4th Sunday - Demons & Hell

 

Once when I was an associate at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish in Wichita, I visited a classroom at the Catholic grade school. And when I entered the 4th grade room, I asked the children if they had any questions. One boy raised his hand. I said, “What’s your question?” He said, “Is there any sin in heaven?” I said, “No, there is no sin in heaven.” He said, “Are you sure, there is no sin in heaven?” I said, “Yes, I am sure, there is no sin in heaven.” He said, “But, didn’t the bad angels sin in heaven?” I thought, well, the kid is right, there was sin in heaven. Realizing the very smart question, I said, “Well, yes, there was one time when some angels sinned in heaven. But, now, there will never be any sin in heaven.”

In the Gospel today, Jesus expelled an unclean spirit from a man. What is an unclean spirit? It’s a fallen angel. In the book of Revelation Chapter 12, it describes about the war that was in heaven. Michael the archangel and his good angels fought against Satan and His bad angels, but the bad angels were defeated and lost their place in heaven. Satan’s name was originally Lucifer, which means “light bearer”. Lucifer was the most intelligent, most beautiful and strongest of all the angels. Some saints believe, that God showed all the angels in heaven, the future day when Jesus would take on human nature and become a man, and they would have to bow down and worship Jesus in His human and divine natures. And all the angels had one choice to either do what God wanted, or to choose to disobey God. Two-thirds of the angels chose to serve God, while one-third of them chose to not serve God. It’s believed Lucifer cried out, “I will not serve!” and at that moment, St. Michael knelt before God and cried out, “Who is like God?” in rebuke of the devil. Michael became the leader of the heavenly armies. His willingness to serve God, and to recognize that there is none other like God, was an act of obedience and humility to shame the pride of the devil. And so God allowed Michael to cast the devil and the rebel angels out of heaven.

The fallen angels became unclean spirits also called demons. So a demon is really a fallen angel. Each of us has a guardian angel assigned to protect us. And we can call upon St. Michael, who will come to our aid when we need protection against evil spirits who try to tempt us.

About 8 years ago, Bishop Kemme asked all priests to pray the St. Michael prayer at the end of all Masses, which is why we do that here at Holy Trinity.

Today, some people think there is no hell or that hell is empty. But today’s Gospel is reminder that there are evil spirits who possess people, but Jesus who is God has infinite power over them and can expel them.

Fr. Chad Ripperger, a famous exorcist, who many people watch on YouTube, recently said that many people no longer believe there is a hell. He also said, “Fear of the Lord, is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, people really lack today.”

What is fear of the Lord? Does it mean, that we should be afraid of God, or afraid that God will punish us for our sins? While we should have a healthy fear of being punished for our sins, especially for going to hell. That’s not what “Fear of the Lord” means.

To Fear the Lord means, that we should have a fear of offending God because we don’t want to hurt Him, whom we love. Whenever we sin, we hurt God. All we have to do is look at a Crucifix, and we can see how our sins hurt Jesus. Some think, well, that was 2000 years ago. But, the truth is our sins today caused Jesus to suffer like that 2000 years ago. Whenever we sin, we hurt Jesus. We should have a fear of hurting Jesus, because we love Him and don’t want to cause Him pain and suffering.

In fact, Pope Pius XI, said, “Every sin must be said to renew in a certain way the Passion of Our Lord, crucifying again in themselves, the Son of God and making Him a mockery.” In other words, the fear of hurting Jesus, should cause us to avoid sins. I think today, most people think when we sin, it doesn’t hurt anyone. But it does. First, it hurts Jesus. Second, it hurts our soul. Third, it can hurt another person whom we offend. Fourth, every sin wounds the mystical body of Christ. So there is really no such thing as a private sin.

Today, some people don’t think there is a hell, or they believe hell is empty because God is too merciful to send anyone there for all eternity.

But, there really is a hell and people really do go there. The Church teaches there is no forgiveness after death. If we die unrepentant, in the state of mortal sin, we will go to hell forever. Hell is place of unending torment.

Sister Lucia, described one the visions the children of Fatima had when the Virgin Mary appeared to them in 1917. She said,“Mary opened Her hands once more, as She had done the two previous months. The rays of light appeared to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the demons and the souls of the damned. The latter were like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms. They were floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke. Now they fell back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fright (it must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me). The demons were distinguished from the souls of the damned by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. That vision only lasted for a moment, thanks to our good Heavenly Mother, Who at the first apparition had promised to take us to Heaven. Without that, I think that we would have died of terror and fear.” The Virgin Mary showed the children of hell, and at that time Francisco was 9 years old, Jacinta was 7 years old and Lucia was 10 years old. Rather than causing them to be afraid of God, they were afraid that souls would go to hell, so they began to do penances, to prevent people from going there. They tied a rope around their waste as a penance, and gave their food away to poor children.

Hell is eternal, its forever. It is a dogma of the Catholic Church, that demons and the damned who go to hell, and will be there for all eternity.

In the Gospel of Mark Chapter 9, Jesus describes what hell is like. He said, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.

It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.” (Mark 9:43) Catechism from the Council of Trent, describes Hell as a “most loathsome and dark prison in which the souls of the damned are tormented with the unclean spirits in eternal and inextinguishable fire.”

All it takes for a person to go to hell - is to die with one unrepentant mortal sin on their soul. That is why if we commit a mortal sin, we should never delay in going to Confession. Rather, we should immediately come to Jesus in the Confessional, and He will wash away our sins and give us peace.

God does not send souls to hell. Rather, a soul who died in the state of unrepentant mortal sin, will turn their back of God, and will send themselves to hell, because they know they are not worthy of heaven and can’t be with God.

All of us should have the fear of hell and the fear of the Lord. We should be afraid of going to hell, but more importantly, we should be afraid of hurting Jesus, whom we love.

