Homily for 3rd Sunday OT C

In St. Pope John Paul II’s 1988 encyclical Christifideles Laici, in English, “The Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful People”, he writes when speaking about baptism.

In another comparison, using the image of a building, the apostle Peter defines the baptized as “living stones” founded on Christ, the “corner stone”, and destined to “be raised up into a spiritual building” (1 Pt 2:5 ff.). The image introduces us to another aspect of the newness of Christian life coming from Baptism and described by the Second Vatican Council: “By regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, the baptized are consecrated into a spiritual house”(Lumen gentium 10)

The Holy Spirit “anoints” the baptized, sealing each with an indelible character (cf. 2 Cor 1:21–22), and constituting each as a spiritual temple, that is, he fills this temple with the holy presence of God as a result of each person’s being united and likened to Jesus Christ.

With this spiritual “unction”, [anointing] Christians can repeat in an individual way the words of Jesus: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord” (Lk 4:18–19; cf. Is 61:1–2). Thus with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation, the baptized share in the same mission of Jesus as the Christ, the Saviour-Messiah.

Yet, many of us have to ask ourselves, what exactly is the “same mission of Jesus as the Christ”?

Perhaps, looking at something St. Pope John Paul II said in this encyclical, “Ecclesia in America”, or “The Church in America” (remember that he is talking about both South and North America) we might be given a sense of this mission.

One of the reasons for the Church’s influence on the Christian formation of Americans is her vast presence in the field of education and especially in the university world. The many Catholic universities spread throughout the continent are a typical feature of Church life in America. Also in the field of primary and secondary education, the large number of Catholic schools makes possible a wide-ranging evangelizing effort, as long as there is a clear will to impart a truly Christian education.

Another important area in which the Church is present in every part of America is social and charitable work. The many initiatives on behalf of the elderly, the sick and the needy, through nursing homes, hospitals, dispensaries, canteens providing free meals, and other social centers are a concrete testimony of the preferential love for the poor which the Church in America nurtures. She does so because of her love for the Lord and because she is aware that “Jesus identified himself with the poor (cf. Mt 25:31–46)”. In this task which has no limits, the Church in America has been able to create a sense of practical solidarity among the various communities of the continent and of the world, showing in this way the fraternal spirit which must characterize Christians in every time and place.

For this service of the poor to be both evangelical and evangelizing, it must faithfully reflect the attitude of Jesus, who came “to proclaim Good News to the poor” (Lk 4:18). When offered in this spirit, the service of the poor shows forth God’s infinite love for all people and becomes an effective way of communicating the hope of salvation which Christ has brought to the world, a hope which glows in a special way when it is shared with those abandoned or rejected by society.

We need to constantly be incorporating within ourselves an attitude to carry on the mission entrusted to us in our baptism. It is all about the sharing with others the mercy of God that we have experienced in our own lives. This is how Pope Francis announced the Year of Mercy,

Dear brothers and sisters, I have often thought of how the Church may render more clear her mission to be a witness to mercy; and we have to make this journey. It is a journey which begins with spiritual conversion. Therefore, I have decided to announce an Extraordinary Jubilee which has at its centre the mercy of God. It will be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live in the light of the word of the Lord: “Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (cf. Lk 6:36). And this especially applies to confessors! So much mercy!

Let each of us find a way to be an example of God’s mercy as we “preach the good news to the poor.”

The facts shoot holes in Obama's claim that US is only host to mass killings | Fox News

Here are some interesting facts about the US being the only place that mass killings take place on a regular basis.  One has to remember our area and population when computing the reality of the situation.

The facts shoot holes in Obama's claim that US is only host to mass killings | Fox News:

'via Blog this'

Obama says response to shootings has become too routine in wake of Oregon college shooting | Fox News

"I'd ask the American people to think about how they can get our government to change these laws and to save lives and to let young people grow up, and that will require a change of politics on this issue," Obama said.

He states in his speech, "We've become numb to this."

