In the Name of Mary: Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary (Galatians 4:4-7; Luke 1:46-47, 48-49, 50-51, 52-53, 54-55; Luke 1:39-47)

Today is the memorial for the Most Holy Name of Mary. In some ways, this day is a good opportunity to reflect on the importance of a name in the spiritual life.

When I baptize a child, the first thing I do is ask the parents what name they have given their child.  I also state the name of the child as I pour water on the child’s head to convey the sacrament.  This is very important because their child is someone, not something.  God wants to have a personal relationship with the child and knows that child by the name given by the parents.

That too, is important, because the power to name something means that you have authority over them and responsibility for them.  Adam gained dominion over the animals when he named them.

That’s why from a spiritual warfare perspective, you should never let anyone give you a name.  Nicknames often seem fun and innocent, but there can be a dark side that we need to be aware of.

Speaking of spiritual warfare, the Rite of Solemn Exorcism the priest oftentimes determines the name of the demon. This is for two reasons that both relate to the importance of a name, similar to my point related to baptism. If a demon reveals its name, then it is a sign that its hold on the victim is weakening and the exorcism is efficacious. But more practically, once the priest knows the name of the demon, he can more effectively invoke the authority the Catholic Church has over demons… the same dominion Adam was given over the animals.

We do the same thing in other forms of deliverance ministry.  We give the evil spirits we identify a name.  Then, we name that spirit as we renounce it and send it to the Cross of Jesus Christ for Him to deal with as He will.

To bring this back to our memorial, the Most Holy Name of Mary has a special place in deliverance ministry.

During the Rite of Exorcism, the priest will say, “The glorious Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, commands you; she who by her humility and from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception crushed your proud head”...this is a direct reference to Genesis 3:15.

Demons will generally refuse, or are otherwise unable, to say the name of Mary due to the immense torment the name of Mary causes them.  In fact, a demon once told the exorcist Father Gabriele Armorth that each Hail Mary recited faithfully is like “a blow to the head for me”.

The name of Mary has practical implications to each of our spiritual lives.  Jesus revealed to Saint Bridget that His Most Blessed Mother would grant 3 special graces to those who invoke her holy name with confidence: 

• That He would grant them perfect sorrow for their sins.
• That their crimes should be atoned for. 
• That He would give them strength to attain perfection, and at length the glory of paradise.

And Jesus further added, “For thy words, O My Mother, are so sweet and agreeable to Me, that I cannot deny what thou askest.”

Mary is the most blessed among women because she is the only creature given the charism of total enmity with Satan, which is the essence of the Immaculate Conception.  Through her fiat, the head of Satan is crushed.  Through her fiat, her humility conquers the pride of Satan. 

When we call upon the name of Mary and align our personal fiat to her fiat, the Holy Spirit can work through us, just as He works through Mary. 

When we call upon the name of Mary and align our personal fiat to her fiat, the evil spirits prowling about the world will flee from us just as they flee from Mary.

When we call upon the name of Mary and align our personal fiat to her fiat, we share in the crushing of the head of Satan just as Saint Paul says in Romans 16:20.

In the name of Mary, our mother in Christ, what has been spoken by the Lord will be fulfilled.

Thanks be to God!

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Praise the Lord and His Holy Cross: Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time (Colossians 3:12-17; Psalm 150:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6; Luke 6:27-38)

This Sunday, we celebrate the Feast of the Exultation of the Cross.  On this Feast day, we honor the instrument of our salvation, the instrument made sacred by the Lord’s offering of Himself upon it in response to the New and Eternal Covenant that He initiated at the Last Supper.

On this feast day, we also remember two historical events:  The first event was the discovery of the True Cross by St. Helena in the year 320 after it had been buried by the Romans under a temple to Venus.  The second event was the dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher, which houses Calvary, the tomb of Jesus, and the cistern in which instruments of the Passion, including the Cross, were found.

Splinters of the Holy Cross have been sent to parishes around the world, including the relic that we venerate here at Incarnate Word every Good Friday.

In Rome, the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem contains a number of relics from the Passion that Saint Helena brought back to Rome with her, including a sizable portion of  the Holy Cross.

All of that being said, we must remember that it is through the Cross that God forgives us.  It is through the Cross that God showers us with His compassion, His kindness, His humility, His gentleness, and His patience.

