Ride to Betrayal

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai

Palm Sunday, April 9, 2017

St. John the Apostle Awasi Catholic Church, Kisumu Archdiocese, Kenya

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord.

We relive the events that brought about our redemption and salvation. We find our own dying and rising in Jesus' Passion, Death and Resurrection, which will end in our healing and reconciliation.

Attentive participation in the Holy Week liturgy will deepen our relationship with God, increase our faith and strengthen our lives as disciples of Jesus. Today’s liturgy combines contrasting moments, one of glory, the other of suffering: the royal welcome of Jesus in Jerusalem and the drama of His trial, culminating in His crucifixion, death and burial.

In the Shakespearean classic, Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare narrated the betrayal of Julius Caesar by his best friend Marcus Brutus. In that tragic play, Brutus was tricked into joining a team of conspirators who wanted to kill Julius Caesar. On the fateful day of Caesar’s assassination at the Capitol, he was stabbed in the back by his murderers, but the stab from Brutus came as a very big shock to him. He felt betrayed by a friend and was disposed to defeat. 

Shocked at the betrayal, Caesar died with the words “Et tu Brute?” (and you Brutus?). You may have had similar

personal experiences of betrayal by a trusted friend. 

These are usually very painful and traumatic experiences. In the light of our personal experiences of betrayal by a trusted friend, we can better understand the agony Christ went through in today’s passion narrative (Mt. 26:14-66 or 27:11-54). Judas, one of the closest friends of Jesus conspired with the chief priests to hand Jesus over to them at the cost of thirty pieces of silver. Perhaps, he thought Jesus would miraculously escape as he had always done, but the whole drama became clear to him only when Jesus was taken away to be crucified. His inordinate love for money led him to betray his master.

Most of us may have condemned Judas for betraying Jesus, but when we closely examine our lives, we find traces of Judas in us. When we develop inordinate love for money, making us indifferent, negligent or ready to kill someone

(including procuring an abortion), steal and lie just to fill our pockets, we are no better than Judas. Some of us in a bid to acquire wealth, power or fame betray people, harass others, abuse privileges, turn the truth upside down and sell expired and substandard goods including drugs. Maybe we just cut corners on our expenses and this results in a loved one's harm.

These actions are no less than the betrayal of Judas. Our human nature tempts us to indulge in any of these activities especially when we suffer lack. In situations like this, we have to obey the will of God which invites us to do only what is good and avoid what is evil. Like Judas, Jesus has also called us to be his special friends. We sit round his table and dine with him each time we participate in the Eucharistic celebration. Therefore, let us try not to betray Him for he has called us to strive towards perfection as is Our Heavenly Father.

On another note, while we recognize that many of us are like Judas, betraying Christ through their actions, we cannot fail to also recognize the fact that most of us are also suffering betrayal from our friends. Many have been betrayed by their

spouses, lovers, friends, relatives and those dear to them. Some have had to suffer betrayal on account of their openness or charity or trust reposed on people. 

Today’s first reading (Is. 50:4-7) is a message of hope for you. Do not feel disappointed in God for allowing you to pass through such terrible experiences. St. Peter advises us to rejoice when we share in Christ’s suffering because we shall shout for joy when his glory is revealed (cf. 1 Pet 4:13). 

Though we may suffer when we are determined to do good and avoid evil, the first reading also assures us that in the end, we shall not be put to shame. Christ -- though He was betrayed and killed -- was not put to shame because God raised him on the third day. Perhaps, your day of resurrection is coming soon; the day God will put an end to your sufferings and shame your enemies. Do not lose hope but remain steadfast in faith and fervent in prayer.

We need to answer five questions today: 1) Does Jesus weep over my sinful soul as He wept over Jerusalem at the beginning of His Palm Sunday procession? 2) Am I a barren fig tree? God expects me to produce fruits of holiness, purity, justice, humility, obedience, charity, and forgiveness. Am I a barren fig tree? Or worse, do I continue to produce bitter fruits of impurity, injustice, pride, hatred, jealousy and selfishness? 3) Will Jesus need to cleanse my heart with his whip? Jesus cannot tolerate the desecration of the temple of the Holy Spirit in me by my addiction to uncharitable, unjust and impure thoughts words and deeds; neither does He approve of my business mentality or calculation of loss and gain in my relationship with God, my Heavenly Father. 4)Do I welcome Jesus into my heart? Am I ready to surrender my life to him during this Holy Week and welcome Him into all areas of my life as my Lord and Savior? Let the palms/branches remind us that Christ is our King and the true answer to our quest for happiness and meaning in life. 5) Are we like the humble donkey that carried Jesus, bringing Jesus’ universal love, unconditional forgiveness and sacrificial service to our families, places of work and communities by the way we live our lives?