How easily he ignores the fact that over 3000 babies are aborted each day.  We have become numb, and it starts with letting those babies be murdered every day.  It continues when we see videos of Planned Parenthood selling body parts and think that it is no big deal. We are numb to the who business because it happens in a room, outside of the reports from the press.


Obama says response to shootings has become too routine in wake of Oregon college shooting | Fox News: ""We've become numb to this," Obama said."

'via Blog this'

Life matters

Another police officer was killed last night. I just say a video of a group of people who attacked a carnival ride operator because the line was not moving fast enough. People ask the question, "Why is this happening?"

I'd like to offer a few suggestions about why this may be happening.

Let's start with abortion. When we think that it is ok the kill the most defenseless in our society, is it any wonder that we care little about others as well.

What about the break down of the family? A family should be made up of a male father, a female mother, and children. Today there are many families that are fatherless because of a lack of commitment on the part of fathers. Without a mother and a father to form and discipline children, they are often adrift in their formation into caring adults.

Oh, and then there is contraception. Families are limiting themselves to one, maybe two children, and then spoil them excessively. The children tend to think that everything is about them and their wants. Children from larger families, with a mother and a father, tend to learn a little bit more about sacrifice and service instead of being pampered.

These are just a few quick thoughts. It is not a well developed blog post, but if I don't post what I've typed now, I might not get back to finish it.

Pray for our families, pray for life, pray for holy marriages, pray for our country.

Protecting the innocent?

In light of the recent shooting at a church in South Carolina, I've heard the following from various politicians.

According the the Huffington Post online, President Obama said the following:

"Any death of this sort is a tragedy, any shooting involving multiple victims is a tragedy," he said. "There is something particularly heartbreaking about death happening at a place in which we seek solace and we seek peace.
"I've had to make statements like this too many times. Communities have had to endure tragedies like this too many times," he continued. "Once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun. ... We as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries."

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, again according to the Huffington Post, said the following:

"We can have common sense gun reforms that keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and the violently unstable while respecting responsible gun owners," she said. "The stakes are too high, the costs are too dear, and I am not and will not be afraid to keep fighting for common sense reforms, and along with you, achieve those on behalf of all who have been lost because of this senseless gun violence in this country."

As I have asked before after shootings, where is the outrage for the 3,000+ babies aborted every day, most of whom are black?

Ought vs Can

Before I had even opened my eyes this morning, this thought was going through my head: there is a difference between what we can do and what we ought to do. How many times in life do we show what we can do, whether right or wrong, instead of what we ought to do?  I'm not sure why this was going through my head before 5:30 this morning or why it dawned on me I should ask this question on my blog, but here it is.

Thoughts on the President's visit to Georgetown

Yesterday, President Obama was part of a forum at Georgetown University. He made several comments that I feel I need to address.

The first is in his reference that Catholics and Evangelicals should spend less time talking about abortion and do more for the poor. As I posted on my facebook wall:

How many hospitals and schools are supported by the Church that benefit the poor? Maybe the president should care more about rooting out the reasons people are poor and do not move up: fatherless families, infidelity, and a lack of respect for life. Abortion and "same-sex marriage" are about selfishness, not about charity and caring for others.

I guess he does not see the selfish nature of these actions.

The other comment deals with private schools. President Obama seems to imply that those who put their children in private schools are being separated from the poor. I guess he also does not realize how many poor kids are in a lot of the private schools sponsored by the Catholic Church. I posted this comment on the White House facebook which had the video of the president's comments:

I wonder why he doesn't support schools like St. Aloysius in Harlem. It is not made up of rich students. Most of the students are poor, or disadvantaged, but the president has not done much to help out these schools who are educating the poor at less cost than the public schools in the area and doing a much better job. Maybe we need wise use of education dollars instead of more dollars going into education. We also need less trying to create an us vs them mentality. I am guessing it is the money from a lot of the rich white folks that are paying to keep St. Aloysius open. Most of those folks are also paying taxes to support the public schools in their area as well.

I think included a link to with an article about St. Aloysius and a link to the school's webpage.

