Category: Uncategorized

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Gospel: Luke 15: 1-10

The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 
So Jesus addressed this parable to them.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbors
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ 
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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We all know the frustration of losing something – and the joy of finding it again.

Maybe it was a pair of sunglasses or car keys. Or something much more important – a child, a wedding ring, a winning lottery ticket.

Whenever we lose something, it controls all of our thoughts and takes all of our energy until we find it again.

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That’s the type of desperation described in today’s Gospel.

A shepherd loses a sheep.

A woman loses a coin.

That second example is particularly relatable. There are many reasons why this woman may have been searching for her coin.

But more than likely, that coin was the difference between her family starving or eating that day. For most people in Jesus’ day, a drachma – that little coin – was worth an entire day’s wage.

You can imagine how relieved – and joyful – that woman felt when she found it. 

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This is the type of joy we bring to God when we repent. The Lord isn’t focused on why we were lost; rather, that we’ve been found.

Am I in need of the Lord’s forgiveness? 

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“There will be rejoicing among the angels of God,” Jesus says, “over one sinner who repents.” You might say, over one coin that’s been found.

If we’ve been putting it off, perhaps it’s time to come home.

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Image credits: (1) JoshFults.com (2) Hampton Roads Church (3) Return of the Prodigal Son, Rembrandt

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Saint Martin de Porres, whose feast day we celebrate today, lived in times much like ours. 

A native of Peru, he joined a local Dominican monastery at the age of 15, doing menial tasks to pay for his tuition. But his servant’s heart never left him.

He spent the final 25 years of his life caring for the sick and the dying.

When an epidemic broke out around him, for example, he went into the streets and welcomed the sick and homeless into the monastery.

He even carried a beggar covered with ulcers and sores into his room, offering him his bed.

Martin slept on the floor.

When one of his fellow monks, clearly uncomfortable with the presence of the sick around him, asked Martin why he insisted upon sharing his room with a man half-dead, Martin replied:

“Compassion, my dear brother, is preferable to cleanliness.”

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Martin’s example speaks clearly to all of the healthcare workers fighting on the frontlines – not only caring for COVID patients, but also those with cancer, the flu, heart conditions, and so on.

But what about the rest of us? How is the Lord inviting me to have a deeper sense of compassion on my neighbor?

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Maybe someone you love made a mistake and needs forgiveness.

Maybe a neighbor is overburdened and needs a helping hand.

Maybe a family member or a friend is confined to a nursing home and needs a phone call.

Or maybe we ourselves are in need of compassion.

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In every case, Martin reminds us that charity is preferable to selfishness; forgiveness is preferable to anger; humility is preferable to pride; and action is preferable to indifference.

Saint Martin de Porres, pray for us. 

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Image credits: (1) livewell.church (2) St. Martin Apostolate

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Gospel: John 6: 37-40

“Jesus said to the crowds:
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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What will heaven be like?

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If only we could ask those who’ve gone before us.

The truth is, we just don’t know. But I’ll share an image with you that comforted my mother during her final days here on earth.

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In college, I travelled to the Grand Canyon with my buddies. When we first arrived at the Northern Rim Trail, I was speechless.

I’d never seen anything so vast, so wide, so colorful. 

But after I adjusted to the breathtaking view, I reached out to put my arms around them.

Although the canyon never changed, somehow seeing it with my friends made it all the more beautiful.

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That, I believe, is what heaven is like.

When we first enter the Kingdom of God, I’m sure we’ll be overwhelmed by its beauty – how vast, how wide, how colorful it is.

But after our eyes adjust, we’ll reach out for our “buddies” – those whom we’ve journeyed with through life – because seeing the same place with our loved ones makes it more complete.

Heaven never changes, but, perhaps, our experience of it does. Every person added makes a unique difference.

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And so, my mother reaches out for me from the “Northern Rim Trail,” as it were. Although she’s safely and peacefully in the presence of God, being there with me will change her experience of it.

Since I’ve not arrived yet, she longs for me – she prays for me – in a way that she simply couldn’t here on earth.

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Imagine this incredible chain of waiting – of loving arms reaching out from heaven. Your loved ones and mine are among the “blessed,” who are waiting for the rest of us to come home.

When the last person shuffles into heaven from earth, that chain will be complete. We’ll join hands and, together, descend into the “canyon” – into the depths of God.

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Often, we dream of heaven being a place filled with Saints – gloriously crowned, bowed in humility, praising God with the angels.

But if you look at the picture up on the screen tonight, you’ll see a familiar, perhaps more accessible, picture. That, to me, represents all people from every place and time.

I see a father and his two sons. An elderly couple, perhaps married for a half-century. A middle-aged husband, his wife, and their daughter. 

Then I think of the two-hundred people who’ve I’ve commended to the Lord during my priestly ministry: World War Two veterans who fought for peace; a grandmother and her four-year-old granddaughter, a father and his son.

People who were loved deeply, and often enough, left this world too soon. 

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So, who do you see on those benches along the Northern Rim Trail?

“In my Father’s house,” Jesus says, “there are many dwelling places.”

A place for you. A place for me. A place for all those whom we remember this night.

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May they pray for us as we reach out for them – and they reach out for us – that our hearts may be filled with hope and the love of God, which alone can bring us the peace we need.

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So, what will heaven be like?

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I’m not sure. But something tells me, it’ll be even more beautiful than the Grand Canyon. And Mom will be there with Jesus, waiting to welcome me home.

Just as your loved ones will be there waiting for you.

There’s room for us all.

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Image credits: (1) Farmer’s Almanac (2) Grand Canyon Northern Rim Trail, Christopher Arndt (3) Ibid. (4) Unsplash