Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24

2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15

Mark 5:21-43

Our readings today-most especially our Old Testament reading and our Gospel for today- speak to one of the most fundamental truths of the Christian faith, and that is that death was never originally in God's will. The passage from the book of Wisdom reminds us that God didn't create death for humanity, he made man to be imperishable, that is not to die. God made man in his own image, and originally this didn't include death. Death entered the world as a consequence of sin. Indeed, all evil entered the world as a consequence of sin and the fall of humanity. God warned Adam and Eve what the consequence would be if they disobeyed Him, not because God is cruel, but because God is Holy. Sin can't live in the presence of God. The very definition of sin is "the willful transgression or disobedience of God or His laws."

We are delivered from original sin by virtue of our baptism, but that doesn't mean we are free from the consequences of original sin, and that means that death is a reality for the human race until the Lord returns and history is brought to its consummation. However, in the Gospel we are given the ultimate antidote to the reality of death that we inherited from our First Parents. Jesus Christ came, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, to give us victory over sin and death. This was the reason Our Lord came, and it was the reason He died for us, and the reason that he rose again. He died in atonement for our sins, but he did so that we might have victory over our sins. He wants us to be in Heaven with Him, and in His death and Resurrection, He provides us with the means whereby we can restore a right relationship with God, and our sins be forgiven.

In the Gospel we see that Christ is the Lord of Life who has power over life and death. The woman afflicted with hemorrhages (or as some translations render it, the issue of blood- meaning that she had parts of her body or sores that had been constantly bleeding for years) believed in faith that Jesus could heal her, and she was so convinced that that she thought that all she needed to do was touch the hem of His garment, a small part of his clothes, and that would be enough. We hear all kinds of television preachers today preaching a "name it and claim it" false Gospel of prosperity. This woman was living the real "name it and claim it." She was healed because she believed that Jesus was who he said he was, and she trusted that he had the power to heal her. Jesus' very response tells us that this woman's faith is what has brought about her healing.

Our Lord has told us in Scripture that his power to heal is as much about forgiveness of our sins as it is about physical healing. Remember the paralytic man whose friends dropped him through the roof so that he could have an encounter with Jesus? (cf. Mark 2:1-12) What was Jesus' initial response? At first, it wasn't to heal the paralytic, it was to announce to him and to the people around him that his sins were forgiven. People then accused Jesus of blasphemy because only God had the power to forgive sins. Jesus shows us that the power of forgiveness was far more important than physical healing. But he knew that many of the people thought he was doing something that only God could do, and they were right, so he told the paralytic "so that you may believe that the Son of Man has power on Earth to forgive sins, rise, take up your bed, and walk." The healings of Our Lord were to show that he had the power to forgive and the power to make us whole and he has that power today, even if we don't always experience physical healing. The Lord wants to bring us spiritual healing through the Sacraments, and he wants us to be open to receive those Graces.

Then there was the daughter of Jairus, the synagogue official. Jairus believed that Jesus could heal his daughter, likely because he had seen or heard the evidence of Jesus' healings of others, but when Jesus learned that the little girl had died, he said "she isn't dead she's only sleeping," and he was roundly mocked. But he went in and he raised the little girl from the dead. Christ showed that he had power even over life and death, something that only God has. Because Our Lord rose from the Dead, he can give us victory over death. 

Unless we happen to live to see the Lord return, we all have an appointment with death, but it doesn't have to be the end for us. Just as the Church's funeral liturgy tells us, in death we know that "life is changed, not ended." Christ wishes to give us the rewards of Eternal Life, he wishes to restore God's plan for all of humanity that was taken from us because of Original Sin.

There is only one catch… we have to live a life for the Lord, we have to keep His commandments, because salvation and victory over death can be given to anyone, but ultimately it is given to those who choose it. The choice is a very clear and stark one… we can have "the pleasures of sin for a season," we can live consumed by worldliness and the things of this world which are passing away, and God will honor that choice, and it will be our Eternal choice… Or we can reject a life of sin and worldliness and the things which pass away and win victory over death and an Eternity with God. The choice is really up to us.

