homily Archives - Father Greg

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.

What Poisons Everything?

A homily for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

A few years ago, I was teaching at one of our high schools, and at the end of the academic year, they had an appreciation cocktail party for the big donors to the school. And because I was on the faculty and I was a priest, I was invited. During the cocktail party, I noticed that all the men there, all of them were over the age of 70, except for me and all the women there were under the age of 35.

And I’m thinking something is wrong. And when these men would introduce their wives, they would say things like, oh, let me introduce my beautiful wife. Does she have a name? If this is what happened to your first wives, I’m sure they didn’t all marry only first time late in life. I think what they were doing is divorcing their wives as they get older.

Less attractive, less alluring. To get a trophy wife. This is exactly what Jesus is decrying in today’s gospel when he has these prohibitions, prescriptions on divorce. It’s not prescriptions on divorce. It’s treating people like trophies instead of love. Love should be the motivator, not a trophy. And it works the other way around too. I’m sure women, if they have the wherewithal, will discard their less than attractive, aging husband for a hunky new model.

But this is not love. This is egoism, run amuck. And that’s what Jesus is decrying. Egoism run amok. Ego is shallow. It’s about me. What’s mine? Look at me. I want my way. I want everything like I want it. Egoism. Not love. The world. Oftentimes, especially younger people. I’ve heard this time and time again. Religion poisons everything. I’d say contrary.

Contrary. Religion heals what’s gone wrong? Egoism. Egoism poisons everything. That’s what this gospel’s about. Egoism run amuck and just divorcing for a trophy. You know, disrupting lives. Egoism. Religion means to realign or reconnect religion. What religion is trying to do is correct what egoism has poisoned. Saint Teresa of Avila says, “if there is no progress in humility, everything is going to be doomed.”

What she means by humility is just the opposite of egoism. Oh, to take in mind the other. What are they feeling? How are they acting? Humility. True humility is not a doormat. True humility is love. And I think that’s what Jesus is asking of all his disciples. Not egoism, that shouldn’t be running your life. Love should be running your life.

That’s the call of today’s gospel.

Weight-Loss Program

A homily for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

I’ve always been a jogger, and a few years ago, quite a few years ago, I decided, let me see if I can do a marathon, get in shape for a marathon. Well, if you’re going to condition yourself for a marathon, that means, like, lose a lot of weight. I had to lose a lot of weight because I, the more weight you carry, the harder it is.

And so I had to shed quite a few pounds to get in shape. That’s my interpretation of today’s gospel, where Jesus says, if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, or if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It’s not because sin is the, sinlessness is the goal. No, it’s marathon is the goal. It’s to be conditioned to do this marathon of love.

You know, love God with all your heart, soul, mind and body and love your neighbor as yourself. This is what were to be conditioned for. Life is not about remaining sinless and whammo! The door opens to heaven. No, life is about love. And whammo, love opens the door to heaven. Not sinlessness, but it gets worse because I was now watching what I was eating and I was being careful about what I ate.

I became fastidious and people, my sisters especially said, you know, Greg, you’ve become like a self-righteous diet nazi who is watching what people are eating. Because I had a watch. And that’s kind of what this is about. This is, you know, pull off that nazi stuff we do to each other criticizing or nitpicking or judging or avoiding. You know, this is the stuff we’re to be plucking out of our lives so that we can run this marathon of love.

Saint Teresa of Avila, great saint, says; “all who follow Christ, if they don’t want to get lost, must walk along the path he trod’. He was on the marathon path, and he asks us to be on the marathon path. To just love and love and love again. And fired with love within. To love and love again. That line also comes from Saint Teresa of Avila.

More Awarenesses

A homily for the 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Back when I was in the seminary, the seminary had a big renovation and everything was put in storage. Pictures, paintings, statues, furniture. Lamps. Everything. When it was done, the prior asked me if I could put all that stuff back. So I’m walking around, oh the cross would look good here at the painting would look good here, the statue would look good here, the lamp would look good there.

And I was kind of happy with my work. A bunch of Franciscans came to see the newly renovated building. Some the prior asked me to take them around. And I’m showing them all the work I had done. I put the crucifix here. I put the statue there. I put this painting here. I put this lamp there.

And the prior of that community interrupted to say. Did anybody work on this project but you? It’s sounded that bed. It was all about me and giving attention to me and all of every. That’s what ego does. Ego is about me, mine. I look at me, all eyes on me. Give me the attention. But it really is.

You don’t see much when you’re controlled by ego. Because all you’re looking at is yourself. And I think that’s my interpretation of today’s gospel when Jesus says, if you will put yourself first, which is ego, edo, ego, me, mine, mine. You’re not going to see much. You’re going to be the last because you miss so much, because your eyes are only on you.

