4th Sunday of Advent-Year B

2 Samuel 7:1-5; 8b-12, 14a, 16

Psalm 89: 2-3,4-5, 27-29

Rom. 16-25-27

Luke 1: 26-38

God is always up to something!

Beloved in Christ, last week I was in Florida for a conference. I stayed in a hotel, which was very close to a Baptist Church. After Mass, I decided to take a nap in the afternoon but the sound of the music and prayers from the Church was so loud that I could not sleep. So I decided I would rather go and join them to worship if they would not allow me to sleepJ. After the worship, which lasted about two and half hours, I decided to introduce myself to the pastor and learn more about his church. He shared some inspiring story with me. He told me he spent 7 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit. The first three years he was very angry and frustrated with God for allowing this to happen to him; but at a point in time he decided to ask God “what do you want to do with me for bringing me here?” He did not receive any immediate answers but it was in prison that he received the desire to become a pastor. When he came out of prison he joined a church and after 15 years became the head pastor. For the past 10 years he has help about 300 drug addicts to overcome their problems and turn their lives over to Christ. Four of them have also become pastors. What really surprised me was when he said the best thing that has ever happened to him was the time he spent in prison. My conversation with this pastor reminded me of what one philosopher by name Soren Kierkegard once said that we must live our lives looking forward; but we can only understand our lives looking backward.

Beloved in Christ, our readings today tell us that God is faithful, he keeps his promises, and that he always knows what he is doing. St. Paul tells us in the second reading that God is ALL WISE even when what he allows to happen in our lives does not make any logical sense to our human minds. Our responsorial psalm tells us to praise him forever because he wishes nothing but the best for us. The readings teach us that life is not so much about what we can do for God, but rather what we allow God to do with us. We see that in the life of David in the first reading. David wanted to glorify God by building him a house but God sent the prophet Nathan to tell him that he did not have to do so and that he is pleased just with the good thoughts that David had for him. This could have been very frustrating for David because he wanted to really do something great for God. God was teaching David that the desire to please God is itself pleasing to God, and that life is not so much what we can do for God but what we allow God to do unto him.

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, we all go through situations in our lives that humanly speaking might not make any sense to us. There are times we wish to do something to glorify God, but then things do not seem to work out they way we want them to. We all desire to be saints and we can get very frustrated and even angry when we struggle with some sinful habits and all our efforts to overcome them do not seem to work. This could be very frustrating. But, if you are feeling that way today, don’t be discouraged or frustrated because our first reading today tells us that even our desire to please God is itself pleasing to God. Do not give up on yourself. Keep trying, keep living your life looking forward with faith in God and allow God’s grace to work in your life at the pace and in the manner that God wants. Let it be done unto you according to God’s will and timing.

That is what we learn from the life of the Blessed Mother in the gospel. In her life, we see that at times, the sufferings we go through might have a bigger purpose and might be part of God’s bigger plans for fulfilling his promises to the world. The gospel we listened to today was not written on the same day that the Angel Gabriel visited the Blessed Virgin Mary. I am sure St. Luke was not hiding somewhere taking notes. What happened to the Blessed Mother that day was something that did not make sense to her right away. She had questions, but she embraced the message believing that even though it did not make sense according to human thinking, it was part of God’s bigger plan for the world. It was only after many years, when Jesus died and rose from the death that Mary began to understand fully what it was all about. That was when she began to tell the story to the disciples who were also trying to understand the master they had followed for three years and had to suffer so much for his sake. She lived her life looking forward, but she understood it fully looking backward. So, Beloved, I don’t know what situation you are going through right now that brings pain, frustration, and discouragement. But I want to urge you to adopt the perspective of the Blessed Mother, live your live forward with faith in God, believing that someday either here on earth or in heaven it will all make sense; and we will realize that all we go through is part of a bigger picture. God is always up to something!

Second Sunday of Advent-Year B

Is. 40: 1-5, 9-11

2 Peter 3: 8-14

Mark 1:1-8

Don’t just wait for the Lord; Herald his coming. MAKE IT HAPPEN!

