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Homilies from Saint Bernadette Catholic Church, Prospect, KY
Episodes
Monday Jul 30, 2018
Monday Jul 23, 2018
Monday Jul 23, 2018
Fr. Brandon DeToma 16th Sunday-Ordinary Time July 21-22, 2018
A friend who I had met in college, just over ten years ago, at that time he had pretty much left the Catholic faith of his childhood behind and he was really living out the college life in every way. But one time he found himself in Church and I found him there as well. So I immediately went up to him and introduced myself to him and we agreed to have lunch and that began our friendship. After a year or two my friend slowly began to come back to the faith. And so it didn’t surprise me all that much a few years later after I went to seminary he told me over a late night beer that he thought God was calling him to be a priest as well. I was sure at that point that he was going to make a great priest. Well, three years ago, my friend left the seminary. Seeing as how he did not have a job or any studies to do, he decided to take a little vacation. I was over in Rome in my first years of theology studies, so he came over to visit and we spent a week together. The day he arrived, naturally being in Rome, the pasta capital of the world, I planned to have a great meal together and I was really looking forward to the conversation and seeing him.
But it turned out to be one of the most depressing conversations in my entire life. What I realized was that my buddy did not only leave the seminary, but he had also left God behind. He was questioning everything from top to bottom, the existence of God, the divinity of Jesus Christ, the Church, the Sacraments, the concept of marriage, the authority of scripture-everything. He was questioning it all. For that next week, naturally we spent a lot of time together as he was doing some sightseeing and we had all sorts of conversations and so often these conversations were very, very frustrating. I realized that no matter what I said I could not convince him of the truth of the faith. I couldn’t convince him about God anymore. It was especially frustrating because my friend had already spent time in the seminary for a few years, so he knew the philosophical and theological arguments just as well as I did. He just didn’t believe in it anymore. I remember at that point feeling very helpless, somewhat dejected, but I recognized that there was one thing I could still do for my friend, the arguments didn’t work anymore, having these long discussions were not the answer. The one thing my friend really needed from me was for me to become a saint.
You see, I think the reason he no longer believed is because he did not have enough saints in his life. He did not have enough holy witnesses to the truth. So I pose a question for you all…Why do you think it is all true? That is God, Jesus, sacraments, scripture, tradition. Why do you think it’s all true? When I ask myself this question, initially my thoughts go to experiences that I have had in the past. When God has encountered me in a profound way. I think of moments of prayer, I think of moments when the Lord has touched my heart, perhaps times when I have received the Eucharist, moments when I have reached that deep imitate moment with Jesus, or perhaps when I’ve seen God’s province slowly unfold in my life. But after more reflection, after thinking about it a little more, I didn’t think that I primarily believe because what God has done in my heart. Conversely, I think the reason that I really believe is because the way I see God’s grace transform the lives of other people. Take ordinary people like you and me and making them incredibly holy, making them into saints. You see, it is they who have lived really holy lives that make the faith incredible. It is those that have given everything over to God who have the most unselfish lives, lives that truly radiate with a certain beauty. When I see people like that, when I think of those that have gone before us in heaven, naturally my heart begins to long to be in communion with them. I want to emulate them in every way, I want to follow their example. It is these people who show me that God's grace in all these supernatural truths we talk about are not just abstract ideas but rather these things have a real effect in the lives of people. And the facts, the results are incredibly beautiful as we see the saints who have lived lives that really attract us back to God.
Today we celebrate the 16th week of Ordinary Time. We just heard, a few moments ago, in Matthew's Gospel how the Twelve, those men who perhaps knew Jesus the best, returned from their first acts of ministry. These men (11 of 12) were saints.
I wonder what is it that attracts us so much to the lives of holy men and women. For one, it is they have given up control of their life, right, they have a humility to hand it all over to God and allow him to direct their lives. These men and women are also very attractive because they are true servants, they do not seek to accumulate things, but they give everything away. When we see someone, who has spent their live pouring themselves out in love we are inspired by that example and we want to follow them.
These past several weeks we have heard about discipleship in the scriptures, we know that Fr. Jeff has made it a point during his tenure here as pastor to cultivate the notion of intentional discipleship and we as a parish are trying to emulate that the saints were all true servants, following Christ who came not to be served but to serve. The saints are also the ones who have been cleansed by God's mercy. Pope Francis has been speaking a lot about mercy in these last several months. Mercy is a huge, huge, theological concept that is so important for all of us. In the Saints we recognize that they started out like you and me, sinners, struggling in life but who have been cleansed by God's mercy and made holy.