If you put yourself last, which means put your ego down, step aside. You’ll see more. You’ll connect more you’ll relate more. You’ll have a broader awareness, broader perspective. When you put yourself last, you become more of the first. Teresa of Avila says, May the Lord be praised, who freed me from myself? I think what she’s saying is the same thing.

Freed from myself means freed from me. I, my, freed from my ego. Or at least it’s not as much controlling so that I can connect to you, to God, to nature, to life, to others. To be more aware. To be more connected. That’s what today’s gospel and Teresa of Avila are about.

God Save Us

A Homily for the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gregory dies and he finds himself in the presence of the devil. Oops. And the devil says, do you want a tour? So Mary says, sure. They go up to a room and there’s screaming and torturing sounds and hollering. Gregory says, what did they do? And the devil says, well, these are Baptists who drink beer. They go to the next room for torturing sounds.

And what did they do? Oh, these are Jews who ate bacon. And they go to the next room. What did they do? And he says these are Catholics who ate meat on Friday. And then they go to the next room. What did they do? And the devil says, oh, these are Episcopalians who ate their main course with their salad fork.

I don’t mean to offend anybody with this joke, but it’s a kind of this is what’s going on in today’s gospel. The pointlessness of these rules. Unless these rules go somewhere. Mark gives us these, all these cleanliness rules about beds and cups and utensils and and Jesus says, but that’s not where cleanliness comes from, because these things have to go somewhere.

If they just stay, rules, but they stay the endpoint. If they stay what we focus on, that’s just empty piety. Saint Teresa of Avila says, God save us from empty piety because these things have to change our interior. These rules. Otherwise they’re just a joke. This comes from the Tao Te Ching, written by Lao Tzu, the founder of Daoism.

He says, what are your thoughts? For your thoughts become your words. What are your words for your words become your actions. What your actions for your actions become your habits. What your habits or your habits become your character. What your character for your character becomes your destiny. I think that’s what she’s saying. What Mark is saying in today’s gospel, it would.

Teresa of Avila is saying when she says, God save us from empty piety.

How to Make It Work

A Carmelite homily for Wednesday of the Fourth Week of Easter, 24 April 2024, Lectionary 281

In today’s Gospel Jesus says, “If anyone hears my words but does not observe them, I do not condemn him; my words condemn him.” What does this mean? Saint John of the Cross wrote a formation manual, a manual for those entering the Order – things to be aware of and things to do. And he calls it “The Precautions” – things to be cautious of. And this is the First Precaution of many precautions, the First Precaution. This is what Saint John of the Cross writes: “The First Precaution is to understand that you have come to the monastery so that all here may fashion and shape you. So think of everyone in the community as artisans, as indeed they are. Some will fashion you with words for you, some by words against you; others by deeds for you, others by deeds against you. In all this try to be submissive as the statue is to the sculptor, the statue is to the artist who paints it, or the statue is to the guilder who embellishes it. If you fail to observe this precaution you will not know how to overcome your sensitivity or your feelings, nor will you get along well in the community, nor will you find holy peace, nor free yourself from stumbling blocks or evil.” You notice how Saint John of the Cross does not say, if you don’t do this God’s gonna get you. No! If you don’t do this, this is not going to turn out well. It’s as simple as that. Do these precautions and it’s going to work; if you don’t do these precautions and it probably not going to work. I think that’s what Jesus is getting at. If you do what Jesus tells us life is going to work. Forgive one another. Don’t judge one another. Be patient with one another. Listen to one another. Treat one another with dignity, like the Golden Rule. Forgive one another seventy time seven. On and on. It’s like these are Jesus’ “The Precautions” for life to work. If we don’t do them we’ll get through life but it work as well. I think this is why Jesus says, “I will not condemn you; my words condemn you.” Because it’s not going to work as well.

Nourishing Bread

A Carmelite homily for Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter, 17 April 2024, Lectionary 275

Oftentimes people come to me saying: “Oh, my prayer is dry,” or “I’m going nowhere,” or “Life is empty.” I can sometimes think that. Saint Teresa of Avila has a quotation that I love. She says, “Self-knowledge is the bread upon which the soul is fed.” That’s how we get nourished. That’s how we find life. Bread is meant to nourish, to give life. And what is that bread but self-knowledge? In these gospels this week we have the ‘Bread of Life Discourse’ coming from John Chapter 6. But the Last Supper is John Chapter 13. So I think Jesus is meaning more than just Eucharist here. I think when he says “I am the Bread of Life” he is saying “I will teach you how to live; I will teach you who you are; I will teach what is important.” This is the Bread of Life! Saint Teresa is so right: “Self-knowledge is the bread upon which the soul is fed.” When you’re feeling empty, you’ve stopped exploring yourself; you’ve stopped knowing yourself. New roads are there and you don’t enter them. New vistas, new ways. This is the call: to go deeply and explore yourself. Then you will find life. Then you will find interest. Then your life will go somewhere. Because Jesus is the Bread of Life.