Are you a donkey with a Christian name or one carrying

Christ? An interesting old fable tells of the colt that carried Jesus on Palm Sunday. The colt thought that the reception was organized to honor him. “I am a unique donkey!” this excited animal might have thought. When he asked his mother if he could walk down the same street alone the next day and be honored again, his mother said, “No, you are nothing without Him who was riding you." Five days later, the colt saw a huge crowd of people in the street. It was Good Friday, and the soldiers were taking Jesus to Calvary. The colt could not resist the temptation of another royal reception. Ignoring the warning of his mother, he ran to the street, but he had to flee for his life as soldiers chased him and people stoned him. Thus, the colt finally learned the lesson that he was only a poor donkey without Jesus to ride on him. As we enter Holy Week, today’s readings challenge us to examine our lives to see whether we carry Jesus within us and bear witness to Him through our living or whether we are Christians in name only.

Beloved friends, today, the Church encourages us to look inwards and see how much of Judas resides there. Like Judas, is there anything we value more than our union with

Christ? Like the crowd, are we always sincere in our chants of “alleluia”? Do we truly recognize Christ as the Son of David especially when there are forces pushing us to deny Him? Like Peter, have we denied Jesus when we should have proclaimed Him? If we find ourselves wanting, let us not be discouraged because it is for our sake that Christ died.

Like Peter, let us weep sorrowfully for our sins and repent of them. Therefore, as we begin the Holy Week, let us strive to join in the activities and also try to reconcile our broken relationship with God. It's a good time to go to confession, if you haven't already. 

Pope Francis going to confession 

The second reading (Phil. 2:6-11) presents Christ to us as an epitome of humility and obedience. He was humble and obedient even unto death. Let us try to imitate him and so, instead of betraying Jesus, let us obey and solidify our friendship with Him. Happy Sunday. God loves you.

Ad Maiorum Dei Glorium

Come Out of the Tomb!

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai

Fifth Sunday of Lent, April 1, 2017

St. John the Apostle Awasi Catholic Church, Kisumu Archdiocese, Kenya

The hope of the Resurrection is the central

theme of the Scripture readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (Ezekiel 37:12-14, Romans 8:8-11, John 11:1-45)

We can see the progression in Lenten themes from the thirst for living water (on the Third Sunday)  to the healing of spiritual blindness (Fourth Sunday) to our ultimate end eternal life with the risen Lord (Fifth Sunday). 

Death and resurrection are the themes for today. The Psalmist waits for Yahweh’s redemption both for himself and for Israel. Reporting his vision in the first reading, Ezekiel bears witness to the reanimation of

the dead Israel in preparation for her return to the Promised Land. He guarantees his community in exile that Yahweh will one day bring them back to live in the freedom of the Promised Land. He assures his people that not even death will stop God from carrying out this promise. Yahweh states, "I will open your graves, have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel."
The image of dry bones given Ezekiel writes about in our first reading, may well have come from an actual battle site -- probably after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon in 586 BC.

After a few years, the Babylonian soldiers uprooted many of God's people and dragged them into slavery in Babylon, some 750 miles from their homeland. This was the beginning of the period known as the Babylonian Captivity, or simply the Exile. 

Ezekiel was a priest of the Temple of Jerusalem up to 597 B.C., when he was deported to Babylon with the rest of the first deportees. In his vision, the release of the Jews from the captivity and slavery of Babylon is described as a rising from their graves to return to a new life in their own homeland. Through the prophet, God assures the exiles that they will live again. They will be raised from death and filled with life. They will experience new life, life that springs from God’s own Spirit. The prophet urges his devastated nation to look beyond that catastrophe to a future that vindicates God's justice and promises the restoration of the nation through the Spirit of God.

In the second reading, St. Paul reassures the Romans of a future resurrection to a life of unending glory for all those who during their time on earth have been loyal to God and His Son Jesus. This coming resurrection is won for us by the suffering, death and Resurrection of Jesus. Paul advises the Roman Christians to allow the Holy Spirit who dwells in them to renew and sanctify them, thus making them eligible for resurrection.

“If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you.” 

This indwelling Spirit of God, which we have received in Baptism, will release us from the "grave" of the flesh and allow us to live the life of the Spirit. The Spirit-filled life is a life of intimacy with God. In this passage, Paul stresses the empowering action of God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

In the Gospel, of all the miracles Jesus did, the raising of Lazarus ranks as the most astonishing to the people of his time. 

Traditional Jewish belief was that the soul of a dead person somehow remained with the body for three days. After three days, the soul departed and that is when corruption set in.

When Martha objected to the opening of the tomb, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days” (John 11:39), she expressed the common view that it was a hopeless situation. 

