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Episodes
Homilies from Saint Bernadette Catholic Church, Prospect, KY
Episodes
Tuesday Nov 01, 2016
Sunday Oct 30, 2016
Sunday Oct 30, 2016
31st Sun. OT-C ‘16
“Come Down From That Tree!”
St. Bernadette
Our Wisdom reading today reminds me of my favorite Garrison Keeler story about God. There was a woman who was praying to God. She said, “God, you are pretty big aren’t you?” “Yes I am” God replied. “I hear that a billion years is like a mere minute to you because you are so big.” “Yes, that’s true” God replied. “I suppose,” the woman went on to say, “that you are so big that a billion dollars is like a mere penny.” “Yes” God replied, “I suppose that’s true.” “Well then,” prayed the woman, “can you give me one of your pennies?” “Sure,” God answered, “Just give me a minute.”
God is Big! Just look at the “Big Bang” theory for the creation of the world… (we all have stardust in us) Who’s behind it all? God!
If this was all there was to the story then we would feel pretty insignificant. But like Zacchaeus in the tree, God notices us! More than this, as amazing as this is, God calls to us! God says, “Move from just observing from a safe distance and come stand with me.”
Fr. Rolheiser, commenting on Zacchaeus, notes that the Zacchaeus that stands at Jesus’ side is “taller” than the Zacchaeus who had to climb the tree to see. The “taller” Zacchaeus then gave back what the “smaller” Zacchaeus withheld.
Fr. Rolheiser goes on to note that each of us has both a tall and a small version of ourselves within us; each vying for dominance at any given time. He writes,
“Inside each of us there’s a soul, heart, and mind that’s petty, that’s been hurt, that wants vengeance, that wants to protect itself, that’s frightened of what’s different, that’s prone to gossip, that’s racist, that perennially feels cheated. Seen in a certain light, all of us are as small as the pre-converted Zacchaeus. But there’s also a tall, big-hearted person inside of each of us, someone who wants to warmly embrace the whole world, beyond personal hurt, selfishness, race, creed, and politics.”
Christ wants to love the tall person within us into existence!
St. John of the Cross taught that the best way to heal our wounds and selfishness is not to hit it head on, but rather to grow-out what he calls “our deepest centre,” our “tall self,” and this is done by building upon our blessings. When I used to try to give up diet Pepsi I found it very difficult. Then I began to drink a ton of water in addition to my diet Pepsi and discovered that all the water I drank made it easier to drink less diet Pepsi. I believe this is sort of what St. John of the Cross is saying about growing out our deepest centre. Accentuate the positive within you and there will be less and less room for the negative.
To those of us who wish to become the taller version of ourselves, Fr. Rolheiser would ask, “What are you good at? What have you been blessed with? Where, in your life and work, does God’s goodness and beauty most shine through? If you can grow more and more towards that goodness, it will fan into an ever-larger flame, which eventually will become a fire that cauterizes your faults. When you walk tall there will be less and less room for what’s small and petty to manifest itself.”
We are all invited to walk tall with the Lord who wants to love our goodness into existence.
So rather than just observe from a tree, climb down and do that good thing the Holy Spirit has been nudging you to do.
Rather than just observe from a tree, climb down and put your best self forward in service to others.
Rather than just observe from a tree, climb down and allow our tall, big-hearted, forgiving selves to overcome our small, petty, fearful selves.
Next Tuesday is a holy day of obligation as we gather at 7pm to offer our All Saints Mass. Next Wednesday evening at 7pm we will be offering a special memorial Mass for All Souls and for all of our beloved dead who have gone before us in the past year. I will be remembering in a special way my deceased brother, Jerry, throughout this week. I keep a laminated card Jerry had in his wallet from the time he was a teenager. On it is a quote he copied from American Novelist, John Steinbeck (1902-1968). It reads, “It is the nature of man to rise to greatness if greatness is expected of him.”
Zacchaeus come down (each of you come down); God expects greatness from you!
