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Homilies from Saint Bernadette Catholic Church, Prospect, KY
Episodes
Thursday Dec 08, 2016
Sunday Dec 04, 2016
Saturday Dec 03, 2016
Sunday Nov 27, 2016
Sunday Nov 27, 2016
1st Advent - A’16
“Who Is Invisible To Jesus?”
Fr. Jeff Nicolas
I bet the same words stick in your mind as do in mine from today’s Gospel…one is taken and one is left. “One is taken and one is left…” how can this be if our God is all-loving? Its as if the one who is left is invisible to Jesus.
This reminds me of a documentary I saw entitled, “The Invisible Chapel.” This documentary chronicled the story of some Mexican construction workers in California. (I think of them as modern day Samaritans.) The long and short of the documentary is that the builders of a huge subdivision delighted in using the lower paid Mexican labor for the menial tasks they could not get local workers to do, as did the local home buyers who got their homes at a cheaper price because of them.
The Mexican workers lived in tents and lean-tos in an uninhabitable wooded area nearby the under-construction subdivision. They built an open-air chapel in those woods for themselves in order to celebrate Mass with the help of a local Catholic parish. The chapel wasn’t much to look at, but they had a small shrine to Our Lady, their prayer was fervent, and their participation joyful.
In the end they were driven out and their chapel destroyed because once most of the construction of the large homes was done, the owners thought the presence of the shanty chapel would cause their property values to go down. One husband and wife homeowner even found the Mexican workers’ camp, and while the men were away building new homes for the new subdivision, this couple trashed and slashed the few belongings of the Mexican workers. They tore up their blankets, ripped apart their tarps, and shredded their few pieces of clothing and boots.
The documentary ended with this small Catholic assembly of Mexican believers starting over with another makeshift open-air chapel on the nearby farm of a non-Christian man who simply thought the local’s treatment of these foreign workers was wrong.
In this true story I ask myself, who does Jesus see, and who is invisible to him?
Perhaps you know what it is like to be invisible. I do. You see, I grew up in J-town attending public schools through the eighth grade. Around my family and a small handful of friends I was outgoing, but otherwise tended to keep to myself. Lets just say I was a little “awkward.” In the ninth grade my parents sent me to Trinity High School because they feared for their shy son’s safety with the inauguration of bussing. In a class of over 300 I knew no one for they all came from other Catholic grade schools or areas of town. For the first month and a half of school I ate lunch by myself… I was isolated, embarrassed, lonely. I was invisible.
To this day I remain grateful to one student, Pat McClure, who one day at lunch at the urging of his mother (who my mother had talked to) invited me to come sit with him and a small gang of kids from St. Edward. I was finally SEEN, and when we invisible people are seen by another a bond is forged like no other. All people want and deserve to be seen for who they are; no one should ever have to be invisible.
Something Deacon Jerry preached last weekend makes me think this is what Jesus experienced on the throne of his cross. In the midst of the shame, ridicule, and desertion Jesus was engulfed within throughout his passion and crucifixion, one person saw him for who he was… the good thief being crucified next to him. Unlike the other thief being crucified on the other side of Jesus to whom Jesus was invisible, the good thief SAW Jesus and in seeing him made just one request, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.” In that moment, when Jesus was invisible to everyone else, that good thief gave him the one gift he needed the most… he SAW Jesus. I believe Jesus’ heart busted with gratitude as he said, “This day you will be with me in paradise!”
Thus todays’ Gospel came to pass… one is taken and one is left. But not because the one left is invisible to Jesus, but Jesus is invisible to him.
Our season of Advent is all about preparing for the coming of the Lord. This means we must learn to see Jesus in our midst, especially in the “invisible” people around us. Pray for the vision of Jesus so that when the time is right, Jesus will bring you to paradise. Be the one taken, not the one left.
Thursday Nov 24, 2016
Sunday Nov 20, 2016
Sunday Nov 13, 2016
Sunday Nov 13, 2016
33rd Sun OT-C’16
State of the Parish Address
This year’s presidential election has been brutal, revealing great anger and division within our nation. Now that it is over it will be temptingly easy to fall into a winner / loser dynamic that can deepen the divide. But I share with you as your pastor a question the Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, Mr. Carl Anderson, asked of his members Tuesday night: “Are we as Catholics going to be a source of unity and reconciliation or a cause of further division?”
