Like Singing an "Alleluia" at a Funeral Mass (Easter Homily 2020)

Happy Easter!  Well, sort of.  

Holy Week and Easter 2020 will definitely be in the history books.  It's a time like no other, at least so far.  To all of my parishioners:  I miss seeing you, more than you could ever imagine!  All the daily communicants, the confessions after daily Mass . . . I miss them all.  To those viewing on live stream: Welcome!  From the curiosity seekers to those who deeply hunger spiritually for what has been taken away . . .   

Since these are such unusual times, it calls for a different homily message this Easter.  

I think God is indeed trying to get our attention.  Realize God sees all things, He knows all things, and is ultimately in control of all things.  In His permissive will, He has allowed this to happen, all of it.  Much of the world as we know it has come to a screeching halt.  Stop everything!  Alter your routines!  The children are all now schooled at home.  The family, the domestic church, is once again united and not running off to baseball practice or to dance lessons or to the latest social activity.  We are "quarantined."  

Now that we have a "quarantined" Easter Sunday, we have no public Masses, no communion for all. We can watch Mass on TV or from some live stream such as this one.  What does it remind me of?  Something is a bit out of sync; something's just not right.  When I was thinking about it, to me, it seemed like an Alleluia being sung at the funeral Mass.   

At the funeral Mass, the entire congregation mourns and feels the separation and the loss of their loved one.  Remember even Jesus, the Son of God, wept at the death of His friend Lazarus.  Meanwhile, we are singing, or at least listening to, a joyful Alleluia contrary to the emotions that we may be experiencing at the time.  The "Alleluia," Father, reminds us of resurrection and of joy!  But that's not necessarily what I may be feeling right now!  I may be feeling pain, loss, suffering, sadness, separation, etc., etc.   However, the Alleluia is still being sung.  

I realize we are all in different places in our spiritual journey, either heading towards or sadly moving away from God.  I have to ask you all for some introspection: Where am I on that spiritual journey?  Where am I on that spectrum?  

Someone may be caught up in sin right now. Addiction. Hardness of heart. I don't really care! I'm totally oblivious to my surroundings. I am my world and my world is me!  Sin has a hold on me and I'm not letting go, not letting go!  That may be one end of the spectrum, perhaps.  

Then, moving along you'll hit the mere spectator, or the observer:  watching what's going on . . . looking from a distance . . . not getting involved.  Just watching; taking the safe course.  

Let's move down the spectrum a little bit.  Someone may indeed realize that something's just not right.  There is craziness in the world right now.  But he or she doesn't know what to do, doesn't know where to turn to next.  

Let's take it all the way to the end of our spectrum.  To those people who are serious about life, and their faith, and eternal life.  And they realize now: What am I missing?  There's an absolute void in my life!  I have no sacraments!  I have no Eucharist, no penance, no sacraments on a regular basis!  I had somebody come up to me like that in the past week and say, "Father, I've been a daily communicant for 30 years, now I can't go to Communion."  Thirty years of wanting the Lord every day.  Imagine the pain, the absence, the void that's present in that person.  

We are all in different spiritual places, I'm sure.  Those who are part of the parish, those who are watching live stream, I ask collectively:  where are we on that spectrum?  We are looking for answers. We're looking for hope.  And I say this:  Hope comes from one particular place. Rather, one particular person.  Hope comes in the person of Jesus Christ, the Word made Flesh for us!

God who descended to our humanity, who lived everyday like we live, but without sin, was here on this earth for us.  Here on this earth to do what?  To have a good time?  No!  In the end, His purpose was to die.  His purpose was to take our sins upon himself, and to die for us, most unjustly!  He was to die for you and for me, on that cross.  

I'm sure His disciples were devastated.  Think about what happened to them.  Peter denied him.  "I don't even know the man."  The rest of the disciples fled.  Judas hanged himself in despair.  Look what happened to them.  They were His closest companions.  Imagine how they were devastated when He died on the cross.  

Then we have all of us, the rest of us here in this world.  How do we react to what happened to Christ?  Do we see what He did for us?  Do we understand?  Do we take it seriously enough?  Do we know this was done on my behalf?  This beautiful mural of the crucifixion (behind me) looks down on us in the middle of our Sanctuary.  I am reminded every day when I look at it:  this is what was done for you and for me!  

And now, today, we celebrate while pondering the empty tomb.  Jesus IS Risen!  He Is Not There!   He IS Risen!  

