homily Archives - Father Greg

Both Parts Needed

A homily for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A) on Matthew 22:34-40 on the “Greatest Commandment”

Both Parts Needed

As Religious Education classes let out, the youngsters came and said, “We have a question, Father Greg.” And youngsters never ask the priest a question. So, sure, shoot.

And they said, “In the greatest commandment, (which is today’s gospel, by the way, you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, mind, and body, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself) which is more important, Father Greg? The first part or the second part?”

And I thought about it a moment and I said, “Probably the second part, because we have to deal with each other every day, where God is in heaven, God is away, God is invisible. It’s how we deal with each other that’s important. Besides, in Romans, Paul, Saint Paul in Romans, only mentions the second part.”

So I said, “The answer, the more important, is the second part: Love your neighbor as yourself.” And they looked at me and said, “You’re wrong. Our teacher says it’s the first part.” And they all ran off.

And so after I’ve been thinking about it a while, I think Saint John of the Cross and Jesus have the right answer. It’s both parts.

Saint John of the Cross says, “Uh, who of us can really love God with all our strength, all our mind, all our soul, our body, our strength, all of it? None of us. We’re incapable of that. We all fall short. And then who of us can love our neighbor as ourselves? We all fall short. And yet it’s the commandment.”

So, he says they play off of each other. It’s in the love of neighbor that our love of God grows. And in the love of God, our love of neighbor grows. It’s like a spiral. I love my neighbor a bit more, and that allows me to love God a bit more, which allows me to love my neighbor a bit more, and that allows me to love God a bit more.

It spirals closer and closer to the fullness of loving God and the fullness of loving neighbor. We approach it. I don’t think in this life we can ever get there. Even though it’s a commandment, we can’t get there.

But John of the Cross, I think, gives us the best schema for doing this, to approach, to grow. And I think, adding to John of the Cross, the higher we get in this, the more Christ-like we are, the more divine we are. This greatest commandment is the commandment that brings us to heaven.

All That Glimmers

A homily for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A, Matthew 1st 8:15-20

I asked Siri on my phone, “How many people are there on the planet?” And she said, “There are 8 billion 100 million people on the planet.” And I just smiled because I say, all those people and no two are compatible. It’s like God made us so there’s going to be friction, because I actually think it’s in the friction that we grow. We learn patience, we learn forgiveness, we learn generosity, we learn love.

In today’s Gospel, Matthew’s Gospel, we have: when there is friction, what do you do? You know, you go talk to the person — first step. If it doesn’t work, then you bring another person with you. If that doesn’t work, then you bring witnesses with you. If that doesn’t work, then you tell it to the whole church. What is Jesus — really, what is Matthew — telling us? It’s important to preserve the relationship. It is important. And so, at the end, if that doesn’t work, Jesus says in Matthew’s Gospel — really, Matthew says — treat them as you shun them, as you would a foreigner or a tax collector. But we know that’s what Jesus did to foreigners and what he did to tax collectors. He embraced them and brought them into his company. Even then, it says, preserve the relationship, because it’s in the relationship we grow.

This crossed my Facebook feed, and I think this fills in very well with what Jesus would say when he says, when somebody does you wrong, turn the other cheek, love them anyway, don’t answer fire for fire or wrong for wrong. This crossed my Facebook feed, and it’s this week, and it’s very, very good.

This ruined a good part of my afternoon. It did happen at the café, but I don’t tell Karen stories, so you’re not going to get that part. But here’s the thing that I want to focus on. After I got done today, I was sort of having a conversation with myself, being like, “Gosh, like, I can’t believe how much this is bothering me.” But then that reminded me of something — something that I live by. And that is to do my best to never be that person who ruins someone else’s day. To not be the stranger who was mean to someone walking down the street. To not give a judging look to someone wearing their new hat that they were already self-conscious about. To not be the thing that is keeping somebody up at night replaying a scenario that happened earlier in the day that they’re upset about. To instead be the glimmers.