Is that why Jesus delayed coming to the funeral, to let the situation become “impossible” before acting on it? English Journalist G.K. Chesterton once said, “Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all.” In the traditional Jewish thinking,  bringing back someone to life, who is already decaying is as unthinkable as the  Ezekiel’s vision of the field of dry bones coming back to life. 

For the early Christians the story of Lazarus was more than an indication of the future resurrection of Jesus. Jesus rose on the third day; his body never saw corruption. For them this miracle is a challenge to never give up hope even in the most discouraging of situations. It is never too late for God to revive and revitalise a person, a church or a nation. But first we must learn to cooperate with God.

How can we cooperate with God so as to experience Christ's resurrection in our own lives and in our own world? Faith. 

But that is not the point that John makes in this story. In fact, there is no one in the story, not even Mary or Martha, who believed that Jesus could bring Lazarus back to life after he was four days dead. No one expected him to do it, so expectant faith is not the emphasis here. Rather the emphasis is on cooperation with a miracle-working God by practical obedience and doing God’s will.

John's Gospel begins with a wedding and closes with a funeral. There are four primary characters in this story: Jesus and three siblings who were good friends of Jesus,  Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Jesus loved these friends. The funeral rituals of Jesus’ day were different from ours. When somebody died, there was no embalming. Instead, the body was wrapped in linen and, before sunset on the day of death, was put into the burial vault -- a cave carved into limestone rock – often with myrrh, frankincense and perfumes.  Then there was intense mourning for seven days followed by a less intense mourning period of twenty-three days. Lazarus’ sisters had sent word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was ill and perhaps would soon die.

On receiving the message, Jesus waited two more days so that the will of God might be demonstrated and God glorified by His Son. At last, Jesus went to the house of Lazarus, knowing very well that his friend had died. 

On his arrival, Jesus pacified Martha with one of the most treasured of his teachings, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus offers “eternal life,” which begins with faith now and lasts forever in its fullness. 

Then Jesus asked one of the most important questions found in the Bible, “Do you believe this, Martha?” Martha answered, “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Martha confessed her faith in Jesus, Who had revealed himself as the Resurrection and the Life. Her faith did not depend upon seeing her brother raised from the dead. Proof begets knowledge and confirms faith. Faith does not rest on proof but precedes it. As John writes this story for the persecuted early Christian community, Martha represents that grieving community in asking the perennial question: "If Jesus gave us eternal life, why are believers still dying?" The story of the raising of Lazarus is a consoling response: “I am the Resurrection and the Life; whoever believes in me even if he [or she] dies will live, and everyone who believes in me will never die.”

To effect the miracle, Jesus issues three commands and all of them are obeyed to the letter. First, Jesus said, "'Roll away the stone.’ … So they rolled away the stone.” 

Did they understand why they had to roll away the tombstone to expose a stinking corpse? You bet they didn’t. But it was their faith in Jesus expressing itself not through intellectual agreement with Jesus but through practical agreement with him -- through obedience. 

Why didn’t Jesus command the stone to roll away all by itself, without bothering the people? We don’t quite know. All we know is that divine power seems always to be activated by human cooperation and stifled by non-cooperation. As C.S. Lewis said, “God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures.” God will not do by a miracle what we can do by obedience.

"Roll away the stone, unbind him and let him go.” There are so many dark areas in our private lives. We often bind ourselves with chains of

addiction to alcohol, drugs, sexual deviations, slander, gossip, envy, prejudices, hatred and uncontrollable anger, and we bury ourselves in the tombs of despair. 

Sometimes we are buried in the tomb of selfishness, filled with negative feelings such as worry, fear, resentment, hatred, and guilt. Jesus asks us today to seek his help to loosen those chains and come out of tombs of our own creation. Is there an area of life where hope is gone? Why not invite Jesus to visit this area?

If we want Jesus to visit our dungeons of sin, despair and unhappiness, let us ask Jesus during this Holy Mass to bring the light and the power of the Holy Spirit into our private lives and liberate us from our tombs.

Are there times when we refuse to let God enter into our wallets, fearing that faithful

tithing will endanger our savings? When we receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Jesus will call our name and command us, "Come out!”  

“Lazarus, come out!"  This is good news to someone who is addicted to a chemical substance or to unsavory habits. “Lazarus, come out!” This is good news for the person who has lived an empty life, “Lazarus, come out!” This is good news for the tired, the hurting, the person at his or her wit’s end. “Lazarus, come out!” This is good news for all of us. “Lazarus, come out!” This can be the beginning of a new life.