Have You No Fear of God?

Because of the nature of the material in this particular post, it is likely that I need to begin the post by reminding my readers and what is posted on this blog is my view on what is happening in the Church today, although this opinion is firmly rooted in the established teaching of the Catholic Church, and I'm about to restate that teaching as part of this post.

This past Thursday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops voted by an overwhelming margin to draft a document on what is called Eucharistic cohesion, basically it will be a document reminding Catholics about the Church's teaching on what is required in order to receive the Holy Eucharist. It is widely expected that as part of that document there will be a reminder that public figures who openly support and promote abortion should not receive the Eucharist, since the Church teaches very clearly that abortion is murder, and that if a public figure is going to openly promote abortion and pass laws which not only keep it legal, but actually encourage the practice, to receive the Eucharist under the circumstances is to endanger their soul.

In response, more than sixty Democrats who also claim to be practicing Catholics signed a letter demanding that the Bishops not interfere with their "right" to receive Holy Communion, and they said that the Bishops should not "weaponize the Eucharist." Every one of these people are also public supporters of abortion on demand. In drafting such a letter, these individuals have shown us that no one is threatening to weaponize the Eucharist but them. 

Among the many responsibilities of Bishops, the most important is to be a teacher of the Catholic faith and to hand on the deposit of faith as it was handed on to them. The bishops are the successors of the apostles, and thus have a duty to uphold Catholic teaching. Furthermore, a bishop is the Supreme liturgist in his diocese, and he is ultimately the one in charge of the conferral of the sacraments. He determines who receives the sacraments and who does not. Signing a letter to bishops attempting to tell them not to deny you the sacraments while you tell them that you are going to obstinately remain in opposition to Church teaching in a public way is not a good idea. It is, in fact, an invitation to be denied the Sacraments. 

These people believe that they should be able to receive the Eucharist while acting in public opposition to the Church on a moral issue of such gravity that if a Catholic woman receives an abortion with full knowledge and consent of the will, she is excommunicated laetae sententiae, that is by the very commission of the act. (CIC 1398) Now yes, if the same woman comes to the Church repentant, and, as are many women are in that situation, confused and frightened, the Church has made a way to easily lift that penalty for the good of souls, because the mercy of Christ is truly boundless. Nevertheless, excommunication is still the highest penalty that the Church can levy on any Catholic, and that is the penalty for knowingly procuring an abortion or assisting in one. Yet the "Catholics" who signed this letter somehow believe that they are above that, that those who procure or assist in abortions can be excommunicated while they ought to be able to receive the Eucharist with impunity while they not only tolerate legal abortion, many of them are promoting legislation, funding schemes, and organizations which promote and even encourage abortion. The executive actions of our current President have done more to promote abortion than any President in my lifetime (even the one under which he served as Vice President, and Obama's promotion of abortion was bad enough), but he can go to Mass next weekend and receive the Eucharist and not face any ecclesiastical sanction, while the young woman who takes advantage of the abortion funding that Mr Biden has promoted could face laetae sententiae excommunication if she willingly receives an abortion.

It is not weaponizing the Eucharist to demand accountability in one's faith and sacramental life. If you are a public figure, you cannot promote the taking of the most innocent human life as a matter of public policy and not expect to be called on the carpet by your co-religionists, and ideally by your religious leaders. 

Since the First Century the Church has condemned abortion. The Didache, which is the earliest manual of Church order that we know of, gives the instruction to the earliest Christians (Didache Chapter 2):

"[Y]ou shall not murder a child by abortion, nor kill that which is begotten."

The Church's teaching is clear, yet these public officials persist in their opposition to that teaching and at the same time believe that despite their public promotion of abortion, they should simply be able to receive the Eucharist as if they've done nothing wrong.