God invites us to be to a source of these things to others through the crosses we carry.  In his monthly challenge, Archbishop Lori reminds us:  “When we deal with our suffering in a virtuous way, we unite ourselves to the cross of Christ. In fact, Jesus tells us that taking up our cross is an essential condition for being his disciple. The wonderful thing is that God will supply whatever grace and strength we need to carry our cross, if only we ask for it in faith. May we always carry our cross daily with courage as faithful followers of Christ.”

That grace we receive through His Cross can be a source of courage, strength, and hope for others.

As we celebrate this important feast day, Archbishop Lori invites us to undertake some sacrifice or mortification.  Examples of this could include abstaining from something like meat, sugar, or alcohol, or even abstaining from something like watching sports, in order to strengthen our willingness to carry our crosses daily and help others carry theirs.

What are the crosses you must carry in your life?  Which do you struggle with the most?  Do you faithfully and regularly seek strength from Christ in carrying your cross in prayer and the sacraments?  At Mass, do you intentionally seek to encounter the Cross and unite your cross to it?  Who in your circle of influence needs help carrying their cross?  How is the Holy Spirit calling you to help them carry it to the true Cross at the Mass?

Ultimately, this feast day is a reminder to mindfully bear our crosses as opposed to succumbing to self-pity, anger, resentfulness, or despair.  It is our reminder to lean into His Cross through the Mass to get through the difficult moments in our life, and to give that same gift of love to others by helping them do the same.  Through the Cross, through the Mass, through the Eucharist, all our difficulties can be transformed into something holy.

Let everything that breathes praise the Lord and His Holy Cross!

Saint Michael’s Lent: Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time (Colossians 1:15-20; Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5; Luke 5:33-39)

If you have ever read “The Little Flowers of Saint Francis”, you may be familiar with the devotion an increasing number of Catholics practice this time of the year.  It is a medieval Catholic tradition known as Saint Michael’s Lent.

In “The Little Flowers”, Saint Francis of Assisi expressed his desire for his Franciscan brothers to celebrate the Assumption of the Mary and then spend forty days preparing for the Feast of Saint Michael by fasting.

It was during the practice of Saint Michael’s Lent that Saint Francis was given the stigmata.  Also, God has granted numerous miracles through this devotion.

Saint Michael’s Lent is a period of focused prayer, fasting, and penance from the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary to the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels.   The latter feast was simply known as the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel on the old liturgical calendar and more commonly referred to as Michaelmas.

Similar to Lent, it is a time to deny ourselves of the things of this world in order to make more room in our lives for the grace of God.  It is also a special time to honor Our Lady, as Queen of the Angels, as well as, Saint Michael the Archangel.

Saint Michael’s Lent is not as structured nor as stringent as Lent is.  Rather, it is perhaps more likened to Advent in that we are free to choose how best to prepare ourselves for the upcoming feast. 

It is the time of the year that we can ask ourselves:  How might the Lord be calling us to fast during these forty days to increase hunger and thirst for Him?  How might the Lord be calling us to engage more deeply into prayer and the sacramental life of the Church in order to grow closer to Him?  How might the Lord be calling us to a deeper level of penance?

Overall, this discipline may look different for everyone, but there are some helpful reflections and meditations that we can take to prayer.  It is also common practice to pray the Chaplet of Saint Michael throughout the forty days of Saint Michael’s Lent with the Novena to Saint Michael prayed in the nine days leading up to the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels.

It is also a good time to reflect on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and to examine how well we are living them out in our lives, looking for concrete ways to make the works of mercy a more focused part of our lives.

There are many benefits to the practice of the disciplines of Saint Michael’s Lent:

Personal Sanctity - It is often a time of profound personal transformation and conversion through the focused spiritual practices.

Communal Renewal - Reconnecting with this rich spiritual heritage can often open the door to new strength and vitality for the community as a whole.

Spiritual Warfare - The disciplines often represent a deeper engagement in the spiritual battle which can then avail ourselves more to the protection of God, not only for ourselves, but also for our families and the Church.

The war between the holy and the unholy continue to play out in the ripple effects we see throughout the broken world around us.  In the broken world around us, we continually see the choosing of self over God…just as Lucifer chose self over God.  But Our Lady and Saint Michael both chose God over self.  

