100 years after Fatima: We still have work to do

          Happy Mother's Day to all of the Mothers out there!  How beautiful that we celebrate mothers on the same weekend that we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the appearances of our Blessed Mother, Mary, to the shepherd children - Lucia, Saint Francisco, and Saint Jacinta - at Fatima in Portugal.  May our Blessed Mother continue to bless all Mothers with her prayers and intercession so they might be holy Mothers after her pattern.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

P.S. Lucia lived until 2005 and her cause for canonization has begun, but it isn't far enough along yet for her to be beatified or canonized.  Hopefully we will all see the day when she, too, will be listed in the canon of the saints!

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Homily: 5^th Sunday in Easter – Cycle A

          My brothers and sisters, as we continue to celebrate this great season of Easter—this season in which we proclaim with joyful voices that Jesus Christ, the Divine Word of God, who became one with us in human flesh and suffered death to redeem us from the punishment due to our sins, has risen from the dead and now lives so that we may have eternal life with God, our Creator and Father—as we continue to commemorate and celebrate this great event, we also have the happy opportunity to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady to the shepherd children in Fatima, Portugal: the first of which occurred on May 13^th, 1917.  This is important, I think, because there are urgent connections between our celebration of Easter and the messages that Our Lady gave to those children 100 years ago.

          If you know anything about the apparitions, then you’ll know that for six months straight, on the 13^th day of every month, Mary appeared to the three shepherd children—Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta—and spoke to them.  You’ll also know that in these appearances, Mary gave them three “secrets”.  The first two were revealed in 1941, but the third secret was sealed until the year 2000.  I’ll leave you to explore booklets and things to learn more about the secrets, but I want to speak about the first secret, in particular.

          In this first secret the children were given a vision of hell, shown to them in the traditional form of a great lake of fire filled with suffering souls and cruel devils.  This was given to them to impress upon them the terrible consequences of sin and the urgency of praying for the repentance of sinners and of making sacrifices in reparation for their sins so that more souls would not suffer this cruel fate.  This vision reminds us of the two basic things that we know about hell: namely that it exists and that people go there.

          I bring this up today because there has been a movement both within and outside of the Church to deny either one or both of these facts.  In other words, there are many people today who are trying to convince themselves and others either that hell doesn’t exist at all or that no body actually goes there.  Their intentions, on the surface, seem noble: they see the existence of a place of eternal torture and separation from God, and the idea that our God, who is Love and rich in mercy, would allow persons to suffer such a fate, as diminishing the love and mercy of God.  Therefore, they must deny hell’s existence, or, at least, the fact that people go there, so that their idea of a loving and merciful God will not be tarnished.  Unfortunately, this is the great error of all the heretics: that is, it shaves off the corners of a square peg to make it fit into a circle hole.

          My brothers and sisters, let’s be clear: to deny the existence of hell and/or to deny that God would permit anyone to suffer such a fate is a mistake.  Jesus came precisely to save us from this fate; and so, what value would his coming have had for us if there was nothing from which to save us?  Even if we admit that hell did exist before Jesus (and perhaps still exists) and that people went there before Jesus, we cannot claim that people no longer go there.  To do so would deny the truth that one must be in right relationship with God, following his commandments, if one wants to enjoy the fruits of that relationship, which are the joys of eternal life with Him.  In other words, even though Jesus has made it possible to receive forgiveness for our sins (and, thus, to restore our right relationship with God), there is still a necessity for us to cooperate with this grace through repentance and conversion (swearing off our sinful ways and turning towards the way that God’s commandments show us).

          Therefore, the vision of the first secret—the vision of hell as a great lake of fire filled with suffering souls and cruel devils—is a reminder that we need today of these truths.  Still more, the purpose of the vision—to be a reminder of the terrible consequences of sin and the urgency of praying for the repentance of sinners and of making sacrifices in reparation for sins—is still relevant today, perhaps even more so today.  This is not something new, however; rather, it is something that has been part and parcel of the Christian life from its very beginning.

