1. Claiming the altars to unknown gods
    HOMILY – Wednesday of the Sith Week of Easter
    Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, Newburgh – May 24, 2017
    Acts 17

    The passage about St. Paul from Acts 17:15, 22 to 18:1 contains a valuable lesson for us today about introducing someone to Christ.

    Here's how we hear the story from the Acts of the Apostles:

    Saint Paul travels to Athens, where he walks into the public square and begins his sermon. Many people are in awe; many convert, and St. Paul will then march on to another place. We picture it all happening within the context of an afternoon, right? Then he will go either give the same homily to an open/accepting group of people or, by God's intermediate inspiration, stir within Paul a new homily that works perfectly for the next town.

    That might be how we hear or imagine it, but what may have actually happened?

    Saint Paul had recently been released from prison, and he went to the home of the jailer (Acts 16:30-34). I wonder how many days he spent there and at Lydia's hosue (Acts 16:40) before deciding Athens was the next stop.  Then, he probably had to find transportation. As he did, he might have spent some time researching or conversing about (or with) the Athenian people, and therein learn about his audience. Maybe he asked about a few Greek sites or events to visit while staying there. He probably checked into lodging and put down his likely limited luggage, possibly spent a few days looking around to find the best place to begin sharing, maybe even shared the Gospel in conversation unsuccessfully. Let's suppose on an afternoon out, he stumbled into the Areopagus and saw the altar to 'an unknown god'. "Bingo!" he could have thought. He might have even gone back and prepared his thoughts for the coming weekend or a day of celebration when crowds would be bigger. After all, how difficult it would be to convince by preaching the most faithful, devout crowd who comes on weekdays to worship. 'A plethora of people might hold more potential conversions' he could have thought, and then he preaches, and many accept Christ.

    Now what I just hypothesized is not historical fact, but I don't think it's impossible as a whole. The point I am trying to make is that so often we look at Scripture or the lives of famous or successful persons and forget that it takes wisdom, failure, relationships – Providence – to get it right. Things don't always work out the way we hope, and often the greatest things don't come easy.

    For instance, we get frustrated when our children or spouses won't come to Mass or refuse the Faith, but have we thought about how we might make it more enjoyable for them by teaching them about the liturgy beforehand? Have we learned more about the Mass so that we can answer their questions intelligently, convincingly? Have we thought about sending links of great, Catholic YouTube videos to our friends or co-workers? Have we 'washed their feet' with our kind letters, public posts of affirmation on social media, or just sat with them in their misery until they ask in pure, vulnerable curiosity, "What makes you so kind and caring?" to which we can finally and powerfully say, "God's grace does"?

    Like the Apostle, we too can look around for the things in our world that are shallow, or that others like to receive or do, or that are – without faith – inexplicable, and say, "I know the God that's behind your that thing in your life."

    St. Paul sees 'the altar to an unknown god' and therein finds a key to reaching his audience for the sake of the Gospel.

    Look around. Where are the altars in the lives of your family members, your community, your world? What sits empty or without its fullest meaning in the life of someone you know or have seen? Today, St. Paul doesn't teach us to walk into crowds without planning or knowledge but to use our gifts to claim the unknown altars of the world for Christ.



    Image: Saint Paul Preaching in front of the Areopagus by Marià (Mariano) Fortuny, 19th century, watercolor and gouache on colored paper, Casellas collection
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    Labels: Acts 17 Conversion Easter Evangelization Homily Practical Value The New Evangelization Today's Church



  2. Believe, Live & Receive - Homily
    Sixth Sunday of Easter
    Saint John the Baptist Parish, Newburgh, Indiana – May 21, 2017
    Acts 8:5-8, 14-17, John 14:15-21
    Listen to this homily from the 5pm Mass on Sat, May 20


    My hometown pastor once told a fable about the ascension of Jesus into Heaven. It’s not a true story from Scripture or Tradition, but it makes a true point.

    Jesus ascends into Heaven where he is greeted by the angels. “Jesus! Welcome home. It’s been too long! What was earth like? Tell us about your parents. Did you make any friends?” Jesus proceeds to tell them about being born in the sleepy town of Bethlehem, of learning the Hebrew Scriptures with his mom and dad at night by candlelight, of being lost and found in the temple. He tells them about the great celebration at Cana where the reception was almost ruined for lack of wine, and he talked about the faith of his disciples amidst the storm on the sea. Finally, he spoke about washing the feet of those for whom he was actually King, and that he instructed them to gather, bless, and share his Body and Blood.