Beloved in Christ, if you remember, recently CNN and other news channels showed Christians and other minority groups in Iraq who were forced to flee into the desert and the mountain because of persecution from Isis. One of the pictures that brought tears into my eyes was a little girl who was crying out: “We are dying here; please God bring us water”. Do you remember how God answered that prayer? He touched the hearts of many governments and humanitarian institutions around the world to send food and water to save our brothers and sisters in Iraq. Beloved, that is the gift that God has given us, human beings, to be his face, his voice, his hands, and feet that make salvation real in this world. God always needs human beings to save the world. He could do without us, but he chooses not to, because God wants us to share not only in his image and likeness but to also in his glory. That is the message of our readings today: We are invited not just to wait for the Lord, but also to herald his coming for the world.

Beloved, like the people of Israel in our first reading, our world is hurting! When you look at the wars in the world, the unrest here in our country and other parts of the world, the economic and political problems, the world at times looks like a desert. We live in a world where people don’t feel safe; a place where millions still die of hunger and thirst. Like Pope Francis keeps reminding us, we live in a world where people have lost hope. In our individual lives, sickness can make us feel like we are in the desert. The lost of a dear one, a broken relationship, lost of a job, disappointment from those you trust, dreams that do not come true, etc. can make you feel like you are in a desert.

However, regardless of all these problems in the world, we, Christians, believe that our God can make all things new. Do you really believe that? If so, God is telling you today that he needs your help to transform the world. You and I are the Isaiah in the first reading. God is telling us to bring comfort to his people. St. Peter in the second reading tells us never to forget that our God can make all things new. The problems in the world are not beyond our God, because for him thousand years are like a day and a day can be thousand years for him. He is a God of wonders! The problems in the world are not too difficult for God, if all Christians will truly put others first and lay down our lives so that others will have life. That is why St. Peter is telling us in the second reading that we should not just announce God’s salvation to the world, but also hasten it.

My Dear People of God, what the world needs today is not so much the announcement of the goodness through words; rather they need practical actions that bring about the realization of the kingdom that we Christians believe in. That is what John the Baptist did in the gospel. He did not just announce the day of God’s salvation; he also made concrete life choices that helped the people to experience the power of God’s love and mercy, a new life. Beloved, God is calling you and I, in our own small ways, to bring comfort to our families, friends, and communities and help make the promises of God real for them. Like the little girl on the mountain in Iraq, millions of people in the world today are crying the same cry we cried to God in our responsorial psalm: “Lord, let us see your kindness, Lord grant us your salvation!” Will you be the answer to that cry?

First Sunday of Advent-Year B

Is. 63: 16b-17, 19b, 64:2-7

Ps. 80: 2-3, 15-16, 18-19

I Cor. 1:3-9

Mark 13: 33-37

Live this Advent as a new and daily encounter with Christ!

Beloved in Christ, I wish you a Happy New Liturgical Year! Today we begin a new year as a Church with the Season of Advent. We continue to prepare our hearts and minds for the coming of God at Christmas and at the end of our lives. I have some questions: How did the past liturgical year go for you? Did you get a little closer to God? Did you get a little closer to your family, friends, and neighbors? As we come to the end of one liturgical year and the beginning of another, we need to celebrate what we did well, find ways of avoiding the mistakes we made, and become more open to God’s grace so that we can do better. St. Paul, in our second reading, reminds us that God appreciates every little good thing that we have done for his glory in the past year. That is why St. Paul is thanking God for the grace that God gave us to live as witnesses of the gospel, people who tried our best to testify to Christ through our words and actions.

Beloved, in addition to celebrating what we were able to do for the glory of God, we need to ask ourselves, “What could I have done better?” Even though we have done so many good things, there are still more beautiful things in us that need to come out in order that we can make this world more loving, more beautiful, more just, more peaceful, and more joyful than it is today. The need to make this world a better place is expressed through the symbols we use during Advent. The candles should remind us that we need more of the light of Christ, the King, to dispel the darkness in our world. The wreath made of evergreens should remind us of the gift of a new life that God brings us anytime we open our hearts to him; and the colors of Advent (purple and rose) also remind us that true joy cannot be attained without repentance. Advent is a new beginning; a time when Christians are called to make intentional choices and adjust their lives in order to make more room for the God who comes into our lives to make all things better (John 10:10).