Then there is this piece of work from California Congressman Ted Lieu:

Congressman Lieu appears to be in dire need of a corrective session on Catholic teaching from his bishop, who just happens to be the current President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles. Obviously, I can't make Archbishop Gomez have a little teaching conference with Congressman Lieu, that's up to the Archbishop to do... However, I am in a perfectly good position to explain to the Congressman that it is possible that he could be denied Communion, and because of the posture he is taking, Archbishop Gomez would be perfectly justified in denying it to him. He is not merely engaging in personal sin, he has chosen with his statement to publicly engage in obstinate defiance of Church teaching and authority. That is perfectly good justification to deny someone the Eucharist unless and until they repent of such obstinate defiance.

Sanctioning Congressman Lieu for this behavior is entirely up to his bishop, that would be the case even if the USCCB drafted a very specific document on the subject that was extremely clear about this problem... It is still a matter for the local bishop to handle. However, it is most important to be reminded of just why many of our bishops feel the need to have a discussion about this issue and draft a document about it that explains the circumstances under which a person should and should not receive Holy Communion, and which could make it clear that those who publicly promote abortion should not receive Holy Communion.

We have come to this discussion and this place because these supposedly "good Catholics" are refusing to be honest with us or with themselves. If you proclaim yourself a Catholic, one of the things you are supposed to profess as a matter of dogmatic Truth is that the Eucharist (Holy Communion) continues to have the outward appearance of bread and wine, but that when the elements are consecrated they become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. The Lord gives us His flesh to eat (cf. John 6:32-58). Secondly, to receive Holy Communion is both Communion with God and with the Body of Christ, the Church. In addition to receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, Holy Communion is an outward and visible sign not only of that belief, but of unity of faith. If you receive Holy Communion you are saying with your amen that you believe what the Church teaches, that you are in Communion with the Church. If you are not in a state of grace, you should not receive Holy Communion. If you are persistently, publicly, and obstinately opposed to a fundamental aspect of the Church's teaching such as the sanctity of human life at all stages, you most definitely should not be receiving Holy Communion, because in the most literal sense of the word you are not in communion with the Church or what she fundamentally holds to be true. If you are receiving Holy Communion under those circumstances, you are not being honest with yourself and you're certainly not being honest with those around you. When you receive Holy Communion, with your "Amen" you are saying "so be it," or "I believe," while you are literally telling the world in public statements that you don't believe.

This is not a partisan critique. I can think of two cases, one Republican (former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge) and one Democrat (former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius) who each got "the talk" from their local bishop about this issue during their political careers. To my knowledge, both of them respected the bishop's judgment that they should not receive Holy Communion until they had reconciled with the Church on this issue of abortion.

Of course that would be the right thing to do, to be honest with yourselves, with your fellow Catholics, and with your constituents. If you are so persistently and obstinately opposed to the Church on an issue upon which the Church has not changed since the first century, why on Earth would you receive Holy Communion if you really believe what we are supposed to believe about what- about Who - the Eucharist actually is? Respect for your own beliefs would demand that you did not receive Holy Communion, unless you are using that belief system or the Eucharist (or both) as a political prop, and if that is the case, may God have mercy on your souls...

Considering the poor state of catechesis in many places in our country today, it is always possible that some of the people on that list of signatories to the "letter to the bishops" were not aware of the Church's teaching regarding the Eucharist, or what constitutes worthy reception of Our Lord in the Eucharist. Let us all be reminded of the words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29:

For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.

It should be noted here that the majority of the 11th chapter of 1st Corinthians is devoted to correcting those who have disrespected the Eucharist.

Holy Communion is not a right, it is a gift. Specifically, it is a gift from Christ to the Church, not from the Church to individual members. If you are doing things which willfully promote grave or mortal sin (and certainly something which can excommunicate your brothers and sisters in the faith), this is also grave, and that would include not merely upholding existing law, but promulgating new laws which encourage, fund, and even promote abortion and other manifest public and apparent sin. 