Like them, we too can choose God over self.  Like them, we too can choose to be obedient to God and his Holy Catholic Church in spite of the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.  

Through coming to a deeper love for what is truly good and further developing a willingness to sacrifice for it, we will have the grace to triumph over the evil in our lives  Doing so, we will have new freedom to come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Thanks be to God!

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Humbly Live the Sacramental Life: Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14)

Our readings give us a glimpse into the Mass and the sacramental life Jesus Christ instituted in His Holy Catholic Church.

It is through humbly living the sacramental life that we ultimately receive favor from God. It is through humbly living the sacramental life that our thirsts are quenched and our sins are atoned for. It is through humbly living the sacramental life that we are freed from our secular prisons and allowed entrance into the holy dwelling place of God, our promised home for all eternity.

We must remember that the sacramental life hinges solely on Jesus Christ as the mediator of the New Covenant. But, what does that really mean?

Throughout history, the establishment of a covenant required two things: an initiation by one party and a response by the other party. God initiated a covenant with Adam, and Adam responded imperfectly. God initiated a covenant with Noah, and Noah responded imperfectly. God then initiated a covenant with Abraham, and Abraham also responded imperfectly. God initiated a covenant with Moses, and Moses (as you can probably guess) responded imperfectly. And, so on and so forth throughout the history of Israel in the Old Testament....until we get to the Last Supper.

At the Last Supper on Mount Zion, in the context of the Jewish Passover, Jesus Christ through His divine nature initiated the new and everlasting covenant. Then, on the cross, Jesus Christ through His human nature offered the perfect response through the sprinkling of His Blood. On the cross, Jesus Christ drank from the fourth and final Passover cup (which is known as the Chalice of Hallel). On the cross, Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself as the true Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. On the cross, Jesus declared the consummation of the New Covenant finished.

This transaction between initiation of and response to the new and everlasting covenant is the authentic context of Jesus's role as our one and true mediator with God. Only Jesus Christ in His divinity could initiate an eternal covenant. Only Jesus Christ in His humanity could offer a perfect response.

The Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is the mechanism Jesus gave us that allows us to substantially participate in His once-and-for-all sacrifice on Calvary.  The Eucharist is the mechanism Jesus gave us that allows us to efficaciously (effectively) participate in His perfect response to the new covenant. That is why Jesus was adamant at the Last Supper that the Catholic Church “Do this”.

This is why the Mass is so incredibly important. Without our humble and active participation in the Mass, our personal response to the new covenant is imperfect at best, and quite possibly not efficacious. We need the Mass. We need the Eucharist. We need to drink from the chalice from which Jesus drank (namely, the Chalice of Hallel that is offered at every single Mass through the Eucharist). We need to eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood in order to have salvation and eternal life.

Jesus Christ is our mediator with God for our salvation. From Mount Zion, His blood speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.

When we come to Mass, we approach Mount Zion as we are sacramentally present to the actual crucifixion of Jesus Christ nearly 2,000 years ago. We are there, with Mary and John, standing at the foot of the cross.

When we come to Mass, we approach the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. We are in the presence of countless angels in festal gathering. We are in the presence of the assembly of the martyrs, the virgins, and all the other saints that have gone before us in humbly living the sacramental life.

We don't come to Mass to warm up a pew for an hour, to listen to someone talk for a few minutes, to listen to some music, nor to receive a measly portion or bread and wine (or crackers and grape juice if you are not Catholic). If that is all this really is, then seriously, what’s the point?

No, we come to Mass, because ultimately we are the spiritually poor. We are the spiritually crippled. We are the spiritually lame. We are the spiritually blind. We come to Mass because it is through the Eucharist that God provides His goodness. We come to Mass to renew and strengthen our participation in the eternal covenant. We come to Mass to humbly approach our true mediator so we can be sanctified and restored.  

This grace comes to us in a very real and tangible way as we truly receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ through the Eucharist, provided He is received with the correct intention and disposition.

As we begin the Liturgy of the Eucharist for this Mass, I encourage you to allow yourself to fully experience Mount Zion nearly 2,000 years ago. I encourage you to allow yourself to fully experience the heavenly liturgy as it is described in the Book of Revelation.