Our first reading and the gospel teach us how to make the best out of this Advent Season. The first reading tells us that we need to acknowledge our need of God as a savior in all aspects of our lives. That is the lesson that the people of Israel learned in exile. They thought they could fight their own battles, defeat their enemies, and solve all their problems without God. However, they came to realize that human effort alone is not sufficient to turn things around in life. They realized that what they needed was not more of human strategies and planning, but more of God. When they came to this realization, they cried out asking God to return into their lives and help them live every moment of their lives for him “Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways!” (V.) When they cried, the God who gives a second chance and provides new beginnings listen to their cry and delivered them. Beloved, have you at times behaved like the Israelites? Have you at times tried to solve some problems without God’s help? What we need is more of God not more human strategies.

In the gospel, Jesus reminds us to live not so must in the past or even in the future, but to live in the moment. That is what Jesus meant when he told his disciples to stay awake! If we don’t live in the moment, we will miss how the God we are waiting for comes to us even today in our Eucharist, and how he comes to us through Scriptures, our family, friends, and community. That is why Jesus’ advice that we should stay awake is extremely important. What happens to a security guard who goes to work and spends all the time thinking about the past or the future? S/he will miss what is going on in the moment. Right? And will that bring more peace or more trouble? At times, the greatest challenge we have is how to live in the present moment. We dwell so much on the past and on the future that we miss the presence of God in the moment.

So Beloved in Christ, I don’t know the troubles from your past that continue to occupy you even now as you listen to this homily. I don’t know the questions you have about the future that makes it impossible for you to live in the moment. But, this Advent, I want to challenge you to focus not so much on the past or the future but to live in the moment. Don’t be afraid to express your need for God. Don’t be afraid to live in the moment with God, because God can make a way even where there seems to be no way. Make some time to mediate on the question “How can I live this Advent as a new and daily encounter with Christ?

34^th Sunday-Year A

Solemnity of Christ the King

Ezekiel 34: 11-12, 15-17

I Cor.15: 20-26, 28

Matthew 25: 31-46

All God has ever wanted is our hearts,

that we become a little better in loving God and our neighbor each day.

Beloved in Christ, today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King. By this celebration, we bring our liturgical year to an end. Next week, we shall begin the Season of Advent. The Solemnity of Christ the King was established, as a universal feast, by Pope Pius XI in 1925. This was a time when the whole world was suffering from the impact of the First World War, Communism, and the rise of the Nazis in Germany. At a time when so many powers were leading the world into destruction, this feast was established to remind us that Jesus Christ is our origin and our destiny. Christ is the only king who can bring us true peace and joy in life. Yet, Jesus is rejected in our world today because his kingship sharply contradicts that of the powers of this world. He is a King who chooses a manger as his palace and the cross as his throne.

However, as Christians, we believe that Jesus died and rose in order to achieve the purpose for which God created the world, namely, that human beings will live in perfect love and harmony with God, with one another, and with all created things. The creed that we profess every Sunday at Mass affirm that Jesus will return to the world to make sure that God’s ultimate purpose for creating the world is achieved.

St. Paul in our second reading today affirm this belief that Jesus will return to restore the world to its original holiness and bring it to its final destiny in God. The gospel tells us Jesus will come as the righteous judge and separate good from evil and righteousness from sin as captured in the images of sheep and goat. I have a question: “Are you a sheep or goat?” I think every human being is both sheep and goat. Each of us has some characteristics of the sheep and some of the goat. There are times we do good deeds and times that we sin. None of us is totally good. None of us is totally sinful. That is why God never gives up on us but does what he promised in the first reading, to come as a shepherd to look for us when we are lost. Beloved, God always comes to seek us and but comes in disguise. He comes through his words in the Scriptures. He comes through that silent voice of conscience that warns us when we are about to sin. He comes through the Eucharist to strengthen us against sin. He comes through the voice of parents, siblings, friends, leaders and all those who encourage us to choose the good and avoid evil.

