Father Greg

Triple-crossed

A homily for the Third Sunday in Lent

A number of years ago, I used to do mass for a cloistered Carmelite group of nuns. They had a big pilgrim day once a month, I’d always do that mass. When I was being reassigned, they did a little farewell for me. Gave me a card. Then they gave me this gift a cross. Kind of pretty, like a Bishop’s cross.

It had a hook at the top for putting the chain. Priests don’t wear a bishop’s cross. But I looked at it and said, what? A priest needs another cross. You know, priest get crosses all the time. Yet, I got another cross, but I put it on my bookshelves and there it stayed. And every now and then I would just grab it and dusted because it would get dusty.

One time when I did that, I noticed the top or the chain goes rotated. So I said, well, this is different. You know, it should be. So I rotated it and all of a sudden it sprung open. The cross sprung open. Oh, it’s got a secret compartment. This is cool. So I opened it and inside there’s another cross.

So I looked at that and I pulled that cross out and I’ve now have two crosses, the ornate exterior cross and the simple interior cross. But I notice that it has writing, very tiny writing so I scrutinized it terribly. And it said ex lignum Crucis domini nostri Jesu Cristo. That means in Latin from the wood of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So I look in the center and sure enough, there’s another cross, a very tiny cross in the very center, made out of the wood of the true cross. Now this is getting really cool. I don’t think the sisters knew what they gave me. They probably regifted something that they got just to me, and it sat there for years.

The wood of the True Cross. Well, I think this is how we should do life, and our examination of life in ourselves is the more we look, the deeper we can go. And that’s what I think our readings call us. To go deeper, we have Jesus saying, you know that the Gentile blood was mixed, that their sacrifices by pilot were they guilty or the tower they fell, and people died, were the guilty.

And Jesus is saying, no, it doesn’t work that way. But oftentimes people very infantantly, infantiley say God works that way. If you’re good, God rewards you. If you’re bad, God punishes you, and Jesus is good. Beyond that, it’s a two year old mentality dealing with their parents. God is more than a parent of a two year old. But oftentimes if we think no God is that. God should reward us or punish us, it’s justice.

And if God is not just and it’s like, that’s not God, and who feels like God is what is God? God is nothing. God is dead. John of the cross says that that when we realize or we feel the image of God is incomplete or lacking or infantile and we throw it away, it’s as if God died. But what God is doing is that go deeper and look deeper, and you’ll find another cross, a deeper cross, you’ll find a deeper reality.

That’s the call. And so that’s what he’s even saying with the parable of the fig tree is it’s not just about produce, it’s about life. Let this fig tree live and then it will produce. But we can still say, but it’s not enough. Like if God is omniscient and all loving, why does evil exist? Why do bad things happen to good people?

I just can’t, why do children have cancer? This can’t be God. God can’t allow that. That kind of God is doesn’t exist. God will die according to Saint John of the cross again and again. It’s not God. I just feels that way. It’s your simplistic way of looking at God. And if we look even deeper, we see reality.

The real cross, the true cross in our lives. In God that I think it’s all about. Can we cut through the cross? How can we cut through fear? Can we cut through pain? Can we cut through abandonment? Can we cut through betrayal and love anyway, like Jesus on the cross says father, forgive them. They know not what they do.

Can we do that? That is Christlike love. That is divine love. That’s what we’re called to be. Divine love people. And that’s what I think Jesus calls us to in this gospel, not infantile images of God or infantile images of why evil exists, but a deep, rich knowing that God can even turn, as Saint Paul says to the good for those who love him.

Grafting

A homily for the 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time

This is something I did a few gardening seasons ago. I’m going to do it again. This year is to plant tomatoes and plant potatoes. But what I did and what I want to do this year is after the tomatoes have sprouted and the potatoes have sprouted. To cut the tomato and graft it on to the potato where the potato is growing. And what you happens is because of the same family, the potato gives extra nourishment, extra water, extra everything that the tomato plant and it will produce, like double the number of tomatoes. And at the end of the season it will produce. You have potatoes also. And so it really is a fun exercise. Im going to do it again this year. And I’ll keep you abreast of how this function happens. So first I’ll plant some tomato seed.