Liturgical changes

Over at Fr. Z's blog, he was asked a question about the priest following the rubrics. It seems the priest would change the rubrics as he saw necessary. I have often had the opposite take place in my parish. I've had the parishioners suggest I make certain changes in the Mass. In a former parish I once had a parishioner suggest I replace the creed with a testimonial of faith by a parishioner. Of course, I said no. I've had to fight the battle every year about the time for the Vigil Mass for Easter. I often hear, "the priests in Billings (or some other town) are starting the Mass much earlier."

I addressed this issue once in a talk I gave for the teachers at the Catholic Schools in Great Falls. At various times when celebrating Mass at the schools I was asked to do things that were not to be allowed. Again I heard things like, "Father Pastor does this here every week." I later recorded my talk, "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi", in the parish church with a few changes to make it more generic. You can find that talk here.

I thought I'd share the following from one of the comments to Fr. Z's blog post. It contains several sources as to why we are not to change the rubrics on the whim of the priest or the parishioners.

• Sacrosanctum Concilium art. 22.3 (1963)
o Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.

• Canon 846.1 (1983)
o The liturgical books approved by the competent authority are to be faithfully observed in the celebration of the sacraments; therefore no one on personal authority may add, remove or change anything in them.

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1125 (1992)
o For this reason no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community. Even the supreme authority of the Church may not change the liturgy arbitrarily, but only in obedience of faith and with religious respect for the mystery of the liturgy.

• General Instruction of the Roman Missal, no. 24 (2003)
o Nevertheless, the priest must remember that he is the servant of the Sacred Liturgy and that he himself is not permitted, on his own initiative, to add, to remove, or to change anything in the celebration of Mass.

• Redemptionis Sacramentum, nos. 31, 59 (2004)
o They ought not to detract from the profound meaning of their own ministry by corrupting the liturgical celebration either through alteration or omission, or through arbitrary additions.

o The reprobated practice by which Priests, Deacons or the faithful here and there alter or vary at will the texts of the Sacred Liturgy that they are charged to pronounce, must cease. For in doing thus, they render the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy unstable, and not infrequently distort the authentic meaning of the Liturgy.

Oil company hit man has Archbishop Cordileone in his sights

It is getting harder and harder to be Catholic in the world. See this article about what is happening in San Francisco.


Oil company hit man has Archbishop Cordileone in his sights :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Thoughts from the Supreme Knight of Columbus

I just finished listening to Carl A. Anderson's Annual Report of the Supreme Knight.

I want to pick up on a few things he said about the Culture of Life:

St. John Paul II taught us that only a civilization of love is worthy of human dignity and the truth about the human person. Building a civilization of love is the goal toward which our fraternal love of neighbor leads us.

At the center of the civilization of love is the culture of life. Each is inseparable from the other because each calls us to value and accept every human life.

Some in politics seem obsessed with publically opposing our Church’s teaching on human life. But we must differ with them. Our position is that every child should be loved, every child should be respected, and every child should be helped.

The cold child in need of a coat, the hungry child in need of food, the poor child in need of education, and the unborn child waiting to be born. All are on the margins of society, and all deserve to be supported and protected.

In good conscience we cannot abandon some and help others.

We will help all that we can. While some politicians try to divide the American people on social issues, we seek to overcome division, to bring people together and to help everyone. Even on abortion, an issue often considered the most divisive, our polling has found great unity among Americans. Our recent Knights of Columbus/Marist Poll revealed that more than four decades after the Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, the vast majority of Americans do not accept abortion on demand. Eighty-four percent of Americans would limit abortion to, at most, the first three months of pregnancy, and so would nearly 6 in 10 Americans who identify themselves as strongly pro-choice.

A majority of Americans believe life begins at conception, and more than 6 in 10 think abortion is morally wrong. And, perhaps most importantly, more than 8 in 10 Americans say that laws can protect both the well-being of a woman and the life of her unborn child.

What are we doing to protect all of our children? I hope we are finding ways to show them our love, and God's love for them, in all that we do. What are we doing to continue to build a Culture of Life in our society?