Again, we can have various reactions today.  People may say:  "I doubt it!"  "I don't believe it!"  "It’s a lie!"  NO--it's the Truth!  Because He is the Truth!  He rose from the dead.  He conquered sin.  He conquered death.  He Lives!  He has done all of that.  He has done His part!  

But, us, we're not there yet.  That's how we're somehow out of sync.  We haven't gone there.  We're not enjoying eternal life.   We're not in Heaven.   We're what they used to call, (or still should call) the "church militant."  We're fighting battles, spiritual battles in this world.  We have to realize God wants us for Himself, God calls us to Himself.  That's the important thing that we all have to remember, while recalling that Jesus won the victory.  He conquered sin and death.  He wants us to join with Him.  We cannot do it ourselves.  We need to join Him.  

So, wherever we are on that spiritual spectrum we need to be with Christ.  We need to get there.  First, we need to put Him in the center of our lives.  NOTHING ELSE MATTERS if we lose eternal life!  We have to speak that boldly and make people understand! If you've lost eternal life, you've lost everything!  There is nothing else.  

We have to take our spiritual lives seriously.  We have to realize individually and collectively:  I need Christ to conquer sin and conquer death in my life.  I need Christ.  We all need Christ.  He rose from the dead!   Yes, but we haven't risen from the dead.  We're not in eternal glory.  We need to get there.  We need to be there with Him.  He provides us with the invitation.  He calls us time and time again.  Be My disciple.  It involves picking up the cross.  It involves following him daily.  It involves an intimate prayer life, a life in union with God who is our spiritual sustenance.  God sustains us!  We need Him!  

On this Easter Sunday, yes we can sing Alleluia.  Yes, we should sing Alleluia, because we know Christ won the victory.  But did we?  Did we join with Him?  Are we in eternal life yet?  No!  We're not there yet.  We need Him to get there.  So, wherever we are on the spiritual spectrum, may we turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Risen Lord Jesus Christ!  Look to Him.  The tomb is empty.  He conquered sin. He conquered death.  He continues to invite you and me to share eternal life with Him.  However, it's not on our terms, but on His terms:  Pick up your cross and follow Me daily!  

Happy Easter!

Rejoice in the Lord Jesus Christ and realize what He has done for us.  

Alleluia!

Easter Sunday
April 12, 2020

The Divine Adjustment

I think it was inevitable.  A God who loves us beyond what we can ever imagine could only wait for so long before somehow intervening.  It is said, God’s patience is directed toward our salvation (see 2 Pt. 3: 15).  We should never, however, take God for granted or try His patience.

 

The world’s situation has been out of control, in a downward plunge. Diminished respect for human life. Rampant promiscuity. Materialism. The breakup of the family. Divorce and remarriage.  Redefining gender and traditional marriage. Idolatry and paganism. Contempt for the Catholic Church, Sacred Tradition and natural law.  Spiritual lethargy and indifference began infecting most everyone (except, perhaps, for some very saintly souls or those deemed radical zealots). Through the years, I have referenced many examples of social decline ad nauseam. This moral disease rampant throughout the world is both deadly and malignant—like a virus.

From a spiritual perspective, the core problem is defiance of God—directly or indirectly.  The nature of all sin coalesces in disobedience of Almighty God and His plan for our existence.  May I take a second to remind us all that God is the Creator and we are creatures, not the other way around.

In the meantime, things continue to happen in our world, ever-more rapidly. We are given warnings, signs, disasters and other reminders of the fragility of this world. There have been earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis, fires, floods, pestilence, plagues, wars, etc. We are warned of such things in Sacred Scripture (see Mt. 24: 6-8.)  Now there is COVID-19.  Add this to the list of all those reminders of our mortality.  Momento mori.

What this virus has done, no one could imagine could be done so quickly. Many segments of the world’s economy have come to a screeching halt. No bars, meals at restaurants, non-essential businesses, large or small social gatherings of any kind are currently permitted in many locations worldwide. Entire countries are in some form of lock-down or quarantine.

 

Let’s not ignore what the virus has also done to one of the greatest false gods in contemporary culture:  organized sports. Isn’t it interesting how the stadiums and arenas are suddenly empty? Some of these facilities may now be used as make-shift hospitals. The professional sports cash-cow is now without its milk. Paid athletes are not the only ones affected. Many pastors have tried to preach about not having youth sport games or practices on Sunday morning (the Lord’s Day), but it fell mostly on deaf ears. Now there are no Sunday (or any other day) practices or games throughout parts of the entire world. All this happened almost instantly and without much warning.