Today, what we need to do is to live our life with Jesus and if we live our life with Him, we have nothing to fear, because we trust in His mercy. He is a God who loves us infinitely.

I think one of the biggest problems we do today is compartmentalize our faith. What I mean by that is that we go to Mass on Sunday, we make our Holy Hour, but when we are at home or at work or at school, we don’t think of God. We live our life as though God is not part of it. We put our faith in a box.

But, we need to live our faith every day at all times. So how do we do that? It’s really rather simple. All we need to do is realize at all moments Jesus is with us. Jesus is always at our side. Jesus is inside us through baptism. Jesus wants to be part of everything we do.

Here is an example. When I was a seminarian, one day, I decided to ask Jesus what He would like me to eat for supper. I was just walking down the hallway at the house, and said, “Jesus, what do you want me to eat for supper?”

I never heard a voice. I didn’t have this shazzam moment.

Rather, I thought well, I can go to McDonald’s and get a hamburger, or I can go to the grocery store and buy some beef and make my own burger. I just decided, I would go to the grocery store and get some hamburger. As I walked to the meat department, I couldn’t believe it. There in front of the hamburger section was, a friend of mine, that I went to college with. We hadn’t seen each other in 20 years.

It was at that moment, I believed Jesus inspired me to go to the grocery store and get hamburger, not just to make my own hamburger, but to see a friend. I later thanked Jesus for inspiring me to go to the grocery store, though originally I had no idea it was Him who inspired me to go to the store.

When having difficulty at work, ask Jesus for help. When you get into the car, say, “Lord Jesus where do you want me to go?” When you are working on your homework and are having trouble with it, ask Jesus for help. When you need to make a quick decision say to Jesus, “What should I do?”

Ask Jesus to walk down the street with you. To go to the post office. Be sure to ask Him what He wants you to eat for supper. Tell Him you love Him. Don’t forget to thank Him. And if you just sinned, tell Jesus you’re sorry.

If Jesus is our best friend, we don’t leave Him at Church. Rather, we take Him everywhere we go and that will make our day a much happier one. While He may not take away all our sufferings, He will certainly help you to endure them. May the Virgin Mary, intercede for us to help us to realize Jesus is always with us and loves us, and we may turn to Him all times throughout the day and do everything we can to not hurt Him, because we love Him.

3rd Sunday - The World Needs To Repent

 

Today’s readings highlight repentance. In the first reading the prophet Jonah was sent by God to call the people of Nineveh to repentance. Nineveh received this warning from God because they were the chief enemy of Israel. Yet, God wanted to forgive them, and all they had to do was repent. As Jonah walked through the great city, he proclaimed, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed”. The people of Nineveh believed God and proclaimed a fast and all of them great and small put on sackcloth. Due to their repentance, God did not destroy their city.

John the Baptist was sent as a messenger proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” But after he was arrested, Jesus appeared saying, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

Today, the world needs to repent like never before. There is so much evil and darkness in the world. Over 65 million unborn children have died since Roe vs. Wade in 1973. We thank God for overturning of Roe vs Wade several years ago.

However, in Kansas, due to the failed Value Them Both Amendment, Wichita now has 3 abortion clinics. Out of 12,317 abortions reported to Kansas Department of Health and Environment in 2022, 8,475 are from those residing outside Kansas. However, there was a drop of 5% in Kansans who had abortions.

Since abortion is illegal in Missouri, a clinic worker at Planned Parenthood in Kansas City, Missouri admitted to taking minor girls, without parental consent, out of state (to Kansas) for secret abortions.

According to KMUW News from Kansas City, “Eighty-one out of every 100 patients who go to the Trust Women clinic for an abortion have crossed state lines to get there. An average of 54% are from Texas, 21% are from Oklahoma and 6% are from another state that doesn’t border Kansas, clinic officials say. “Our clinic receives an average of 3,000 to 4,000 phone calls a day,” said Zachary Gaylord, the Wichita clinic’s communications director. “We have capacity for around 40 to 50 appointments per clinic day.”

God was going to destroy the city of Nineveh, but because the people repented he didn’t. During the time of Noah, the people would not give up their sinful behavior and so God destroyed all that sinfulness by causing a great flood. God threatened to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah due to the sin of sodomy, but they did not repent and God did destroy them.

God’s mercy is contingent. There must be repentance and one must ask for His mercy. How can God forgive, unless it is asked for?

St. Faustina helps us to know that God’s mercy in infinite. She called it an ocean of mercy, unfathomable. She said our sins were like a tiny piece of sand dropped into the ocean of mercy.

Saint Faustina saw an angel coming down from heaven to destroy a city in Poland and no matter how hard she prayed, it had no effect. That is, until she heard these words, “For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and the whole world.” And when she began to pray what we later came to be known as the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, the angel lost its power and did not destroy the city. She prayed for mercy, and it was given to that city. It was later revealed that the reason God was going to destroy that city was due to the killing of the unborn there.

Bernard Nathonson, was an abortionist who performed over 70,000 abortions. He was a Jewish man. When he watched a live abortion on an ultrasound, he repented and then took classes to become Catholic. When he was baptized Catholic at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, all his sins and all the punishment due to his sins were all washed away.

Abby Johnson was a director of Planned Parenthood in Texas. That facility did thousands of abortions. She was a baptized Protestant. She, like Bernard Nathanson, watched an ultrasound of a live abortion, which caused her to come to repentance.

She eventually took classes and joined the Catholic Church. She made her first Confession and then on Divine Mercy Sunday, the Sunday after Easter, when she received Holy Communion, all her sins and the punishment due to her sins were all washed away in the ocean of mercy.

The question for us is, what have you done to end abortion? How much have you prayed for the protection of the unborn? Have you ever donated to a crisis pregnancy center, who could use your donation to help young unwed mother’s during a difficult time in their life.

