Homily for the First Sunday of Advent, 2021

Jeremiah 33:14-16

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13, 4:1-2

Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

If you are one of those who take the time to follow the daily readings of the Church each day (and I sincerely hope that you do) or you attend or watch daily Mass each day, you know that the readings this past week have taken on what can best be described as a kind of apocalyptic theme. We've been hearing the discourse of Jesus as described in the 21st chapter of St Luke's Gospel, which is Luke's account of Jesus' discourse to the disciples on the times of trouble that they would experience in their journey to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the Earth, and that the whole world would experience before the Lord's final return at the end of time as we know it. It's easy to see why the Church would direct us to those kinds of readings at the end of the liturgical year, because it's the end of the cycle that we use to mark sacred time, so at the close of the year the Church wants to draw our attention to the reality that the day will come when Jesus returns in glory and this world as we know it will also come to a close. 

When we hear the more apocalyptic passages in the Gospels at the end of the liturgical year, they also serve as a personal reminder to each of us that even if we don't live to see the end of days and the final return of Christ in our lifetime, it is a sure and certain reality that we will personally meet the Lord and stand before him, and we should always be ready for that moment, it could come any day, we do not know when, where, or how.

We've come now to the first Sunday of Advent, it's an entirely new Liturgical Year, and yet here we are on the first Sunday of Advent and the Church has us in Luke 21 again, with Jesus speaking near the end of that discourse reminding his hearers to pray for the perseverance to see their way through the various tribulations that they will have to undergo as his followers, and prepare to meet Him at any time.

We've just celebrated Thanksgiving (I'm still full!), and the secular world is already ramping up for Christmas. We can find twenty-four hours a day and 7 days a week Christmas music on our radios or our favorite music streaming app. We are currently living through one of the worst inflationary cycles I can remember in my lifetime, but that doesn't seem to stop the pursuit of holiday profit, or the obsession with many to make sure they have the right number of gifts or that everything is perfect for Christmas, and yet the Church is reminding us in our readings today that these worldly things with which we are concerned - things which are not sinful in and of themselves - can be made sinful when we make those things the purpose of this season or the purpose of our lives. Jesus is reminding us that as surely as we celebrate the first Advent and we begin to focus our minds on the reality of the Incarnation of the Son of God, that there is and will be a Second Advent, and that Advent will be the one when the Son of God returns in glory. The reason that Advent is a wonderful time to reflect on that reality is precisely because we need the reminder every year (and certainly this year) that the things of this world are passing things, we cannot take them with us at the end of this Life or at the end of all things.

It is easy for us to forget in our everyday world the reality of the end of life and of the end of things. We don't often tend to dwell on this because Jesus himself told us we did not know the day or the hour that he would return, and we are repeatedly warned in the New Testament for us to carry on our lives. Before the Ascension, when the Apostles asked the Lord if he was going to restore the Kingdom, the Lord's response was that it was not for us to "know the times and the seasons which the Father has under his own power." (cf. Acts 1:7)

It bears remembering, however, that at every Mass we proclaim the mystery of faith, and we say just as St. Paul did that when we partake of the Eucharist, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. You might even recall that some years back before our current Roman Missal came into use, we often proclaimed at the Mystery of faith the words "Christ has died, Christ is Risen, Christ will come again."

We don't know when that will be, but that is really the point. Whether it is our own death or the Final Consummation of things at the end of the age, all of us will someday meet the Lord face to face. In the end, at the Last Judgement, He will either tell us "well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master's house," (cf. Matthew 25:21) or he will say "depart from me you worker of iniquity, I never knew you." (cf. Matthew 7:21-23) 

Advent provides for us a very wonderful and special opportunity to truly deepen our relationship with Jesus who is God become Man. This truly wonderful season allows us to enter more deeply into the mystery not only of the Incarnation and the First Advent of Our Lord, but also the reality that he will return in glory, there will be a Second Advent of Christ, and even now the holy spirit is trying to prepare our hearts for that reality.

We can be open to that preparation, both to celebrate the Incarnation at Christmas and anticipate the Lord's return by looking for Christ amongst our neighbors. We know that this time of year there is need and want all around us, but especially this year when so many people are experiencing the effects of some very hard times in our country. Jesus asked his disciples "when the son of man comes, will he find faith on Earth?" We might also ask ourselves that if he came today, would Jesus find that we are spending our time going about the Lord's work, of spreading the Gospel, and loving and caring for our neighbor?

It's a wonderful time of year to renew our commitment to doing exactly that.