Take notice how quickly various activities and events we take for granted can rapidly disappear from our lives—temporarily or maybe even completely.

The coronavirus:  Is Almighty God behind it all? 

We may ponder, question, deny, parse, qualify and debate the answer to this thought. Let me answer clearly and directly:  yes. If something happens in our world, then God, at a minimum, has allowed it to happen. God is in charge and always will be. There are no exceptions. Whether it be His direct, active, positive will or His permissive will, God ultimately decides what will and what will not be allowed to occur, now and always.

This is not to say that God desires evil things (such as deadly earthquakes, hurricanes, viruses, etc.) or evil persons, for that matter. Rather, He permits them to exist. He permits Satan to exist. God may allow some things to happen as the result of our own sinfulness, folly or inaction. He allows us, because of free-will, to make bad choices and to sin. Like a good Father, however, He may then choose to discipline or to justly punish His disobedient child/children. In the end, God, who is love, wills the best for each of us—not our downfall and destruction.

. . . We have had our earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them.  Should we not [then] submit all the more to the Father of spirits and live?  They disciplined us for a short time as seemed right to them, but he does so for our benefit, in order that we may share his holiness.  At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.  So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.  Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed. (Heb. 12: 9-13)

Will we learn the proper lesson from any form of the Lord’s discipline to which we may be subjected, now or in the future? Better to accept any and all discipline we are given now, rather than experience eternal punishment and damnation in the future. 

I believe a Divine Adjustment is taking place in our world.  In some mysterious way, God is acting to bring us back to Himself. He seems to be getting our attention through a virus. Whether we all will listen is another story.

What needs to happen in our world?

We began this Lenten season with the reminder that all people need to follow Jesus’ unceasing command:  Repent, and believe in the gospel (Mk. 1:15).  I fear that many will not understand what God is doing on our behalf, now or ever. In the end, unless we get down on our knees, turn back to God and beg His forgiveness and mercy, we have entirely missed the boat. We all need conversion. We need to change our lives now. I sadly see people strategizing how to get through this current crisis but without even a shred of acknowledgement of the need for Divine Assistance. Variations of Pelagianism apparently still thrive in society. We don’t need God to get us through this. Stay strong together! Sounds like another Tower of Babel situation. 

Let’s do a collective examination of conscience:  Is there increased prayer in families as we are spending time forced together? Are there any acts of penance and reparation being made? Is there a renunciation of all sinful lifestyles and behavior? Maybe some activities or occasions of sin are being curtailed under this quarantine. Yet, in other places and situations sin is still flourishing. I wonder how much the internet porn business has decreased. Are there more or less cases of domestic violence? I heard that some abortion facilities want to be considered an essential service and remain open. Politicians still hold staunchly to ungodly beliefs and positions. The rebellion against God continues—even with a potentially deadly virus enveloping us rapidly. Sadly, many things still do not change.

Here’s a thought to ponder:  How can we be certain that this current crisis is not just one of a number of future “plagues” “chastisements” or “punishments” still coming, if we fail to heed this particular warning?  Didn’t it take ten plagues finally to get through to the ancient Egyptian Pharaoh (see Ex. 7-12)?  Various prophesies have spoken of coming “days of darkness,” an “illumination of conscience” for all people as well as other possibilities. What if we lose power or the internet in the days ahead? With so many working from home and so dependent on computers and smart phones, what if they all suddenly go down? Perhaps, a solar flare. Then what do we do? Will we pay attention then?

 

One can only imagine the possibilities of what can still happen! I am no prophet. I am just a parish priest trying to interpret the signs of the times through a spiritual, biblical lens. I ask sincerely: Has God gotten our attention yet? Are we paying attention?

What about any innocent victims who may die?  How can a good God allow this to happen?

These same questions have been brought up in practically every disaster known to mankind, natural or man-made. Innocent victims unfortunately die in hit-and-run car accidents, in wars, in earthquakes, in famines, in tornadoes and  because of coronaviruses. God permits it all. Innocent people often have to suffer. 

Does this then mean God is cruel and heartless?  Maybe God will answer this for us in another way, but I think He already has sufficiently spoken: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life (Jn. 3: 16).  No one was more innocent and sinless than Jesus. He is the innocent victim, par excellence. He was scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked, beaten, and crucified for us, for our sin. This life here on earth is not always fair, even for the Son of God.  Justice may not occur until we are before the throne of Almighty God. Then and there, I pray, that it will all make more sense to us.