    After these stories, one angel asked, “Jesus, did they really put you to death?” Jesus showed them his hands and feet and said, “Yes.”

    Another quickly jumped in, “And do they know how much you loved them?” “Yes,” Jesus replied. “Will they know—will they feel your very life in themselves?” “Some of them will,” Jesus said.

    “But what about the others?” the angels responded. “How will they know?”

    “My disciples will tell them. They will travel to Antioch and to Samaria, to India and to Rome, and they will teach and live out what I gave to them. Others will come to believe, and they will live in my love, too. They will bear children and have them baptized. They will preach in the markets and temples and on street corners and through all sorts of media, and others will come to know and to live in the truth.”

    Finally, one angel, with great doubt, asked, “But what if they don’t tell anyone? What if they do not keep your commandments? What if they refuse your Advocate, the Holy Spirit? Is there another way? Do you have a ‘Plan B’?”


    We are on the brink of two powerful commemorations: the Ascension of our Lord next Sunday, that is Jesus’ return to the Father by which Christ's ascending to the Father unlocks the gates of heaven; and the powerful pouring forth of the Holy Spirit upon all who believe as we commemorate Pentecost in two weeks. Are you ready for these moments? Are you ready to know the life of Christ in you? Because we will not know it if we do not believe and if we do not live it out.

    Our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles shows forth Philip, a recently appointed minister in the Church (cf Acts 6:5), evangelizing to the people of Samaria. “The crowds paid attention”—that is, they “accepted the word of God”—they “paid attention to what was said by Philip when they heard it and saw the signs he was doing.”

    ‘Heard and saw.’ One form of testimony did not stand on its own. Philip did not just talk about “the Christ”. Nor did he simply live like Jesus. One was not without the other, and because of this one disciple’s testimony by word and deed, “There was great joy in that city,” and, “Samaria…accepted the word of God.”

    Some of us may indifferently file the testimony of Philip’s grand works into the drawers of history or fable—keeping them cold and disconnected from the quiet, calculated, dare I even say safely-boring lives we daily live. We hear that Philip healed the paralyzed and the crippled and that demons were expelled from people because of his works, and yet we say:
    • Sure, Father, the Holy Spirit worked in Bible stories, but miracles like that don’t happen anymore. 
    • Or, I’ve never seen someone possessed by an unclean spirit and then exorcised to freedom by the power of the Spirit. 
    • Sure the crippled walk with the power of medicine, with medical treatment—but not by the signs or power of a disciple.

    And yet we stand on the brink of two great feasts, two amazing moments to receive the power of God in eternal life and in fullness of truth on earth, and are we ready? Do we long for a miracle to be worked in our world? Would we believe it could?

    Have our lives become so tightly controlled or so obese-ly rich or so dark and frightening and heavy that we are actually prouder than our Lord, fattened by our own egos and powers, or sincerely afraid of feeling that we in fact dismiss God’s own revelation before it could perchance plant itself in our hearts, our minds, our lives, our world? Do we believe?

    I was called into the emergency room this past fall on a Monday morning. A woman in her 80's who had Alzheimer's, whose temperature was above 104 degrees, and who had many other problems was likely to pass soon. The medical staff indicated that immediate surgery would have little effect, and no operation would mean it was only a matter of time.

    The family asked me to Anoint her. This Sacrament was instituted by Christ and has been carried on by priests of the Church for centuries (James 5:14-16). I offered the Sacrament and left.

    After giving this homily at the 7am Mass, a man walked up, shook my hand, and said, "Thank you, miracle worker." It was the woman's husband. She recovered and is still alive 6 months later. I don't add this story in to say that I can work miracles. In fact, sometimes the anointings are followed by the person's passing. But this one wasn't. I did as Christ and the Church instructs, and, like Philip in Samaria, "signs" accompanied words, and surely faith was planted in someone's soul.

    Do you believe? If you do, then you must live it.

    Jesus said to his disciples…“I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
    Do we want to see God? Do we want Jesus to live in us, in our actions, in our prayers or our hopes or our dreams? —Well are you doing what he asked?

    Jesus says that if we love him, we will keep his commandments. We will act like people who actually follow his ways. We will be Catholic. Are you?