"Lazarus, come out!’ and the dead man came out.” We do not know what transpired in the tomb. All we know is that Jesus is immediately obeyed. Lazarus gropes his way out of the dark tomb even with his face, hands and feet tied up in bandages. Even a man rotting away in the tomb can still do something to help himself.

The third command again is addressed to the people, “Unbind him, and let him go.”  Even though Lazarus could stumble out of the tomb, there was no way he could unbind

himself. He needs the community to do that for him. By unbinding Lazarus from the wrappings of death and setting him free,  the community is accepting Lazarus back as one of them.

Many individuals and communities have fallen victim to the death of sin. Many are already in the tomb of hopelessness and decay, in the bondage of sinful habits and attitudes, in the bondage of tribalism, clannisim and nepotism. Nothing short of a miracle can bring us back to life in Christ. Jesus is ready for the miracle. He himself said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10).

Are we ready to roll away the stone that stands between us and the light of Christ’s face?  Are we ready to unbind (i.e. forgive) one another and let them go free? 

How can we live this life of Jesus now? Jesus offers us His life at every Mass, every time we receive the sacraments, every time we pray, every time we read Sacred Scripture.

 

Jesus gave us the sacraments to lift us up to everlasting life. Allow Jesus to lift you up to new life.

Have a blessed week.

I Was Blind; And Now I See

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

4th Sunday in Lent, March 26, 2017

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, Tucson, AZ

"I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind." (John 9:39)

Today our Church offers us the story of the man born blind (John 9:1-41). Like many stories in the Gospel of John, it gives us insight in the spiritual life.

Last week, Christ used the image of water to address the woman at the well: "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 

This week, Our Lord heals a man who is blind from birth so “that the works of God might be made visible through him.” Our Lord heals this man while He was in the world so that we may believe in the power of His grace and be freed from our infirmities.

Fr. John Paul Shea 

My brothers and sisters, the blind man in today’s Gospel passage represents each one of us. Each one of us was born into original sin. Therefore, each one of us in a sense is blind from birth.

Some persons come into this world today with deep infirmities. For example, some are born addicted to crack, or with a cleft palate.  Some are born into abusive families. Yet, today’s Gospel reminds us that no matter how small or great our dysfunctions, Our Lord Jesus Christ has come to give us healing.

As Jesus opened the eyes of the blind man, so He wants to remove the blindness from our eyes and hearts so we will experience the healing power of God’s grace. 

Unlike the man healed in today's Gospel, most of us must work out our salvation in fear and trembling. This is why Jesus suffered in our humanity so that we can be healed through His obedience to the Father. Pick up your cross and follow after Him. 

Therefore, today’s Gospel is about letting God remove the areas of sin in our lives that blind us from becoming all who God calls us to be.  Jesus uses saliva and mud to heal the blind man’s eyes. For us, He gave the sacraments. 

The Holy Spirit heals us through the words of absolution in the sacrament of confession. He heals through the bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ at Holy Mass. The sick receive the holy oil of anointing for physical and spiritual healing.

Just as in the case of the man healed of blindness, God uses ordinary substances to be transformed as a vehicle for the manifestation of His healing grace! 

God’s healing grace is available also when we come pray before Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. Simply spending a small amount of time each day in front of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is an opportunity for healing. 

My brothers and sisters, God wants to make visible His works through us. He wants to manifest His grace in us. But we must trust in the power of Our Lord Jesus Christ! We must surrender our sins and weaknesses to Him  and refuse to act out of our fallen nature. 

In today’s second reading (Ephesians 5:8-14),  Saint Paul says, “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” Therefore, “Live as children of light.”

We are called to live as children of light. Saint Paul says, “Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret.” 

We live in a world today that is filled with darkness. We live in a world that is blind to the Truth. Instead of acknowledging our disordered desires and striving to turn away from these inordinate passions, our society tells us to act on these desires. Our society tells us that masturbation is normal. Our society teaches us that if we have the desire for gay sex than we should act on this desire. Our society says if we want to live as transgender than we can change the very essence of our human nature though manipulating our God-given gender to suit our sexual choices. 

Let us open our eyes and see the lies of our society. Let us look into the blindness in our

own lives so that our eyes can be opened to receive the healing power of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 

For our Lord is coming again into our world for judgment. Those who acknowledge His healing grace will see the blessings of eternal life. But, those who close their eyes and hearts to His message of truth and grace will remain forever in the darkness of their sins. May each one of us open our eyes and hearts to the message of Truth and life that our Lord Jesus has come offer to each one of us. Amen.

Lent! Time for Housecleaning.

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai

Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2017

St Mary of the Pines Catholic Church, Shreveport, LA, U.S.A.

Let’s suppose that, after we left church today, we locked up the doors—and none of you

came back here until five years later. Not a single person set foot on this very property until Ash Wednesday 2022. When you do come back, what would your church look like after five years of no upkeep? 