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”  When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.  He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Pt. 2: 22-24)

Why now?  Connecting some dots . . .

Some strange things have been occurring not only in society but in the Catholic Church as well. To me (and others) it seems like the political/cultural world and the ecclesiastical/spiritual world are fighting parallel battles. There is a spiritual warfare occurring over souls—human souls and the collective “souls” of nations and cultures. Sins such as abortion, euthanasia, infanticide, assisted suicide, homosexual acts, (so-called) same-sex “marriages,” pornography and idolatry affect not only individuals but societies and nations as well.

Until most recently, I never doubted that the magisterium of the Catholic Church would do anything but adamantly teach and properly defend all moral issues and matters of faith as it had faithfully and continuously done throughout its history. What happened in recent times? Now there seems to be a profound confusion over permitting Holy Communion for the divorced and re-married, which was never the case. The Amazonian Synod showcased and scandalously celebrated what even the most-simple believer deemed pagan elements and idolatry in the Vatican gardens, in St. Peter’s Basilica and in other churches of Rome. We also hear that God (actively) wills a plurality of religions—not just permits them to exist—in direct contradiction to Jesus proclaiming that He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him (see Jn. 14: 6).

Confusion triumphs over clarity. Moral relativism dominates objective morality. False gods find a prominent place among the One, True God. That is, until the brakes were mysteriously pressed. Halt everything! Now!

Profound effects and consequences of a virus:  quarantine, no Mass or sacraments, potential death

This virus has led cities and nations to various levels of quarantine. Social distancing and shelter in place have become familiar phrases. Certainly, we want to stay healthy ourselves and not make other people sick—especially those who may be more vulnerable and susceptible to illness. The spiritual consequences of this virus, however, are extremely serious. To be deprived of the Most Holy Eucharist and Holy Mass at a time of crisis seems unthinkable. Even the thought of not having an opportunity to have our sins forgiven, or not to be anointed if we are seriously ill, never really seemed possible. The unthinkable has morphed into reality. May we come to treasure more fully the sacramental life of the Church, whenever we are able to receive the sacraments regularly again. May a temporary deprivation cause an even greater desire and love for the Most Holy Eucharist and Holy Mass.

We also know people will continue to die from this virus and complications surrounding it. We should pray for them and for their relatives and friends.  Innocent victims, unfortunately, will suffer and die. While physical death is difficult to think about and painful to experience, Jesus reminds his followers of the following:  Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna (Mt. 10: 28).

Final thoughts

Again, I believe God is making a Divine Adjustment on more than one level, mysteriously permitting a virus to get our attention at this time. With this adjustment, there is a need for repentance and conversion of individuals, of societies/nations and of the misdeeds of the Catholic Church.
 

God desires the salvation of all people (see 1 Tim. 2:4).  So, I most urgently exhort the following: 

• Confess your sins sacramentally (as soon as possible). In the meantime, make an act of perfect contrition on a regular basis. Cease any and all sinful behavior. Stay in the state of grace.
• Make a Spiritual Communion with Our Lord frequently—especially since there are no public Masses in so much of the world.
• Undertake acts of reparation and do penance for the personal and societal sins that continue to offend God.
• Pray constantly, especially imploring the intercession of the Holy Mother of God. The rosary is a powerful weapon in this and every battle. Remember, Our Lady told the children of Fatima that in the end her Immaculate Heart will triumph.

I proudly profess I am staunchly loyal to the Catholic Church. I pray for the Holy Father daily. I promised my ordaining bishop (and therefore his successors) that I would teach and defend the truths of the faith and not my personal opinion. This promise certainly means I will not (knowingly) teach heresy, scandalize the faithful or will I ever tolerate any form of idolatry in the presence of the One, True God. Neither should any deacon, priest, bishop or pope.

Finally, I urge my bother priests to proclaim boldly the truths of our faith and fearlessly preach the Gospel in season and out of season, be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching (2 Tm. 4:2).

Years ago, when I was a very young priest, many of the more recently ordained sometimes worried about what they preached from the pulpit so that they would not offend anyone and risk the possibility of getting reprimanded by their superiors for it. The worst thing any of us could ever imagine was getting suspended and being prohibited from saying any public Masses.

Sad to say that almost all of us, through absolutely no fault of our own, are currently there.  

 

Christus Vincit!

March 29, 2020
5th Sunday of Lent