And now I’ll plant some potatoes. I’m cutting them in half a because one is just too big. And they should be sprouting shortly during the season of lent they’ll be growing. And when they’re about 3 or 4in tall, then I will cut the tomato grafted onto the potato and we’ll see what happens.

In today’s gospel, Jesus says no one gathers figs from thistles. No one gathers grapes from brambles. Yes. But I think if we are hard hearted people that we can be graft ourselves onto Jesus, we will produce a great harvest. That’s, I think, the call of today’s gospel is by ourselves, we can do little but with Jesus, with grace, with God. We can do a lot. Saint Teresa of Avila says, never cease to believe that even in this life, God provides the hundredfold.

That’s the call here for this season of lent to provide the hundredfold and to represent being grafted to Jesus. At the masses this weekend I’m going to give out scapulars. Wear it for the 40 days day and night. Just wear it to show that you are connected to Jesus. His grace, the protection of his mother, that you are connected.

And see how this season of lent comes up. So in Sunday Masses, until they run out. I’m giving scapulars, but wear it. Even in this life, God provides the 100 fold.

Mission & Vision

A homily for the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

In today’s gospel, Jesus gives us his mission statement. It’s what he’s going to do. It’s the beginning of Luke’s gospel. He comes in the synagogue, they hand him the scroll, and he announces this passage, and it’s his mission statement, what he is going to do. He says, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim your a favor from the Lord.

This is what he’s going to do. He announces this is his action. That’s what a mission statement is. A mission statement is what you’re doing. This comes from perplexity.ai a great search engine and I asked it, what is the difference between a mission statement and a vision statement? A mission statement articulates, for current purposes of an organization, what is the organization doing? Who does it serve and how does it create value? Don’t you see these things in Jesus’s proclamation? This is his vision. Now, in the next passage, which we will not hear because they cut it a little early he gives us his vision statement. What is a vision statement? A vision statement outlines the aspirational future of the organization. What does it hope to accomplish in the long term?

Where is it going? He gives us his vision statement, which is very interesting. He says were there no widows in the time of Elijah that Elijah went to a widow of Sarah? Were there no lepers in Israel at the time of Elisha the prophet that Syrian, they were in the Syrian went to Elija He’s telling us his vision is this is for the whole world, not just for a small group, for the tribe.

His mission is for the whole world. That’s his vision to make religion worldwide, to make this favor oppressed go free. Sight to the blind for the entire world. What’s interesting is they didn’t like his vision. And so when they heard that, they took him to the edge of the hill to throw him off because they didn’t like the vision, they like the vision.

They liked the mission, as long as its for me, they didn’t like the vision. But it’s for everyone. What about us? What’s your mission? We all have a mission. Get through the day or eat, drink and be merry. Tomorrow you will die. Or, one of our guys, he always has to have the last word, even complete your own sentences. He’s going to be the smartest guy in the room.

Is that your mission? And what’s your vision? Do you have a vision? I think that’s the call of today’s gospel. To look. How are you living? What are you doing today? That’s your mission. And what do you hope to get do with this? That’s your vision. Let’s look at your look at your own life. Let me look at my own life.

Let’s put together our mission, our vision, and see how close this is to Jesus. His beautiful mission.

Now, meanwhile, you’ll notice that we’ve had some damage in the garden. We had a vandal, I think a mentally ill person who broke, Teresa of Avila off her base and, did a little bit of damage. Mentally ill wasn’t malicious, but if you can help out, you can go to our website and help put this garden back in order after its vandalism.

For that and for everything, just thank you.

Your God-given Superpower

A homily for the second Sunday of Ordinary Time

When I was newly ordained, I lived with the pastor, Father Peter Byrth, great guy. I’ve talked about him before in these videos. He was an alcoholic, and he would tell you that I’m betraying his confidence and it was just tearing him apart and killing him. So eventually he started the 12 steps and walked those steps so successfully he became a speaker in great demand.