We are all part of the mystical body of Christ and so when one person sins, it negatively affects the body of Christ. By failing to confess our sins regularly, we bring down the mystical body of Christ. But, when we confess our sins regularly, at least monthly, we help play a role in bringing about God’s kingdom. By practicing our faith, by adoring Jesus in Adoration, by attending Mass and receiving Communion also during the week, we become an army helping the Lord to defeat the devil and his works. Satanists call abortion their sacrament. The more abortions there are, the more the devil causes havoc in the world.

The Virgin Mary appeared in the United States calling us to repentance, otherwise She said there would be great tragedy.

On Oct. 8^th, 1859, at Robbinsville, Wisconsin, Our Lady of Good Help appeared to a young girl named Adele Brese. Mary said, ‘I am the Queen of Heaven, who prays for the conversion of sinners, and I wish you to do the same. You received Holy Communion this morning, and that is well. But you must do more. Make a general confession, and offer Communion for the conversion of sinners. If they do not convert and do penance, my Son will be obliged to punish them.” Twelve years later, on the exact day of October 8, 1871, the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States occurred. Approximately 2000 square miles of northern Wisconsin and Michigan, twice the size of Rhode Island, were destroyed by raging infernos. One town, Peshtigo, lost about half of its 2000 inhabitants. Up to 2500 died. It is an officially approved apparition in the United States.

When the 3rd secret of Fatima was revealed in 2000. Sister Lucia had said, “...we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendor that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand. Pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!”

18 years earlier, on May 13^th, 1982, one year after Pope St. John Paul II was shot, he gave a homily in Fatima and said, "Repent, and believe in the Gospel!" (Mk 1:15) These are the first words that the messiah addressed to humanity. The message of Fatima is, in its basic nucleus, a call to conversion and repentance, as in the Gospel. This call was uttered at the beginning of the 20th century, and it was thus addressed particularly to this present century. The Lady of the message seems to have read with special insight the signs of our time. The call to repentance is a motherly one. The call to repentance is linked, as always, with a call to prayer. In harmony with the tradition of many centuries, the Lady of the message indicates the Rosary, which can rightly be defined as "Mary's prayer," the prayer in which she feels particularly united with us. She herself prays with us. The Rosary prayer embraces the problems of the Church, of the See of Saint Peter, the problems of the whole world. In it, we also remember sinners, that they may be converted and saved, and the souls in purgatory.”

Monday, Jan. 22nd, the 51^st anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, is the National Day of Penance and Prayer for the Legal Protection of the Unborn as decreed by the US Bishops. All Catholics in the United States to pray and do penance for the unborn. We could fast, abstain from meat, do a Holy Hour, pray extra Rosaries. Today, let us heed the call to penance through the approved apparition of the Virgin Mary, who repeats the words of Her Son, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

Let us go to confession at least once a month, let us pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy often imploring God’s mercy to end abortion. We should also especially pray the Rosary daily, cease offending God by living the Gospel and truly believe in it by living our life as a disciple of Jesus, who said, “Come and follow me.”

2nd Sunday Vocations

 

Today’s readings are about God’s call and those who are called to follow Him. In the first reading, Samuel was sleeping in the temple, near the ark, which was the dwelling place of God, when he heard the voice of the Lord, call him by name. He awakens and thinking that Eli was calling him, he states, “Here I am.” After going to Eli, he said, “Here I am. You called me.” Eli responds stating, he did not call him, and tells him to go back to sleep. After three times, Eli realized, the Lord was calling Samuel, and so, he told him, the next time he hears his name, he is to respond stating, “Speak, Lord your servant is listening.”

The psalm also speaks of the Lord’s call. It states, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”

In the Gospel, Our Lord calls some of His disciples. After John the Baptist points to Jesus and states, “Behold the Lamb of God.” Two of John the Baptist’s disciples heard what he said, and began to follow Jesus. Later in that afternoon, Andrew, who was also one of John the Baptists disciples, found his brother, Peter and told him, he had found the Messiah and both began to follow Jesus that day as well.

Today’s message is about vocations. A vocation is a calling. The Lord calls many men and women to follow Him. Men are called to the priesthood and/or religious life, as monks, friars or hermits. And women are called to be religious sisters or nuns.

God uses different means to call men and women. For example, when St. Francis of Assisi was praying in a run down abandoned church called San Damiano, he heard the voice of Jesus come from a Crucifix, saying, “Francis, build my Church. As you can see its fallen into ruin.” St. Francis believed Jesus wanted him to start a religious order of men dedicated to penance, that later became known as the Franciscans.

Mother Angelica, a Poor Clare nun of Perpetual Adoration, who founded EWTN, the Catholic cable television network, realized she had vocation to become a nun after doing a novena to St. Therese and was miraculously healed.

St. Ignatius of Loyola discovered his call to start a religious order called the Society of Jesus, after he was wounded in battle and began to read the lives of the saints, while he was recuperating in a convalescent home.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta received her call to start a religious order when she was riding on a train. She said Jesus spoke to her asking her to quench His thirst by taking care of the poorest of poor.

Fr. Don Calloway, as a young man, got involved in selling drugs and stealing, but when he read a book about the story of Our Lady of Medjugorje, decided to become Catholic and then later a Catholic priest. We are going to watch his conversion story this Wed. at the Faith Formation Class after Mass.

Blessed Fr. Solanus Casey came to understand God was calling him to become a Franciscan priest, due to seeing a murder while he was a street car operator in Detroit.

Fr. Stu Long, who became famous due to a movie about his call, discovered his call to the priesthood after a motorcycle accident.

Fr. Isaac Coulter, a priest from our diocese discovered his call to the priesthood, when he made his own altar, chalice and Mass books as a little boy.

Even though there is a great shortage of priests and sisters in our country, and throughout the world, this is not the case in our diocese. There are three stumbling blocks to vocations in the United States. And all begin with the letter “P”. They are pride, power and pleasure.