The grass would be waist-high, the hedges would be overgrown and uneven, the church sign would be full of bugs and the exterior of this building would have ugly mildew patches all over it. The mailbox would be so full of letters and bills that the mailman would have stopped trying to fill it years ago. And because none of those bills had been paid, the electricity would be off and the entire property would be dark. In short, there would be a whole lot of cleaning up to do before church life here could get back to normal.

This gives you some idea of the state of the Temple in Jerusalem when the prophet Joel was a young man. (Joel 2: 12-18)    Many years of misuse and disuse had caused Solomon’s once magnificent structure to look more like a building in the slums rather than in the upscale section of Jerusalem. Then, there was a turnaround. At some point, this dilapidated building was cleaned up and refurbished. Remodeling was done, all the debris was cleared away, offerings and sacrifices were restored and temple life returned to normal. Well, it returned almost to normal!

The prophet Joel spoke these words we hear today to the Israelite community because there was, still, a problem. The turnaround was not complete. Everything was looking good on the outside—but there really had not

been much change in the people on the inside. Joel prophesies: “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.”

What the Israelites needed to know then—and what we need to know now—is that the Lord wasn’t looking for an outer change as much as He was looking for an inner one. This is why our Lenten season begins on Ash Wednesday every year. God is calling us to come back with a total commitment to living life with Him. He is not talking about part time encounters. He’s not talking about occasional drop-ins. He’s not talking about using Him only as a crisis hotline. He is asking for our 
total commitment to Him—because He has never stopped giving His total commitment to us! 

Someone might be thinking: “I don’t have a need to return to God. I’m not that bad.” Someone else might be saying to himself or herself: “I can’t find the time to commit myself totally to God.” Well, Church, there is no one here who cannot afford to get back to God, get close to God and stay close to God! 

If God had not blessed us with the ability to get up and move on our own, we would not have been able to even get away from God!

If God had not given us all that we needed, we would not know how to turn away from God. But because He has done so much for us; because He has provided for us, even when we didn’t ask for it; because He has blessed us, even when we didn’t bother to say “Thank ya,” we have every reason to get back to God! This is what repentance is all about. It’s turning ourselves around and getting back to God for all that God does right!

Return to the Lord with all your heart!

In this season of Lent, the real challenge is for us to return to the Lord different than the way we left Him. This is why the discipline of fasting is important for some house cleaning on the inside. 

Most people think of fasting as giving up some type of food — something we should have been giving up all along. Some people think of Lent as something different to do for 40 days. God’s call to “return to me and rend your hearts” is to make a change — not just for forty days or forty years — but forever! Rend your hearts — not your garments! This is what total commitment is all about!

We will do some fasting from certain foods during Lent. Let us also consider the fact that it is as important to control what comes out of our mouths as it is to control what goes into our mouths. Consider this! Let us start fasting from foul language. The air around us in full of it — and it’s not just on the Jerry Springer talk shows. We can get it in movies, in rap songs, in novels, in magazine articles and in some everyday conversations. We can even hear of children speaking it imitating our adults. 

Consider this! Let us keep judgments of others from spilling out of our mouths. Imagine what a challenge it may be for some to commit to a full day of not passing judgment of anyone else they might meet or hear about. Let us make no judgments about other people: about their motives, their goodness and badness, their social standing, their defects, their clothes, their color, their jobs, their mistakes or just because! Let us commit to seeing everyone as God’s children— the ones Jesus Christ died for—fellow pilgrims on the same journey with us.

Consider this! Let us fast from verbal negatives that slip so easily out of our mouths. Let us start a fast—not just from the hate language but also from the put-downs, the jabs that hurt, the insults, the criticism, the condemnations, the sarcasm, the harmful gossip and the vicious rumors. Sounds like a tall order? 

Not sure if you can do it? Of course, you can! All of us can! All we have to do is start small and build from there. Just choose one day of the week as a “no gossip” day! Choose one day of the week as a “won’t complain/won’t criticize” day. Choose one day of the week as a "no rumors” day! You’ll be surprised at how clean and pure your heart will become and how much more others will see and appreciate all the good that is in you.

Consider this! Let us fast from saying “Yes” to the wrong things and saying “No” to the right things. Let us say “No!” to drugs; “No!” to foul language and foul company; "No!” to infidelity; “No!” to cheating; “No!” to half-truths and blatant lies; “No!” to unhealthy habits; “No!” to profane and vulgar entertainment; “No!” to the ways of this world. At the same time, let us  say “Yes!” to words of healing and comfort; “Yes!” to words of appreciation and encouragement; “Yes!” to generous giving; “Yes!” to service and sacrifice; “Yes!” to patience and acceptance of others; “Yes!” to  prayer; “Yes!” whenever Jesus comes knocking on the doors of our hearts!

