Solemnity of Saints Peter And Paul + Year A

WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT THE SON OF MAN IS? Today, as they did when Jesus first asked the question, many people say that Jesus is one of the prophets: like Elijah, or Jeremiah or John the Baptist. Confronted by what she could not explain, the woman at the well said to Him, Sir, I can see that you are a prophet (Jn 4:19). Some would even say that He is the greatest of the prophets. The second default answer would be to say that He is a great moral teacher: like Nicodemus, who came to Him at night for fear of the Jews, said You are a teacher come from God (Jn 3:2). If pressed these same people would say that He is no different than Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna, Zoroaster, or any founder of one of the world’s religions. The third response is usually to say that He is a holy man, in the same way Gandhi was, or others who came before and after Him who had found the path of enlightenment. Next come the more critical comments. Some, like the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, that He is possessed by Beelzebub, and by the prince of demons He casts out the demons. (Mk 3:22). Others were saying that He is beside Himself (Mk 3:21). Literally, that He was out of His mind. There are still others who said who can forgive sins but God alone? (Mk 2:7) and they accused Him of being a blasphemer. Finally, some say that He is only human just like the rest of us: Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? (Mt 13:55). And then Jesus then asked the apostles, and He asks you also:
BUT . . .  WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM? Jesus was not then, and is not now, asking a rhetorical question. Your answer may determine how you spend your eternity. You see that Peter, without a moment’s hesitation gave his reply:
YOU ARE THE CHRIST Christos is the Greek word for Messiah which means Anointed. Peter’s response is an acknowledgment that Jesus is the Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah foretold by all the prophets. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise made by God to our fathers (AA 26:6). Peter recognized that all the promises of God find their YES in Him (2 Cor 1:20). This includes the promised eternal inheritance (Heb 9:15). At that moment it was revealed to Peter that Eternal Life is not a philosophy or religious discipline or a matter of keeping the Law. Eternal Life is a Person, with a history, a Face and a Name: and that Person is Jesus of Nazareth. He is the One sent by God to save you from the fatal sickness of sin and death. He is the only One who can forgive your sin and reconcile you to God the Father. He is the Alpha, the beginning and source of all that is. He is the center point of human history and the fulcrum upon which all reality is hinged. And, He is the Omega, the End to which all time and all reality is moving. Peter continues . . .
(YOU ARE) THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD Jesus is the absolutely unique and only-begotten Son of God. There is no one like Him. He is the single Word that reveals everything that the Father has to say to the whole human race. This is why Jesus gave to Peter the keys of the kingdom. The Father gave to Peter the Revelation of who His Son is:
FLESH AND BLOOD HAS NOT REVEALED THIS TO YOU, BUT MY HEAVENLY FATHER Flesh and blood cannot perceive, cannot see, cannot pull back the veil; flesh and blood cannot penetrate the mystery of the identity of the Person of Jesus. No one comes to the Son, Jesus said, unless the Father who sent Me draws him (Jn 6:44). As you come forward today to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus, may God the Father grant you the revelation of who it is whom you are receiving.

12th Sunday of OT + Year A

THE CONTEXT OF TODAY”S GOSPEL:   Jesus is sending the Apostles out like sheep among wolves to preach that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. They are to expect to be spoken ill of and lied about; they are to expect to be betrayed, persecuted and killed; and they know that whoever endures to the end will be saved. Jesus opens this morning’s Gospel by saying to the Apostles and by saying to you:
FEAR NO ONE Have no phobeo. Do not be afraid, do not be struck with fear, do not be scared away. This word should not be heard as if it is just one of the many possibilities from the Buffet Line of Jesus’ Suggestions: after all, Jesus has said many things - do I want to sample or taste or chew on this particular one? This is not just a recommendation either: continuing with the eating analogy: Jesus is not saying I recommend this dish, I know you’ll like it! Rather this is a command: Do you want abundant life now? Do you want to live forever? Then fear no one. His word has within it the power to accomplish in you what He intends it to accomplish - if you hear it and believe it in faith. Jesus speaks to three specific things you are not to fear and one thing that you are to fear:
NOTHING IS CONCEALED THAT WILL NOT BE REVEALED, NOR SECRET THAT WILL NOT BE KNOWN. Do not be afraid of what your enemies might say about you. People will betray you and speak evil of you: even brother against brother, parent against child, and child against parent.  Another implication is that you should make use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation: You can reveal in confession your hidden past; you can make known to the confessor your secret sins of the present; and in the sacrament you receive forgiveness and the grace to change the course your unknown future - continued sin is NOT a foregone conclusion! The second thing not to fear:
DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THOSE WHO KILL THE BODY BUT CANNOT KILL THE SOUL Do not be afraid of sickness and suffering because in Jesus the blind see; the deaf hear; the mute speak; the lame leap and dance; and lepers are cleansed. And especially do be afraid even of martyrdom and death. Jesus said Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last, the one who lives. Once I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I hold the keys to death and the netherworld (Rev 1:18).  The third thing to not fear is what you or what others think of your worth:
SO DO NOT BE AFRAID; YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS. You’ll never be good enough, smart enough, pretty enough, skinny enough or tall enough! You’ll never be rich enough, secure enough or healthy enough! While you may win the respect and esteem of your neighbors or peers no effort of yours will ever earn the love or approval of God. Your worth and your dignity are already gifts that come from the Lord through Baptism! What then is the one thing that you are to fear?
BE AFRAID OF THE ONE WHO CAN DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN GEHENNA Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, in his homily for today, says that you must fear God but not be afraid of Him. We fear offending all whom we love, especially God. That is the fear of the Lord is (that) is the beginning of wisdom. To fear God but not be afraid of Him is to feel small before something, SomeOne that is immense; it is stupor and marvel, mixed with admiration and awe.
EVERYONE WHO ACKNOWLEDGES ME BEFORE OTHERS I WILL ACKNOWLEDGE BEFORE MY HEAVENLY FATHER. Do not be afraid of what others think of or say about you, what they may do to you, or what you estimate your worth to be. By word and action make known to all you meet the mercy and the love that are to be found in encountering and knowing the Person of Jesus Christ!