Beloved, the judgment of our God is, therefore, not something reserved only for the end of time. Everyday in our lives, Jesus returns to separate good and evil. He does this not to take away our free will but to lead us to our through destiny. Pope Benedict XVI once said whenever God comes, whether in our daily lives or at the point of our death, he speaks only one sentence: “It is I do not be afraid”. God reminds us in the first reading and the responsorial psalm that he is a shepherd who loves us so much that he lays down his life for us. However, as a shepherd, all he can do is to call our name and it’s totally up to us to respond to his voice and follow him.

My Dear People of God, all that God has ever wanted is our hearts. All he has ever needed is an act of contrition. All he wants of us is our ability to say “Lord I am sorry; I know I can do better than this with the help of your grace and I am ready to change my ways and begin a new”. Beloved, if we learn to respond to the shepherd’s voice of love and mercy in our daily lives, I believe that we shall recognize that same voice of love and mercy at the point of our death when Christ returns at the end of our lives. Remember the thief on the Cross? He was able to recognize the shepherd even when the King of Kings was disguised on the Cross. This thief was able to embrace Jesus’s love and mercy. I don’t think this is something he learned to do only on the cross. I believe that this thief, even though he was a sinner, always desired and took little steps to become better than he was. He was not perfect; but he kept looking for the opportunities to become better. Beloved, that is what we need to do. We may not be perfect, but we should always want to be better and be opened to the shepherd who comes to us in disguise. All our God has ever wanted is our hearts, that we learn to become a little better each day and attain the purpose of our lives by living in perfect love and harmony with God and our neighbor.

33^th Sunday-Year A

Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31

1 Thess. 5:1-6

Mt. 25: 14-30

 My Dear People of God, the readings today remind me of an experience I had when I first came to the USA. At the end of every semester, the English Department at Iowa State University, organizes a potluck for all staff and students. As a student in the Department, I was invite to attend one such potluck. I did not actually know what a potluck was by then (since we used different terms for that in Ghana) so I asked one of my friends to explain it to me. His response was: “Oh it means just come and eat”; so I thought why not? :-).  He never told me that I was supposed to bring something, such as food, drink, desert, or even water to the potluck. Just so you know, unlike here in the US, when people invite you to their house for dinner in Ghana you don’t have to bring anything. You just go and eat:-) So I went to the potluck with nothing and everybody started asking me: “So Richmond what did you bring?” I felt embarrassed because everybody got to know that I brought nothing, which was totally against the norms that guide interaction at a potluck. I ate, but I was not happy. However I learned my lesson. The next potluck, I went with the only food that I know how to cook: white rice and buffalo wings :-). This time, when they asked what I brought, I could point it out and even though the food was not all that good they praised me for it. I tasted twenty different types of food that others had brought that night and I was very happy. Beloved, in some sense, the kingdom that God wants us to establish here on earth can be likened a potluck. Your joy becomes complete when you bring the little you have to share with others. It is the mystery of the kingdom of God.

Our first reading from the book of Proverbs talks about the excellent wife. In the biblical wisdom literature, the writers usually present their teaching through songs or poems that portray the virtues that all human beings are called to imitate and the vices that we are called to avoid. In our reading today, the writer uses the image of an excellent wife to represent the whole of humanity and the virtues that we are called to live out. The ideal wife is one who understands her life as a gift meant for others. She sees all that he has as a means to an end; and brings all her gifts into her interaction with her family, community, and the church for the glory of God. Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, this is how we need to understand our lives. All we have been blessed with (husband, wife, children, education, friends, knowledge, skills, time, our physical appearance, and any talent we have) should be seen as gifts for the good of our family, our community, and our Church for the good of humanity and the glory of God. 

The parable of the talents that we read in the gospel is not about economic principles and how to make profit in business, but how to live as children of the kingdom of God. Jesus teaches us that every gift we have will multiply only if we bring that gift into our interaction with others. The point of the parable is not how much financial profit the servants made; rather it is about whether they brought their gifts into their interaction with others. That is what the imagery of trade in the parable communicates to us. You cannot trade with people without some sort of interaction. In fact, when you read the history of trade, you will come to realize that what we call trade in our word today was actually meant to be an exchange of gifts.  In simple societies people still do that. You give me part some of what you have that I need, and I give you some of what I have that you need. In that way each of us will have our needs met by God through the people places in our lives. The problem with the man who buried his gift in the gospel today is that he did not bring it into his interaction with people.

Beloved, each human life is an answer to some particular need that God wants to satisfy in our world today. We are all stewards of God’s grace. Everything we have, we have been given to share in such a way that, through us, God will satisfy the need of all human beings and created things. Our world is hurting and there is so much darkness in our world today but as St. Paul reminds us in the second reading, we are the light that God will use to dispel the darkness in our world. God needs you and me to make a difference. My prayer is that, like the ideal wife, each of us will continue to see all we have as a means to an end; and bring all our gifts into our interaction with family and community through the Church for the glory of God.

Dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica

(November 9^th)

Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12

I Cor. 3:9c-11, 16-17

John 2: 13-22

With Christ, we form a river flowing into our world to bring life to all we come into contact with.

Are your words and actions “life-giving” or “life-taking”?

Beloved in Christ, today we celebrate the feast of the dedication of St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome by Pope Sylvester in the year 324. In this Mass, I invite all of you to pray in a special way for our capital campaign that God will continue to bless it and give us the grace and the means to build a new house for him. You may be wondering why this Basilica in Rome is so important that we are celebrating its dedication as a universal feast. St. John Lateran Basilica is believed to be the first physical church building that was put up in Rome after years of persecution of Christians. This church was built after Emperor Constantine proclaimed Christianity a state religion and gave Christians permission to worship God publicly. This meant Christians no longer had to hide in caves and houses to worship Christ and be church. This church therefore marked the first building in which Christians could bring God openly to public life and work as a community to transform the world according to gospel of Christ. The feast today is more than celebrating just a church building; it’s the celebration of the presence of God and his people in the world. Thus, we celebrate God’s presence as we find in all churches and all people who work to transform the world according to the mind of Christ.

In our first reading, Ezekiel writes about a vision he saw at the time that the Babylonians had destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. The prophet says he saw a vision of the restoration of the temple, a new temple; and there was something unique about this new temple: a river that flows from the altar into every part of the world and brings new life to anything that it touches including even the Dead Sea, which is seven times more salty than the ocean and is almost inhabitable to marine life. Beloved, that vision was fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ who tells us in John 4 that he is the living water. Christ is the living water and each one of us, through our baptism, has become a drop of that living water. With Christ, we form a river that flows into our community and our world to bring new life into all we come into contact with.

Beloved, St. Paul in our second reading tells us that it’s important for us to remember that we form both the temple of God’s presence in the world. It is through us that the river flows into our family, our work places, our schools, our communities, and our world. It is therefore important for each one of us reflect on what kind of impact we are having on the world around us by our words and actions.

As the gospel shows us, it is easy for the temple to become corrupt and lose its significance, direction, and purpose. Like the time of the prophets Jeremiah and Isaiah whose words Jesus quoted in today’s gospel “My house shall be called a house of prayer; but you have turned it into a den of thieves” (Cf. Jer. 7:11, and Is. 56:7), the Scribes and the Pharisees in the days of Jesus had developed a wrong understanding of what true religion is all about. They had turned religion into some transactional relationship: “If I do A then God should do B, and if I do C then God must do D”. Instead of a love relationship with God they had come to see religion as a form of trade-relationship with God and people. This is what made them lose their sense of direction and purpose as temples and made their relationship with people “life-taking” instead of life giving. If you pay attention, you will see that it is not that everything in the temple is bad, but that there is something in it that must change in order for it to become more life giving rather than the “life-taking” institution that it had become at the time of Jesus. Therefore, Beloved in Christ, it is important that as we celebrate this feast today, we find some time to ask yourself these questions:

1.     When I look at my relationships with others, are my words and actions life-giving or life-taking?

2.     Do I bring fresh and new life to those I come into contact with?

3.     What things do I need to change in my life in order to become more life giving to those around me?
 

May God open our eyes to see what we need to change in our lives to become more effective in our mission as the river that brings life to the world.

