Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (2014)

If only St. Peter was on facebook! He would have had a whole bunch of friends. People from all over the world could have seen pictures of him entering Rome, standing in the forum, waving from a seat in the Colosseum, eating gelato at the chariot races. People in China could have read his sermons[1].

    If only St. Paul could have tweeted. He would have followers everywhere. They could have read his reactions to the Galatians returning to Judaism in only 140 words or less. He would have had to condense his Letter to the Romans a bit, or extend it over a few hundred tweets, but he still would have been very popular.

    But Peter did not have facebook, and Paul did not have a twitter account. In fact, they didn’t even have electricity or phones. Still, they knew how to get the Gospel message out. Peter traveled from Jerusalem to Antioch to Rome. He was known so well throughout the ancient world that there is a legend, possibly true, that when Paul preached the Gospel to the people of ancient Syracuse in Sicily, they responded that they wanted to hear from Peter before they converted.

    It was certainly clear to the Romans that this Peter and Paul whom they held captive in Rome were mainly responsible for the quick spread of Christianity throughout the empire. The Romans thought they could stop this by killing them both, crucifying Peter head down and beheading Paul, but Peter and Paul had a communication system infinitely more powerful than facebook or twitter: they had the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit was the force that worked through them and through all Christians to convert the world to Jesus Christ.

Consider this, there was not a whole lot impressive about Paul’s bearing. He was little[2]. He was fiery, true, and there were people throughout the ancient world who listened to him or read his letters, but there was more to Paul than met the eye. The people he spoke to not only became followers of the new way of life, they willingly offered their lives for Jesus Christ. Paul gave them the Holy Spirit he had received. They lived and died, not for Paul, but for God.

Peter was a large fisherman. The remains uncovered under St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and marked, "Here lies Peter," are those of a large man. Peter was a fisherman. How many fishermen became the leaders of movements that changed the world? By my count, just one. Peter did not do this on his own, though. Jesus made it quite clear to Peter that His Heavenly Father inspired Peter to proclaim that Jesus was the Christ[3]. Peter would be inspired by the Spirit throughout his life. He would feed the Lord’s sheep.

    The power that Peter and Paul had to spread the Gospel has been given to us. We have received the Holy Spirit. We can be witnesses to Jesus Christ. Others can see Christ in us and through the working of the Holy Spirit return to God. We need to be less concerned about our stature in the world, be it physical or social, and more concerned about our place in the Body of Christ. We need to focus on Jesus Christ, as Saints Peter and Paul did, and let His Spirit work through us.

    Peter and Paul did not have facebook or twitter. They didn’t need them. We don’t either. We have what they had. We have the Holy Spirit. Today we pray that through the intercession of these two great saints of the Church we might have the determination and the courage to proclaim Jesus Christ ■

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[1] Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, June 29, 2014. Readings: Acts 12:1-11; Responsorial Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19.

[2] Actually, his name was changed from Saul of Tarsus to Paul as a bit of a joke, Paul comes from the Latin word paulus for little

[3] Cfr. Mt 16:17.

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Tomorrow, your doorbell will ring and little children will stand outside with their well known Trick or Treat. Children love Halloween because they like to pretend. God has given them huge imaginations and with a little cloth here and a mask there they can be anyone their mind tells them they are. The TV and the computer game screen has taken most of the chances to imagine out of a child's life, but Halloween is one of the few opportunities still there for their imaginations to soar. The only problem I have with Halloween is when it becomes a glorification of evil. For most of us, Halloween is just an opportunity for the children to dress up, make believe, and have fun[1].

Putting on a mask and pretending is perfectly acceptable for a child, particularly on Halloween. But, putting on a mask and pretending is not acceptable for a follower of Jesus Christ. God is not satisfied with people imagining that they are great followers of Christ. We are not called to appear to be a holy people. We are called to be a holy people.

In the gospel today Jesus gives the example of the Pharisees. He says they wear all the holy costumes, headbands and tassels in front of their eyes containing inscriptions from scripture. The reason why they did that is because in scripture God says, Keep my words always before your eyes[2]. So, when the Pharisees moved their heads, they would see the words of scripture. According to Jesus, these Pharisees went trick or treating to all the important banquets so that everyone else could see them. That’s all they really wanted. They were just putting on a show. They knew how to hold their arms up in prayer. They pretended to be holy, but they were not holy.