It was kind of cool because sometimes at dinner table he would bring like Hollywood people and Broadway people. I’m not going to mention their names. Keep their confidence. And it was always the coolest. He was a huge, popular and powerful speaker. And the thing that was eating him up the most. The thing that was killing him now has become his superpower.

And I think that’s what’s going on in today’s gospel. We have the wedding feast at Cana. Jesus’ first miracle. And they’ve run out of wine. So he tells them the jugs by the door for ceremonial washing. Take those. What were those used for? Those were used for foot washing. That’s the water they’re using. It’s like going to the water in your toilet tank. Take that or use that water. It’s water that they would never use. Surely there were springs. Surely there was well water. Why would he use that water? To show that that’s what he does. He transforms even the things we’re running from to glory. And we see that again and again in Saint Paul. That in your weakness is my strength, or in your weakness is my glory.

Jesus’s first miracle. Turning water into wine. Turning like toilet water into wine. Now we jump to the end of John’s gospel. Jesus’s last miracle. The gift of his body and blood. The last supper. And it begins with back at those jokes he knows. Washing the disciples feet. Using that same water. And they’re trying to stop him. And so there’s some tie that that’s what our life should be.

Stop running from our weaknesses. Stop running from our sinfulness. Stop running. Period. And face yourself and embrace yourself. And God will use these things to become our superpower. He takes bread and wine, simple things, and transforms them now into this super gift. His body and blood. This is the call of John’s Gospel is to take our weakness, take our problems, take the things we don’t want to admit to ourselves, and let God turn those into our superpower to heal the world.

A homily for the Baptism of the Lord

When I do baptisms for parents of babies to be baptized, they say, I’m going to ask four questions. And so I say, question number one. What is baptism? After all, you’re requesting it. And if they’ve been to R.E. or to Catholic school, one of them will say it’s washing away sin, washing away original sin. So very good.

We get that from Paul’s letter to the Romans. And he Paul says, you know, when you wash up in the morning, you’re washing away dirt. So he looks at that and says, you know, baptism is probably like that is washing away dirt. So it’s going to be a washing away sin. Second question what is baptism? I say, don’t give me the same answer.

And it’s more. And so I give him the hint. What was the first time anyone saw you? Like naked and all wet. In his day they baptized naked. And so the. Well, that was when I was born. Exactly. Paul looks at baptism, says, you know, it must be like a rebirth, a second birth. The first time was into human family.

Second time into God’s family. Very good answer. Then third question. What is baptism? And then they’re looking at me. Now I say, in church we always have these little holy water fonts by the door, because in the ancient world you always had to wash up a bit before you entered. And so it’s the entrance into a building, because you always had a wash in the ancient world.

So Paul looks at that, says, you know, it must be like entering a building. It’s entering the church. And so this is the fourth question. What is baptism? This one really gets some. But again, it’s Paul to the Romans. And he he looked at that and said, you to when they’re plunged into the water and in his day they baptized by submersion, it’s like being put into the grave, and the water represents the dirt going over your head.

But then you come back out. It’s like resurrection. And so he said, baptism is death and resurrection. So what is it? Is it washing away sin? Is it being born into God’s family? Is it entering a building? Entering the church? Is it death and resurrection? It’s all of them. And probably a lot more. And so when we’re celebrating the baptism of Jesus, or, you know, even in his day, they’re saying, why is he being baptized?

Because it is so rich and so wonderful and so deep and so profound. I think our call is to live all this. We enter the church to make the church, you know, our home. We are dead to sin, alive for Christ. We are washed. Sin is washed away. Let’s try to stay sinless. And, it is a new birth.

We’re born again. Every day is a new day. So I think that’s what we celebrate when we celebrate baptism. And when we celebrate the baptism of Jesus.

Make Your Own Holy Door

Pope Francis opened the Holy Year by opening the ‘Holy Door’ at Saint Peter’s. And you can open your own ‘Holy Door.’