For this reason, in our First Reading from Jeremiah, we heard about the intended ultimate saint, who will come from the line of David, who will be the Messiah. We also heard about the appointment of shepherds whose task would be to help the people and guide the people. In one sense we can say that Jeremiah's words are calling the world to this notion of sainthood. In our Psalm, we sung how the Lord is my shepherd, there is nothing we shall want. The saints have lived their lives fueled by the desire to see God's face in heaven. And that should inspire all of us.
I remember 5 years ago, in the Day Chapel in this Church, on a Tuesday morning, Fr. Bill Griner spoke in his homily about heaven being the experience of staring at the face of God. Think about that image. You, me, having the opportunity to stare at God. What is perhaps more awesome is the idea that while you are staring at God, God in return is staring at you. It almost gives you chills. The saints are the ones who truly live their baptized nature as sons and daughters of God. St. Paul in the Second Reading makes the comparison that those who are near to God do so by "the blood of Christ." We can say that this is the Saints, they are people who really live as children of God. They live out that identity they have been given and it is an inspiration for all of us to live out the new identity that we have been given as we have been incorporated to the body of Christ.
And finally, the Saints seek to imitate the life of Christ as much as possible. They do this by living the Beatitudes and by yearning for Jesus. In our Gospel, Jesus is depicted as tired and he wanted to rest with his disciples who had returned from teaching. The disciples and Jesus had a close relationship where they could confine in each other and share in their fraternal love and respect. Today we would say they were "being bros." I would say that the saints, regardless of whether they are male or female were and are Jesus's bros.
And so, you see, the Saints inspire us because we recognize they have given up everything for the Lord, they've handled over their lives to God and allowed him to direct their lives, they've allowed God to shape them and mold them and forming them into beautiful masterpieces. And so, today, as a Church, we want to pray for their intercession, we also want to truly be inspired by their example so we can emulate them so, we too, can be saints in the world.
The world needs saints. Thinking of my friend, he still has not fully come back to the faith. And every time I think about that, every time I talk to him, every time I pray for him, there is a certain emptiness in my heart and there is a deep interior pain because I wish so badly I could just speak with him and give him an argument, that somehow, I could convince him that it is all true. But I realize the most of those arguments are futile. There is one thing that I can do—and that is to be a saint for him. That is exactly what he needs from me. I imagine that many of you are in similar situations. There are people in your lives that you want to bring into the Church and into a deep relationship with Jesus. The most important thing you can do is give every day of your life to seeking sanctity. To truly follow the example of those men and women who have gone before us showing us the true beauty of what it means to live our life with authentic holiness.
Tuesday Jul 17, 2018
Monday Jul 09, 2018
Monday Jul 09, 2018
Monday Jun 25, 2018
Monday Jun 25, 2018
Rev. Brandon DeToma -Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist June 23-24, 2018
Imagine for a moment you were casually walking down the street and you randomly heard these phrases: "king of the world," heart of the ocean" or "Rose" and "Jack." Chances are the movie Titanic would come to mind. While many of us here today know the story of that ship headed from England to America, there is a good chance that we do not know the story of a man by the name of John Harper. Like any story, there are many layers and there are often stories within stories and such is the case with John Harper. In 1912 Harper was traveling to Chicago to take up his appointment as pastor of a local church in the city. He had his daughter Emily on board with him. His wife had died a few years earlier and he was a single father. When the Titanic struck the iceberg and began to sink he put Emily into a lifeboat and then ran throughout the ship yelling “Women, children, and unsaved into the lifeboats!” When the ship finally went down he had already given his lifejacket to another passenger. Survivors report that to the very end Harper was witnessing to anyone who would listen. One survivor recalls clinging to one of the ship's rafts when Harper floated near him.
“Man, are you saved?” cried Harper. “No, I’m not” replied the man. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” pleaded Harper. The waves carried Harper away and brought him back a little later. “Are you saved now?” asks Harper. “No, I cannot honestly say that I am,” says the man. Again Harper pleads with him, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shalt be saved”. Shortly afterward Harper went down with the rest of the ship. The man who survived was one of only six people rescued, but in a public meeting four years later, recounting this episode he said “There, alone in the night, and with two miles of water under me, I believed. I am John Harper’s last convert.”We can say that John Harper was a great witness to God.