Whatever your battles are, whatever your sacrifices are, whatever your sufferings are, whatever your afflictions are, now is the time to humbly surrender them to the Lord and to allow them to be nailed to the Cross to be transformed by the Blood of Jesus Christ through this Mass into something holy. Humbly offer these burdens to God through the Mass that you may be free of them and that you may be fully open to receive the ultimate grace that we can only receive through the Eucharist. As Jesus says several times in John chapter 6, only if we eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, do we have eternal life.

At the end of the Psalm that we heard part of today, David writes “Awesome is God in His Holy Place, the God of Israel, who gives power and strength to His People.”

Mount Zion was referred to as the Holy Place of God in the old covenant…the dwelling place of the Lord who made heaven and earth. Through the Mass, we lift our eyes to our true help, our true Temple, Jesus Christ in the Eucharist…the true Temple of the new covenant. The true Temple that Jesus said He would raise in three days. The true Temple, which we receive to make us suitable temples for the Holy Spirit so that we can be sanctified and restored.

Indeed, through the goodness of the sacramental life of His Holy Catholic Church, God makes a home for the poor and the humble.

Thanks be to God!  

The Challenge of John the Baptist: Memorial of the Passion of Saint John the Baptist (Jeremiah 1:17-19; Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab and 17; Mark 6:17-29)

I can only imagine what it was like for King Herod to be comfortably enjoying his day in his court when all of a sudden this wild and eccentric, poorly dressed, and unkept man bursts into the room declaring, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.”  At least that is how we seem to often depict what happened.

Imagine if someone burst into your place of work (or some other public forum that you comfortably frequent) and openly announced one of your biggest sins.  In the event of that happening at my job, I don’t think I would be very open to a civil conversation.   In a way, it was a miracle that John the Baptist wasn’t decapitated on the spot.

As I reflected further on this, I couldn’t help but also think about our bishops.  I know there are many among us who wish our bishops to be more like John the Baptist by loudly and publicly denouncing those Catholic politicians that do not govern through the lens of Catholic values.

We do see some glimmers of it.  Bishop Paprocki, for example, in Springfield Illinois, has been relatively vocal about certain Illinois politicians.  Just this week, Pope Leo issued a statement reminding Catholic politicians that they cannot be both Catholic and pro-abortion.

It is hard to miss the news regarding how vocal the bishops have been about some of the Trump policies, such as immigration; as well as recent legislation like the big, beautiful bill.  

At the same time, I can appreciate the frustration I hear from some that it doesn’t seem like the bishops were that vocal when other politicians were seeking to spread abortion, transgenderism, and other offenses to life.

I’ll offer a couple of thoughts for consideration and potential context.  

The first thought is the power of the media.  We must remember that the media, both secular and those that we would expect to be friendly to the Church, will always amplify the voices that support their narrative.  Meanwhile, they will ignore and even suppress the voices that are contrary to their narrative.

The other thought has to do with how articulated the teaching of the Church is on a given topic.  

Abortion, transgenderism, marriage, and other subjects that are intrinsic in nature have teachings of the Church that are very clear cut.  While there are a handful of clergy out there that, at least by appearance, seem to try to muddy the waters on these subjects, the teachings are very clear and the information abundantly available.  

Generally speaking, people have made up their minds on these topics and it isn’t going to matter what a bishop says in a public forum.  And, in fact, a statement by a bishop in some of these situation may only make the situation worse.

Meanwhile, other topics of the faith are not so clear cut.  There are a number of nuances that must be considered and discerned.  Immigration, social services, and even something like the death penalty are good examples of this.  

When these matters come up in the public forum, they become moments of opportunity for the bishops to provide guidance on the teachings of the Church at a time when that information isn’t as clear cut, when the information isn’t as abundantly available, or when the information has to be applied to the specific situation.  

Going back to John the Baptist when he barged into Herod’s court with guns ablazed, Herod did the only thing he could do…really the only thing any one of us would have done:  He got defensive.  He had John arrested.  

Assuming that is how it actually went down, imagine if John the Baptist had instead sought a private audience with Herod.  Imagine if he had taken the time to try to truly engage with Herod to change his heart, similar to what Jesus did with the Samaritan woman at the well.

Perhaps I give the good bishops a bit too much benefit of the doubt, but in those times of perceived silence from the bishops I choose to hope they are having the appropriate conversations with politicians.  Instead of loudly and publicly denouncing them, I hope they are inviting the politicians to the well for a conversation to change their heart.