Sunday Oct 23, 2016
Sunday Oct 23, 2016
30th Sun OT-C’16
October 23, 2016
St. Bernadette
What does it mean to be created in the image of God? I know what it means for parents… through your kids you see yourself in tiny proportions. After awhile you start to realize you see yourself in your kids’ actions too (and this is scary). But what does God see of God’s Self in us? (Not physical features… God is beyond our finite bodies.) I think God sees FREEDOM. Freedom is God’s image within us.
All of humanity is created in God’s image; all of humanity has the stamp of freedom upon its soul. But there is more to us who are baptized… we are grafted to Jesus Christ; joined to the Body of Christ, and this makes all the difference in the world. We join ourselves to Christ so we might, through our use of freedom, shape ourselves into Christ’s image. As individuals we shape ourselves into Christ’s image through our choices.
Many of us could, like the Pharisee, readily list the sins of other individuals (greed, dishonesty, adultery). We could celebrate our good choices to not participate in these actions. (And good use of our freedom should be celebrated.) But the Pharisee makes one big mistake. The Pharisee assumes (as did all of ancient Israel) that in order to keep the collective body pure one must cast out the sinner. (Stone adulterers, kill criminals, “it is better for one to die than for all to be made impure.”)
Jesus Christ takes an opposite approach. Jesus Christ draws close to the sinner in order to reconcile him or her back into the collective body. (Ate with sinners, forgave sin, sought the marginalized and outsider.)
Here is the Pharisee’s sin. He celebrates that he is separate from the tax collector, when he should instead celebrate the sinner’s repentance. The Pharisee celebrates his separation from the other, and this separates him from God. The tax collector, on the other hand, unties himself to God through his contrition and goes home that day justified. One mirrored Christ and one did not.
While preparing a class for some seventh and eighth graders this week I read something that theologian John Shea once wrote, “Each of us is a story God is telling about himself.” This resonates with me. It makes me ask, what is God revealing about himself to others through the story that is me? Collectively we the baptized make up the Body of Christ in the world. What is God revealing about himself to others through the story that is us?
The next 16 days of our national political process do not hold much potential for being civil. It can be difficult to find the image of Christ in any of it. Its a big mess! And for many of us this is frustrating because it is not in our control. But on Friday at our daily Mass we heard a scripture from St. Paul that shows us something we can control… our own heart.
Ephesians 4: “Never let evil talk pass your lips; say only the good things men need to hear, things that will really help them. Do nothing that will sadden the Holy Spirit with whom you were sealed against the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, all passion and anger, harsh words, slander, and malice of every kind. In place of these , be kind to one another, compassionate, and mutually forgiving, just as God has forgiven you in Christ.”
I encourage you to bring Christ into your worlds in the coming days by tending to your hearts. Let God’s story be told well through our free actions, and may the peace of Christ, entrusted to us, enfold us and our nation.
Sunday Oct 09, 2016
Sunday Oct 09, 2016
28th Sun. OT-C’16
Catholic Services Appeal 2016
Fr. Jeff Nicolas
Naaman is overwhelmed with gratitude for healing.
Paul celebrates that not only is the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection incapable of being silenced, but Jesus, even at times despite us, is incapable of being unfaithful.
Jesus praises the one out of ten who gives thanks to God through action, saying, “Your faith has saved you.”
Such is our setting for this this year’s Catholic Services Appeal: Gratitude, Jesus’ faithfulness, and action taken on our part.
I received the same information as you in the mail concerning the Catholic Services Appeal. The fact that CSA funds support our seminarians like our own Rob Hale and Conor Wellmann, our retired priests like Fr. Jack and Fr. Bill, family development and families in crises, our Catholic School system, and charity outreach all convinces me that CSA is worthy of my support.
Our Archdiocese consists of 110 parishes, just like our own, connected in a common mission, under a common shepherd, sharing a common discipleship in Jesus Christ. I recognize as worthy, Catholic Services Appeal’s success at helping the 110 provide spiritual formation and training throughout Central Kentucky; helping the 110 connect with Catholics and our neighbors through the Record, radio, and television programs; and helping the 110 with healing broken marriages, broken families, and broken lives through our Tribunal and Catholic Charities loving outreach.
I believe CSA is worthy, no question. My question is whether I am worthy?