Today the Church celebrates another witness in the person of John the Baptist, that cousin of Jesus. This solemnity is not a new one. St. Augustine, that esteemed theologian from the Early Church, rightly noted that usually, the Church celebrates feast days of saints on the day of their death so as to recognize their entry into heaven. But this feast day, this solemnity is celebrated on the day of John's birth. And this is an exception because Scripture tells us that John the Baptist was sanctified in his mother's womb and when born, was invested with sanctifying grace that would have been imparted by the presence of Jesus.
This week I was thinking about the Gospel reading and what John's first days would have been like. What was his birth like? Was it easy (as easy as they could be in those days) or were there complications? What kind of baby was John? Who held him when he cried? Was it just Elizabeth and Zacharias or perhaps Mary also held John when she was there? Scripture informs us that the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that her cousin Elizabeth is expecting, that Mary goes to visit her, that she stays for three months so it is very likely that Mary may have stayed until John was born and that she would have held him as a tiny infant. I think there is something special in believing that Mary held John. It imparts, I believe, an added grace to the new baby. Thus, while it is likely that Jesus may not have physically laid eyes on John in those first months or years, there is something to be said about the relationship between the two of them even from those first moments.
Yesterday I did a Google search where I typed in "John the Baptist", I clicked on images and I was bombarded with more depictions of John than I knew what to do with. But one depiction captured my attention more than the others. It was an oil painting from the 14th century, Spanish, with the three figures of Mary, John, and Jesus all present with Mary in the center and Jesus and John to each side of her. That beautiful painting was attempting to convey the idea that Jesus has these two instruments through which he is being announced into the world and the instruments for which he came into the world--first with his mother Mary and then in his public ministry with John who is always pointing towards Jesus and making him known. When we look at Jesus and believe in his message, we often have to look at those around him to gain a fuller perspective. John the Baptist is one of those people.
As Catholics, our saints are people that we look up too. They are people that denote great virtue and exude some special quality. John the Baptist is no exception and he had more than one special charism for he was a teacher, a virgin, the first prophet in decades, and he was a willing martyr for his faith in God. John had this immense level of grace and is regarded by the Church as one of her greatest saints. Perhaps one of the most enduring lines of scripture in the New Testament attributed to John the Baptist can be found in the Gospel of John chapter 3 verse 30. It reads: "He must increase, but I must decrease." What a powerful line that can equally be applied to John but also to each one of us. John was always conscious of the fact that his role was to help prepare for the Son of Man. Regarding that quote from scripture, some of the early Church fathers note that the birth of John is six months before the birth of Jesus, so we should see John's birth as a physical reminder that the real birth, the birth of supreme importance is one its way. John's birth serves as a great physical reminder that the real birth, the one that the entire world should take note of is the birth of Jesus. Thus, John is the ultimate witness for Jesus.
We are reminded in this Kentucky stormy evening that one of the central tenants of the Christian faith is the belief that the Word became flesh, that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity became man. And that is what John the Baptist points too. That is what his whole life is about, it was directed at the Word. You know over the next six months, the days will little by little become shorter and darker and yet when we celebrate the birthdate of Jesus the days gradually become longer and longer. It is cool to think that even in nature, we can see the world gradually correspond to the reality of the very words of John the Baptist--"he must increase, but I must decrease."
John the Baptist was a man who was a great exemplar of humility. He had a tremendous gift of self-knowledge but it was never used for his own advancement. I think, sometimes in our world today, we can be quick to take credit at our accomplishments and we are apt to tell our buddies and peers about what we have done and sometimes we forget to give credit where credit is ultimately due and that is God. John the Baptist had no interest in that, when we look at both his words and actions, John did everything in his power to drawn attention away from himself. "He must increase, but I must decrease."
So what can John teach us today in 2018? What can that "strange" man who lived in the desert teach me? John can teach us what it means to be a person of humility. John can teach us about being that ultimate witness for Jesus. John can teach us how to be "another voice" of Jesus just as he was in his lifetime. The ways of being a witness and voice for Jesus is varied and different. What is the answer for one person may not be the right fit for someone else. I would encourage you to ask God in prayer how you can grow in being that ultimate witness and voice. Whether it is in small actions, maybe a simple act of kindness such as paying for the person's coffee behind you at Starbucks or let the mother with two small kids go ahead of you at Kroger. Perhaps it is financially supporting a local charity here in town or giving to the Water for Blessings foundation and help make available clean, drinkable water for thousands of families in Halti.