God looks at us and sees many of us trick or treating. He might see a religious leader wearing a nice pious costume and saying all the proper things, but carrying on immoral and perhaps even illegal actions that could not come from the soul of a holy person. He might look at a mother or a father, who quickly proclaim their Christianity, but in reality act as though this is just a costume covering over someone who is not open to God in his or her life…

On the weekend after the children said, "Boo", we are faced with some of the most frightening words in scripture. We are told to fight against our own hypocrisy. How can we do this? Well, for one thing, we cannot demand more from others than we demand from ourselves. As simple as that. As a priest, I cannot demand that others fulfill their worship obligations if I do not fulfill mine. I cannot demand that others fight against immorality if I partake in immorality. You cannot not demand that others be kind and caring, if you are mean to that daughter-in-law or son-in-law you've never liked. If you are young, you cannot claim to be a Christian if you are nasty to other people. If you are still in school, you cannot claim to be a Christian if you join those kids who hurt other kids in your class. We cannot demand that others be good Catholics if you destroy people's reputations on the phone.

My brother, my sister, if we, you and I, can find the courage to let Jesus be our guide, if every aspect of our lives reflects the presence of the Lord in the world, then we would not be wearing masks, but would really and truly be followers of Christ. And so we create a better country, a better society and a better parish.

Halloween is for children. Following Jesus is the serious work of people who are willing to expose their faces and their lives to the world. May the grace of Christ on the Cross, which we receive in the Eucharist, give us the ability to live our Christianity ■

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[1] Sunday 30th October, 2011, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. Readings: Malachi 1:14 – 2:2, 8-10. In you, Lord, I have found my peace—Ps 130(131). 1 Thessalonians 2:7-9, 13. Matthew 23:1-12.

[2] Prov 4:21. 

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Today’s Gospel reading revolves around one question: “Which commandment of the Law is the greatest?” Another way to put this question is to ask, “What do I need to do to achieve salvation?” Sound likes a reasonable question, or at least fits in with our desire to find an instant solution to a problem. The only problem is serving God takes a lot more than a simple action. Love God with your whole mind, your whole heart, and your whole soul, and love your neighbor as yourself, is more an attitude in life than a list of things to do[1].

The poet Maya Angelou was once asked what her lifetime goals were. She answered, oh boy! that she wanted to become a Christian. Maya Angelou is Christian. Her point is that Christianity is an ongoing process of becoming. Every day we take steps to becoming a Christian. And everyday God uses people to find him[2]. You know, people use to ask the wrong question: they often ask, “Where is God?” They should ask, “When is God?” the answer is that God is present when we love him and when we love our neighbor.

I would like to remember this morning the life of a marvelous woman who became God’s vehicle of love. She certainly didn’t start that way. She lived a very lose lifestyle in the 1920's. She had a baby out of marriage, then married, and then divorced. She became a communist, the darling idealism of time. She was no Mother Theresa. In fact, she was the antithesis of Mother Theresa.

But then this woman found God. Actually, He was always there. She just stopped shutting him out of her life. She became a fervent Catholic and a dedicated Christian. In a short period she led a reform within the establish Church of America to reach out to the poor, the needy and the desperate. She was a supporter for social justice and a pacifist.

During her life people suggested that she would be made a saint by the church. She used to say that she didn’t want to be dismissed so easily. After all people tend to view saints as doing that which is beyond normal human life. She was really quite normal, and she wanted normal people to join her in finding Christ in others. Her point was that there was nothing extraordinary in doing what she did. All she did was love God and love neighbor, the ordinary way every Christian should live. The lady I am referring to is Dorothy Day. She has often been called the saint for the third millennium. If you all want to know more about her life, just put her name on Google –Dorothy Day- there is much information, an exemplary Christian life!

…in fewer words, the law and the prophets are summed up by loving God and loving neighbor. This is not something over and above our daily lives. It is the foundation, the structure of our lives. It is that which makes us who we are. Loving God and loving neighbor are the heart of our daily lives, the springboard of our actions, the basis of our decisions, the reason for our prayer life, the motivation of our lifestyle and the very reason why we are here this morning…

Which commandment is the greatest? Well, the commandment to be so close to God that we become His presence for others.

Let us pray together today that we might love God with our whole heart, our whole mind and whole soul, then we will have no choice but to bring God’s love to those around us ■

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[1] Sunday 23rd October, 2011, 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Readings: Exodus 22:20-26. I love you, Lord, my strength—Ps 17(18):2-4, 47, 51. 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10. Matthew 22:34-40 [St John of Capistrano].

[2] Maya Angelou born Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928) is an American author and poet who have been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly acclaimed, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969), tells of her first seventeen years. It brought her international recognition, and was nominated for a National Book Award. She has been awarded over 30 honorary degrees and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for her 1971 volume of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Diiie.