Homily for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 55:1-3

Romans 8:35, 37-39

Matthew 14:13-21

In today's Gospel we hear Matthew's account of Jesus' miraculous feeding of the 5000. One of the things that we know from the Gospel account is that Jesus actually was able to feed far more than 5,000 people that day, because Scripture tells us that there were five thousand men there, but they did not count women and children, and there were certainly women and children present, we can only guess at the actual number of people who were there that day and who were fed by this very important miraculous moment in the Life and Ministry of Our Lord.

Often, people will read the story of the feeding of the 5000 and see it as another manifestation of the Divinity of Christ, which it certainly is. While the Divinity of Christ is reiterated by yet another miracle, that is not the most important message of this event. The first message was one to the people who were present there, and one that speaks to us through time in the pages of Sacred Scripture, that this miracle of love for people who were not only physically hungry, but (far more importantly) they were spiritually hungry was a prefigurement of the Holy Eucharist, the feast of Thanksgiving where Christ provides for our spiritual needs by giving us himself.

The second message which Jesus is sending to us through time in the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 is a message that we need to hear today in a very special way, perhaps more than we have ever needed to hear it in our lifetimes, (certainly I have needed reminding of the other message of this miracle in my life). 

We are living in a time that can only be described as one of blinding uncertainty. A worldwide pandemic, brought on by a disease which the supposed "experts" cannot even agree on how best to treat or prevent. In the last six months we have seen our society grind to a halt, and even as we begin some semblance of reopening, nothing is normal. All we have to do is look around this church to see that. Many of our family members, friends, and neighbors have lost their jobs, and many more people are still unsure if they will have a way to provide for themselves in the near future. Even for those of us who have been relatively well provided for during this time in which we are living find that nothing is normal. We have to keep a distance from our neighbors, we have to wear masks to church, and we know that many people are afraid of whether or not they will catch the disease, and how it might affect their lives. 

In today's readings, however, the Lord is giving us a message of Hope. Yes, so many of us find ourselves in a situation that is so unclear, and for many it seems hopeless. Jesus was teaching and ministering to a huge throng of people, and the disciples didn't know what to do with them, they were ready to send them away because they knew they couldn't feed them. Jesus, however, had other ideas.

The solution of Jesus to the problem at hand was to do what only God can do, and Jesus is God… Our Lord provided for the obvious need of the people who were assembled there, even though doing so appeared impossible, but as Jesus himself said "with God all things are possible."

We are living in and through an extremely uncertain time, and many of us can honestly say that we do not know what tomorrow will bring. The Lord wants to remind us in all of the readings today that we can rely on him to provide what we need. Just when the situation may seem beyond our control, if we are truly willing to put our lives into the hands of God, he will provide for us, just in the way that Jesus provided for the 5000 and the women and children.

I do not recall a time in my lifetime when people were so fearful of their neighbors, or so afraid for themselves. In our country, we see great levels of civil unrest, and so much lawlessness now in many of our cities that it can rightly be called an uprising against legitimately constituted authority. Good people who are just trying to get on with their lives are afraid of what might happen to them, and many people are afraid of a virus with a 98% survival rate.

But Our Lord is showing us that he will provide for us. He will provide for us spiritually, and he will provide for our physical needs, but we have to believe in and trust in him. Just as he provided for the 5,000, he's ready to provide for us. He wants us to have faith that he can. Even now, he's reminding us, just as Saint John Paul II did, of what he told the disciples when they were in fear of their lives. "Be not afraid!"

About a year-and-a-half ago I recall that I joined Father Patrick up at Cor Jesu Monastery and assisted with Mass for the sisters. We deacons get used to doing things a certain way, and when preparing for the consecration I always pour roughly the same amount of wine in the chalice. On that particular day, Father had told me to fill the chalice up, since all of the sisters received from the one chalice, so what did I do when the time came to prepare for the consecration? I poured in my usual amount, and Father consecrated it. It was my mistake and I began to think we wouldn't have enough… yet miraculously not only did we have enough, all of the sisters partook of the chalice that day as they normally would. The Lord provided because the people had faith.

Jesus is ready and willing to provide for us and for our needs, if we are willing to submit totally to faith in Him. "All who are thirsty, come to the water," Isaiah says, "you have no money, come and receive grain and eat, without paying and without cost drink wine and milk!" The prophet asks, "why spend your money for what is not bread, or your wages for what fails to satisfy?" Jesus already gives us the very best because he gives us himself in the Eucharist. 