Our St. Bernadette Parish (indeed our Catholic Church) is an island in the stream, a port in the storm, the Jiminy Cricket on the shoulder of our society. In this place we will be a source of unity and reconciliation.Unlike Jesus who had a less than cheery report to give those who asked about their temple, I joyfully share with you today my State of St. Bernadette Parish address. It begins and ends with one simple truth: we are the Mystical Body of Christ entrusted with his mission here in our neck of the woods. We are the perpetuation of the incarnation of Christ in the world, for as I teach our kids, God gets to us through us!
This weekend we sign the senses of 12 RCIA participants as we accept them onto our path to full communion. God gets to them through us and God will get to us through them. And just as we [will trace] [traced] the cross on their senses, so I want to “sign” our Mystical Body’s senses so as to name the movement of God’s grace among us as a parish…
Saint Bernadette, receive the sign of the cross on your forehead, ears, and eyes…as the Lord strengthens you to hear and see. Recently we completed our strategic plan which lays out a vision for our future built upon the six pillars of worship, formation, fellowship, neighbor-care, operations and communications. Our strategic plan will advance our mission to hear and see the Lord among us through the embracing of our faith. This strategic plan will guide our growth as disciples through strengthening our Saint Mary Academy families (blessed with the new leadership of Mrs. Lisa Kelly as our principal), and our GIFT program families (blessed with the new leadership of Mrs. Elizabeth Auffrey as our full-time Director of Children’s Religious Formation.)
Our Strategic Plan will accelerate our ability to hear and see the Lord among us through our thriving Adult formation opportunities (close to 200 participants this Fall led by our Roncallli Award winner, Bob Sugrue) as well as guide our new youth ministry program launching this weekend after the 11am Mass under the care of our Pastoral Associate for Intentional Discipleship, Sharon Schumann. Together in this place the Lord strengthens us to hear and see!
Saint Bernadette, receive the sign of the cross on your lips and over your heart…as you respond to God’s Word and dwell in his grace. In just the four months that I have been with you I have witnessed incredible outreach to the needy. The “flames” of corporal and spiritual works of mercy burn bright here! I have witnessed baby bottles for the Little Way Pregnancy Center and a hunger walk for Dare to Care; an outpouring of support for our sister parish in Haiti led by Fr. Bernadine, and thousands of diapers gathered for families struggling to get by. Additionally, many of you have joined me in supporting the greater outreach of the Archdiocese through this year’s Catholic Services Appeal. We have raised to date over $106,000 and are second only to St. James in Elizabethtown in donors participating! I would love for us to take the #1 spot. I have hung large blue flames in our Year of Mercy Narthex display representing each of us who have donated to our CSA drive this year, because participating in CSA is a participation in the Archdiocese’s acts of mercy throughout the year. If you have not yet joined us in this effort I want to encourage you to do so. Together we can be a force for good throughout the Archdiocese and set our community ablaze with mercy. Our zeal for mercy (our zeal for discipleship) is attractive. Over the past four months we have seen 59 new households join us eager to dwell in the grace of God we name and celebrate. Together in this place we respond to the Lord and dwell in his grace!
Saint Bernadette, receive the sign of the cross on your shoulders and hands…as you bear Jesus’ gentle yoke and do his work. We of St. Bernadette stand on the shoulders of a multitude of faithful disciples who have come before us. We have inherited much. To sustain our outreach, we also tend to our own parish community so as to be a healthy and vibrant family of believers ready to name and do God’s will. In just our eight years of existence we have accumulated assets valued at 23 million dollars, and reduced our debt on this to 11.3 million. (Just last year, thanks to our vigilant Finance Committee, we reduced our debt by an additional $530,000!)
Since my arrival I have enjoyed three great parties - a Block Party in late June, an Evening of Excellence with St. Mary Academy in September, and a wonderful Italian dinner in October. I am really looking forward to March when we will enjoy a House Party put on by St. Mary Academy and our own Knights of Columbus. These gatherings help us by bringing us together in fun social settings even as we work together to strengthen our financial foundation. Together in this place we bear Jesus’ gentle yoke and do his work.
Finally, Saint Bernadette, receive the sign of the cross on your feet…as you walk with the Lord into your future. None of us are on our faith journey alone. We walk together striving to bring out the best in one another and to be Christ’s unifying and healing Presence for our society. God gets to us through us, and through us wants to bring all of creation to new life.
We have accomplished much, but there is still much more to do, and I look forward to doing it with you. I am honored to pastor this vibrant parish of believers, and together, through our perseverance in following Jesus and our trust in his promise to gift us with wisdom and protection, we will bring glory to God as the Mystical Body of Christ.
Monday Nov 07, 2016
Sunday Nov 06, 2016
Wednesday Nov 02, 2016