Thus says the Lord: “Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and 

mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.” 

Church, let’s get busy with the housecleaning, so that we will not only return to the Lord, but also welcome Him to come and live in our hearts!

Amen.

God Alone is Enough

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai

8th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 26, 2017

St Mary of the Pines Catholic Church, Shreveport, LA, U.S.A.

"Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you." (Isaiah 49:14-15)

One day, the German mystic Johannes Tauler met a beggar. "God give you a good day, my friend," he said. The beggar answered, "I thank God I never had a bad one." Then Tauler said, "God give you a happy life, my friend." "I thank God," said the beggar, "I am never unhappy." 

Tauler then said in amazement, "What do you mean?" "Well," said the beggar, "when it is fine, I thank God. When it rains, I thank God. When I have plenty I thank God. When I am hungry I thank God. And since God's will is my will, and whatever pleases Him pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?" 

Tauler looked at the man in astonishment, "Who are you?" he asked. "I am a king," said the beggar. "Where, then, is your kingdom?" asked Tauler. The beggar replied quietly, "In my heart."

Today’s readings give us an invitation to avoid unnecessary worries by putting our trust in the love and providence of a merciful God, and then living each day as it comes, doing His will and realizing His presence within us and others.

Today’s first reading, (Isaiah 49:14-15) begins with the Lord God’s tender question “Can a mother forget her infant?” This is one of the most touching expressions of God’s love in the Bible. Through the prophet, God assures Israel of His unfailing love when the people of Israel cry out in despair, believing that they have been forgotten by God. 

Isaiah reminds Israel that even the best of human love is only a shadow of God’s eternal, life-giving love for His people. "Rest in God alone, my soul." Today’s responsorial

psalm also invites us to hope in the strength and providence of a loving God.

Responding to criticism (1Cor 4:1-5), Paul warns the Corinthians not to judge him or other preachers. It is only God who has the right to judge. St Paul draws our attention to what should matter to us, and this is the fact that we are: “Christ’s servants, stewards entrusted with the mysteries of God.” So, rather than worry over what others think of us,  we should strive to be found “worthy of God’s trust.”

What matters  is what God thinks. We should seek to please God who has called us to be servants.

The Gospel today,  (Mt 6: 24-34) tell us again: don’t worry about your life. God will provide. It is impossible to serve two masters.

Our "master" is whatever governs our thoughts, shapes our ideals, and controls the desires of our heart.

Do not let the love of money, the glamour of fame, or the driving force of unruly passions  become your master and rule your life. God is easily forgotten and pushed into the background. “Mammon,” in today’s Gospel passage, stands for whatever tends to “control our appetites and desires.” 

But man’s ultimate happiness is God Himself.  

The search for holiness should be our primary purpose in life. Hence, Jesus calls for a detachment from material goods and invites us to live a life of simplicity and dependence on God.


"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet  your heavenly Father feeds them." Poor people worry that they have no money and rich people worry that they don’t have enough money. Sick people worry about their premature death, and healthy people worry about getting sick.  The tragedy is that we worry so much about tomorrow that we never claim the resources that God has given us for today. 

Here are Jesus' reasons why we should not worry:

1) Worry is a pagan or an irreligious attitude of those who don’t believe in a loving and providing God.

2) In nature, other creatures, like birds, do not worry about  their daily food, but God

provides.

3) Worry is useless because we cannot increase even an inch of height by days of worrying.

4) Worry is injurious to the health because it causes physical and mental problems and illnesses. Worry robs us of faith and confidence in God’s help, and it saps our energy for doing good.

5)Worry takes all the joy from life and wears out the mind and body. Doctors agree that emotional stress can bring actual changes in the organs, glands, and tissues of the body. It’s not so much "what I’m eating" as "what’s eating me" that’s getting me down.

Hence, Jesus exhorts us to live serenely. He is not advocating a shiftless, reckless, thoughtless attitude to life. Rather, He is forbidding a care-worn fear, which takes the joy out of life. But He wants us to make good use of our human resourcefulness and to plan our lives in a responsible manner. What is important is to live well today, doing God’s will, realizing His presence with us, within us and within every one we meet.

Much of our worrying could be a symptom of an "Atlas-complex." In Greek mythology, Atlas is a god who cannot move because he literally bears the world on his shoulders. Many people take the world on their shoulders.  This state of mind flows from spiritual pride and a lack of trust in the God, who is the Master of the universe.