He wants to provide for our every need, all we have to do is to have faith that he can and understand that he knows what we need far better than we do.

Homily for the Third Sunday of Easter

Acts 2:14, 22-33
1 Peter 1:17-21
Luke 24:13-35

Today's Gospel is perhaps one of the most consequential in the New Testament aside from the 6th chapter of John. In this Gospel, we see two disciples of Jesus walking along the road to a town called Emmaus, moving away from Jerusalem. they were not aware that Jesus had risen from the dead, but they knew that Mary Magdalene and her companion had claimed to see Jesus alive. It wasn't something they were quite yet willing to believe, and alongside them on the road comes Jesus, and the Gospel account tells us that at first they did not recognize Him.


He asks them what they are talking about, and they want to know if he's the only person visiting Jerusalem that has no idea what's been going on there over the last week. So they proceeded to explain to Jesus about Himself, and they are going on about what had happened during Holy Week, and Jesus's response to this was to give them perhaps one of the greatest homilies ever conceived. We get a portion of it, but we know that it moved these men, because when they get to Emmaus to the lodging where they had planned to stay for the night, they invited Jesus to come in with them.


They still hadn't figured out who this man was, but they knew that there was something different about Him and the message that he was bringing to them, because rather than dreading what had happened over the last week, he had a message of hope, a message that told them they could trust that Jesus was the Messiah because he had to undergo the sufferings that he did. We are told that he opened the Scriptures to them, and that certainly let us in on the reality that we do not get in on all of this teachable moment, but we do get it a few critical bits and pieces.


These disciples invite the man that they do not realize is Jesus in to have supper and to stay with them, they extend hospitality to Him, a man who they believe to be a stranger at that point, so they are behaving in the way that disciples of Christ ideally ought to behave. Jesus doubtless saw the intent of their hearts when he went in with those men to that inn.


When I was growing up, if we had a dinner guest it was the custom in our home to ask the guest to say the Grace over the meal, and this was especially true if we knew that dinner guest to be a believer. It seems that our travelers were following that custom. When did the two disciples figure out that it was Jesus? When, and more importantly how, did Jesus make himself known? They recognized him, we are told, in the breaking of the Bread. This was a Eucharistic moment, and so it was in the Eucharist that these followers of Jesus recognized Him. After recognizing Jesus in the Eucharist, then these two disciples run back to tell the Apostles that they have seen the Lord themselves.


If we look at the whole incident as it is recounted in Scripture, we can even see a very rudimentary sketch, as it were, of the two major parts of the Liturgy. Jesus opens the Scriptures to these men, we are told that their hearts burned within them when he opened the Word of God to them. After doing this, Jesus made himself known to them in a Eucharistic way when they were at table, and so we can see the Liturgy of the Eucharist represented as well.


Their hearts burned within them when Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, and then they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread, and then he vanished from their sight.


Do our hearts burn within us when the Sacred Scriptures are open to us and we hear them? Do we yearn for the Word of God? Do we read Sacred Scriptures regularly, or is the Sunday Lectionary the only time we get a glimpse of it, and then because we hear it from others without having read it ourselves?


When Jesus spoke to the travelers on the road to Emmaus, he was able to open up the Scriptures to them because they were familiar with these passages, as most observant Jews and that day would have been, mostly because they would have heard them repeated in the Temple or the synagogue, and their parents likely would have known these Scriptures by oral tradition, at least. Are we as familiar with it that the Holy Spirit could open up the Scriptures to us and speak to our hearts when we read them, just as Jesus spoke to the hearts of those travelers on the road?


This passage tells us that the disciples on the road to Emmaus recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, they recognized Jesus in the Eucharist. The question that we all must ask ourselves is… Do we recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, do we recognize Him in the Eucharist?


If we believe that Jesus Christ is truly, corporeally, and substantially present in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, are we preparing ourselves to meet Christ personally when we come to the house of God for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? If we believe that Jesus Christ is truly and substantially present in the Eucharist, can we recognize Him here? Can we see him not only in our brothers and sisters, but also in the breaking of the bread as those disciples on the road to Emmaus did?


If we do understand and recognize that Jesus Christ is present in the Most Holy Eucharist- Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - do we grasp that this is the Second Person of the Trinity, that Jesus is God? If we do profess and believe and understand this, and we recognize the Lord Jesus in the breaking of the bread, as our disciples on the road to Emmaus did, do we treat Jesus as God when we receive Holy Communion? We all should prepare spiritually for Mass so that we can recognize the Lord. Beyond that, however, none of us should rush though the Communion line. If we receive the Lord Jesus in the hand, we should hold our hands completely open until we are presented with the Eucharist. If we receive on the tongue, we should open our mouths completely to allow the Lord to enter in.