Whatever ways that we can point toward Jesus, I think we have an obligation to do so. That is what John the Baptist was so aptly aware of and what we can learn from him. During these next few weeks, I would invite you to see how we can be modern-day John the Baptists, how we can be that voice for Jesus, how we can decrease allowing Jesus to increase, and how just like John Harper, that pastor from the Titanic all those years ago, we can spread God's kingdom and help direct people to Jesus with strength, compassion, determination, but ultimately with love.
Monday Jun 11, 2018
Monday Jun 04, 2018
Monday Jun 04, 2018
Most Holy Body and Blood -B’18
“Do You Believe?”
June 3, 2018
Given today’s feast, I would ask all of you simply one question: Do you believe our bread and wine changes into the Body and Blood of Christ? This seems like a straight-forward question, but if you approach it with a false understanding of how faith works you could become quite upset with your answer.
You see, it would be a mistake to assume that faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is like a light switch… either the light is on or its off. Either you believe or you don’t believe. Rather, faith is an organic reality; it is something that grows. Faith is like a tiny mustard seed that under the right conditions can grow into something quite beautiful. Faith has to be nourished and cared for so its roots can spread out and its branches reach up.
Nobody goes to bed one night and simply wakes up believing in the Real Presence. We grow into this belief through our ongoing intentional relationship with Jesus Christ; a relationship forged by our intentional discipleship. The question to ask yourself then is not, “Do I believe the bread and wine changes into the Body and Blood of Christ?” The question to ask is, “Where on the continuum of belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist do I find myself?” I believe there are five thresholds of faith in the Real Presence.
Threshold #1: The surface threshold is that starting place where people just don’t believe it. Although they may profess that God creates everything from nothing; and that Jesus Christ is fully human and fully divine; and Jesus himself did miracles of healing and controlling nature; somehow THIS “thing” Jesus says he does is impossible. At this surface level faith is like the seed thrown on to the path, that if left there, gets eaten by the birds.
Threshold #2: The next threshold takes us to a deeper place of faith where one may believe something is going on when the priest consecrates the bread and wine, but it is only symbolic. The actions of Jesus at the Last Supper and the Church at this supper only symbolically represent a hunger or longing we have… Conveniently, only believing what we do at our altar is symbolic relieves me of any need to respond. Acknowledgement that we have hungers or longings is all that is needed, not follow through or action on my part. This can become a comfortable place to stay.
Threshold #3: Yet, should my faith be nurtured, should a relationship with Jesus Christ through prayer, praise, and service be pursued, I can grow into the next threshold of belief where I recognize that the bread and wine do change. It becomes understandable to me that while keeping the characteristics of taste, texture, color, smell, and all the other “accidentals” of bread and wine (to use the philosophy terms), their “substance” (the bread’s “breadness" and the wine’s “wineness”) are replaced by God the Father with His Son Jesus. This “transubstantiation” cannot be scientifically proven; I can still say “no” to believing it which gives value to my “yes.” But should I say “yes” (should we say, “Amen”) one enters a depth of belief where we encounter our Savior in bread changed into his Body and wine changed into his sacrificial Blood.
Now some would believe that this is the deepest level of belief, that once we get here we are done. But in truth we are only halfway there. There is more…
Threshold #4: If our faith in Real Presence is to stay alive we must pass through the next threshold where I come to understand the deep love with which Jesus comes to me in communion. “For on the night he was betrayed…” As Jesus teaches it is conceivable that someone would lay down his life for a friend, but when one lays down his life for an enemy! This is deep love! At this fourth threshold of belief I come to know the compassionate God who chose to become one like me, took on my frailties and sin, suffered and died and then rose just so I could have a chance to live eternally with God in heaven. More than just believing that the bread and wine change, at this threshold I understand in my bones why.
Threshold #5: Finally, if my faith grows its deepest roots and I both understand that the bread and wine change, and why it changes, then I can get to a place where in faith I want to respond to God’s love in kind. I want to die to self and live for others. I want to so imitate Christ that his passion becomes my passion, his foot washing becomes my foot washing, his mission becomes my mission, his love becomes my love. At this fullest level of belief in Real Presence I become Eucharist for others just as Jesus became Eucharist for me. When our faith grows to the point that I will die to myself so as to live for my enemy, then faith the the Real Presence has reached its core, its essence.
Our faith journey is a quest; a quest to come to love as Jesus loved. It is a quest that depends on the intentionality we each, in our freedom, bring to our relationship with Jesus Christ. It is a quest we take together from our altar into our relationships and then into our world.
Where on the continuum of belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist do you find yourself today? Where do you want to be?
Tuesday May 29, 2018
Monday May 21, 2018