Pride causes one to not go to confession, to be blind to one’s sins, and so, one therefore is deaf to the Lord’s call. Serious sins block God’s graces, and pride can cause one to not even acknowledge one’s own sins. Pride wants us to be self-sufficient, to place our self, and our desires, above God and to seek our own selfish desires. But Jesus calls His followers to be humble and self-giving.

The second “P” is power. If young people seek power, fame, worldly glory, honors, and money, they are unable to hear the Lord’s call. The desire for power causes young people to want to move up the corporate ladder, to control others, to win at all cost, to be selfish with one’s money and goods and seeks to live a life of luxury.

The third “P” is pleasure. Excessive pleasure causes one to be deaf to the Lord’s call of a vocation as well. The seeking pleasures of the eye and body, the desire for immediate pleasure and satisfaction causes deafness to the call. Pleasures include inordinate shopping and purchasing excessive clothes and wardrobes, or expensive money wasting hobbies. Other sinful pleasures include indecent images, excessive food, drugs, abuse of alcohol and pre-marital activity. But, Jesus calls His followers to die to self and to be pure and chaste.

The response to the vocation shortage caused by pride, power and pleasure, can be found here in our own diocese. They are: Eucharistic adoration and monthly confession to conquer pride; stewardship to conquer power, and mortification to conquer excessive pleasure.

Young men and women, who come to Eucharistic Adoration pray, in humility, and hear the voice of Jesus say, “Come, and follow me”. As Samuel heard the voice of the Lord, while near the ark, the dwelling place of God, so, the voice of the Lord can be heard in prayer, before the new and everlasting Covenant, the Eucharist. And when young people go to confession, humility replaces pride, because we realize we need God’s forgiveness and mercy.

Through our time, talent, and treasure by way of stewardship, we conquer the desire for power, and discover true power is in the giving of our self. Stewardship overcomes the stumbling block of power, and so, one hears the Lord call to serve and to give.

Mortification conquers excessive pleasure. Because God dwells within us, we are to protect our eyes from sinful images, and our bodies from harmful things, such that we strive for purity and chastity. Through Mortification by way of prayer and fasting, young people turn away from false pleasures and are free to respond to God’s call.

More and more young people today, are willing to turn their back on peer pressure and the ways of the world. They are tired of being told all sorts of lies by society. They seek truth and are willing to lay down their lives to follow Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life. They want to serve and to live a life of virtue and holiness. They want the world to be a better place.

Today, let us pray for all young people, that Our Blessed Lady, who always did the will of God, will inspire young men and women to hear the voice of Jesus, and respond, “Here I am Lord, I come to do your will.”

Baptism of the Lord

 

Today, we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Since, Jesus is sinless. Why did He want John the Baptist to baptize Him? There are at least four reasons. First, when Our Lord was baptized, it was the first public revelation of the Blessed Trinity. For thousands of years, the Jews believed that there is only one God, and they were right there is only one God. Yet, they could never have known there are three persons in one God, until Jesus came to reveal the Blessed Trinity. When Jesus was baptized, the event revealed He is His Son of the Father and that there is a third person, the Holy Spirit, who appeared in the form of a dove.

Another reason, Jesus was baptized, was to sanctify all water. The water poured on the head of Our Lord was made holy and therefore all water is made holy by His baptism.

The third reason why Jesus was baptized was to give approval of John’s baptism. Jesus wanted all to know that what John was doing was in accord with the will of the Father. He was baptized by John as an example for us, so that we too would choose to be baptized.

The fourth reason, Jesus allowed Himself to be baptized was out of humility, such that He allowed Himself to be numbered among sinners, though He was free from original sin and never committed any personal sin in His life.

John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance and not a washing away of original sin. However, the Baptism which Jesus instituted, when He told His apostles, to “Go therefore and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”,--was different then John’s Baptism.

Though sinless, Our Lord took the sin of all mankind upon His shoulders, as He carried His Cross, to Calvary. He was crucified, resulting in the baptism of His bloody death. Out of love for us, He consented to His death, for the remission for our sins.

Through the waters of Baptism, we go down under the water, in order to die to sin, as Jesus died on the Cross. When we rise out of the water, sin is washed away and we rise to new life, which is a life of sanctifying grace and life of union with God.

We see in the Acts of the Apostles, the apostles did as Jesus told them to go out and baptize. Immediately after the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Peter stood up and said, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit.” St. Luke then tells us about 3,000 were baptized that day.

The effects of baptism include: washing away of original sin; the complete forgiveness of all personal sins; for those who are old enough to have committed sin; the complete remission of all punishment due to sin; the restoration of our friendship with God; the gift of sanctifying grace in the soul; the Blessed Trinity comes to dwell within our heart; we share in God’s divine life; we become a child of God; a member of God’s family; a member of the Catholic Church; a member of the local church; we receive spiritual gifts such as faith, hope and charity; and the gift of being able to go to heaven when we die.

Baptism is the door to the other sacraments, so that we can receive Holy Communion, Confirmation, Anointing of the Sick, to be ordained a Priest and to go to Confession. It can also make Marriage (a sacrament) between two baptized persons.

Baptism puts a seal on our soul. It’s called an edible mark. This means once we are baptized, we are always baptized and so the sacrament cannot be repeated. And suppose, a baptized person would, God forbid, deny His Christian faith and become Muslim or Hindu or Jewish. Then he is still baptized. He can never remove his baptismal seal. He takes it with him to eternity.

Jesus made it clear baptism is necessary for salvation. He told His disciples, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” Although God has not made known to us any means other than Baptism for salvation, this does not mean God is restricted to saving by baptism.

Today, let us give thanks to God for the gift of our baptism. May we invite the non-baptized to be baptized because we desire that they will have the opportunity to go to heaven. And let us choose to live our life always rejecting Satan, and striving for virtue, so we may enjoy the glory of heaven, and our eternal union with the Blessed Trinity forever.