          In our second reading today, Saint Peter calls the first Christians to let themselves “be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”.  A priest is someone who offers sacrifice on behalf of the people.  Peter, knowing that not all of the Christians were priests who offered physical sacrifices (like that of bulls and goats), nonetheless reminds them that Christians are priests who can offer spiritual sacrifices (like prayer and mortifications: such as fasting and giving alms).  And, as we heard in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, the first Christians saw this work as so important that, when other works of charity threatened to disrupt the Apostles from it, they appointed other persons to minister the works of charity so that the Apostles could focus on the critical work of spreading this Word of salvation and of making spiritual sacrifices for sinners.  Thus, as we hear these words today, we, too, are reminded that the priesthood of all Christians is to offer these spiritual sacrifices.

          My brothers and sisters, the messages of Our Lady at Fatima simply reinforce this truth: that we, who share in this priesthood of all believers, must take up this work of offering spiritual sacrifices of prayer and mortifications for repentance and reparation.  We must do this because many people are still being lost to the cruel fate of suffering and torture in the fires of hell.  The good news of this, however, is that it isn’t all up to us.  What I mean to say is: the task doesn’t lie on our shoulders alone.  Rather, by taking up this good work, we make ourselves conduits for Jesus’ saving grace to pour out more profusely in the world.  It is Jesus who will bring about the repentance of sinners; and it is Jesus’ blood, shed on the cross, that will make reparation for sins; but it is our cooperation that will open up doors for Jesus’ work of salvation to reach more hearts and, thus, to save more souls from hell.

          The even better news is that this promise is for everyone.  While Jesus’ saving act didn’t save everyone automatically, it is available for anyone and everyone to receive.  This is what he meant when he told his disciples, “In my Father's house there are many dwelling places” and “I am going to prepare a place for you”.  Thus, our work is even more urgent since, literally, every living soul on earth is hanging in the balance between heaven and hell.  Let us, therefore, take up this good work of repentance from sin in our own lives, prayer for the repentance of others, and making sacrifices for the reparation of sins so that none of the dwelling places that Jesus has prepared would ever remain empty.

          Finally, on this Mother’s Day, I don’t think that I can fail to note that God sent Mary with this message.  I believe that He sent her because she is our mother and because he knows that we more readily listen to our mothers when they address us tenderly.  No mother loves us more tenderly than Mary, our Blessed Mother, and so let us honor her this Mother’s Day by taking up this good work so that she might delight that more and more of her spiritual children are saved.  Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Given at All Saints Parish: Logansport, IN – May 13^th & 14^th, 2017

Viviendo como hijos de la luz

Homilía: 4º Domingo en la Cuaresma – Ciclo A

          En esta mañana de Cuaresma vemos ante nuestros ojos el misterio de la batalla entre la luz y la oscuridad. Cristo es "la Luz que ilumina a cada hombre" y esta historia sobre el hombre ciego desde el nacimiento trae a la mente nuestra propia condición de cristianos bautizados.

          Sin embargo, la primera pregunta que debemos hacernos es la siguiente: "¿Es este evangelio completamente sobre un milagro?" La respuesta es "No". Mira, de los 41 versículos que componen este pasaje, sólo unos pocos son sobre el milagro, en sí. ¿Y así, de qué trata este pasaje del evangelio? Lo que Juan realmente quiere describir, al parecer, es el proceso de la fe. Mira como, en el principio de la historia, todos son ciegos, incluso aquellos que piensan que pueden ver. Al final, sin embargo, sólo uno se cura y el resto permanece en su ceguera.

          El hombre ciego, después de haber sido visto y después de haber sido interrogado acerca de cómo podía ver ahora, se adentra plenamente en la luz cuando confiesa su fe: "¡Creo, Señor!" Por otro lado, los judíos permanecen en la oscuridad cuando ignoran esta cura milagrosa y, en cambio, condenan al Señor por haber realizado esta obra en el día de reposo, diciendo: "¡Sabemos que este hombre es un pecador!"

          Una cosa que esto demuestra para nosotros es lo difícil que es para aquellos que no desean ver. ¡Qué difícil es para aquellos que piensan que ya pueden ver, aquellos que no quieren otra luz que la suya, los que no saben dudar o cuestionar sus ideas preconcebidas! No pueden ver y, en el fondo, no quieren ver; y así no se permiten ver. ¿Cómo, pues, pueden ser iluminados por la Luz del mundo? La respuesta, tristemente, es que no pueden: al menos no mientras persistan en su ceguera.