Which brings us to our invitations today.  At the heart of the matter, I have the liberty to reject the Church’s teaching on something like immigration just as another person has the liberty to reject the Church’s teaching on abortion.  

I must ask myself:  Where is John the Baptist challenging me in my beliefs?  What are the teachings of the Church that I am tempted to reject or perhaps at least struggle with?  How am I being called to more deeply walk with Christ in these issues?

Also, who within my circle of influence is in the role of Herod?  Who is living a life that is in at least some way contrary to the life Christ calls us to live?  How is the Holy Spirit leading me to engage with this person, not to denounce them or judge them, but to walk with them on a spiritual journey that will ultimately lead to a change of heart.

The Lord is with you when you sing of His salvation to those with which we walk.

Thanks be to God!

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The Queen’s Fiat: Memorial of The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Isaiah 9:1-6; Psalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8; Luke 1:26-38)

Very few things spark a fun, but potentially heated, debate than going up to a group of protestants and declaring Mary to be the Queen of Heaven.  It is quite possible that this title, along with most other Marian doctrines, causes more rejection of the true faith than any other topic.  

I cannot count the number of times I have heard something to the effect that “Mary was the last concept I had to come to terms with before I could convert to Catholicism" or “Mary is the only Catholic doctrine that I haven’t been able to accept” or “Catholic devotion to Mary is the reason I am not Catholic.”

At the same time, Mary as the Queen of Heaven is probably one of the more straight forward images in all of Scripture.

As with many theological concepts, we can start with the Old Testament.  In this case, the first book of Kings.  Bathsheba, who is a prototype of Mary, sits on a throne at the right hand of the King.  Anytime we see a “throne” or “sitting at the right hand”, we should automatically think “position of authority”.  

In his first encyclical, Peter talks about Jesus in heaven, at the right hand of God, having the authority of God.  This is the same context within which we see Bathsheba.  She is seated at the right hand of the king, in a position of authority.  We can say the same of Mary.

Further, the way monarchies work is that the mother of the king is known as the queen mother. A recent queen mother that many of us may remember is Queen Elizabeth of the UK.  She was the wife of King George VI and the mother of Queen Elizabeth II.  After the death of King George VI, she continued to rule at the side of Queen Elizebeth II until her death in 2002.  This included dozens of official visits on behalf of the royal crown.

Perhaps this feels a bit familiar to Catholics as we consider the many visits of Mary (through her apparitions) on behalf of the heavenly Crown.

In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah gives us an image of a Son to be born with dominion resting on His shoulders, the King of the Universe.  Earlier in this prophecy, Isaiah refers to the child as Emmanuel.  This prophecy of Isaiah not only speaks to the kingship of the Son to be born, but necessarily then speaks also to the queenship of the pregnant, young woman who is the Queen Mother.  The Queen Mother who, as we read in the book of Revelation gives “birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod.”

The visit of the Magi in the Gospel of Matthew also points to this reality of the Queen Mother.  When the Magi entered the grotto, they saw the Child with His mother.  There is no reason to mention Mary in this narrative (especially considering Joseph isn’t mentioned), unless of course, Matthew is referencing a greater reality.  A greater reality that the first century Jew would have picked up immediately on through the context of the Davidic kingdom and the prophecy of Isaiah.  The child, Emmanuel, the King of the Jews, with His mother, Mary, the Queen Mother.

Non-Catholics can, and will, reject the truth, but facts remain facts.  This King is Jesus.  This Queen Mother is Mary.  Together, they are the new Adam and the new Eve in the new creation of the Kingdom of God, which of course is the Sacramental life of His One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

In his encyclical Redemptor Hominis, Pope Saint John Paul II said:  “We can say that the mystery of the Redemption took shape beneath the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she pronounced her ‘fiat’ (which we heard in our Gospel today).  From then on, under the special influence of the Holy Spirit, this heart, the heart of both a virgin and a mother, has always followed the work of her Son and has gone out to all those whom Christ has embraced and continues to embrace with inexhaustible love ... The Church, which looks to her with altogether special love and hope, wishes to make this mystery her own in an ever deeper manner.”

As we celebrate the Queenship of Mary today, we remind ourselves that we too have been made kings and queens through our baptisms and are therefore called to follow her Son.  We too are called to embrace those called by Christ with an inexhaustible love.  We too are called to spread love and hope into the world around us.  We too are called to echo the response of the Queen Mother, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.”

Through our “fiat”, the name of the Lord will be blessed forever.

Thanks be to God!

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The Promise of an Empty Tomb: Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Revelation 11:19A; 12:1-6A, 10AB; Psalm 45:10, 11, 12, 16; 1 Corinthians 15:20-27; Luke 1:39-56)

Three years ago, Virginia and I (along with a handful of other parishioners) had the opportunity to go to the Holy Land with Father Hogan. It was a tremendous experience that truly enlightened the Gospel message in our lives in a special way.

The last day in the Holy Land was allocated to be a free day in Jerusalem. Many in our group, including Virginia, took an optional trip into the hill country east of Jerusalem to the location that serves as the setting for our Gospel reading. 

This group came back with quite a story about how they experienced the area where Mary pronounced the Magnificat (which we heard today) as she encountered Elizabeth and the leaping baby in her womb.

In the meantime, I elected to simply wander around Old Jerusalem, exploring on my own. I could tell quite a few stories, such as getting into the Greek Orthodox Church built on the site of the martyrdom of Saint Stephen (one of the first seven deacons of the Church).

Just a stone’s throw from that Church (sorry for the choice of words Saint Stephen), I was able to also visit another Orthodox Church that contains the empty tomb of the Virgin Mary.

The small “t” tradition regarding this tomb is that at the end of Mary’s natural life, she chose this location for her tomb. It is fitting that this would be the site of her tomb because there is a prophecy from the Book of Joel citing this location as the place where the Lord will judge the nations, presenting imagery of this as the location where the resurrection of the body will begin during the final judgement at the second coming.

As the story goes, the Lord inspired the Apostles to return to Jerusalem as Mary approached the end of her natural life. One day, Mary requested they come to the cenacle, which was the upper room where the Last Supper occurred and the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost.

While the Apostles were with Mary, the Lord gave her a choice, a chance (if you will) to avoid death. However, it is said, Mary humbly replied, “It is proper that as I have tried to follow you in life so I follow you also in death.”

At this, her eyes gently closed and her soul peacefully departed from her body. Cause of death? Love.

The Apostles reverently laid Mary’s body on a wooden plank. They solemnly processed from the cenacle on Mount Zion to the chosen tomb in the Valley of Jehoshaphat (also known as the Kidron Valley), which is approximately one mile away. 

The procession is said to have included all the Christians in Jerusalem, as well as an infinitude of invisible angels, patriarchs, prophets, and saints.

Saint Peter and Saint John laid the body of Mary in the tomb and sealed it.

Some time after the funeral, the Lord descended into the tomb of Mary with her soul. The Lord returned Mary’s soul to her body and in the process of that, glorified her body and rose it up again. This was followed by a magnificent and triumphant procession from the tomb into heaven...Christ the King ascending with His Immaculate Mother at His side.

Saint Thomas, who we recall was late to the cenacle upon the resurrection of Jesus Christ, was returning from modern-day India.  Once again, he was late...late for the funeral of the Virgin Mary.  In fact, it was now the third day since Mary had been buried.  He was greatly distressed when he learned she had already passed. He begged to be allowed into the tomb to see her one more time.

Saint Peter and Saint John agreed and accompanied him to the tomb.

Upon arrival, there was nothing on the plank except her robe and mantle. An angel appeared to them and said, “Men of Galilee, your queen and ours is now living body and soul in heaven and reigning in it forever with Christ.”

The source of this story is from a book called “The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics”, by Raphael Brown. The story isn’t part of the dogma that we celebrate today and therefore not something we are obligated to believe. At the same time, I believe it is a source of rich spiritual fodder that we can take to prayer to help us enter more deeply into this mystery of our faith...these mysteries of the Dormition and Assumption of our Blessed Lady.

The Assumption of Mary is a great message of hope for us. As some of you have heard me say in a previous homily: what God did for Mary, He offers to all of us through the sacraments of His Holy Catholic Church.

Living the sacramental life of the Catholic Church, we have the promise of resurrection, the promise of eternal life, and the promise of complete union with God (body and soul).

Living the sacramental life of the Catholic Church, we have the promise to join the queen who stands at the right hand of God, arrayed in gold.