Epiphany

 

Today is the Solemnity of the Epiphany. We know from Sacred Scripture there were three wise men, who followed the star in order to find, Jesus, the newborn King in Bethlehem, with Mary and Joseph.

Balthasar was from Ethiopia in Africa. He brought myrrh. A bitter perfume used in burial practices of Jews. It symbolizes the death of Jesus, and His body being anointed with myrrh for burial. Melchior, was from Persia, which is modern day, Iran. He brought Frankincense, which comes from aromatic oil, used by Jews to offer sacrifice. It is a symbol of prayer and sacrifice. Casper was from Tarsus. He was European, whose gift was gold. Gold is for a king, and symbolizes the Divinity of the Child Jesus, the newborn King. It is believed all three, although from different countries, providentially met on their journey to Bethlehem.

The wise men were not Jews, they were Gentiles, just as we are Gentiles. It is interesting God revealed the birth of the “newborn king of the Jews” to men who were not Jews. We might have expected God to reveal the birth of Jesus to his own Jewish people, but no, it was to people of a different religion and race God revealed the birth of Jesus. As our opening prayer today states, “Father, you revealed your Son to the nations by the guidance of a star.”

Because Jesus came to save the whole world and not just his own Jewish Chosen People, God in his mercy chose to reveal the birth of Jesus “to the nations” for the salvation of the whole world.

In our Psalm today, we may see as a prophecy of Jesus, describes the whole world adoring God, “Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.” It refers to kings all over the world offering gifts and the Lord’s kingdom stretching from sea to sea, covering the whole world.

Something to consider is that the Magi and also the shepherds prostrated themselves before the Divine Infant. The Child Jesus, would have looked like any other child, but the shepherds came to know through the angels, Jesus is the Messiah and Savior. Likewise, the magi also came to know Jesus is King and is God, which is why they bowed down and worshiped Him.

After the Magi left, Herod sought to kill the baby Jesus sending soldiers to kill all boys 2 yrs and younger in Bethlehem, which was about 30 children, who died. And, the Magi knelt before a Child, who is God and adored Him as a baby. So, we have men came to adore a baby, while other men came to kill babies.

It would have taken faith on the part of the shepherds and the magi, to give homage to Jesus, the newborn King. They sacrificed leaving their kingdoms. They sacrificed giving their earthly treasures, because their faith guided them to worship God, as a baby.

Today, the bodies of the three wise men are buried in the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany and they are considered saints.

We should ask them to help us to look up in the heavens, not for a physical star, but a spiritual star. A star that will guide us to adore Jesus. What is that spiritual star? But our faith. Our faith guides us to Jesus.

And it takes faith to believe Jesus, who is God, is really and truly present in the Eucharist. Though He appears to be bread, we believe the Sacred Host is really Jesus. That is why we adore the Eucharist. At Mass we kneel before the altar because we believe God Himself becomes present on the altar. When the Host is elevated above the altar, we gaze in adoration of Jesus in the Eucharist. This is also why we genuflect when we come inside the church and when we leave church, because almighty God is truly present in the tabernacle. This is also why we bow our heads or make the sign of the Cross and some who kneel before receiving Holy Communion. These are signs of adoration and worship of God.

For those who come to adore Jesus in the Adoration, each person kneels before Jesus in Eucharistic Adoration. To adore means to gaze upon someone with love and that someone is Jesus.

Jesus came for everyone and He wants to have a personal relationship with each of us. That personal relationship is seen most clearly, when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion and pour out our hearts to Him, who loves us with an everlasting love. God is personal. God is here. God is intimate when He comes inside us and unites Himself to us in a union of love. After Jesus comes inside our heart in Holy Communion, we should speak to Him as our best friend. Thank Him for coming within us. Ask Him for help with regard to our own needs and the needs of others. Tell Him we love Him and invite Him to be with us throughout the day.

Our Lord longs for us to acknowledge Him as God, and speak Him as a friend. When you come to church kneel down and look at the tabernacle and talk to Jesus, because He is really there. Say these words to Him, “My God I love thee. I adore You O God, My King.”

At every Mass give yourself to Jesus with the bread and wine offered on the altar. We don’t have gold, frankincense and myrrh, but we have all our sufferings, sacrifices, joys, works and our total self and our heart to give to Jesus as a gift. May the Blessed Virgin Mary, who was the first to adore Her infant Son, help us to grow in love and friendship with Jesus, who is Christ the Lord, our Savior, and the King of heaven and earth.

Mary, Mother of God - Jan 1st

 

Today, we celebrate with great joy, the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God.

Have you ever wanted to hold the baby Jesus in your arms? Or kiss His sweet little face? Or touch His tiny little fingers? Have you ever wanted to talk to Jesus face to face in conversation, knowing you could literally hear His words, and He would answer your every question? Have you ever wanted to feel His comforting hands, on your shoulder, or feel His embrace with a hug? Have we ever wanted to sit down, and have dinner with Jesus? Have ever wanted to see Jesus face to face, and so, gaze upon the face of God, as a man?

Mary, His Mother, did all these things, and more, for 33 years of His life.

Even before Jesus was born, Mary was known, as the Mother of God. Elizabeth filled with the Holy Spirit, said, “Who am I, that the Mother of my Lord, should come to me?” She also told Mary, “Blessed are you among women”. Mary was certainly blessed, to carry God in Her womb. How many mothers, would have loved to carry God in their womb? Mary did. Filled with joy, She felt Him kick in Her womb, as the babe moved within Her. And with great excitement, She prepared for His birth.

St. Paul said, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman.” And that woman is Mary, the Mother of God, to whom God sent His only Son. He was born that cold night in a stable, in Bethlehem of Judea. And so, Mary was the first to gaze upon the face of the Son of God, who was sent among us, as a tiny infant!