If you publicly and willfully believe in things which are utterly contrary to the most basic teachings of the Catholic faith, the best thing you can do for yourself and the good of your own soul, as well as the good of your brothers and sisters in the faith, is to abstain from receiving Holy Communion unless and until you can reconcile your beliefs with what the Church teaches. 

Note that I am not telling you that you aren't Catholic or that you should not come to Mass and worship with us. I am saying that if you are not in Communion with the Church, you should not receive Holy Communion.

If someone knows that their beliefs are not in Communion with the Church, and they persist in receiving the Eucharist anyway under those circumstances, then it is fair to ask: Have you no fear of God? Do you have no belief in the Judgment of God? Do you have no respect for Jesus who died for you? This debate persists in the Church because some people persist in this public display of dishonesty about what they believe.

It doesn't have to be that way. As an act of love and charity, I beg of those who persist in these public errors: If you don't believe, don't receive.

A Farewell Reflection From the Parish

 Here is a reflection on thankfulness for his that I wrote for Father Patrick's farewell gathering yesterday. It was the most well-attended such parish gathering I have ever been to, which I think goes to show how much Father Patrick is respected, appreciated, and loved. He has earned that adulation because he literally emptied himself for the sake of Holy Trinity Parish... I am given to understand that it was given to him on behalf of the parish yesterday.

We have to ask ourselves: how does one say "thank you," other than to say "we are thankful."

We are thankful to God for the time and the energy that you didn't have, but you gave for the good of the parish anyway.

We are thankful to the Lord for all the times we called on you to bring us comfort, to anoint us, to bring us the Eucharist, and you were there.

We are thankful to God for the time and effort you gave to ensure that the people of our parish have been taught the Catholic faith. Because you cared about our souls, we are a better people and a better Parish.

We are thankful to God for the parish missions which you brought to us. Because you wanted us to know our faith, you brought us some of the finest Catholic missioners to be found anywhere.

We are thankful to God for the Eucharistic devotion you have brought to our Parish. Greater devotion to the Eucharist makes us better followers of the Lord Jesus. You wanted us to be better followers of the Lord Jesus, and so you brought more of Jesus to us.

We are thankful to the Lord for your undimmed pro life witness. You gave witness every month to the reality that every life is precious, no matter how small, and your willingness to be present at Cherry Street every month showed that to the world. We are thankful you supported the pro-life efforts of Holy Trinity with such devotion.

We are thankful to God that you loved our Parish so much that you even gave to it. Our collection of blue Saint Michael hymnals came from you. We have a gift we will use for some years to come because you cared enough to give it.

We are thankful to God that you have insisted upon proper liturgy and right worship. Because of your zeal for the Lord's House, our priests and deacons will wear beautiful vestments for years to come. Because of this zeal, you reminded us of what worship due to the Most High God is supposed to look like. Because of your persistence, our liturgies look like Catholic worship, not a Sunday version of Woodstock. Most importantly, you reminded us that worship is about Jesus, not about us.

You have been with us for a short time, but you have left us something priceless in the time you have been here. You have left us a spiritual legacy, and for that we are thankful to God.

Five Years

I have been feeling under the weather this week, so in an effort to recover so that I could keep my liturgical and parish schedule for the weekend, I didn't post yesterday on what would have been the fifth anniversary of my ordination. What few of you follow this blog regularly already know that it is customary for me to post something regarding that anniversary when it falls. I may be a day late and a dollar short (I'm usually a dollar short anyway), I do have a few things on my mind.

In reflecting this week on 5 years of ordained Ministry, there has been a scripture in my head which has repeatedly come to mind... Micah 6:8

He has showed you, O man, what is good;

    and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice, and to love mercy,

    and to walk humbly with your God?

If it can be said that there is one verse in the Bible which encapsulates what the entire Christian life is about from the perspective of someone who is already a believer, I have long thought that it is  this verse. Furthermore, I would go so far as to say that this verse also is a one verse description of what the diaconate is all about. The deacon is an icon of Christ the Servant, and the very essence of Christ's Ministry was the bringing of Justice and the loving of Mercy. 