Feast of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Wisdom 3:1-9

Psalm 23

Rome 6:3-9

John 6:37-40

God’s Mercy and Faithfulness Never Comes to an end;

 Therefore, Our love and gratitude to God should never come to an end

Beloved in Christ, we thank God for another great opportunity to worship him and to pray for the souls of all those who have died in our families, churches, communities, and everywhere in the world. I don’t know about you, but death is not my favorite topic to talk about. Because when I think about it I am tempted to ask myself “will I make it into the Kingdom?” and that question fills me with fear. Do you at times feel the same?

Four years ago, I went to Italy to visit the Bishop who ordained me. He is a Cardinal and works in the Vatican. The visit was around my birthday so he asked what I wanted for my birthday gift. What came to mind right away was good Italian pizza, but before I could ask he first asked me if I wanted to meet Pope Benedict XVI. My eyes opened so wide and with joy in my heart, I forgot I was talking to a Cardinal and responded: “of Course, are you kidding me?” J. He told me to get ready because he had a meeting with the Pope the next morning and I could come along. I did not sleep the whole night. First I was filled with great joy at the thought of going to meet with the Pope, but the joy began to give way to fear. I began to think “oh what did I just say yes to? This is Pope Benedict, one of the greatest theologians of all times. What about if he begins to ask me some theological questions and I am not able to answer? Then he is going to think oh these African priests know nothing; and my Cardinal would be so angry with meJ. The morning came and we went to the Pope’s office. When I saw the Pope walking into the room, my heart started beating faster than ever. The Holy Father came in, walking very gently with a broad smile on his face. He raised his hands and blessed us and we had a wonderful visit. He did not ask me any theological questions. After the meeting, I reflected on the entire experience and I saw how wrong I was in thinking that the meeting was going to be dreadful. I thought the Pope was going to come at me; but I was wrong. He was coming not at me, but for me.

Beloved in Christ, our first reading today tells us that death is not a punishment from God, but rather a transition into his kingdom. The writer of the book of Wisdom tells us not to be afraid of death because death is not God’s way of coming at us but his way of coming for us. The reading ends with a reminder that death is about God’s love and mercy. Our responsorial psalm tells us that God is a shepherd whose intention is not to destroy the sheep but to lead us into greener pastures, feed us, protect us from all our enemies including death so that we can live with him and experience his love and mercy for all eternity. Jesus in the gospel tells us that he will not reject anybody who comes to him in faith but he will raise us up on the last day because the Father’s will is that he should lose none of us. Christ is a faithful God who keeps his promises.

Beloved, we Christians are not people who are struggling to be saved. We have been saved! Salvation has already been won for us through the Cross, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. That is what Jesus meant when he said on the Cross” “It is finished”. The question that people ask is if we have already been saved then why do we need to do good? The good we do is not to buy our ticket to heaven. No! We do good to show our gratitude to God for the gift of salvation he has already given us in Christ. When we do good, we express our gratitude to God for the amazing love he has shown us by dying for us even when we were sinners. By our good deeds, we share that salvation with others. All God is asking of us is for us to become channels of his salvation for others, and that is what we become anytime we do good and avoid evil.

One of my favorite bible verses is from Lamentation 3:22-23. The writer says: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is God’s faithfulness”. Yes, we can pray for our loved ones who have died and all the faithful departed because God’s mercy does not end when a person dies. God’s mercy is our hope for salvation. (Song: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases….”).  Beloved, because God’s love and mercy never come to an end, our gratitude to God, expressed through our words and actions, should never come to an end.