Thanks be to God!

Lay Down Your Life: Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest and Martyr (Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 116:10-11, 12-13, 16ac-17 ; 1 John 3:14-18; John 15:12-16)

Today is the feast day of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, who was a Franciscan priest that lived during the turbulent times of the two World Wars.  He is perhaps best known for laying down his life so another may live.

In February 1941, the monastery Saint Maximilian Kolbe lived in was shut down by the German authorities.  He and four others were arrested.

In May, he was transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp.  As a priest, he was subject to extreme harassment, beatings, and lashings.

In July, a person escaped from the prison.  This prompted the guards to select ten men to be made an example of in order to discourage future attempts.  One of the ten men selected cried out, “My wife! My children!”.  Upon hearing this, Saint Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to take his place.

After being deprived of food and water for two weeks, Saint Maximilian Kolbe died of a lethal injection of carbonic acid on August 14th.

The man Saint Maximilian Kolbe laid down his life for would survive Auschwitz and would return home to his family.  He would die in March, 1995.  In 1994, he said that “so long as he ... has breath in his lungs, he would consider it his duty to tell people about the heroic act of love by Maximilian Kolbe”.

Imagine the humility Saint Maximilian Kolbe must have had in order to be able to lay down his life in such a way that he would face certain death.

In his monthly challenge, Archbishop Lori said, “In the life of a disciple of Christ, we are called to develop the virtue of humility. We are called to self-giving service to others, not self-serving advancement of ourselves. Let us strive to not seek worldly honors in an egotistical spirit, but rather to live as servants to others so that God may exalt us to eternal life.”

Saint Maximilian Kolbe gives us a model for how to live this out.  Fortunately, we will not likely be called to be a martyr as he was, but we are still called to walk with our Lord humbly and lay down our lives for others out of love, developing a sense of spiritual martyrdom.

So, we ask ourselves:  What does the struggle with the sin of pride look like in your life? How can you be more humble of heart while at the same time bold in living and proclaiming your faith? What living examples of humble service have you found in your own life?   How have you laid down your life for someone else?  How do you think God is calling you to lay down your life now?

Saint Maximilian Kolbe is a reminder of the invitation to abandon our comfort zone.  

Saint Maximilian Kolbe is a reminder of the invitation to abandon our self absorption and pride.

Saint Maximilian Kolbe is a reminder of the invitation of Pope Francis in his encyclical “Evangelii Gaudium”...the invitation to become “bruised, hurting and dirty because (you have) been out on the streets”....out on the street finding the victims of the culture of death and walking with them into the culture of life and into the sacramental life of the Catholic Church.

Thanks be to God!

The Lord’s Dog: Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest (1 Corinthians 2:1-10a; Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10; Luke 9:57-62)

When the mother of Saint Dominic was pregnant, she had a dream of a dog with a lit torch in its mouth leaping from her womb.  With the torch, the dog seemed to set the world of fire.

So, when Saint Dominic was born in 1170 in Callereuga, Spain, they decided on the name Dominic as a play on the Latin words Domini canis, which translates to the Lord’s dog.

Saint Dominic would join the Benedictine order in 1194 and was named prior in 1201.

He spent most of his time with the Benedictines in southern France, where he combated the Albigensian heresy and converted many heretics back to the true faith.  Sadly, many components of Albigensianism are still alive today within Protestantism, but that is a homily for another day.

According to a pious legend, Saint Dominic would witness an apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1214.  In this apparition, Mary gave Saint Dominic the present form of the rosary.  While we cannot know for sure, the legend may very well be true since there is no written record of the rosary (at least in its present form) prior to this time and the rosary became immensely popular immediately following this time.

In July 1215, Saint Dominic was granted permission to begin his own religious order, known as the Order of Preachers.  You may know it better as the Dominicans.  

The Order of Preachers carries a combination of charisms that is fairly unique among the multitude of religious orders in the world.

While personal prayer time is important to all religious people, the Dominicans see it as the essential element for the rest of their rule of life.  They take ample time everyday for prayer; including the Liturgy of the Hours, the rosary, spiritual reading, and contemplation.

