Category: Uncategorized

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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

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Gospel: Matthew 22: 34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When preparing couples for marriage, I always ask them: “What is love?”

It’s beautiful to see how unique each response – and relationship – can be.

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If a couple struggles to formulate an answer, I offer one of my favorite definitions of love, coming from Shakespeare’s famous play, Romeo and Juliet.

You may remember the balcony scene when a young Juliet gazes down upon Romeo and says, “Romeo, the more I give to you, the more I seem to have.”

That’s the strange, scary, exhilarating truth about love: the more we give, the more we have.

I call it the law of self-donation, which has been written into all of creation.

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If you walk outside and look up, for example, what will you see? The sun does not shine on itself; it gives its light away, warming and brightening the earth.

Trees do not eat their own fruit; they offer it for the nourishment of others. Meanwhile, their branches reach for the heavens, growing leaves, offering others shade from the noonday heat.

Rivers do not drink their own water. Flowers release their fragrance.

Living for others – giving oneself away – is a law of nature written into all of creation, including every human heart.

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In what ways do I give myself away? How do I live like the sun and the stars?

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“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,” Jesus says, “and your neighbor as yourself.” These are the greatest of the commandments.

May we embrace this law of self-donation, living like all of creation.

The more we give, the more we seem to have.

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Image credits: (1) Amazon.com (2) Water Education Foundation (3) PicFair