Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Mark 6: 17-29

Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison
on account of Herodias,
the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.
John had said to Herod,
“It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Herodias harbored a grudge against him
and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so.
Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man,
and kept him in custody.
When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed,
yet he liked to listen to him.
Herodias had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday,
gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers,
and the leading men of Galilee.
His own daughter came in and performed a dance
that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,
“Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.”
He even swore many things to her,
“I will grant you whatever you ask of me,
even to half of my kingdom.”

She went out and said to her mother,
“What shall I ask for?”
Her mother replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request,
“I want you to give me at once on a platter
the head of John the Baptist.”
The king was deeply distressed,
but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner
with orders to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter
and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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King Herod was a ruthless, bloodthirsty man. 

We see evidence of this in today’s Gospel, as he orders the death of John the Baptist, a decision he made while he was drunk at a party.

But even after John’s death, Herod, “kept trying to see him.” While he was a ruthless killer, Herod was also intrigued by John. 

In fact, he used to call John into his chambers and listen to him speak. John stirred something inside of him; he tickled Herod’s curiosity about the divine.

Now after John’s death, he’s haunted by the fact that he’s killed an innocent man – and, in fact, a prophet.

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This back and forth battle between light and darkness, between the search for truth and the need for survival, reveals how deeply conflicted Herod was. 

He clung to power. Yet in his bedchamber at midnight wondered if there was more to life; even the possibility of rising from the dead. 

“Could it be,” he questions in today’s Gospel, “that John the Baptist has been raised from the dead?” And if so, then what might this mean for Herod?

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That to me is where so many people in our world are at today.

Though unlike Herod in his thirst for power, many still fluctuate between belief and unbelief; they’re searching, seeking, wondering what’s out there.

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Our invitation is to be like John the Baptist, sharing the truth with them, which is done most effectively by the way we live our lives. 

As Saint Francis of Assisi once said, “Preach always. Only when necessary use words.”

In what ways do I share my faith with others? and how might I do so today?

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Image credits: (1) Soul Searching, Warrior Mind Coach (2) National Trust, Penrhyn Castle (3) Daily Word For All, WordPress

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Gospel: Matthew 23: 13-22

Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today we celebrate one of the greatest intellects the Church has ever known: Saint Augustine.

While volumes have been written about his theology and spirituality, perhaps we can understand his life using a simple image:

A black and white cookie.

Maybe you’ve seen one in a local bakery. Half of the cookie is covered in dark icing, while the other half is covered in white icing.

That cookie symbolizes how Saint Augustine lived his life. 

The first half was lived in darkness, pursuing worldly pleasures. But after experiencing a dramatic conversion, the second half of his life was spent trying to live more and more like Christ.

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Augustine reminds us that moving from darkness into the light is much easier said than done. In one of his first prayers, he says:

“Lord, make me chaste. Just not yet.”

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Augustine felt the burden of faith. He wanted to change. But he also understood just how hard moving from the darkness into the light can be.

Haven’t we all experienced something similar?

Lord, make me chaste. Make me holy. Make me humble. Make me more prayerful…

Just not yet.

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There may be a little black and a lot of white inside all of us – areas where we need to grow in virtue, as well as areas where we are holy.

Augustine reminds us to keep striving for that light, because, he says, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord.”

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Image credits: (1) Black and white cookie, Wikipedia (2) Ibid. (3) Saint Augustine, The Conversation, Shutterstock

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Gospel: Matthew 16: 13-20

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 
Jesus said to him in reply,
“Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. 
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. 
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. 
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. 
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s an old saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

I think of my own journey, which has led me to priesthood and, thankfully, here to St. Pius X. 

Nearly a decade ago, I stepped into Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, where I was ordained a deacon. There I made three promises: prayer, celibacy, and obedience to my bishop, promises which I reaffirmed at my priestly ordination a few months later. 

Ordination was single step – a critical step – in my ongoing journey of a thousand miles. 

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In today’s Gospel, Peter takes a dramatic step in his own journey. After professing his faith, Jesus says, “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.”

This becomes the greatest honor – and responsibility – of Peter’s life. After the Lord’s death and resurrection, Peter will lead the Church on earth.

A herculean task if you consider where it all began.

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Peter first met Jesus on the shores of Galilee. He was an ordinary fisherman, who dropped his nets, left his family, and his own plans behind, drawn by two simple words: 

“Follow me.” 

Jesus didn’t appeal to Peter’s mind, which too often got in his way, but to his feet: “Follow me.”

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Sometime thereafter, Peter found himself without Jesus as he drifted in the night on the same stormy Sea of Galilee.

Suddenly, Jesus appeared to him, walking on the water. He invites Peter to do the same. All Peter needs are his feet, not his head. 

But the second Peter starts to rationalize what is happening, he sinks. “O, you of little faith,” Jesus says, “why did you doubt?”

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Later, at the Last Supper, Jesus kneels down to wash those same sacred feet. It becomes a type of ordination, reminding Peter of the responsibility that will come with the keys the Lord has placed in his hands.

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So, after Pentecost, filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter begins leading the Church here on earth, until the year 64 AD, when the crazed emperor, Nero, begins burning Rome to the ground, blaming Christians for the destruction.

Tradition tells us that, fearing for his own life, Peter flees the city. Near the city gates, Jesus appears to him – as he once did to other disciples on the Road to Emmaus – asking him, Quo Vadis? … “Where are you going?”

Resolved not to deny his Lord again, Peter’s feet turned his body around, leading him back into the burning city, ready to embrace his destiny.

Some of us have reached a similar point in our own spiritual life. Maybe we made a mistake or two, or we drifted away from practicing our faith. But the moment came when we resolved like Peter, not to deny the Lord again.

There’s a church marking that spot where Peter used his feet to face his future. I’ve prayed there a few times.

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Shortly thereafter, Peter was captured and condemned to death by crucifixion.

Feeling unworthy of dying like his Lord, Peter asked his executioners for one final request: to turn him upside down.

There, in the heart of Rome, in the center of worldly power, Peter finally saw the world like his Master – topsy turvy, upside down, right-side up.

Those feet that once accepted the Lord’s call to: “Come, follow me,” were prepared to take their final step.

Those same feet that sank fearfully into the Sea of Galilee, were now turned upward in hope, pointing to where his heart belonged – the heavens.

There, on that awkward, quickly assembled cross, Peter preached his final sermon not with words, but with his life.

His journey of a thousand miles came to its faithful conclusion. He fought the good fight, he ran the race to the finish, he kept the faith.

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Where am I on my own journey of faith?

Am I standing hesitantly on the shores of Galilee waiting to drop my nets? Am I sinking fearfully into turbulent waters? Or have I resolved to follow Jesus at any cost, even if that means returning to flames engulfing Rome, as it were?

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“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Here, we journey together. Step by step. Day by day.

Like Peter, may we all learn to follow the Lord … feet first.

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Image credits: (1) (2) Giovanni Bonatti, Saint Peter, Dundee Art Galleries (3) FirstCry Parenting