This serves as inspiration for us to cultivate an ever deepening life of prayer to nurture our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Another important charism of the Dominican order that has been cultivated throughout the Church is study.  The constitution of the Order of Preachers says the following, “Saint Dominic included study ordained to the ministry of salvation as part of the essential plan for our Order … before all else, our study should aim principally and ardently at this, that we might be able to be useful for the souls of our neighbors.”  

This reminds us of how important it is for us to continue to learn our faith more deeply.  Not only for the benefit of our own faith life, but also in order to communicate that faith to those around us…especially those who live in ignorance of the Truth of Jesus Christ and those who live in opposition to the Truth of Jesus Christ.

Community is another important charism of the Dominicans.  It is through community that they perpetually encounter Christ through their brothers and recreate moments with the Holy Spirit.  

It shows us how important it is for us to come together as a community, certainly at Mass, but also to make God’s love visible through active participation in our prayer groups and service ministries.

For the Dominican, these three charisms feed and strengthen their primary charism: preaching.  Dominican legacy is the preaching of the Truth of Jesus Christ.

After suffering from a fever for approximately a month, Saint Dominic died at the age of 51 on August 6, 1221, in the presence of his Dominican brothers.   

Interestingly, while Saint Dominic has had a major influence on the Church (some of which I will preach on at other times), he has never been declared a Doctor of the Church.  Still, he is one of the most highly regarded and venerated saints in the Church, particularly among Dominicans and Franciscans, because through his example and intercession we can truly proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Thanks be to God!

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Salty Life of Saint Alphonsus: Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Romans 8:1-4; Psalm 119:9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14; Matthew 5:13-19)

Saint Alphonsus Liguori was born on September 27, 1696.  Both of his parents were very faithful and pious, ensuring he grew up to be the same.  In fact, Saint Alphonsus would attend an annual retreat with his father at a nearby religious house.

In 1715, at the age of 19, Saint Alphonsus began his career as a lawyer in the courts.  Over the course of eight years, it is said that he never lost a case, and (by the age of 27) had become the leader among his peers.

Everything was about to change in 1723.  He agreed to be lead counsel in a case between the Grand Duke of Tuscany and a Neapolitan nobleman over a property dispute valued at $500,000.  (That would be about $38 million dollars in today’s value.)  

The opening statement of Saint Alphonsus was nothing short of brilliant and was delivered with a tone of victorious presumption.

However, there was a key piece of evidence that he was unaware of.  The opposing council dismissingly announced, “Your arguments are wasted breath. You have overlooked a document which destroys your whole case.”

Long story short, Saint Alphonsus was thunderstruck by revelation.  He lost the case and was inconsolable by neither his peers nor the judge.  He declared, “World, I know you now. Courts, you shall never see me more.”

Later that year, he entered into formation for the religious life.  He was ordained a priest on December 21, 1726.

Among the various characteristics of his priesthood, we see in Saint Alphonsus a great confessor, a great moral theologian, and great devotee to our Lady and the Eucharist.

The line to his confessional was always extraordinarily long, often filled with hardened sinners repenting and returning to a life of grace.

As a moral theologian, he wrote extensively about prayer, spiritual direction, and the love of Jesus Christ, emphasizing a personal and affective spirituality.  Among his great works include “The School of Christian Perfection”, “Glories of Mary”, and “Visits to the Blessed Sacrament”.

In 1732, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly known as the Redemptorists.  This order still exists today, serving the poor and most spiritually abandoned.

At the age of 66, he was appointed a bishop.  At once, he began to reform his diocese.  

In the meantime, Saint Alphonsus suffered from great rheumatoid pain.  By the age of 71, his neck was so severely bent that it caused a sore on his chest.  It was so severe, the he could not even celebrate Mass.  That is why much artwork we see of him depicts his bent neck.

Saint Alphonsus died in the night between July 31 and August 1, 1787, two months before his ninety-first birthday. He was canonized in 1871, and proclaimed a Doctor of the Universal Church.  He is considered the patron saint of moral theologians, confessors, and those who suffer from arthritis.

In the life of Saint Alphonsus, we see what can happen when we live our life in the sacramental worldview of the Church, or as Saint Paul put it in our reading today, when we live the law of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ.   

And so, like Saint Alphonsus, we too can be the salt of the earth, allowing the world to glorify our Heavenly Father through our good works to reach out to those that are victims of the culture of death and walk with them into the spirit of life.

Thanks be to God!

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