11th Sunday in OT + Year A

Today’s Gospel is a preacher’s dream come true! There are so many themes to speak on: The first theme could be the Apostolic College: He summoned His twelve disciples. The second theme could be the primacy of Peter: The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter. The third theme would be intercession for vocations: ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. The fourth theme would be the preaching that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The fifth theme could be on the charisms to cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons. The sixth theme would be without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. I would love to preach on all of these themes but instead I will contain my thoughts to the first sentence from today’s Gospel: At the sight of the crowds, Jesus’ heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.
AT THE SIGHT OF THE CROWDS Sight (in Gr: eido) is to see, to perceive, to know with the mind and to experience the condition of what is beheld. Jesus’ sight allows Him to see not only this crowd in this time and place, but every crowd, past, present and future.  (For) the eyes of the LORD roam over the whole earth (Zech 4:10).  His sight beholds the crowds or multitudes, those who are not the scribes and the Pharisees and . . .
JESUS’ HEART WAS MOVED WITH PITY FOR THEM Literally, this would read, Jesus’ bowels were moved with compassion. The bowels were thought to be the seat of pity, compassion and love.  In other words, Jesus was moved to the core of His being. Why?
BECAUSE THEY WERE TROUBLED AND ABANDONED Recently I was in Serbia and Croatia and had many opportunities to speak to crowds of people and to pray with them.  I saw hundreds who were troubled and abandoned: children abandoned by their fathers; spouses abandoned by an unfaithful partner; those who lived in homes ruled by alcoholism or drug abuse; those who were verbally, physically or sexually abused by parents or relatives; people who were without hope; people who had known nothing but pain for their entire lives.  These are the ones who are
LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD They are the ones who are, as St. Paul commented on in the 2^nd Reading, the helpless, the ungodly, sinners, and enemies for whom God proves His love when Christ gladly died in order to reconcile them to God. They are the ones, you heard in the 1st Reading, who God said shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people.
Father Raniero Cantalamessa noted in his homily for the 11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time that the Church does not exist for herself, for her own end or her own salvation; she exists for others, for the world, for the people, above all for the afflicted and oppressed.

10th Sunday in OT + Year A

AS JESUS PASSED ON FROM THERE, HE SAW A MAN NAMED MATTHEW SITTING AT THE CUSTOMS POST. The Romans had a unique method for the collection of taxes: In occupied Israel they would auction off the post to the highest bidder who would then pre-pay the tax. They were often harsh, greedy, and deceptive when they collected taxes making significant profit for themselves and their workers. Not only were tax collectors considered being in the worst category of sinners, they were also looked upon as traitors to their country. The Lord called Matthew in the midst of the ordinary circumstances of his daily life, and the Lord calls you in the midst of your careers, your ordinary family life and your relationships with your relatives and neighbors.
HE SAID TO HIM, FOLLOW ME. This may seem obvious, but when He said to Matthew, Jesus had to be both looking at and speaking to him and Matthew had to be both looking at and listening to Jesus. As their eyes met there was a personal encounter between Jesus and Matthew – between God and man. This call was not so much a command as it was an invitation into a relationship and into a totally new life.
HE GOT UP AND FOLLOWED HIM. What did Matthew see and hear in Jesus that he immediately got up, abandoned his career, and followed the Lord? First, look at what Matthew didn’t see and hear: Matthew didn’t see hatred or rejection; Jesus didn’t try to look the other way and avoid contact. Matthew didn’t see Jesus shake his finger in scorn at him, or worse – see any inappropriate hand or finger gestures. Matthew heard no words of accusation or condemnation. What did he see and hear? Matthew saw the glory of God and the love and mercy of God in face of Christ. When their eyes met he saw the answer to every question and the reconciliation of all the contradictions of his life. He saw before him the fulfillment of all he’d ever desired, hoped for or dreamed of. Because Jesus is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hb 13:8)  Jesus calls you today, and every day, just like He called Matthew. That means that you can find in Him everything that Matthew found.
WHILE HE WAS AT TABLE IN HIS HOUSE, MANY TAX COLLECTORS AND SINNERS CAME AND SAT WITH JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES. Matthew instinctively knows what it means to be a disciple – he is giving himself a going away party to which he invites those like himself, those whom Jesus came to save. He wants to share with others what he himself has found.
THE PHARISEES SAW THIS AND SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES, “WHY DOES YOUR TEACHER EAT WITH TAX COLLECTORS AND SINNERS?” To eat with a sinner is to become ritually unclean or impure - but it is not Christ that gets corrupted by sin but rather the sickness of sin that is cured by Jesus. His presence and life and love is the medicine of immortality and the only antidote to death.
JESUS HEARD THIS AND SAID, “THOSE WHO ARE WELL DO NOT NEED A PHYSICIAN, BUT THE SICK DO. Today’s readings provoke an identity check: Are you righteous and well like the Pharisees or sick like the tax collector and sinners? To acknowledge that you are a sinner is the very thing that qualifies you for mercy. While the profession of righteousness is your acknowledgement that you don’t need the unmerited love and mercy of God offered to you in Jesus Christ.
LEARN THE MEANING OF THE WORDS, ‘I DESIRE MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE