Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading captures the most inspiring moment of Solomon’s life. For reasons I will explain later, Solomon’s success is not where I want to begin this homily. I would like to begin with the tragic later-half of his life. Solomon was only the third king of Israel. He inherited the throne because David had promised Bathsheba (the wife he had illegitimately gotten) that her son Solomon would inherit the throne rather than Adonijah, the legitimate heir. God honored David’s promise and today’s reading tells the story of Solomon’s beginning to fame. But it is what happened afterwards that is appalling. Solomon made two major errors. First, in direct disobedience to God’s covenant with Moses, he employed Canaanites as forced laborers, and in this way did what the Egyptians had done to the Israelites. Second, he took about 700 women as wives and 300 concubines from most of the neighboring cultures. To make it worse, Solomon erected altars to the alien gods of these wives. He was personally involved in the construction of some of these shrines. This was in direct violation of the first commandment. God was angry with Solomon. Twice before, God had appeared to him and warned him of the dangers of disobedience (1 Kings 11:9-10). And that is exactly what happened. Solomon’s son Rehoboam succeeded Solomon but under his rule ten of the twelve tribes formed the northern kingdom. Tragically, Israel was split in two because of Solomon’s deeds.
Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Reading today’s passage from Jeremiah, I was reminded of another prophet (in my opinion he was a prophet). A modern day prophet living in the same setting that crafted saints like Maximillian Kolbe and John Paul the Great. This man was a Lutheran pastor named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I was reminded of him because Jeremiah’s passage and the opening chapter of Bonhoeffer’s book, The Cost of Discipleship, are like long lost brothers separated by several thousand years.
Feast of Saint James, Apostle
Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Vince and I are celebrating our 25th Wedding Anniversary this month. It’s kind of hard for me to believe we’ve been married that long. We were fairly young, just a year or two out of college, which seems younger and younger as our first child is about to head off to college! But we were very much in love and ready to face whatever life would bring, together. This occasion for celebrating and reflecting on where we began as a couple more than twenty-five years ago comes to mind as I read and reflect on today’s first reading from Jeremiah (2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13).
Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
I remember the day when it became clear to me that I was going to be a father. It was just a few weeks before our first son going to be born. What shocked me was how much fear I had about the responsibility of being a dad. My prayer at the time was filled with doubt. I almost believed that I was not called to be a dad. I thought I was not ready for what was coming.
Memorial of Saint Mary Magdalene
This past weekend was an intense lesson on marriage. On one hand, my brother in-law was married in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His wife is a wonderful person. The wedding was beautiful. It was a fitting start to a long and fruitful life together. On the other hand, the day before the wedding my wife’s grandmother passed from this life. Only a handful of weeks earlier, her husband, my wife’s grandfather, also passed from this life. Though unspeakably sad, the two passing so close together was also quite romantic and deeply touching. Thus, in the midst of celebration, there was mourning. In the midst of mourning, hope and joy. Two sides of this wonderful sacrament of marriage converged over one weekend.
Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote, “Earth’s crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees, takes off his shoes. The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.” In reading this, I may be tempted to go to Kroger and buy everything I need to make a fresh blackberry pie. In that case, I will have completely missed the point! The point is that most of us walk around unaware that God is present to us in every single moment of our daily lives. We are mostly unaware of his presence. In fact, if we actually recognized the presence of God at every single moment, we may indeed walk around without shoes for the rest of our lives!
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s gospel reading is a continuation of last Sunday’s gospel about the sower and the seed. Today we have the parable of the weeds among the wheat, the parable of the mustard seed, and the parable of the yeast in the dough. These parables are so powerful that it is often possible to miss the detail that the parables are about the the ‘mysteries of the Kingdom of God.’ Jesus says, “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.” In a very real sense, then, to focus merely on the parables is to miss the point. We should really be focusing on the mysteries of the Kingdom of God that these parables reveal.
Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Thank the Lord for my wife, Bess.
Really, I didn’t do anything wrong, I’m honestly starting this reflection this way because I am truly grateful for her. Bess is, as I told Immaculate Conception’s Youth Ministry, my prophetess. She doesn’t predict the future, but she does challenge me as prophets in the Biblical sense are supposed to do. To put it in the words of my father, “She seems really good, she calls him on his crap.” One of the biggest areas that I need this challenge is my own forgetfulness.
Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's gospel reading one of my favorite Gospel readings. Jesus says to us, "“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,and I will give you rest."To know that there is a place of rest and peace amidst the work we do is so refreshing, so uplifting, and so hopeful. I have often heard this gospel reading used at funerals, to reassure those mourning that the deceased is now in a place of rest and peace. While I think this is very important, I think that there are also three very real ways to find rest from the work and to lighten the burden here on earth too.
Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
A friend and I were recently discussing this previous Sunday’s gospel reading the parable of the sower. As we were talking, I shared about my own experience of gardening. After having let the garden go I have spent much of spring a summer trying to recover the good plants from the weeds and thorns that have been choking them. Pulling the weeds helped but when I didn’t get the roots, it looked pretty for a few days and then the weeds were right back. What remained hidden was a vast root system that empowered the bad plants to continue to thrive. What lay beneath the surface had more power to control what was on the surface than I could have anticipated.
Memorial of Saint Bonaventure
Today’s psalm will jump out to anyone who has been following international news in the past few weeks. Although it has unfortunately been happening for so long, the violence in Israel-Palestine has opened fresh wounds of animosity and hostility in the Holy Land. There have been numerous deaths on both sides, and the violence shows no signs of stopping any time soon. In the midst of such tragedy, it is difficult to pray today’s psalm: “God upholds his city forever.” Jerusalem is still standing, and although a beacon of hope for peaceful coexistence and community among the world’s religions, sometimes one wonders if it isn’t a fragile treasure on the brink of becoming a casualty of war.
Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin
Family is a very important part of my life. Trying to create harmony within my family and make everyone happy has always been something that I strive to accomplish. That is why today’s gospel reading causing me to pause and wonder what Jesus is trying to tell me about what it means to be a family in Christ. The family was a very important part of the Jewish culture in which Jesus had been brought up. Why would He suggest that parents and children would be turned against each other because of Him? I think that Jesus is calling us to a different way of being a family with Him at the center. If I am going to follow Jesus, then He should come before all things- including my family. Jesus should be the one who shows me how to be wife, mother, grandmother, daughter and sister. For me this is not an easy task, since doing His will may sometimes be a source of conflict for other family members or friends. Jesus does not call me to love my family less, but to love Him more than anything or anyone else. Jesus reminds us if we want to “find our life” and who we are meant to be in our family, we must lose our lives and “follow Him.”
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
In my hands I have my Bible. This Bible was not a gift. I purchased this Bible about three years into my seminary life. I saved money for six months to purchase it. After my initial conversion from being a nominal Catholic to a more serious Catholic, God’s word became my passion. Part of my initial conversion was the realization that my primary call was not merely to be a priest but first and foremost to be a disciple. And the question I struggled with was, “Who is a disciple?” If Jesus were to call me like he did the disciples, what would he want from me? To understand this, I delved into the gospels and later into the whole Bible like a child into a cookie jar. And if you glance through my Bible, you will see that it is highlighted in rainbow colors. This Bible is twenty-eight years old. It was in tatters and falling apart. I wanted to replace this old one with a new one but I soon realized that this Bible was not just another book. This Bible represented my conversion, my faith journey, my life and my relationship with God. This Bible was not something, it was somebody. In many ways, this Bible was a Sacrament, the real presence of God through God’s word. Knowing how dear this Bible was to me, a very dear friend of mine got is restored. Today, I take the Bible on all my retreats, classes and seminars. This Bible is not my book. This Bible is my best friend.
Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
My son, Andrew, is obsessed with "Thomas and Friends" - a popular cartoon featuring a diverse collection of personified trains living on the Island of Sodor. In fact, my wife recently heard him making "choo choo" sounds in his sleep. The next morning she asked him if he had been dreaming about Thomas the Tank Engine and he promptly replied, "Yeth" (Yes). We've watched so many episodes of "Thomas and Friends" that I often find myself randomly singing the theme song throughout the day! Like many cartoons scripted for small children, lessons of honesty, compassion, teamwork, perseverance, and respect for authority are readily offered to the young viewing audience. However, I've noticed that "Thomas and Friends" does something that I rarely see other cartoons doing- something I like quite a bit. And that's this: the personal flaws of each character are obviously made known to the viewer, while never being glorified. It's no secret that Thomas can be a wise guy, Gordon is pompous, and the Troublesome Trucks are rude and mischievous. Even in the theme song, the children unashamedly sing that "James is vain" as the credits role.
Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot
Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
As our scout troop was setting up our campsite this week, we were working ahead of schedule and all was going well until it started to get dark. Upon asking the scout in charge if we were going to put up any lanterns he shared with me that one of the lights was broken and two others needed batteries. Fortunately, we had some extra batteries and with extras from the scouts, we did just fine. It also helped that most of the scouts had their own flashlights, so we were covered.
Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s readings are quite challenging. Both are prophetic criticisms of misunderstood faith and practice. Each, in their fashion, describe the desire to domesticate the love and glory of God in human structures (otherwise known as idolatry). In both cases, this idolatry is perceived as faithfulness to the God of Israel. In both cases, even these well intended structure becomes an obstacle to God. Ultimately, these readings challenge us to reflect on the ways that we often confuse our frail and finite edifices for God’s enduring and eternal holiness.