The night of His birth, the shepherds, who watched over their flocks, came upon Mary, His Mother, with Joseph, and the Infant lying in the manger. They too gazed upon the face of God, as a little Child, as He shed His face upon them, and was gracious to them.

Later in Mary’s life, a woman in the crowd cried out, “Blessed is the womb, who bore you, and the woman, who nursed you!” Mary was most blessed, because, as His Mother, She first held the baby Jesus in Her arms! She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger! She was blessed, because She adored the face of God, kissed His chubby cheeks, touched His tiny nose, and grasped the little fingers of God. As His Mother, She nursed Him, made His clothes, bathed Him, and changed His diapers. What joy for Her to cook His food and eat with Him, every day, for 30 years! As the Mother of God, what a thrill She had, to help Her Son, take His first steps, and hear His very first words! Perhaps, Our Blessed Lord’s first words were, “Mamma”, or “Daddy”, or “Abba”, “Father”! She cared for His every need, with great love and attention! Perhaps, when Her Divine Child may have fell down while playing, and so hurt Himself, His Mother would have rushed to His aid, wiped away His tears, kissed His wounds, and consoled Him, with Her sweet comforting words!

As His Mother, She taught Her Son, the Torah, which She knew and pondered in Her Heart. As His Mother, She taught Jesus Jewish traditions passed down from Abraham and Moses. She took Him to the temple and the synagogue-- to pray. She spoke to God, Her Son, in Her everyday conversation, and must have come to understand the most profound mysteries about God! She heard Her Son, preach to the poor, and watch Him heal the sick, forgive sins, raise the dead, expel demons, comfort the sorrowing, and change water into wine--- at Her Motherly request. She would have rejoiced knowing She is the Mother of God, the Mother of the Savior, and the Mother of the Redeemer!

At the foot of the Cross, with what intensity, did She take all of us, Her spiritual children into Her Heart, as Jesus said, “Woman behold thy Son and Son behold thy Mother!” And so, became the Mother of us all! With what pain She endured, as She watched helplessly, as He bled upon the gibbet, and took His last breath! What pain in Her Motherly Heart, as She watched His Heart pierced with a lance! And, O what tears did She shed, as God, Her Son, was placed in Her arms, beneath the Cross! How tenderly She kissed the wounded hands and feet of Her dead Son, just as She tenderly kissed, Him as a Child! She wrapped Him not in swaddling clothes, but rather burial cloths. She placed Him not in a manger, but in a cold tomb! O Mary, What an exchange! What price did You pay, to become the Mother of God, and the Mother of us all!

O Holy Mother, many believe, Jesus first appeared to You, the morning of His Resurrection. And You watched, as He ascended to the Father, on the clouds of heaven!

From the moment, He came into Your womb, to His birth, His childhood, and adulthood, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension, You, O Mother, reflected upon all these things, and pondered them in Your Motherly Heart!

Now, O Sweet Mother, take Your children into Your Heart! Help us, to love you, and honor you, as our Mother. May every family pray as a family, before Your picture, or statue in their home. Remind us, You love us, care for us, watch over us! Look down from heaven upon Your children. O Holy Mother of God, pray for our families, that we may live together, as a family of love, united around the one true God, your Son, Jesus Christ, the Lord! Amen!

Holy Family Year B

 

Today we celebrate the feast of the Holy Family. In the Gospel today, the Holy Family went to the temple to present Jesus to God the Father, through the priest. We know they were poor because they offered two pigeons as a sacrifice. The more wealthy parents would offer a lamb to be given as a sacrifice, but poor people could not afford a lamb.

Joseph and Mary were obedient to the laws of the temple, which is why they brought the Child Jesus to the temple. They also would have had Him circumcised 8 days after His birth.

Unfortunately, the joy of the event in the temple was marred by the prophecy of Simeon, who said, the Child would be destined for the fall and rise of many and a sign of contradiction, and Mary’s Heart would be pierced by a sword, meaning, something would happen to the Child Jesus, that would break Her Heart. This was fulfilled when Jesus was crucified and Mary stood beneath the foot of the Cross.

When Jesus came into the world as our Savior, He wanted to start His redemptive task in an ordinary simple family. The first thing Jesus sanctified by His presence was the family. Nothing extraordinary happened from His Childhood until He was 30 years old. He lived a silent life, unknown to the world, in the midst of a family. Yet, His active ministry was for only 3 years. What does that tell us, that God spent 90% of His life on earth in a family?

Joseph was the head of the family according to the law, and he provided for the needs of the family by his carpentry work. Jesus too learned how to do carpentry from Joseph. Joseph, as head of the family was also the protector and guardian of the family. He is the one the angel appeared to tell him to take his family to Egypt and later to return to Nazareth.

No one knew Jesus better, then the Virgin Mary, because She lived with Him for 30 years before He began His public ministry. Mary taught Jesus to walk, to put on His clothes, to read and write and to pray. She spent every day of Her life, like millions of other women who look after their families, sewing, cleaning, and cooking. Some wrongly think ordinary tasks of the home are unimportant and insignificant. Yet, when ordinary simple life is done out love for God, it sanctifies the family.

The Holy Family prayed together, went to synagogue together and to the temple feasts together. They followed the Jewish rituals and customs and were obedient to all the laws.

Between Jesus, Mary, and Joseph there existed a holy affection, a spirit of service, and a mutual desire for the happiness of each other forgetting about their own needs. The Holy Family is a model for families, in virtues and in doing God’s will.

Every Christian family is to imitate the house of Nazareth, a place where God is first, so that God can be at the center love that members of the family have for each other.

God must be first in every family, by making attending Sunday Mass the most important family event of the week. God must also be first at home, especially by praying together every night. Praying the prayer before meals is good, but the family should also gather each night for a short time of prayer. Each person can mention something they are thankful or something they want to pray for and then pray an Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be or the family could pray the Rosary together. The father of the family as the spiritual leader of the family should lead his family at night in prayer and prayer before meals and bring the children to confession monthly. Remember, “The family that prays together stays together.”