    Because in a little while, the world will not see him, but you will—if you believe and live his word. You will see him, because even though he ascends into glory, he lives, and so will you. Whoever has and observes his commandments is the one who loves him, and those are the ones who will know and feel and see and spread God’s own love. And so are you ready?

    Are you ready to live in the Holy Spirit like our ancestors in the faith did some two thousand years ago? Do you long for that type of life? It’s a life that the world cannot see? Why? Why can’t the world see Him, know his life? Because it does not know Him and it does not live as God reveals.

    Think about it. How can we expect Jesus to live in us if we do not live like him now? Analogously, would you believe that I was a Cubs fan if I never wore their gear, never attended their games, never read about them in the papers, and knew none of their players? Of course not. And what if I showed up or at least never tailgated before the ballgames and often left the ballpark in the top of the seventh? What if my kids were Cardinals fans and I didn't at least try to 'convert' them? Maybe I would be a fan, but not a good one.

    But let’s not just talk about being a fan. Push the analogy further. Would I be considered part of the Cubs team if I didn’t play with the Cubs players, if I didn’t listen to Joe Maddon, and if I never stepped onto the field at Wrigley?

    Then how can we expect to see Jesus living in us or to work Philip’s miracles if we do not live in Christ? How can we expect Jesus to live in our lives, our words, our actions if we do not put on the Catholic uniform of Sacraments and praise, of charity of the dignity of human life, of Confession and evangelization, and of peace and forgiveness and justice and mercy?

    Because we shouldn’t just be fans; we are part of the team! And how can we be a part of God’s team, Christ’s Church if we do not show up here on His home turf? If we do not know the playbook of Scripture and Tradition? If we refuse the true guidance of our leaders? If we watch hours of You-Can-Do-It Television or Reality Talent but won’t read a single chapter of The Story of a Soul? If we spend months of our lives vacationing on beaches or in the mountains but never travel to Israel or Rome or Guadalupe or Fatima?

    "Now Father," we might say, "I have never seen someone healed by the power of prayer," or, "I wish I could have faith or feel Christ's presence," and yet how can we expect to rejoice at the 108-year-in-the-making World Series win when we didn't watch the game? Again, push it further: even the greatest Cubs fans who watched and who were present at the stadium still cannot know what it is like to win the game themselves. That is, they don't feel it like the players do. Are you a fan of Christ? Or are you actually living as a player on his team?


    We are on the brink of the Ascension and Pentecost, and Christ’s own life shall dwell within us through the power of the Holy Spirit.

    The fabled angels beg the question of Jesus. “But what if they don’t?" They ask, "How will men and women and children learn of you and experience the life of grace you offer if they don’t speak and act like you taught—if they do not ‘have and observe your commandments’ and refuse the Advocate, the Spirit that you send? Is there a ‘Plan B’?”


    And Jesus said...
    to his disciples:
    "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
    And I will ask the Father,
    and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
    the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept,
    because it neither sees nor knows him.
    But you know him, because he remains with you,
    and will be in you.
    I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
    In a little while the world will no longer see me,
    but you will see me, because I live and you will live.
    On that day you will realize that I am in my Father
    and you are in me and I in you.
    Whoever has my commandments and observes them
    is the one who loves me.
    And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father,
    and I will love him and reveal myself to him" (John 14:15-21).

    No. There is no 'plan b'. There is no need for one.





    Image: St. Paul Preaching in Athens by Raphael, 1515-1516 A.D., British Royal Collection
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    Labels: Discipleship Evangelization Holy Spirit Homily Learning



  3. Homily - Be Christian
    Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
    Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, Newburgh – May 9, 2017
    Acts 11


    Have you been called “Christian”?

    A few years ago, my seminary rector, Fr. Denis Robinson, OSB, pointed out this line from today's reading from Acts. I thought it was really profound:
    For a whole year they met with the Church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).
    Antioch is the first place people were first called 'Christians'.

    Have you been called Christian?

    What was the first place you were called Christian? Was it at your baptism by a priest whose name you cherish or maybe whose name you were never told? Was it in middle school or high school when your friends were pressuring you to do something and one of your classmates butted in with "Lay off. He won’t do it. He’s 'Christian'"?

    Was it on a Friday in Lent when you ordered cheese pizza instead of sharing the Triple-Pig, and someone said, "Oh, that’s right. You’re Catholic"?  Where were you first called “Christian”?

