Fr Kevin Kilgore

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1 Peter 1:18-25

Beloved:
Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct,
handed on by your ancestors,
not with perishable things like silver or gold
but with the precious Blood of Christ
as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.
He was known before the foundation of the world
but revealed in the final time for you,
who through him believe in God
who raised him from the dead and gave him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.

Since you have purified yourselves
by obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love,
love one another intensely from a pure heart.
You have been born anew,
not from perishable but from imperishable seed,
through the living and abiding word of God, for:

“All flesh is like grass,
and all its glory like the flower of the field;
the grass withers,
and the flower wilts;
but the word of the Lord remains forever.”
This is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Saint Augustine is, perhaps, the most influential thinker the Catholic Church has ever known. Over five million of his words, either written or preached, have been preserved for nearly two-thousand years, providing a lasting foundation for Catholic theology.

Prior to his conversion, Augustine was a pagan who freely indulged in the whims of his flesh. But, eventually, his desire for the Truth led him to Christianity. 

Afraid that following Jesus would cause him to miss out on life, Augustine hesitated. Much like the rich young man in the Gospels, he was afraid that Jesus couldn’t satisfy him.

As he later wrote in his memoir, Confessions, “My sins plucked at the garment of my flesh and whispered, ‘Are you going to dismiss us? From this moment we shall never be with you again.”

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Augustine found himself at a crossroad in life – to choose either a life of indulgence or a life of grace. 

It’s a decision that Christians must make in every age. 

As Saint Peter says in our first reading, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory is like the flower of the field; the grass withers, and the flower wilts; but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

At the heart of Peter’s letter is the call for Christians to see through the temptations of life, choosing a life of grace instead. In a word, to be “holy,” meaning different.

Just as the Temple was “holy” because it was different from other buildings, or the Sabbath was “holy” because it was different from other days, so Christians are called to live lives that are different from non-believers, whose desires are often rooted in this world.

How is my life different because of faith?

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May the Lord give us the grace to choose Him today. Doing always leads to life in abundance.

Saints Peter and Augustine, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) New Life House (2) Saint Augustine, Philippe de Champaigne (3) The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry

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Gospel: Mark 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus,
“We have given up everything and followed you.”
Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Imagine spending the entire day walking around in public, running errands, speaking with colleagues, picking up the kids from school, with your clothes turned inside out.

Or showing up to work wearing clown-sized shoes.

Or shaving only half of your beard.

Or walking into church jumping up and down shouting for joy.

These things sound ridiculous to us. 

If people saw me walking around with a half-shaved beard or clown-sized shoes, then I’m sure they would burst out in laughter. Some would probably think, “Dear God, Father has lost his mind!” 

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Today we celebrate the life of a priest who did these things on purpose. 

Saint Philip Neri is the patron saint of joy and humor. He was a man who laughed constantly and motivated others to do the same. 

Oddly enough, the more comical he was, the holier and humbler he became.

But Philip wasn’t simply a jokester. He balanced his sense of humor with intense periods of prayer, eating meager meals, visiting the sick, and striking up conversations with people, slowly introducing them to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

A few years after his priestly ordination, Philip founded a religious order, commonly known as the Oratorians, who followed his rule of life.

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One of Philip’s biographers once wrote of him, “Philip was all things to all men… When he was called upon to be merry, he was so; if there was a demand upon his sympathy, he was equally ready…”

May the Lord grant us the grace to live our lives accordingly – rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep, and, above all, the grace to poke fun at ourselves, counteracting our pride, and spreading a little joy along the way.

Saint Philip Neri, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Delta Dental of Illinois (2) Called to More, YouTube (3) Be the Reason Someone Smiles Today line jounals, Amazon

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Gospel: John 19: 25-34

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother
            and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,
            and Mary of Magdala.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved,
            he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”
Then he said to the disciple,
            “Behold, your mother.”
And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.
After this, aware that everything was now finished,
            in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
            Jesus said, “I thirst.”
There was a vessel filled with common wine.
So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop
            and put it up to his mouth.
When Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
            “It is finished.”
And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Now since it was preparation day,
            in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath,
            for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one,
            the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken
            and they be taken down.
So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first
            and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead,
            they did not break his legs,
            but one soldier thrust his lance into his side,
            and immediately Blood and water flowed out.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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The death of Jesus ushers in the rarest event in scripture. Three days when God seems entirely absent from this world. 

As John says in today’s Gospel, “Bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.”

Imagine Jesus wrapped in bloody burial cloths, tucked away in a dark and dusty tomb, concealed behind a heavy stone.

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In some sense, Mary becomes a unique source of consolation; she is the closest anyone will get to Jesus during those three sorrowful days, because she knew him best. Only she was with the Lord for all thirty-three years of his earthly life, from her womb to his tomb.

During those hidden years in Nazareth, Mary watched Jesus grow. She learned his habits; marveled at his heart; soaked in his wisdom; studied his mannerisms; and sought to become ever more like her Son.

There she became his first disciple.

If anyone could speak on his behalf during the three days of his absence, then it’d be Mary, which is why Jesus says to John in today’s Gospel, “Behold, your mother.” 

As the Lord slips into death, Mary stays and keeps watch.

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So, what does this feast of Mary, Mother of the Church, mean for us today?

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Mary not only offers us the promise of her intercession, keeping watch over our lives, she also models for us what a life of complete fidelity to Christ looks like from womb to tomb.

May we, the Church – the body of Christ on earth – continue to learn from her motherly example, who never abandoned the Lord; rather, she remains by his side.

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Together we pray:

Hail Mary, full of grace the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, amen.

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Image credits: (1) Stella and Tide (2) Growing in Faith with Mary, Rev. Benjamin-Maria Igbinovia, WordPress (3) The Coronation of the Virgin Mary, Botticelli, Metropolitan Museum of Art