No one should ever be afraid to take the time necessary to give the Lord His due in the prayer that is the Mass, and whatever we do, unless there is an urgency-such as dealing with babies or very young children, or an emergency- we shouldn't leave before the proper conclusion of the Mass. If we believe that Jesus is present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, we can certainly give Him an hour of our time. He gave His life for us… It's the least we can do.




Note: This is the homily I would have delivered at Holy Trinity this weekend if public Mass had been held. As public Masses are not being held in the Diocese of Knoxville at present due to COVID-19, our priests and deacons are sharing their homilies/sermons via electronic means of various kinds. A copy of the same homily can also be found on our parish website.

Bulletin Column for the Feast of Corpus Christi (6/23/19)

Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has written a series of excellent books in recent years. One of these books was a Christmas gift from Bishop Stika to all of the clergy of our diocese a couple of years ago, The Power of Silence, and reading it had a profound impact on my spiritual outlook. One of the things that Cardinal Sarah talks about is silence in the church itself, especially in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Of course, unless it's Good Friday, whether it is concealed in the Tabernacle or openly exposed, the Blessed Sacrament is always present in the sanctuary of the church, and within sight of everyone in the nave here at Holy Trinity.


As we celebrate today's feast of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, it might do us well to remember the general importance of an atmosphere of silence in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. It is precisely because of the physical presence of Our Lord in the Sanctuary that, barring an emergency, silence should be observed in the sanctuary and the nave (seating area) of the church prior to Masses, and a general atmosphere of quiet should be observed at all other times within the church itself, including the period after Mass.

This atmosphere of silence and quiet is important to maintain for several reasons over and above the presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but there are two that come immediately to mind. First, there are people who are a part of our parish community who are only able to visit the church when they can come for Mass on Sunday. Some of them have busy work schedules or other family or personal obligations. I know from personal experience that it can be difficult when you have such obligations to find time for quiet prayer. There is and should be no better place for that kind of prayerful solitude then in the presence of Our Lord in His Sanctuary, in His Holy House. Because of this, we should try to keep in mind those who have come to the House of God for prayer, and maintain an atmosphere conducive to prayer at all times.


In addition, it is especially worth noting that lay people are not the only ones who have come to the Church for Mass and for prayer. Father Patrick, Father Alex, and all of the deacons need some spiritual solitude as well, and the clergy do not often have the opportunity to pray in the church itself before Mass. For this reason, it must be remembered that the Sacristy is more than merely a dressing room or a place where we store the supplies for the Liturgy. At the very least, the priest and deacons say vesting prayers prior to Mass. Often, if time allows, we will use the lead up to Mass as a time to pray our Liturgy of the Hours, or pray a preparation prayer before celebrating or assisting at the Lord's Altar. There is a crucifix and a kneeler in the Sacristy for a reason, and that is because the Sacristy, too, is a place of prayer, and a prayerful etiquette should be observed there. That includes a respectful atmosphere of quiet prior to Mass by those who may be in the narthex near the Sacristy.


Many parishioners may be disposed to ask: "When might we enjoy fellowship with one another? Isn't fellowship with other believers an important part of the Christian life?" The answer to that question is yes, it absolutely is. The Church has another word for this kind of fellowship-communio, and communio is very important indeed. Our love and hospitality toward one another and our welcome of visitors and the stranger is a reflection of who we are, so it reflects poorly on us if we fail to extend that welcome to one another. I will discuss the importance of this in some future column, but it is important to remember that we have two halls (Whitman Hall and Trinity Hall), a pavilion, an outdoor garden, a playground and a walking area between two buildings, all of which can and should be utilized for fellowship and social time among parishioners after Masses.


Scripture tells us of the House of God "my house shall be a House of Prayer for all peoples." (cf. Isaiah 56:7) On this feast of Corpus Christi, let us remember that the real presence of Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist is always with us in the Tabernacle, and treat his Holy House with the reference that is due when God Almighty is present with us.


Note: This is the unedited version of the column that appeared in the bulletin at Holy Trinity Parish this weekend. On occasion, I will "fill in' for Father Patrick in writing the featured column, normally written by him as pastor. This week was one of my weeks to write the bulletin column.