Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Today's reflection is based on Fr. Satish Joseph's installation of Pastor at Immaculate Conception and St.Helen Parishes. This homily is his vision for Immaculate Conception, since this website is of the Immaculate Conception faith formation ministry. He wrote a separate one for St. Helen Parish, which will be available on www.sthelenparish.org).
It is with immense gratitude to God, to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, and to the parishioners of Immaculate Conception and St. Helen parishes, that today, I assume the awesome responsibility of Pastor of both these parishes. As I do so, I ask God for two graces: humility and wisdom - humility to know that pastorship means to walk in the footsteps of Jesus, the Good Shepherd; and wisdom to view each person and situation through God’s eyes. Even though Fr. Vincent is new to our communities, I consider him integral to the ministries at both parishes. I believe that God has placed him among us for a reason.
Please allow me to share how I understand the role of a pastor and his relationship to a parish. While this is not a comprehensive statement, it would like to give you an insight into my thinking, my spirituality, my leadership, and my ministry. As usual, God speaks to me in three points.
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week of Ordinary Time
I read the Amos prophecy and thought of some really cool, impractical thoughts I could offer. So, I ruled out those. Then I read the Gospel and felt so distant from cloak patching and wineskin drinking that I wasn’t sure what to say there. I then thought, what about this often forgotten section, the Psalm. Remarkable isn’t it? We read the Psalms multiple times a day in the Church. Psalms are included in nearly every office of Liturgy of the Hours, every daily Mass, and every Sunday Mass. This is one rich Old Testament book. So today, let’s look to the Psalm, and I want to offer a rewording of the Psalm as a meditation. So you don’t have to leave this page, here is the original text:
Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Many of the people in my family are, or have been, farmers. Consequently I’ve heard many farming stories in my life. At this point, I have no idea at all what happened to which of my family members, or indeed whether the stories are true at all. But one of them is the story of a family who went to church one morning, and while they were at church, they heard rain, then hail. The hail, of course, would ruin their crop. Some people left the service to go attend to their crops, but this family did not. In fact, this family observed Sabbath-keeping, and so did no work at all on Sundays.
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
It seems to be a part of our fallen human condition that we do not bear criticism well. No one wants to be told that he is failing to live a good life. Perhaps even less so do we want to hear criticism of our nation. We don’t like people accusing the United States of injustice, selfishness, materialism, or neglect of the poor and the needy. We’d like to think that we are doing alright, and serve as a model to other nations because of all the good for which we stand.
Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul
My chains are gone I’ve been set free my God my Savior has rescued me. And like a flood his mercy rains, unending love amazing grace. These lyrics to a Chris Tomlin song ran through my head as I read the readings for today. On more than one occasion I have been with families for extended periods while their loved ones have been shackled by their own illness from which there was no recovery. One time in particular the situation was sad but both the patient and the family were aware and ready for what I like to call life after life. When the patient died you could sense the relief. Although I didn’t sing it out loud my heart sang this Chris Tomlin song. The patient was free of the body in which she had been chained.
Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr
more than all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you
Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Last month I returned from a pilgrimage where my husband and I joined 32 other pilgrims and walked part of the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain. It was an incredible experience walking over 125 miles to reach our destination- the Cathedral of Santiago where the body of St. James is buried. As I reflect back on this journey, there are many spiritual lessons that I have learned. One of the most important ideas is the concept that the journey itself is more important than the destination. In today’s gospel reading I believe Jesus calls us to follow Him in the here and now. He reminds us that we need to travel light and leave both past and future in His Hands. Although heaven ( eternity spent in unity with God) is our final destination, as true disciples of Jesus we need to focus on the present moment recognizing that Christ is already with us as we walk on the way.
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
It is truly amazing, that in the Bible, scenes from two distant millennia, written by authors from completely different era. for completely different audiences, can be so similar. In the first reading, the young Elisha, who was ploughing his field, is called by the prophet Elijah to follow him as his attendant. Before Elisha follows him, he seeks Elijah’s permission to bid his family goodbye. Elijah concedes to the request. Elisha then offers a sacrifice of the animals he used for farming and used the ploughs to make the fire for the sacrifice. He bids his family adieu and then follows Elijah. This passage has a striking parallels in today’s gospel reading. There were people both looking to follow Jesus, and those that Jesus called to follow him. When one of them asked Jesus to allow him to bury his father, Jesus refused to make the concession, and said, “Let the dead bury the dead.” To another man who wished to follow Jesus, but first say good bye to his family, Jesus, said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.’ Jesus refuses to make the concession that Elijah made.
Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
When I was in high school we were given a classwork assignment to reflect on a passage of Scripture. I had gone to Mass nearly every Sunday of my life but I suddenly drew a blank. I had no idea what to make the subject of my reflection. I’m not even sure I knew what was or wasn’t in the Bible. I probably had a dozen Saints run through my head that are after the Biblical period. Additionally, I had no idea where to find anything. So I popped open the Bible, chose Luke (because why not), and searched the section headings until something caught my eye. Like many teenage boys, my search needed to go no further than centurion (I figured I wouldn’t find Gandalf, ninja, or pirate no matter how hard I searched). Anyway, I found myself reflecting on Luke’s version of today’s Gospel from Matthew, the Healing of the Centurion’s Servant. Almost 14 years later and I still finding this story rich.
Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
In our tradition, there are only a few people whose births we celebrate. John the Baptist is one of those, and this feast is placed six months from the Nativity of Jesus on Christmas. In our cyclical calendar, these two nativities are equidistant, standing opposite from each other in the circular liturgical calendar. And indeed, the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist and the Nativity of Christ are purposely placed in the months of June and December. In the month of June, we begin to have less daylight and more darkness as our days grow shorter again. It is symbolic of John’s words that “I must decrease that he may increase” (John 3:30). Meanwhile, with Christmas, Jesus, the light of the world, enters, and the light in our days begins to increase until we are back to June, and this Nativity of John the Baptist, again.
Thursday of the Twelfth Week of Ordinary Time
I remember being in grade school, most likely as part of my preparation for confirmation in eighthgrade, and learning about how to establish a prayer space within my home. We were encouraged to envision constructing an altar and what might be necessary for such a space to create a prayerful atmosphere – pictures, candles, a Bible, some altar cloth… you get the point. These memories came back to me as I reflected upon today’s scripture readings but on a bit of a broader scale.
Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Although my mom was Jewish for much of my life I was raised Catholic. My parents did the best they could. We went to Church every week and attended CCD faithfully all the way through twelfth grade. Some of this time my heart was really on fire for my faith. I was an altar server all through high school and I considered priesthood during this time. But for a while after high school I withdrew from my faith in part because I surrounded myself with people who did not take the faith seriously. In the summer between second and third years of college I spent a great deal of time with a group of missionaries who taught me the profound importance of having a relationship with Christ. Although they were not Catholic and did not believe Catholics were Christians, they helped me reclaim my Catholic faith.
Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious
Scripture Readings
Have you ever felt a sense of foreboding or approaching doom? Many of us have experienced times in our lives when it feels like destruction is coming our way. In today’s first reading, Hezekiah King of Judah is being taunted by the King of Assyria. This mighty expanding empire has its sights set on Jerusalem next. It has an impressive history of destroying and gobbling up every nation in its path. Most other nations follow the way through the wide gate; they build up their militaries and pray to their false Gods for help. But Hezekiah knows that because God is different, Judah is different. God is the true God, and so military might is not needed to save the nation from the invading empire.
Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Scripture Readings
Can you remember a conversation with a good friend when the subject turned to another person? Of course we all have. This happens even with the ‘church’ friends in our parish communities which may, in fact, make it all the more precarious. Covering ourselves in a false cloak of ‘Christianity’, we try to justify talking about a common acquaintance under the guise of helping or caring for them. In reality we do nothing more than judge them. Sin (or evil) always enters under cover of darkness. This is especially dangerous because, inadvertently, we create or deepen division within Christian communities. Frankly, the immediate gratification of feeling our personal superiority in these situations tempts us away from our personal identity as Christian Disciples. These missed opportunities to advance the Kingdom of God always end badly.
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Fr. Satish is in India, visiting his parents. This homily was written three years ago).
I have an invitation to speak this summer at the national conference of the National Catholic Education Association. The topic that was given to me was: New Evangelization and Adolescents. I am guessing that they want me to talk about making the ‘good news’ of Jesus relevant to high school adolescents. As I prepare for this talk the theme that is emerging is that there is difference between ‘religion for religion’s sake’ and ‘discipleship.’ There is a difference between ‘teaching religion’ to our youth and somehow ‘allowing Jesus to capture the imagination of our young people.’
Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading is an eventful episode in Hebrew history and the Gospel is the rich center of the Sermon on the Mount. Both of these were tempting, albeit overwhelming. In the end, it was the Psalm that caught my eye.
Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
If you ever want proof that the scriptures are about real-life situations, real people, real emotions, you need look no further than 1 and 2 Kings. Contained in these books are more intrigue, greed, treason, and backstabbing than any princess fairy tale or real life account of monarchs in the UK. What makes today’s Old Testament reading (2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20) such great reading for us is the way that we see God standing in the very midst of all those real-life situations and emotions.
Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
In today’s selection from the Sermon on the Mount from the gospel of Matthew, we find Jesus instructing his followers on prayer. The passage, not to mention the prayer, is so familiar to us that we might easily pass it over. This would be a mistake, however. As we often hear at Mass, this is the prayer “that Jesus taught us.” This is “the Lord’s Prayer.” This is the prayer of the whole Church.
Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Have you ever called someone or been labeled a hypocrite? In our current political landscape this accusation is being thrown around a great deal. Most reflective people realize we are all hypocrites at times. Consider Jesus’ words “let those without sin cast the first stone.” While this take on the golden rule is for all of us, there are times when we or others cannot help ourselves. Earlier this week at work I was reading the Matthew 25 and thinking about the incredible value of feeding the hungry. Shortly after I was asked to bring food vouchers to a visitor and found myself displeased at what a few moments before I named a virtue. The Lord hit me squarely and clearly between the eyes.
Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Yesterday in our first reading from 1 Kings, we heard the story of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel bringing about the death of Naboth in order that they could take over his property after he refused to give it up. Today the prophet Elijah confronts the ruler about this evil, and the life of evil that Ahab has chosen to live – not only by killing Naboth, but by worshiping idols and forgetting the Lord.