Let me tell you a story about a leadership training experience I had…
I once went on a Leadership Louisville retreat where we all participated in a simulated society exercise. We were randomly divided into four groups; green, blue, red, and yellow bandannas were given out. (I got this green one.) We were then sent to rooms corresponding to the color of your bandanna. As I recall the main rule was that people could not freely roam from room to room, but instead “hall passes” were needed and rationed out. Yet, we each had a responsibility to interact with the other groups for the purpose of generating “wealth.”
The green room was nice. We had a long table at which we all could sit to enjoy the catered lunch, sodas, bottled water, chocolates and desserts. We received several hall passes and had some nice resources from which to generate commodities. As we enjoyed our lunch we calmly discussed how to best proceed in negotiating with the other three rooms for trade. We did not realize the other rooms were not equipped like ours!
The blue and yellow rooms had a little something for lunch but nothing as nice as ours. And the red room had nothing! No food, no water, no furniture or even paper to write on. They didn’t even have a hall pass to leave their room.
What is most interesting to me as I look back on the experience is how my green room reacted upon learning the reality of the other rooms…
Some in the group basically said, “Too bad, so sad, hate to be you,” and just wanted to enjoy the elaborate lunch and build up our defensives. Others wanted to debate and discuss options looking at every angle so as to reach out to the others but not lose our advantage. Just a few of us took the initiative to use our few hall passes to take some of our bounty to the red room people, because even though it was just a game, they were really hungry and thirsty, and as we discovered mad!
Why do I share with you this experience?
I sought out the priesthood as a young man thirty years ago because I wanted to help people. I heard Jesus calling me to this and I responded. I thought becoming a priest would put me into the “thick of it” so to speak, and in many ways it has.
But the mantle of priestly leadership also comes with a price. For example, in my responsibility for the community my time is consumed with many needs, meetings, and projects, and I do not find myself able to do other things for people, as often as I would wish. At times it feels like I am back in the green room unable to get out to those I want to help. Whether it be joining a prayer group downtown, or collecting items for St. Vincent de Paul, or supporting our missions in Southern Kentucky, like the two parishes of Fr. Devaseah; all too often I find myself having to tell someone “no” when asked for some assistance. And I find myself worried that these limitations are preventing me from being the disciple Jesus wants me to be. (Maybe you know the feeling too.)
Alone I cannot be the disciple I believe Jesus calls me to be. Alone I am not enough. But then I read something that Pope Francis preached that gives me hope. Pope Francis said during a World Youth Day, “Let us always remember this: Only when we are able to share do we become truly rich; everything that is shared is multiplied.”
Alone I cannot become the disciple I want to be, but I am not alone. I am a part of the 110. Through CSA what I share is multiplied and the care for others that CSA provides becomes a part of my care for others. CSA expands my service for Jesus and helps me fulfill my calling to faithfully love as Jesus loves. For this I am grateful, that through our collective effort I can share in Jesus’ faithfulness. It simply takes the action of my contributing some of my income to the mission. I am grateful for the opportunity.
As I conclude this preaching I am aware that all our pastors have been encouraged to share with their people what we are sacrificially contributing to CSA, so you know we walk the walk and don’t just talk the talk. So what am I doing?
Scripture bounces around in my head that influences my discernment: “the measure with which you measure will be measured back to you,” “to the one given much, much is expected,” “do on to others as you would have done to you,” “whatever you do for the least of my brothers you do for me,” and so on. But the saying that really brought me to my decision came not from scripture, but from something Bishop Bill Medley (our founding pastor) once preached. Bishop Medley said, “Don’t give until it hurts. Give until it feels good!”
Our Saint Bernadette CSA goal is $ 89,200. Given my gratitude to Jesus for the blessings in my life (which include being assigned here as your pastor), and out of my desire to partner with the 110 in the work of discipleship, it feels good to me to give $1000 towards our Saint Bernadette CSA goal this year. Please join me in reaching our goal. May God multiply our collective generosity and bless us deeply.