28^th Sunday-Year A

Is. 25:6-10

Ps. 23: 1-6

Phil. 4:12-14, 19-20

Mt. 22:1-14

God created us without our help, but God will not save us without our cooperation

My Dear People of God, the gospel today reminded me of something that happened three Sundays ago when we baptized four children at the 4:45pm Mass. If you recall, that Sunday was the 25^th Sunday in ordinary time and the liturgical color for that Mass was green. Before the procession, Todd who is our parish liturgist, walked towards me and, very typical of him, approached me respectfully and asked: “You know today is green right? Just checking!” So I smiled and said: Yes, but I am doing white because of the baptism. After the Mass, as I was greeting people, one of our parishioners came to give me a hug and whispered into my ears: “today is green” so I smiled again and explained that I did white because of the baptism. But I thought to myself: “Wow! these people are really watching us, I better tell Fr. Jon not to take things for grantedJ”. 

            Beloved, at the time of Jesus, it was common for a King who gave a royal banquet to also provide special dress for all who were invited. There was usually a room in the palace where all the invited guests would be helped by servants to put on the prescribed garment. It was something like our vestry/sacristy today where the priest goes to put on the right cloths before he comes to celebrate the Holy Eucharist. Jesus, in our gospel, uses the imagery of a man who was invited to a royal banquet but failed to fulfill his responsibility of putting on the right garment. He used this imagery to reminds us that God invites each of us to his banquet and he expects us not only to respond to the invitation, but also to carry out the responsibility that this great honor brings and have the right attitude that will enhance the joy of the party. Jesus is reminding us of the role we need to play in order for God’s vision for our lives to be realized. St. Augustine once said that God created us without our help but God will not save us without our cooperation. That is very true. God created me without my help, but God cannot save me without my cooperation. God created you without your help, but God cannot save you without your cooperation. This means we need to understand God’s vision for our world, for our lives so that we can cooperate with him and make choices that will allow that vision come true.

The first reading from Isaiah describes God’s vision for our world and our individual lives. The prophet summarizes God’s plan for our world in four ways: to fill our lives with joy, wipe away every tear from our eyes, take away the shame caused by our sin, and give us a reason to praise God. But, Beloved, where will this take place? Isaiah tells us it will take place on the mountain of God, which is a symbol for the church here on earth and in heaven. In New Testament theology, the mountain is a symbol for both the church as community and the individual Christian. When people encounter the church, when they encounter me, when they encounter you, their lives should be filled with joy, their tears should be wiped away, their shame should be taken away; their lives should be touched in such a way that will make them praise God. This is what St. Paul, in our second reading, says the Christians at Philippi did for him during his suffering in prison. They wiped away his tears through their charity and gave him the reason to praise God.

Beloved in Christ, we Christians are NOT called to escape from this world so that we can enjoy life in heaven. No! God wants us to participate and engage in the world, right now, in a way that will help wipe away the tear from every eye and give people a reason to praise God. This is what we, as a Church here at STA, have done over the years and God is calling on us to continue to do more of that. In our parish bulletin today, we are thanking you for all the help and support you have given to our sister parish in Honduras. We are also thanking you for your generous gift for the missions’ appeal we made for the Dominican Sisters. We thank you for your participation in the various ministries here at the parish. We thank the choir, the ushers, the lectors, the Eucharistic ministers and, indeed, all of you for your participation in the Eucharist and all we do here at STA. It is through all these that we help realize the vision of God in our lives. We help God to wipe away the tears in every eye.

Beloved, continue the good work. The world is hurting and God needs you and me to make a difference, to wipe away the tear from people’s eyes. So come live in the light. Shine with the joy and the love of the Lord. We are called to be light for the kingdom, to live in the freedom, of city of God. We are called to act with justice. We are called to love tenderly. We are called to serve one another and to walk humbly with God. May God give you the grace to wipe away every tear from my eyes, may he give me the grace to wipe away the tear from your eyes.