It is often said by some theologians and others that the ministry of the deacon is to be a bridge (pontiff) between the people of God and the ministry of the altar, or the institutional Church. Normally I would be inclined to say that this is a very simplistic way of looking at the ministry of the deacon, since deacons are members of the clergy and are part of the hierarchy, and are thus intertwined with the very institution from which they are supposed to be a bridge to the people. However, the oversimplicity of this description does not necessarily mean that it is entirely wrong.

I have found that there are plenty of people who do, in fact, approach the deacon first on any number of pastoral issues, or even liturgical questions. This is most especially true when the issues involve marriage or family life. People often believe - sometimes correctly and sometimes mistakenly - that they will be able to talk to the deacon a bit more freely than they can speak to their Parish priest. I have been married for 18 years and have two young children, so it's easy to see why some parishioners might think they can speak more readily to me about family issues, I have to deal with some of the same ones that they do. 

One of the great joys of ministry personally for me is when parishioners ask me for a blessing, or to bless their holy reminders or holy objects. I will freely admit that I am an absolute "ham" for doing this... The reason is not because I like to draw attention to myself. (In reality, I have found that the longer I'm simply involved in Ministry, the less attention I draw to myself, and I prefer that.) Instead, I love to bless sacramentals because these holy items can be used to bring God's Grace to people in their prayers and remembrance, and I am deeply humbled and grateful to God that I am allowed to play some tiny role in helping to bring His peace and Grace to others in that way. 

Although there are many blessings to ministry as a deacon, another great personal blessing for me has been the fraternity of my brother deacons. Deacon Don Griffith and his wife Patty are the Godparents to my oldest daughter, and they and their family are fine examples, the kind of people you want your children to look at and be able to say to them "this is what a good Catholic ought to look like." I have developed wonderful friendships with many of the brothers I went through formation with, from Deacon Don and Deacon Steve Helmbrecht, who were in formation with me from the same deanery, to Deacon Scott Maentz (who is my infamous beer and conversation buddy, and on those all too rare occasions when I see him), Deacon Tom Tidwell, Deacon Steve Ratterman, Deacon Butch Feldhaus, and others too numerous to mention here, I fear if I continue to mention people I will leave too many more out.

The fellowship of Brothers is so important in Ministry, but one of the great difficulties with this is that I have found that we simply don't get to see one another very often when we actually get into the meat of life doing Ministry in the in the midst of the Church. That reality has been exacerbated, I think, by the recent pandemic, when so many things we might have done were canceled or put on hold.

I am most thankful for the support of parishioners, and the support of my wife, without whom I wouldn't be able to do this. Some wives of deacons like to be way out front, either participating directly in a part of their husband's Ministry where the world can see, or sometimes having a public apostolate of their own. I think that those are wonderful things, but my wife has always been more intent to lead from behind the scenes. She has never liked public attention, and she runs from it like the plague. There are so many ways in which she is my polar opposite, and I think that's probably what made us a good match for each other. In private, however, she will tell me exactly what she thinks, even if it is not always what I want to hear. Much of the ministry that I am able to do I'm able to do because she takes to make sure that all of my i's are dotted and t's are crossed. Some of you know that I don't drive, and in East Tennessee that often means that I rely on my wife to get me where I need to be when I need to minister to other people... So when people tell you that your wife's support for Ministry is necessary, I am living proof of that. Without my wife's support, it would simply have been impossible for me to serve.

But I am grateful that God has given me the opportunity, and every year that passes I will continue to be thankful.

Reflection on the departure of a Pastor

Our parish officially received the news over the last couple of weeks that our pastor, Father Patrick Resen, is retiring. Father Patrick said in a bulletin column that he really didn't want to leave, but that his body is telling him that it is time to retire. A few parishioners have known for a few weeks because word got leaked when Father Patrick took vacation a few weeks back that he was headed to West Texas. Father is from El Paso, and he took a journey there, and some of us knew that part of this journey was to lay the groundwork for a more permanent move. Father Pat didn't go telling everyone what was happening, but a few of us knew, although promising not to tell, of course, until the news became official...

