Homilies

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing.”... Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”This Gospel imperative runs in the face of a more compassionate pastoral approach to ministry.  To become a member of the Church of the Holy Spirit, you simply need to be breathing and fill out a census card.  It is very, very easy.  I try to short circuit the hoops that people sometimes need to go through in the Catholic Church.  My mother taught me always to be kind and trust that God’s love will be revealed.his disciples:  “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were

One night a house caught fire and a young little boy was forced to flee to the roof. The father stood on the ground below with outstretched arms, calling to his son, "Jump! I'll catch you." He knew the boy had to jump to save his life. All the boy could see, however, was flame, smoke, and blackness. As can be imagined, he was afraid to leave the roof. His father kept yelling: "Jump! I will catch you." But the boy protested, "Daddy, I can't see you." The father replied, "But I can see you and that's all that matters." Hearing this, the boy jumped. He jumped because he trusted his father.

The seduction that can trap any of us is to think that our security is to be found in our possessions.  Rather the message of Jesus is that our spiritual security is to found in a life of gratitude, living with an attitude of gratitude. 

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are equated equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights,  that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  In reflecting on these words taken from the second paragraph of our nation’s Declaration of Independence, we must say there are many ways in which we are not all equal.  Some people enjoy the blessings of material prosperity much more than others.  Some people are more academically gifted than others.  Some folks enjoy the blessings of health much more than others.And so we ask the question:  how is equality shared among us?

To be a disciple of Jesus to live as Jesus, to love as Jesus, and to forgive as Jesus forgives us.  The heart of Jesus is filled with love and because the heart of Jesus was filled with the love of His heavenly Father, Jesus loved everyone because he saw the Father’s love in each and every person.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ.  This feast causes us to reflect on the powerful gift of the Eucharist.  This gift of Christ’s Body and Blood is given to us to nurture our faith and transform our hearts and lives.  We are fed each week so that we can feed others.   The Gospel today is often referred to as “the feeding of the 5,000” and is a very familiar one.  The depth of Jesus’ love for all people is shown forth and made manifest in this Gospel.   Jesus teaches, he heals, and loves deeply the multitude!  Jesus embraces this huge assembly of people, He meets all their needs and literally feeds them.  Through his life, death, and resurrection he gives us everything we need!