Sunday Oct 02, 2016
Sunday Oct 02, 2016
27th Sun OT-C’16
Respect Life Sunday Baptisms
Dear Isaac,
Congratulations! Today, October 2, 2016, you were baptized into the Body of Christ; you became a Roman Catholic. I have to tell you, there is a lot of craziness stirred up around the world today, but your Church is holding up a light in the darkness. Around the whole world today we Catholics are celebrating Respect Life Sunday… we are remembering everything around you and about you that we respect.
We respect your life, a life that began nine months before you saw the light of day. We are trying to help your future friends, future classmates, maybe even your future spouse or your future pastor through our Forty Days for Life campaign in downtown Louisville, praying our neighbors choose to not abort the life growing within them. (I know I will be getting out there myself over the coming weeks to pray.) We hold up your life as sacred.
We respect your family. As a Church we are working hard to influence our national policy to prevent families from being broken apart either by deportation, or abuse, or poverty. Just last weekend many of us walked in the park to raise awareness and money to feed the hungry. We hold up your family as sacred.
We respect your environment, the very air you breathe, the water you drink, and the soil with which you will one day make mud pies. Our current Pope, Francis, has preached to the whole world that your future is important enough to God that we must set aside our petty personal agendas and come together to address our world’s growing environmental crises. We hold up your environment as sacred.
And we respect your freedom, your God-given freedom to do the right. Whether it be those in our world today who would traffic in human slavery… (we actually have more humans trafficked around the world today, including right here in Louisville, than at any other time in our history), or it be the elements of our society that would restrict our religious freedom to only our worship on Sundays and not to how we choose to live our faith out in the world the rest of the week… as a Church we are working to ensure the freedom God wants all to enjoy. We hold up your freedom as sacred.
Isaac today you were given a lit candle of faith (I entrusted it to your parents and Godparents to be kept burning brightly until you could hold it yourself). You were entrusted with the light that is Jesus Christ; the light God the Father sent into our world to illuminate our path and dispel the darkness of sin and death. The same light we will be trying to shine this weekend on a wonderful program called The Little Way Pregnancy Resource Center with its baby bottle campaign. The other day I saw one of its billboards that read, “You’ve Got It In You!” and it made me think of you.
You’ve got it in you to make a difference in the world. You’ve got it in you to respect life, families, our environment, and religious freedom. You’ve got it in you because we have passed it on to you just as it has been passed on to each of us. Let your light shine! I know you are counting on all of us. Isaac, I am counting on you!
Sincerely Your Pastor in Jesus Christ, Fr. Jeff
Sunday Sep 25, 2016
Sunday Sep 25, 2016
Sunday Sep 25, 2016
26th Ordinal Sunday – C; Sept 25, 2016 @ StB
Am 6:1-7; 1 Tm 6:11-16; Lk 16:19-31
The Abuse of Our Greatest Wealth!
Patrick D. Harris, deacon
Our Scripture readings today clearly concern our wealth; however, the teaching might surprise us compared to what we might first think when we hear the word “wealth.”
Our first reading comes from the prophet Amos. Amos was sent by God to the Hebrew Kingdom of Judah in the 8th century BCE. At that time, the southern Kingdom of Judah had a sister nation, the northern Kingdom of Israel, who was under attack by Assyria. Despite the attack on Northern Israel, southern Judah lived the easy life of fancy furniture, expensive food, and much wine. Judah abused its wealth by not helping northern Israel. Amos says to Judah, and to us, that those who abuse the goods of this life---will truly lose everything! This raises critical questions for us. What is our wealth? How do we abuse our wealth?
In our second reading, Paul writes to Timothy, who had been “ordained” by Paul to lead the Church at Ephesus. Paul says that one’s goodness must be seen in the life of a Believer. A Christian must have righteousness. That is, a Christian must be steadfast; a Christian must always show their faith, especially when we must sacrifice to help others. A true Christian will make visible their faith through helping the needy. That raises a question. Who are the needy in our lives?
In today’s Gospel from Luke, Jesus gives a great parable about the nature of God. In the time of Jesus, knowing the name of a person meant that you had an extremely close relationship in which you could count completely on them, regardless of your situation. In today’s Gospel parable about a rich man and a poor man, Jesus names the poor man, but leaves the rich man nameless.