You’ve probably seen on the news how Pope Francis has opened the Holy Year by opening the Holy Door. Those are the center doors at Saint Peter’s in Rome. And I’m thinking that we can do the same. We can designate – and that’s my suggestion to you – that each of us designates some door: an office door or your house door or a classroom door; some door you go through. And each time you go through it, bring holiness with you – through that door. Make that door a holy door. And one way to remind yourself is to mark it. Write “HD” on the door; maybe on an index card or a piece of paper, and tape it to the door, to remind you that every time you go through that door you going to bring holiness with you. Put it on your office, or your classroom, or your house, or any door. “HD” also stands for High Definition. And so I think if we do this: we make a holy door and are intent that every time we go through it we bring holiness with us, we will become more and more High Definition Christians. So, yes, “HD” can stand for ‘Holy Door’ but it can also stand for ‘High Definition.’ Let’s makel this year a holy year and make it a High Definition year. This could be a great New Year’s resolution.

Positive Leadership

A homily for Christ the King Sunday

When I was newly ordained, I was assigned to a parish in New Jersey. I thought I’d be assigned to a high school. So I was really surprised. But everyone said, oh, you’re going to be with Father Peter. Father Peter is excellent. They oftentimes say your first pastor, when you’re newly ordained, will teach you more about how to do the work of a priest than anything in the seminary.

And so everyone said, you are with the best. Well, I turned out, I was with the best. Father Peter was an excellent mentor, an excellent coach, an excellent example, an excellent teacher, and just an all around great guy. Perfect guy to have as your first pastor as this great teacher. Today we celebrate the feast of Christ the King.

What does that mean? We’re Americans, and kings are less and less in the world anyway. I interpret it as Christ the leader. That’s what it really means. Christ the great leader. And I use this example of great leader, Father Peter. Years ago, I took a course in the business school on management, leadership, management, and they were talking about positive leadership models and there are four that they were talking about authentic, charismatic servant and transformational and a good leader does all of those.

And that’s what I think Father Peter was. He was he did all of those. He was authentic, true to himself. Boy, he knew himself charismatic. He. He just inspired people to do the work of a parish servant. He was the servant of the people and transformational. I think he really transformed the parish to be a spectacular, cutting edge parish.

That’s what I think we see in today’s gospel. Jesus is on trial before Pilate. They’ve dragged him before Pilate, but he he starts to engage Pilate in this great discourse. And you could see he’s being authentic. And he knows who Pilate is, too. He’s being charismatic. Know pilot is reacting to him positively. He’s being the servant servant of the people, and he’s being transformational.

He’s trying to inspire Pontius Pilate. So this is what I think is the key to understanding this feast of Christ the King. It’s not Jesus lording it over us. It’s Jesus transforming us and inspiring us and serving us and telling us to be authentic. And on this feast day, maybe we are called to be leaders ourselves. I think that’s what Jesus does to the apostles, does to everyone in the gospel.

He beats. He inspires them to be leaders, not followers. Saint Teresa of Avila says, for all who follow Christ, if they do not want to get lost, must walk along the path he trod. He trod the paths of leadership, of being servant, authentic, charismatic transformational. That’s the call of this feast for us to be those same, that same, those same, that same kind of leader.

That’s the call of today’s feast.

Storm Warning

A homily for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the deanery I belonged to a young priest was being assigned to a new parish, so I said I’d help him move, and by the time I got there all his boxes were packed. So we drove it to the new place. I’m helping them unpack and as im opening a box filled with black shirts, next box black shirt, next box, black shirts, next box black shirts, black pants on and on.

And finally I said, “wheres your like day off clothes?”. And he says, well I never take a day off? The parishioners loved him because all he did was work. He was there for them. They called in the middle of the night or hospital middle of the night, or anointing in the middle. He was there, always there. They just thought he was the greatest priest ever.

And they were shocked when he had a nervous breakdown. And how could the best priest ever have a nervous breakdown? In my own analysis, he was hiding behind priesthood. You know, he wasn’t. He wasn’t revealing himself. He was just living the role. He wasn’t true. He was safe. In today’s gospel, Jesus talks about when the Son of Man comes, the sun will be darker, the moon will be darkened.