Let us adopt a spiritual revolution.  Yes, I am uniquely created God. I have been chosen by Him! He is my final end. I am looking forward to eternal happiness with God. Today, I need to make meaningful choices towards the fulfilment of this purpose of my existence. 

And God is! He keeps all things in being. He provides the meaning to my existence. He constantly assures me: “I am with you!”  Does a woman forget her baby at the breast? Yet even if she forgets, "I will never forget you." (Is 49:15).

Open the doors to the works of God! Jesus is knocking.

 "Let nothing disturb you. Let nothing frighten you. All things pass away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. He who has God finds he lacks nothing; God alone suffices." (St. Teresa of Avila)

Conquer Evil With Good

Sermon by Fr. Joseph Mungai

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 18, 2017

St Mary of the Pines Catholic Church, Shreveport, LA, U.S.A.

Fr. Joe is on leave from his parish in Kenya, St. John the Apostle Awasi Catholic Church, Kisumu Archdiocese.

Today, the Church turns its attention to this

very important theological virtue, Love. The Lord is Love, and the Church calls us to be like Him. This is because, we are living stones built into Christ, a Temple erected to give glory to God.

In our first reading (Lev 19: 1-2), Moses is urging the "chosen community" to be holy because their God is also holy. The chosen people are called to be separate and distinct from the people and nations surrounding them. Those who belong to God are commanded to love each other as they love themselves. 

In the Gospel (Mat 5:38-48), Jesus continues his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Mathew presents Jesus as the true interpreter of the Law of Moses received on Mt Sinai. It is good for us to remember that Jesus assures the Jews that he didn't come to abolish any part of the law, but to fulfill the law. He takes the challenge to love to another dimension, the heart of man. 

The Old Testament taught an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But Jesus says offer no resistance. When someone strikes you on the right cheek, give him your left. For those

who live in the teaching of Christ there must be no retaliation for an injury.  This leads to the most difficult command. Love -- not only your neighbour -- but love and do good to your enemies.

We need to ask ourselves then, why did Jesus give this strange advice? I will answer it with this example; A new patient walked into the office of the famous psychiatrist Dr. Smiley Blanton. The patient noted a copy of the Bible on Dr Blanton's desk and said, "Don't tell me that the great Dr. Blanton reads the Bible!" The doctor answered, "I not only read the Bible. I meditate on it. It's the greatest book on human behavior ever written. If people followed its teaching a lot of psychiatrists could close their offices and go home."

 

 What Jesus is telling the Jews, is that if a Roman tells you to go a mile with him, don't be angry, go two miles. When people resent their enemies, they end up hurting themselves. One author explains it this way: "When we hate our enemies, we give them power over us -- over our sleep, our blood pressure, even over our happiness and health." Our enemies would dance for joy if they knew how our hatred tears us apart. Our hatred is not hurting them at all. It only turns our own days and nights into hellish turmoil. 

My dear people of God, we hurt ourselves by bearing a grudge. Hating people is like

burning down your own house to get rid of a rat.  Can blood be washed with blood and can injury repair injury? Of course it is human to strive to get even with an enemy but it is Christian to forgive for we are all children of God who loves both the good and the bad without any discrimination. Hence Christ in the Sermon on the Mount is concerned with the heart of man.

In the end of his discourse, Jesus gives us a goal: “You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

In the novel,  Alice in Wonderland, we find Alice wandering around in a dream world. She stops to ask a cat: “Would you tell me, please, which way I should go from here?”

The cat replies: “That depends a good deal on where you want to be.” Alice said: “Oh, I don’t much care.” With that the cat responds: “Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.” But Alice persisted: “But I want to get somewhere.” Whereupon the cat, with a wry grin, said: “Oh, you are sure to do that!”

We can be a lot like Alice, saying “Oh, it doesn’t much matter” to a whole lot of things. It doesn’t much matter which church you go to. It doesn’t matter what you believe, and so forth. Pretty soon nothing much matters at all. Eventually our lives don’t matter, and we’ll be just like Alice drifting aimlessly in our own little wonderland going nowhere!

Some will say: “Well, what kind of a goal is that? Nobody can be equal to God anyway. So what’s the point?” How can we, mere mortals that we are with all of our faults and failures, be as perfect as God is perfect? Good point. It’s sort of like telling a child who has just learned simple arithmetic to solve a problem requiring calculus.

We need, of course, to look deeper into the words of Jesus. He uses an Aramaic word that carries the idea of completeness in the word “perfect.” Be ye complete as your

Heavenly father is complete. That's what Jesus is saying. Love completely as God loves completely. He loves without boundaries.

To be holy, however, does not mean for us to boast about our piety and our devotion to God. That is the way of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law, which Our Lord Jesus rebuked. Being holy does not equate us saying prayers aloud in public, or being seen carrying holy relics. All these are external signs of faith without genuine holiness mean nothing for us.