Children should be encouraged to practice virtue and sacrificial love in the family. Parents and grandparents like brag to others about their children and grandchildren. When a child is successful, he or she begins to think their life is important, and that he or she has value and dignity. School activities can teach children self-discipline, team work, and respect.

But there is a deeper true reason for the dignity of children, and it can be obscured or lost or not discovered. Our dignity comes from the fact, that we are children of God and created in His image and likeness. Our dignity is independent of our accomplishments. And so children can think their dignity is the result of usefulness. A down syndrome child or child with a disability has equal dignity before God as other children. Their value is not measured in what they can or cannot do.

Some children are not able to do school activities, perhaps because they need to work to help the family financially. Working with a paying job, helps children to interact with adults and learn sacrifice and self-discipline.

Yet, how much more do children learn, when the child volunteers to do deeds of love for others. Such as mowing a neighbor’s yard or removing snow for free. Or volunteering at a soup kitchen or helping out at church.

Something I admire about Catholic schools, is that children are taught not only to excel in academics, sports, and the arts, they are taught to excel in virtue. They are taught to be disciples of Jesus. They learn what it takes to become a saint. In Catholic schools, they can openly pray together. They can do Christian activities and wear Christian symbols.

When I was an associate at St. Francis of Assisi in Wichita, a young boy came up to me and told me that Wilbur elementary would not let him bring his skate board to school because on the bottom of the skateboard he had inscribed a cross. In many public schools children are no longer able to sing Christmas Carols. They can’t sing Silent Night, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Joy to the World, or even sing I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Catholic school children are able to attend weekday Masses, and so receive Jesus in Holy Communion. They have daily religion classes and learn about the history of the church, morality, the sacraments, scripture, vocations, etc…

The mission statement for Kapaun Mt. Carmel High School is "to educate and form the total person in the image of Jesus Christ.” The mission statement for Bishop Carroll High School is: “To assist parents in forming disciples of Christ who enrich the culture as stewards of God's gifts.”

Catholic schools are not exempt from problems and difficulties, because every school is like a person, each has its weaknesses. Yet there is a tremendous difference in sending a child to Catholic school verses public school, especially because a child who attends Catholic school is more apt to practice their faith better, to come to the sacraments more often, and to incorporate their faith into everything they do, because they are taught that to be a disciple of Jesus is most important, and can have a great impact to society.

Years ago, I substituted a daily Mass for the priest at Bishop Carroll high school. The Mass was held in the gym and over 70% of all the youth at the school attended the Mass. It was optional for them. They wanted to attend.

I myself never attended Catholic school. I didn’t have the opportunity because the Catholic school I would have attended closed.

Today some families are opting to home-school their children. By homeschooling, the parents follow a particular approved home-school curriculum and personally teach their children about the faith. They create their own schedule. They are able to attend daily Mass with their children. Some home-school families are able to play sports and do other school activities with schools.

In fact Jesus was home-schooled. During His life, there wasn’t public schools or private schools. I would like to encourage parents to pray about sending your children to Catholic school. I was surprised to learn that a bus comes to St. Joseph’s in McPherson every day. One of the youth from McPherson told me 40 kids come from McPherson attend Trinity High School in Hutchinson.

How blessed we are to have Eucharistic Adoration every week, where families can come to pray to Jesus together.

No matter if children attend public school or Catholic school or are home-schooled, the words of Pope Saint John Paul II call parents to take their parenting role most seriously. JPII said, "Parents are the first and the most important educators of their own children…“By virtue of their ministry of educating, parents are through the witness of their lives the first heralds of the Gospel for their children. Furthermore, by praying with their children, by reading the word of God with them and “introducing them to the Eucharistic life of the church” --they become fully parents, in that they are begetters not only of bodily life but also of the life that through the Spirit's renewal flows from the cross and resurrection of Christ.”

Today, let us pray all families will become counter cultural, and return to the basics by imitating the Holy Family, in simplicity, in love, in prayer, and in service.

O Holy Family of Nazareth, pray for us, that our families may be like your family!

Christmas Miracles

  

Deep down inside our hearts many of us want proof of God’s love for us. Yet, we really shouldn’t need proof, because we live by faith.

Did you know, there are miracles that took place which involved the infant Jesus? There were two miracles associated with the birth of Jesus.

When Mary was found with Child, the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall name Him, Emmanuel, which means God is with us.” But how could a virgin give birth to a child? The first miracle, which occurred nine months before the birth of Jesus, was that Mary became pregnant, when She conceived in a miraculous manner through the power of the Holy Spirit. At that moment, Jesus, the Son of the Eternal Father, who always existed, took upon our human nature, as He came down from heaven in the Virgin Mary’s womb. What an astounding miracle. God became man in the womb of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

Then for nine months, the Virgin Mary carried the tiny infant, who grew from a fetus unto an unborn child ready to be born. When it was time for Our Lord to be born, the second miracle occurred in the little town of Bethlehem when She gave birth to Jesus. Catholics believe the birth of Jesus was miraculous and not in the ordinary way in which women give birth. Because Mary was not subject to original sin, as a Virgin, She gave birth without any labor pains and in a miraculous manner, without the normal opening of Her womb and so Her virginal integrity was kept. It’s believed Jesus miraculously came forth from Mary’s womb and into Her motherly arms. It was the first time in human history, the face of God could be gazed upon by human eyes. It was the first time God could be physically touched and even held within the arms of His human creatures.

There have been miracles on Christmas in the lives of the saints. For example, St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Faustina and St. Jerome each had a Christmas miracle.

