as he spoke to his disciples:
As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
He said that if we keep the commandments, we show that we love him.  Love is proven by deeds, not just words.  He also said:  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you.

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I’m sure you’ve all heard the story about the little old lady named Irene, who prayed to God every day, “Lord, let me win the lottery----I promise I’ll give (most) of it to the poor and to the Church… Just let me win the lottery Lord, and I’ll never ask for anything else.”  And so she prayed day after day, and lit lucky candles and prayed some more…. “Let me win the lottery Lord.”

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As many of you know, I grew up in the Mid-west on a family farm.  As a farmer, my father was an efficient man and would often spout off very profound common-sense kernels of wisdom, as only a farmer could.  Many of them, I will NEVER be able to share from the pulpit. 

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Did you ever have anyone tell you, “Oh don’t worry, it will all work out for the best?”

I HATE THAT!

I mean, let’s put it in perspective. What if…..

I woke up late in the morning… gotta speeding ticket while trying to hurry to work (already late… and even later after being pulled over.)

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Wouldn’t it have been great to have lived back in the Apostolic Times, and maybe even have been part of that communal life described in the Acts of the Apostles, who met in the Temple and broke bread together?  ...
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You know, Palm Sunday must be the Most Schizophrenic Feast of the Church Calendar.  I mean, it starts out with triumphant acclamations and then degenerates into a bloody execution. 

We start by joyfully singing “Hosanna, Hosanna, All hail the King of the Jews”… and end up cruelly crying, “Crucify Him…Crucify Him…” 

And this happens every year. 

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Two weeks ago, Jesus offered living water to the Samaritan woman, and last week, he told us He was the Light of the World and gave sight to a man born blind.  And this week, He tops every other thing that He has done in his human life, in raising Lazarus from the dead.  Let’s take a look. 

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How many of you are Indiana Jones fans?  The last movie that came out is a little weak, but some of the first few from the 80’s are classics.  The Raiders of the Lost Arc is of course the most popular, and it was followed by “The Last Crusade”, in which Indiana Jones is in search of the Holy Grail with his cantankerous father...

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This Sunday, we leave behind Mark’s Gospel and turn to St. John for a story that is NOT in the Synoptics.  It is recommended especially for parishes with catechumens who will be baptized at Easter, and it’s a good reminder for all of us who will be renewing our baptismal vows at that time as well.  So, let’s look at why.  READ FULL TEXT HERE

This Sunday Fr summarize the Readings and introduced the Archbishop's Appeal Video.  Both are recorded to the right.

On the Second week of Lent, the Church always offers us the story of the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor from the Synoptics. This week, Mark has more than one sentence to offer us. And from the clouds, as at the Baptism, we hear
God say again, "This is my Beloved Son...."  To read more Click Here
 

The lectionary of Mass Readings is on a 3-year cycle.  Each year features one of the synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark, or Luke.  They are very similar in many respects and tell a lot of the same stories of Jesus’s life.  And each year, the first Sunday of Lent tells us the story of the Temptation of Jesus in the Desert, just as He is starting His ministry. 

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Medical advances in the past hundred years or so have made leprosy more or less obsolete.  You rarely hear of a case, and even if it happens, it’s easily cured.  But, of course, that was not the case in ancient times.  Leprosy was the scourge of the planet, slowly gnawing away at skin and limb...

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I want you all to search deep in your memory banks and try to remember your childhood.  This will be easier for some of you than for others.  How many of you remember... Winnie the Pooh?  You know, the loveable plump little honey bear, who was the friend of Christopher Robin.  And do you also recall Pooh’s Pal, the donkey, Eeyore?
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We’re all familiar with the old DC comic characters Batman and Robin; The millionaire Bruce Wayne and his trusty ward Dick Grayson, who at the beckoning of the Bat Beam sent out by the Police Commissioner, Gordon, would slide down the Bat Pole into the Bat Cave where they parked the Bat Mobile and then whisk away to fight crime and corruption, and save Gotham City.  
     
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The common thread in Today’s readings seems to be Responding. 

The Ninevites respond to Jonah’s message by putting on sackcloth and ashes. 

The Apostles respond to Jesus’s call by abandoning their nets and leaving even their father behind. 

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In today’s Gospel from Mark, John is administering a baptism of repentance at the Jordan River.  When Jesus came to John, Matthew tells us that he protested, saying, “I need to be baptized by YOU, and yet, you come to me.”  And we may wonder also, Why would the sinless Christ, need to be baptized?  READ MORE