27^th Sunday-Year A

Is 5:1-7

Ps. 80:9-10

Phil 4:6-9

Mt. 21:33-43

Is my life bearing fruit? Can People follow what I do and reach their destiny in God?

Two weeks ago, I was taking communion to people at the hospital. Usually, I have 8 or 9 people to see so I went to the Tabernacle to pick up 10 consecrated hosts. As I was counting, I heard a voice telling me “take three”. Usually, when I hear things like that I know it’s God speaking to me so I said: “No God there are at least 8 people so I am going to take 10.” Then I heard the voice the second time: “take three”. I thought to myself “Oh God, you really need my help here. There are always more than three, I know that! I have been going to the hospital for a while now. I know this; I am going to take 6”; so I did. As I walked out of the church towards the parking lot for my car, I began to feel very restless and stressed. I met somebody at the door and passed that person by without even saying hello, which by the way is very unlike me. I saw I was losing my peace and joy. Before going to the Tabernacle I was all peaceful and joyful so I paused for a moment and asked why I was losing my peace. Then I heard the voice the third time: “I told you to take three” so I turned, walked back to the Tabernacle, returned the rest of the consecrated hosts and took only three. The moment I did that I started feeling peaceful and joyful again. When I got to the hospital, there were only three Catholics who needed communion that day. I laughed at myself and asked why did I even resist God? That was so stupid on my part because I know anytime I have obeyed him, God has been right. Here I was; blessed with the gift of the priesthood, the gift God gave me to serve his people, but for that moment I was trying to live my priesthood without God.

Beloved in Christ, our scriptural readings today call our attention to what disobedience and unfaithfulness to God’s voice brings. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah describes what happens to a community that ignores the voice of God. He describes the people of Judah as a vineyard that has been given all that it needs to bear fruit but still bears wild grapes, fruits that are good for nothing, fruits that destroy life rather than enrich it. Jesus in the gospel describes what happens to an individual who is given all that is needed to bear fruit but still chooses to ignore the voice of God and so bears no fruit. Beloved in Christ, St. Paul made a statement in our second reading today that kept me thinking seriously about my life all week as I prepared this homily. He told the people of Philippi “Keep on doing what you have learned, received, heard and seen in me. Then the God of peace will be with you” St. Paul is telling them if you follow my example, the way I live my life, you will reach your destiny in God, you will find peace. After reading this, I have been asking myself. Can people follow my example, the things that I do and reach their destiny in God? Can people follow your example, the things that you do and reach their destiny in God? Obviously, there are some good things that we do and God is happy with that; but today he is calling our attention to that one thing in our lives that makes us go astray and lead others astray. That part of our lives that we need to change in order to make this world a better place for ourselves and others.

Dear People of God, when you look at what is happening in our world today is the world bearing the fruit that God intents it to bear? When you look at all the wars in our world today, the innocent people who are beheaded in the name of God, the social, political and economic injustice all over the world, the many reports on people who are kidnapped and killed all over the world, the many cases of domestic violence and abuse, the infidelity and betrayal of trust and love in the church, in families, among friends, the millions of children who are killed through abortion etc is our world bearing the fruit that God intents it to bear? Obviously NOT! But whose fault is it? Is it that God has failed to do his part or we have failed to listen to God and allow him to be part of the word he gave us as a gift?

Beloved, what else should God do before we change those areas of our lives where we are not bearing good fruits? He has given us grace in baptism; he gives us grace everyday in the Eucharist and the other sacraments, he has given us millions of examples in the saints to guide us. What else should God do that he has not done? Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:13-14 that God’s ways are like a narrow road that many people don’t want to travel on, but it is also the only road that leads to life. This road at times may not make sense according to our human mind, but God always knows the best and if we allow him to lead us, we shall bear fruit and help others to find life in God. My prayer today is a song: Lead me Lord, Lead me Lord by the light of truth to seek and find the narrow way. Be my way, be my truth, be my life, my God, and lead me, Lord, today!