I think this takes it one step further than today’s Gospel. Don’t be that person that starts it. Don’t be that person that causes the friction, that causes the tension. Don’t be that person. I think it fits very well with Jesus — all through the Gospels, the same. Saint Teresa of Ávila says the same. She takes it that one step further also. She writes, “Look for Christ our Lord in everyone, and you will then have respect and reverence for all.” So I think that’s the secret, and that’s the bottom line, and that’s the point of today’s Gospel and all the Gospels: the friction, the tension, is because we’re just seeing our point of view or our sensitivity, our ego. Don’t be that person. As the guy in the video said, be all that glimmers instead.

Please, Jesus, Not the Whole Passage

A Homily for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Matthew 11:28-30

Back when I was in college, the pastor called. He had a wedding and none of the family could do the readings. Could I do that the readings? I said, “Sure.” Itwas a Saturday. I came in. Lovely wedding. Did the readings. Afterwards, I’m the sacristy putting the lectionary away. He’s putting his vestments up in the closet. And a woman runs in. runs into the secrecy all upset and she starts hollering at the pastor. You knew that man was a Lutheran and you knew he was in an irregular marriage and you still gave him communion. What kind of priest are you? And then she ran out of the sacristine and before he could respond. And so he looks at me and says, :If I had refused that man communion, everyone would have forgotten there was a wedding today. they would only remember that I had refused somebody communion. Then he turns to hang his el in this in the closet and he says, “And besides Jesus is a big boy. Jesus can take care of himself.”

In today’s gospel, we hear Jesus saying, “Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” And we hear that, yeah, I’m heavily burdened. I’m heavily laden. I need some rest. But the next line, we don’t listen. The next line is the key line. And he says, for I am meek and humble of heart. We don’t like that. I want things my way. I want to holler at the pastor about communion. I want to take care. I want to protect God. Jesus is not a big boy. He cannot take care of himself. I’m going to take care of him. We we want things our way and that’s not meek. That’s not humble of heart. We are per we are just pushing ourselves in all different directions. I wonder why the burden is heavy and the yoke is burdensome. And Jesus then concludes and you will find rest for yourselves for my yoke is easy and my burden light. We like that part too.

So I think the key here is when you look at the gospels everything Jesus is never pushing his will never castigating chastising people. Instead avoid this sin um sin no more follow me. Jesus gentle and meek of heart.

That’s not our emotion. That’s not our way of life. Then we wonder why we’re burdened. So I think that’s the key. The whole passage pivots on those central lines, but we stop our ears when he says, “Learn from me, for I am meek and gentle of heart.” Uh, so that’s the burden. But if we can do it, everything falls into place.

Journeying from Here to There

A homily for Corpus Christi Sunday

Today we are celebrating Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi means the body of Christ. Oftentimes, the feast is called the Body and blood of Christ. We celebrate the Eucharist today. And oftentimes when I hear the words Corpus Christi, I think of Corpus Christi procession. It’s the day for processions where after mass. Oftentimes the Eucharist is put into a monstrance, and the monstrance is walked around inside the church or outside the church, or through the neighborhood or through the parking lot.

It’s a day of processions, and I think that’s a great thing. It’s the first thing that comes to mind, and it’s a great thing because oftentimes we want to make the Eucharist like something static out there, separate to be awed and to be, worshipped out there. And no, it’s meant to be dynamic and changing. And so to have a procession is exactly what the Eucharist is about, from going from one place to another place.

And even when we receive, at mass. We always start in the pew and we head towards the altar. We don’t head towards the back or towards the side, or the Eucharist doesn’t come to us. We walk to the altar representing our journey to fullness or our journey to heaven.

Saint Edith Stein, also called Saint Teresa Benedict of the Cross, was a critic of Naziism and the political conditions of Europe. She was a Jewish convert to Catholicism, became a Carmelite nun. And so she was rounded up and sent to Auschwitz eventually to die there. And she’s a martyr, considered a martyr in the church today. Here’s what she has to say about the Eucharist. Living in the Eucharistic way means coming out of one cell, out of the narrowness of one’s life, and growing into the immensity of life in Christ. That’s why I like this image of procession, of coming out of the narrowness of one’s life and growing into the immensity of life in Christ.

I don’t think we should be celebrating processions, that kind of procession only today. This feast of Corpus Christi. But every day, to grow more and more out of my narrowness and into the immensity of Christ.

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.

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.