St Paul in our second reading (1 Cor 3:16-23) reminds us that our call is to remain united in Christ and avoid division since we are that temple of God where the Spirit of God dwells.  Human wisdom might make us think that we are followers of Paul, Apollos or Cephas, forgetting we are followers of Christ. We should avoid factions.  St Paul urged us to live in love as one family.

A popular Protestant preacher, Emmet Fox, once explained it in a way I think we all can understand. And it starts with something so simple, but so hard: forgiveness. It is a necessary first step. He says by not forgiving we “are tied to the thing [we] hate. The person whom you most dislike is the very one to whom you are attaching yourself by a hook that is stronger than steel. Is this what you wish?” I think we all know the answer. We need to detach ourselves from that hook. Then, and only then, can we begin to heal, and to love, and to pray for those who have hurt us so deeply.

Today, as you approach the altar to receive the body of Christ, pray to detach that hook. Pray for the grace to love the unlovable, to forgive the unforgivable, and to remember in prayer those you’d rather

forget.

I have a long way to go to achieve that. I think most of us do.

MESSAGE TO YOUTH: God Has Set Before Us Good and Evil. Let Us Choose Life!

Sermon by Rev. John Paul Shea

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Feb. 12, 2017

Youth Camp Retreat, Mount Lemon, Arizona

In today’s Gospel (Matt 5:17-37), Our Lord speaks of the importance of overcoming sin.

It begins with Our Lord Jesus speaking to the Jewish people about the commandments, which God had given them so that they could live according to God’s plan, and He reminds us that He has not come to abolish the laws and commandments, but to fulfill them. 

These are fulfilled in His Person as He is God’s Son, who came to suffer and die for our sins. Following the commandments is essential if we want to have eternal life. 

"You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.” (Matt 5:21-23)

Take a moment to realize what Our Lord is saying. If we are angry with our brother, we  are liable to judgment. If we call someone a “fool,” then we are liable to hell. 

If we carry grudges against another person, then we need to stop this anger in our lives now. We must reconcile the situation and apologize. Our Lord says, “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison.”

Lack of forgiveness doesn't just disappear when we die. No, we take these issues with us into the next life. That is why we must strive to make peace and reconciliation today.

Further Our Lord says, “I say to you, whoever divorces his wife - unless the marriage is unlawful - causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

The Church takes the sacrament of marriage seriously. We take divorce seriously. Why? Because Our Lord does. “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh?' So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.” (Matt 19:4-6)

Therefore, if you are called to the vocation of marriage, now is the time to make good preparations. Marriage is for life. Making a bad choice in this area could have devastating effects on you and your children's lives. Preserving your chastity now will make for a better marriage later. It's not necessary to date more than one person in your life -- your future spouse. Dating someone exclusively in your youth when you are not planning to marry can actually cut you off from opportunities for other friendships and academic achievement. Even if you date chastely, it can be hurtful when these relationships inevitably break off and someone goes to college. Make the most of your time as a single person! Use your creative talents. Volunteer and give yourself to others. This is the best preparation for marriage.

 
Today’s Gospel reminds us of the seriousness of committing the sin of impurity -- even in our thoughts.  “You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman [or man] with lust has already committed adultery with his her [or him] in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.”

There are many lures to immodesty and impurity in our society today. Jesus does not want us to seriously cut off our hands and feet, but His point is that we must make every effort to overcome the near occasion of sin! Such an effort will benefit you later in life whether you marry or choose a celibate vocation in the Catholic Church.

We must cut out of our lives whatever leads us from eternal salvation. If we struggle with pornography, for example, than we must do all we can to cut ourselves off from watching such filth. Even some television programs verge on being pornographic. If we have a boyfriend or girlfriend who leads us into sin, then we may have to end the relationship. If we are addicted to computer games, we need to find something else to do.  

Fr. John Paul Shea

My dear teen brothers and sisters, the overall message of Our Lord Jesus in today’s Gospel is that the choices we make in this life determine the course of our lives and where we will live after we die. Our Lord Jesus has come to save us. He died for us! He wants us to live happy lives and then come home with Him forever. 

In today’s first reading (Sirach 15:15-20), God says that he has [set before us] fire and water, life and death, good and evil, to whichever [we] choose shall be given [us]. God says, “If [we] choose to keep the commandments, they will save [us]; if [we] trust in God, [we] shall live.” 

Let us therefore choose life. Let us follow the teachings handed down to us so that we can have eternal life. Let our "yes" mean "yes" and our "no" mean "no." 

May God give us the grace to understand His words to us today. May God bless each one of you with His Holy Spirit to protect you always. Amen.