    Or have you ever been called Christian? Has anyone ever looked at your life and named you with Jesus of Nazareth’s own title: "Christ(ian)"? Have you lived your faith on the outside, praying in public, wearing a crucifx necklace, picking up trash as you walk along the Rivertown Trail, stopping gossip, or leaving your kid’s practice or ballgame on a Sunday in order to ‘do this in remembrance of him’? Have you ever been called Christian?

    I spent a summer in the state of Washington during seminary formation. A local family offered to take me out on one of the waterways of the Puget Sound in Seattle. They hosted me for lunch, served food and drinks aboard their boat, and were incredibly kind people, especially to someone who they didn’t know well.  As I departed, I asked my friend who had made the connection for us why this family would open their life to me. She responded plainly, "Because they are Christian. Jesus told us to love one another. That's why they do it."

    Have you—no when was the last time you did something for no other reason than because you are Christian? Have you given generously and yet inconspicuously? Have you loved your enemies? Have you turned over the tables of injustice? Have you taught your children or your grandchildren how to pray? Have you invited anyone to Mass in the past month or year or ever? When was the last time you did something because Jesus revealed it?

    It was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christian. Today, be Christian and give the world a reason to call you what you are.


    Image source: Ancient streets of Antioch
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    Labels: Acts 11 Discipleship Energizing Witness Evangelization Homily Live It Out Love Thy Neighbor The New Evangelization


  4. 2nd grader Thomas showing me one of his First Communion gifts (Courtesy of Brian & Erin Pope)

    This past weekend was the busiest weekend I think I have had as a priest. Granted, it was less than a year (323 days, actually) into my life as a priest, but it was still likely my most packed weekend:

    Saturday, April 29, 2017
    • 7am  daily Mass at the parish (town East of Evansville)
    • 8am  meeting with a staff member
    • 9am  preparations for the weekend First Communion Masses
    • 11am - 4pm  lunch with my brothers and future brother-in-law for his bachelor weekend on the West Side of Evansville
    • 5pm  First Communion Mass back at the parish
    • 6:30pm  First Communion Party at a parishioners' home
    • 8pm  Round 2 of parties...
    • 9pm  Memorial High School Prom in downtown Evansville
    • 11:30pm  after-prom Mass at River City Recreation with about 200 students present
    • 1am  sleep
    Sunday, April 30, 2017
    • 8:45am  Mass at the parish
    • 10am  brunch with some friends from out of town
    • 11am  First Communion Mass #2
    • 12:30pm  Baptisms (3 children)
    • 1:45pm  First Communion Party Round 3!
    • 3pm  final party stop...
    • 5:30pm  Mass at the parish
    • 7-10pm  dinner and time at the home of some parishioners
    • 11pm  sleep
    Now, to my brother priests, I know you have had busier days. I also know that busyness doesn't equate with efficacy in ministry or with priestly productivity. However, I know what it feels like to feel drained of all energy and yet sigh with my whole body as I sink deeply into a chair at 11pm for Compline. It was all worthwhile ministry. And I could feel it in my bones.

    On Tuesday, by God's providence, I met up with five priest-friends for just over 48-hours at a lake house north of Louisville. The oldest of us celebrated his 34th birthday on our second day together, and we spent our mornings praying or hiking together, our afternoons celebrating Mass in the living room of the house, and our evenings cooking, dining, warming by the fire, and watching movies. 

    There is something that cannot be gained unless we are with people like us. Men enjoy talking shop with other men. Wives and mothers need to call or grab coffee with other wives and mothers. Children finally sparkle when they get to leave the adult table at Thanksgiving to play with their cousins instead. 

    Well, priests need time with brother priests, too.

    Together, we get to share joys and struggles. We get to philosophize about the effect of World War II on religious culture. We dream of our next assignments, and we mourn when talking about moving from our current ones. And why can we do this? Because we know that they know. We know that these other men heard and have followed the same Vocation, and their presence liberates things that shouldn't be on display for those we serve. 

    Jesus sent his disciples out in pairs (Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1). Although many priests are often (necessarily or even willingly) on their own, the busyness of this life can be downright exhausting on some days. And so we are given a great gift: a brotherhood of many men who have been called, who have answered and who readily smile, mourn, listen, and pray with others called to this beautiful way of life. 

    Lakehouse, with tempoary (small) altar for Mass


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    Labels: Personal Reflection Personal Story Priesthood
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