          Hace algunos días estaba hablando con nuestro seminarista, Will, y estábamos hablando cómo empezar a catequizar a los no catalizados. Hablamos mucho sobre el contenido de lo que compartiríamos con ellos: empezando por "quién es Dios" y "quién soy" y "cuál es mi relación con Dios", pero luego retrocedí y le recordé que el primer paso de todo esto tiene que ser para ayudar a cada persona a darse cuenta de que, como el Papa Francisco ha dicho a menudo de sí mismo, él / ella es un "pecador que ha sido tratado con misericordia". Al hacer esto, ayudamos a la persona a reconocer que él / ella ha sido ciega y que él / ella necesita a Cristo, que es "la Luz que ilumina a cada hombre", para ver. Recuerda lo que Jesús dijo a los fariseos: "Si estuvieran ciegos, no tendrían pecado; pero como dicen que ven, siguen en su pecado [que significa, “su ceguera”]." Debemos reconocer primero nuestra ceguera y nuestra incapacidad para superarla por nuestra cuenta. Entonces Cristo nos alumbrará, poco a poco, hasta que alcancemos la plenitud del día en Su presencia divina.

          Este "poco a poco" es realmente el largo camino de la purificación. Después de reconocer nuestra ceguera y nuestra necesidad de Cristo, debemos entonces permitirle que ilumine la luz en todos los lugares oscuros dentro de nosotros y debemos elegir permitirle "despejar" la oscuridad a través de la efusión de su luz. Los elegidos, los que se preparan para ser bautizados en esta Pascua, están en este viaje. Ellos, como todos nosotros, han nacido ciegos; Pero a través de un encuentro con Cristo en la oración, en su Palabra y en el testimonio de esta comunidad, han abierto sus ojos a la verdad de su amor y ahora se encuentran ante nosotros para pedir nuestras oraciones mientras hacen sus últimos preparativos para su bautismo. Ellos piden nuestras oraciones para que puedan ser curados de toda ceguera espiritual y así llegar a ser como nosotros, "hijos de luz".

          Sin embargo, en nuestro propio yo todavía experimentamos esta batalla entre estas dos fuerzas: la Luz y la oscuridad. Mientras que la victoria final de la Luz sobre las tinieblas ya ha sido ganada por Cristo, la victoria en cada uno de nosotros todavía está siendo combatida. Sí, hemos sido ganados por Cristo en el bautismo, pero todavía podemos estar perdidos. Es por eso que san Pablo escribió a los efesios para recordarles que, puesto que se han convertido en luz, ahora deben ser luz en el mundo y, por lo tanto, deben evitar todo contacto con las "obras de tinieblas", para que no se pierdan a la oscuridad una vez más. Aquellos de nosotros que están luchando para vivir nuestro discipulado intencionalmente testificarán cuán conscientes estamos de esta batalla. Si usted no es consciente de ello, entonces tal vez usted podría preguntarse si o no se han vuelto ciegos una vez más.

          Mis hermanos y hermanas, Cristo es la Luz que vence todas las tinieblas, Él vence a la muerte, nos guía y nos dirige, nos comunica la verdad, y nos conduce a la salvación ya la alegría. Esto es lo que celebramos en la Pascua. Si deseamos experimentar la plenitud de la alegría que está disponible para nosotros en esta celebración, entonces debemos continuar nuestro trabajo para reconocer nuestra ceguera y permitir que Cristo la Luz destruya cualquier oscuridad—es decir, cualquier pecado—que esté dentro de nosotros. Por lo tanto, oigamos la admonición de San Pablo a los Efesios como si nos estuviera amonestando: "Vivan, por lo tanto, como hijos de la luz … busquen lo que es agradable al Señor y no tomen parte en las obras estériles de los que son tinieblas. Al contrario, repruébenlas abiertamente … porque todo lo que es iluminado por la luz se convierte en luz".

          Amigos míos, la gracia de vivir como hijos de luz está disponible aquí en esta Eucaristía. Que nos ayude a cumplir esta buena obra de la Cuaresma que Dios ha comenzado en nosotros.

Dado en la parroquia Todos los Santos: Logansport, IN

26 de marzo, 2017