Stars will fall. I think that’s all a metaphor for the inside that is in turmoil. That the Son of Man doesn’t come to cause turmoil. He’s causing it. He wants to soothe turmoil, to make us like deep, rich, living, abundant human beings. But that takes a lot of change. And I think that young priest was hiding because people want more than just to be admired.

They want friends. They want relationships. We want intimacy. We just do. But that takes risk. And it’s easier just to hide. Hide behind a role or hide behind a bottle or hide behind anything. And the Son of Man is going to push us forward. Teresa of Avila likens spirituality, which I think spiritually is our spirit coming fully alive.

She says in her great magnum opus, The Interior of Castle, “we consider our soul to be like a castle made entirely out of diamond, a Paradise where the Lord finds his delight”. But we have to examine the castle, move into that castle, study that castle, move deeper and deeper into the castle to find the Lord and to find ourselves.

That castle is me. The castle is you. That’s the call. Is to. To know yourself. To learn ourselves. Because the Son of Man comes not to cause turmoil, but to bring life and life in abundance. That young priest came out of his nervous breakdown, taking a day off. All of a sudden having friends instead of just admirers. I think being a much deeper, richer person.

That’s the call of today’s gospel. Not for storms. But storms that lead to calm richness, fullness, abundance.

With Greatness Done

A homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time with the Gospel passage about the Widow’s Mite – Mark 12:38-44

Of all the cards I received at my ordination, I’ve kept a card given to me by my nephew Michael who was six years old at the time. Not because it was the fanciest card of the hundreds of cards received; rather, it was the most loving.

LuciChristopher

A homily for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

I was helping out in a parish, and the sacristant, a guy named Lou, was always grumpy, and every time he’d come in there, he’d be grumping at this or grumping at that one time early in the morning at morning mass. I came in, took my coat off, put it on the counter, and he grabbed it and said, “were you born in a barn? Don’t you know how to hang up a coat?” And I looked at him because I did not have my coffee yet and said, Lou, what is a short for Lucifer? And I thought, oh, I’m going to get it now. And he started to laugh, and he said, no one’s ever called him Lucifer before. And he thought it was funny.

So he said, we’re going out for breakfast. He had a very interesting history. How he got that name was he was left at the doorstep of a convent as a newborn, and he was crying. The garbageman heard him, woke up the nuns. They brought him in. It was the feast of Saint Lucy in December. So the nuns gave him the name, Lou.

That’s how he got it. Kind of interesting. And from then on, he always was friendly with me. And, But my. That’s my thinking is Lucifer. Lucifer means to carry light. And Lucifer is the chief of the archangels. He was brilliant and light, and he carried light. But what light did he carry? His own light. And that’s, that’s the problem.

He wanted to promote himself and promote, He would be the chief. He would be the center. He would be the Lucifer. And that’s not what we’re Christians to be. We’re not to be Lucifer. We’re to be like Christopher. Christopher means to carry Christ. Lucifer means to carry light or the feminine. Christine or Christopher is the call here.

in today’s gospel, James and John come to Jesus and say we want to be first and second. We want to sit on your first. So that’s putting themselves forward, making their light. They want their light to shine forth. And I think that’s always a problem we end up being when we promote our own light, we end up being Lucifer. We need to promote Christ’s light to be Christ in the world today.

Saint John of the cross, his best known poem is called The Dark Night and it begins with these words. “One dark night, fired by love’s urgent longings. Ah the sheer grace I went out unseen, my house being now all stilled.” What he’s getting at there is. His house is stilled. It’s that promoting one’s self, promoting one’s light.

Promoting is still now. And he can go out to promote Christ, to do the work of Christ, to be Christ in the world today. That’s where I think James and John went awry. Why Jesus wouldn’t give them that position. Their job is not to be Johniffer or Jamesiffer or Lucifer. It’s to be Christopher or the feminine Christine to promote Christ.

It’s our job. Thanks, Christopher.