All About Who?

A Carmelite homily for either Tuesday (John 13:21-38) or Wednesday (Matthew 26:14-25) of Holy Week

I like to read the advice columns in the newspaper. And just this morning a man wrote in. He has hearing aids. He doesn’t like to go to his grandkids’ graduations because he can’t hear anything. It’s always in a gym. The acoustics are bad. He doesn’t want to go to graduations. So the reply was: graduation talks are always kinda the same so you’re not missing anything even if you heard well. It’s mostly about the graduates and you being there to support them. Being there to congratulate them. Not to listen to the talks. It’s not about you; it’s about them. And I think that’s the heart of today’s gospel. Judas didn’t get that message. It’s all about him – about money, or about power, or about authority, or about jealousy. It’s all about me. It’s all about me. It’s all about me. I think that’s the heart of the betrayal. He never changed to ‘it’s all about you; it’s about God; it’s about others.’ What can I do? The arrows are used to going in but sometime in our life they have to start going out. Saint Teresa of Avila had that same conversion experience. Here’s what she writes. Oh, she was a nun. She entered the convent because she didn’t want to get married because of the deplorable state women had in the state of marriage. So she entered the convent out of convenience. And she loved to gossip there. She loved meeting with people in the parlor. She was an observant but not a very fervent sister till this moment. She writes; this is from the Book of Her Life: “It happened to me one day upon entering the oratory I saw a statue for a certain feast to be celebrated in the house. It represented the much-wounded Christ. And it was very devotional so that beholding it I was utterly distressed in seeing him that way. For it well-represented what he suffered for us. I felt so keenly aware of how poorly I thanked him for those wounds that it seemed my heart broke. Beseeching him to strengthen me that I would no longer offend him I threw myself down before him with the greatest outpouring of tears.” That’s her conversion moment. Where it was no longer about me, my power, my control, my entertainments, my satisfaction, my selfishness, my needs. And it’s about Christ. It’s about neighbor. It’s about the other. It’s about the sisters. The arrow turned around that day. She calls it her conversion moment. That’s what, I think, is the call not only of any gospel but especially this one, where Judas didn’t get that message. He didn’t get that memo. If we don’t turn it around, woe is us.

Which Gate? West? or East?

Carmelite homily for Sunday, March 24, 2024 – Palm Sunday

For Lent I gave up coffee. Now mind you, Lent is not just about give up something. It’s prayer, fasting, and works of charity. Do all three in Lent. For the fasting part I gave up coffee. And I let everybody know. Then I go to Starbucks and I’m carrying about green tea. But they say, “I thought you gave up coffee for Lent?” And I say, “It’s just tea, just green tea.” Now they see me walking around, they don’t question it. But I’m thinking, “Ooo, I could put coffee in here and everyone still thinks I’ve given it up for Lent.” Ooo, I could lie; I could get my fix; I could get my indulgence; I could get my comfort food – coffee. Well, sometimes I think it’s a question of integrity. It’s a question of what do I choose? Like the good path, the virtuous path or the selfish path, the indulgent path, the comfort-level path. Today we celebrate Palm Sunday. Pontius Pilate, who was the Prefect of all of Israel, didn’t like Jerusalem. It was a dangerous place. It was a dirty place. He didn’t like it so he lived in great comfort in a posh villa on the Mediterranean coast to the west of Jerusalem in Caesarea. And he would only come to Jerusalem when he had to. Passover is approaching. That’s a big feast, a big holiday. It’s a big flashpoint too. He knows he has to be in Jerusalem. So he’s coming to Jerusalem from the west. Jesus is coming to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives which in the east. And they’re probably arriving at the same time. Pontius Pilate represents power and poshness and comfort and security and selfishness all coming in from the west gate. And Jesus who is representing virtue and selflessness and put others first and do unto others all coming in from the east gate. So people were expected to greet Pontius Pilate. So a bunch probably ran that way because they want security; they want poshness; they want money; they want power. But a bunch went to the east gate where they have freedom; have love; have depth of life; have meaning. And I think the same thing is happening today. Yes, it’s a trite example with Starbucks and green tea. But everyday I think we’re called. Are we going to go with virtue or are we going to go with selfishness. Everyday we’re called to a gate. Which gate are we going to go to?