That is shocking! In our world today, everyone knows the name of the football star, the famous, and the rich of our country. In contrast, Jesus says that God knows the name, that God values a person, not by their wealth, but by a different measurement. Does God know our name? Does God have an extremely close relationship with us? How does God measure the closeness of our relationship?
The answers to these questions are surprising! Yes, the goods of this life include wealth. And, we are not to abuse our wealth by hoarding, rather than using wealth to create good for others. But, the wealth of this life also includes “spiritual goods!” How do we abuse the spiritual goods of our life? Our spiritual goods derive from our faith in God. How do we abuse our faith in God? God gives us faith so that we can give our faith away to the spiritual needy. We abuse our spiritual wealth from God when we fail to give away our faith to those in need!
Who are the needy in our lives? Yes, the needy are the ones who have few, if any, material goods in this life. But, Who are the spiritual needy? They are the ones who need to experience the love and joy of God! As we find in our Mercy Passport, the spiritual needy are people who are unaware of God’s unlimited mercy and love, regardless of what they have done or failed to do in the past. The spiritual needy are those who have little confidence that God will bring them joy. The spiritual needy are those who cannot forget or forgive the hurts by others.
How do we abuse our spiritual goods, our Faith? We abuse our Faith when we fail to give away our faith to those in spiritual need! How do we give away our Faith to the spiritual needy?
On April 8, 2016, Pope Francis issued his Apostolic Exhortation on “The Joy of Love.” In this Exhortation, Pope Francis affirms the sacredness and permanence of a true Sacrament of Marriage. But, the Pope goes on to say that many in civil marriages outside the Church after a divorce, find themselves in a nearly impossible bind. If their second marriage has proven faithful, life-giving, and fruitful, how can they simply walk out on their second civil marriage without causing more sadness, pain and evil? Pope Francis says that answers in life are not black and white. According to Francis, “it can no longer simply be said that all those in these (church non-sanctioned) situations are living in mortal sin. No longer can we say that they cannot have (church-opportunity for) sanctifying grace.” The ministers’ and members of the Church cannot turn our backs on those in spiritual need. If we do, we have abused our Faith from God! So, How do we give away our Faith to the spiritual needy? We give away our Faith not just by tolerating, but by inviting, by welcoming the spiritual needy into our Church.
On September 12, 2016, just 13 days ago, Pope Francis publicly thanked the Bishops of Argentina for their interpretation of his Apostolic Exhortation on “The Joy of Love.” Pope Francis said that “the Argentina Bishops captured the full meaning of his Exhortation.” The Argentina Bishops interpreted Francis’ Exhortation to mean that it is not the Church who “gives permission” for someone to receive the sacraments, including the Eucharist. The Church invites all into our Church, including “couples who are living together outside of marriage and those who have divorced and remarried without an annulment.” We the Church are to journey with them in their discernment of what is morally right for them in their situation. We are not to discern for them. We are to travel with and guide them in their discernment of what is morally right for them. Their discernment could lead them to determine in Good Conscience that they may receive the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation.
How does God measure the closeness of our relationship? God measures our relationship by our efforts in Works of Mercy as shown in our Mercy Passport. God measures by how much we give away our Faith to the Spiritual Needy. Who are the spiritual needy? According to Francis, they include those who live together outside of marriage; those in a civil marriage after a divorce without annulment; those who have been excluded because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender; and those who have been denounced because they favor abortion, the death penalty, or assisted death. Yes, they are welcomed in our Church. Having said that however, we must be sure that one thing is also very clear. The Argentina Bishops and Pope Francis did not say that the Church condones the behaviors and acts of the spiritual needy! The Church does not minimize or diminish its teachings on morally right behavior.
Brothers and Sisters, our God stands before us with wide-outstretched arms. Will we crucify Jesus on a cross by excluding the spiritual needy from our Church? Or, will we hug and embrace Jesus by giving away our Faith in God to those in Spiritual need? Which of these are we going to do as we move forward from this Church Year of Mercy?
Sunday Sep 18, 2016
Saturday Sep 17, 2016
Sunday Sep 11, 2016