Here is the true story of St. Francis of Assisi: In 1223, Francis made an unusual request to a landowner. He wished to recreate a live Nativity scene of Bethlehem for the townspeople. What better way, Francis felt, to welcome the Christ Child than to actually see, hear, and feel the harsh and poor conditions He was born into. With the permission of the local Bishop, he created an re-enactment of the Nativity of Jesus.

A manger was set up in a cave on the hill, fresh hay was scattered around, and a donkey and ox were brought up to complete the scene. A simple altar was erected beneath it, and he laid a wax figure of the Holy Infant.

Francis, who was a deacon, assisted at the Midnight Mass. When St. Francis was standing near the priest by the altar, at the moment when the bread totally and completely changed into the Body of Christ, as the priest said the words of Jesus at the Last Supper, “This is my body, which will be given up for you”, there in the arms of St. Francis appeared the baby Jesus for all to see. The baby Jesus smiled at Francis and stroked his cheeks that were wet from weeping. Francis sighed deeply and was overcome with joy. From that time on people began to build small nativity scenes to commemorate the birth of Jesus. Just as St. Francis created a nativity scene.

St. Clare started a cloistered religious order of nuns, who would follow the life of St. Francis of Assisi. One Christmas night, Clare was too sick to attend Christmas Midnight Mass. All the other sisters, except Mother Clare when to the chapel to Mass. As Mass began, suddenly in the room of St. Clare there appeared to her the Mass on the wall. She was able to see the Mass, to listen to the sisters sing Christmas hymns and heard the sermon of the priest. After Mass, when the sisters returned to Clare’s room, they wanted to console her, because she was unable to attend Mass, but she confided everything she saw in her room and told them the words from the priest’s sermon. That is why today, she is the patron of television.

Once during Midnight Mass, St. Faustina had a vision of the birth of Jesus and this is what she saw, she said, “When I arrived at Midnight Mass, from the very beginning I steeped myself in deep recollection, during which time I saw the stable of Bethlehem filled with great radiance. The Blessed Virgin, all lost in the deepest of love, was wrapping Jesus in swaddling clothes, but Saint Joseph was still asleep. Only after the Mother of God put Jesus in the manger did the light of God awaken Joseph, who also prayed. But after a while, I was left alone with the Infant Jesus who stretched out His little hands to me, and I understood that I was to take Him in my arms. Jesus pressed His head against my heart and gave me to know, by His profound gaze, how good He found it to be next to my heart.”

In the Monitor Journal this past week, I put an article in the paper about St. Jerome and the Child Jesus. Jerome (327 to 420) lived as a hermit and worked in a cave next to the cave where Jesus was born. He was asked by the Pope to translate the bible from Greek into Latin, the common tongue of the people at that time. It took him more than 40 years.

Then, one Christmas night Jerome was praying in the holy cave. How often he kissed the sacred Crib where the Savior of the world was born for us. But all of a sudden, Oh wonder! Oh love! The night was illuminated with ravishing brightness, it shone like a radiant day. The Divine Child was there, extending His divine arms to His faithful friend. “Jerome,” He said to him, “Oh, see My poverty. To your God who begs, what present will you give? Jerome: “To You, O King of love, my heart, my goods, my life!” Jesus: “That is not enough, give Me more.” Jerome: “All that I have received from your blessed hand, all that with your grace I have been able to do for you, all my works, Lord, my tears, my prayers, my long nights of study, and my days of pain…, everything is yours, Jesus, take it for you alone.” The Divine Child: “No, I want more.” Jerome: “What is it, my tender love, that you are still waiting for? I have given You everything, I have nothing left… Speak, what do You want? Do you want me to pour at the foot of your altar, drop by drop my blood in the golden chalice?” Jesus: “No, My son, if I have left the splendors of My Heaven, it is not that I need the treasures of mortals, but I hunger to pour into souls the gifts of My love, the treasures of My grace. Destroying every obstacle, I want a divine fire to ignite them forever: Give Me your sins so that I may erase them.” Jerome was shocked. "But," he asked, "what would You do with them?" Jesus: "Give Me your sins, in order that I may pardon them all." The generosity which Jerome had shown Christ on His Birthday was more than repaid by the loving rapture he experienced upon hearing those merciful words. Jerome: "O Divine Infant, You make me weep for joy!"

Jerome died in Bethlehem, with his head in the manger where Our Lord was born. His body is now kept in the Church of Saint Mary Major in Rome, where Our Lord’s crib is also kept.

One Christmas Midnight Mass in a rural country parish in the United States, a parish priest elevated the Host after the Consecration, when the bread truly became the body of Christ, suddenly the priest saw the Host disappear and in his hands was the Divine Infant Jesus wrapped in a blanket. The Divine Child turned His face toward the priest and smiled and then turned His face toward heaven, and at that moment, red and white rays came forth from the Child’s chest and went forth up into the sky and to the heavens. It was as though His Divine Mercy illuminated the world. Then just as the vision began, suddenly the Child was gone, and the priest once again had the Host in His hands. Only he saw the vision at Mass and was taken by it all, he began to weep for joy inside his heart.

Today, let us give thanks to God for the gift of the miracle of the miraculous conception of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us give thanks to God for the miraculous birth of Jesus, which kept the Virgin Mary free from pain and virginally intact. As well as all the Christmas miracles of the Child Jesus.

Let us turn to the Virgin Mary and ask our Mother to increase our faith and to acknowledge God’s love for us, which we are able to behold every time we come to Mass when Jesus comes in the Sacred Host to give us His love. Teach us not to forget that the infant Jesus is proof He loves us and the small white Host is truly our infinite, eternal and omnipotent God.

Oh what astounding miracle, greater than all the miracles-when Jesus, through the hands of the priest makes Calvary present on the altar as bread and wine are changed into His body and blood. Is there any greater miracle on earth, than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Jesus Christ truly present in the Sacred Host? Is there is any greater proof that God loves us-- is that He gives Himself to us in Holy Communion?