In reality, I have known for some time that this day was coming. Father had shared with me and a few select others quite some time ago that he believed that Holy Trinity would be his last Parish. I have watched him deal very bravely with the ups and downs of priestly life and Parish life over the last five years that we have served together while observing that it was taking an obvious toll on his body. When you are in that situation, you have to understand what your limitations are, and I certainly could grasp that, since I have to deal with exercising ministry while dealing with a disability as well as trying to raise a family at the same time. 

Father Patrick has been at Holy Trinity for seven years, and in many ways it's a very different Parish than it was when he arrived, much for the better. He has insisted on a liturgical praxis which follows the rubrics of the Church, which means that someone who visits from elsewhere (and we have a lot of those from time to time) won't have to expect any surprises, it's a liturgy done by the book. He has also introduced monthly Eucharistic adoration and benediction at the parish level. It is my hope and prayer that in the future this practice will be extended to more than once a month. Many parishes have perpetual adoration. I don't think we are quite to that level yet (for we are a small country Parish whose members are quite spread out), but I do think that there is a greater interest in Eucharistic devotion, and I believe that leading Eucharistic Benediction from time to time has helped make me a better deacon. I think that devotion to the Eucharist is extremely important in the life of any member of the clergy, but certainly in the life of a deacon.

Father Patrick also demonstrated an openness that can be hard to find. When the McCarrick scandal broke and the stories of yet more depravity in the very depths of the Church was revealed yet again, Father Patrick's letter to parishioners reached out, and his secular background as an attorney, law professor, and judge allowed him to explain the legal as well as ecclesiastical and moral issues at play in a pastoral way that perhaps few could ever have done. His monthly "Ask the Pastor" clergy sessions opened the floor to parishioners to ask any questions they might wish. I enjoyed participating in them whenever I had the opportunity. 

Most of all, I have found him to be a friend I could rely on to talk about issues relating to the ministry and to life in the Church in a way that it was difficult to share with others. Perhaps this is because I came to see that we viewed the Church and the world in a very similar light, and it can be hard to find others who see things so similarly to you that you can speak to them freely about your thoughts, especially about ecclesiastical matters and affairs. This doesn't mean that we saw eye to eye all the time (we often did, but not always), but because I came to understand how Father Patrick thinks, I found myself better able to anticipate what he would ask of me, especially at the altar. I also came to see how under-appreciated Father Patrick often is, because so many parishioners did not see how much he has literally worn himself to the bone for the good of the Parish. 

Thus far, 2021 has been a year of some surprise and certainly of some loss. I've had a number of friends pass away over this past year and a half since COVID-19 began, in many cases people that I have known for a very long time but not seen for many years. Over the last couple of weeks my Dad passed away. Now, our parish is about to lose our pastor and we will undergo a time of transition, I am sure. We will have a new pastor beginning July 1st, Father Jim Harvey. Father Harvey will need our prayers, help, and support as he transitions to a very different environment. I look forward to serving him as best I can and helping him along the way in the very best way that I can.

Our faith is a gift from the Lord. For priests and deacons, the Ministry that we are blessed with is also a great gift, a Sacrament to remind us to help lead others to the Lord Jesus. It is at times such as this that I am reminded that the opportunities that we have to serve and minister to others are fleeting, and we need to make the most of them. I am deeply grateful for the example and Ministry of Father Patrick Resen, as well as for his role in my life as a deacon as friend, pastor, and confidante. I pray that I am able to be as much of a servant and confidant to future pastors as he has been to me. As he prepares to leave us at the middle of this month, I do not know when, or whether ever, I will see him again in this life. We have always said to each other that we will limp into Heaven together one day. May the Lord help me to get there. We can enjoy a drink together and assist in the Heavenly Liturgy.

Pray not only for priests who are holy, but for priests who live to strive to be.