Fr. Joel's homily for Nov 15

Ord33 – The Beginning of the world is Coming (6:45)

Ordinary Time, 33rd Sunday. Have you heard? The end of the world is coming! Even though we know this is true it still conjures up ominous images of doom. But for Christians, the end of the world means the return of Christ and the beginning of something better -- a new heaven and a new earth. One thing we know for sure is that in the end, God wins. So why don't we work harder to stay on his team? Because for His followers, the Beginning of the world is coming. (15 Nov 2009)

Readings | Subscribe | iTunes

This brings my homilies to a close for the Church Year of 2009. Thanks so much for listening. My next published homily will be in two weeks.

Fr Benjamin's Homily for November 15

Goodbye earth and sky

If anything in this world lasts, it seems that at least the earth and sky is eternal. After all, the world seems to be a stage, and while the actors come and go the stage endures. However, Jesus says that earth and sky will both pass away. Instead of setting our hopes anywhere in this world, we should set our hopes beyond this world - on the words of Jesus Christ. Everything founded on this world will fail, but the words of Jesus Christ endure forever. If our lives are built on his words, our lives will endure.

Podcast | Subscribe

Fr Benjamin's Homily for November 8

God uses our little gifts

God sees the world differently than we do. He is not impressed with the size of our gifts but with the trust we put in him. If God is impressed when we put our trust in him, why do we not put greater trust in God? First because we are afraid that God will not take care of us. Second, because we are afraid that we don't have anything to give God. God wants our little gifts, because the God who created the whole world out of nothing can do great things with the little that we give to him.

Podcast | Subscribe

Fr. Joel's homily for Nov 8

Ord32 - How to buy Heaven for Two Pennies (9:11)

Ordinary Time, 32nd Sunday. What do we do when even our best isn't good enough? Today we see two widows who do not have enough. One gives here little to Elijah and God rewards her generously. Another gives her little to the temple and wins the admiration of Jesus. What do we do when however much we have, it still isn't enough? We give it to God. And it will be more than enough. (8 Nov 2009)

Readings | Subscribe | iTunes

Fun with Formal Wear

As a priest I see a lot of weddings, far more than the average person. While some priests complain that the preparations for weddings are labor-intensive and the weddings often lack a true spiritual character, I have come to enjoy them. First I see the couples as the are in "normal life," coming from work to meet with me. Then I see them all dressed up for the biggest day of their lives.

During the summer the men seemed out of place, sweating profusely in their long jackets and vests. Their dark clothes soaked up the summer sun while the photographer dragged them around for more shots on the lawn. The women, meanwhile, in their bright dresses, often with bare shoulders, and minimalist strappy shoes, seemed much more in their element. Now that it is turning to winter, the men enjoy the warmth of vests and long wool jackets while the women look ready to freeze to death, their minimalist dresses and painful shoes becoming more like a cruel joke.

The whole ensemble of formal attire seems strange to me. Every wedding party looks like men from London fell in love with women from Florida, and both insisted on wearing their traditional outfits. The result is that wherever the women are comfortable the man will overheat, and wherever the men are comfortable the women will freeze. (Some tell me this fact reflects the truth about marriage, that where one is content the other is uncomfortable, but I digress).

I personally believe that the women get the short end of the stick on this one. Many of the dresses are far too revealing to be decent for church, and I am referring particularly to the strapless dresses that struggle to stay up, and the ones with linguine noodles for straps. If a girl in jeans wore a top like one of these dresses our ushers would be speechless. A full-length dress somehow magically becomes appropriate for church. I still do not understand why dresses with straps and sleeves are not more popular, because they really add a lot. Perhaps if I were a woman this would all make sense.

Even this princess managed to find a dress with straps.
Notice how the coat helps cover the beast's heavy build.

It isn't just that the dresses show too much skin. Because they rely heavily on the shape of the body, they do little for those who are not models. Here is another place where straps and sleeves would enhance a woman's look. At least the man's jacket helps to enhance a build that is more abundant. Perhaps this is why men refuse to abandon jackets, even when a tie, a vest, and a shirt with cuff links would be formal enough for a hot summer wedding.

If this were just a question of style we could let the tailors argue it out. However, I feel that the style of women's dresses reflects a deeper problem. Dresses that cling desperately to the body reflect a certain desperation. Society has attached a woman's value to attractiveness and consequently pressure to look young, thin and sexy is enormous. Brides are choosing dresses that look thin and sexy and reveal as much as possible while being formal, rather than ones that actually look good. I am grateful to God that the mothers of the couple are usually more tactful and honest in their choice of attire. We have forgotten about modesty, because we have lost the value that modesty preserves. The outfits we choose should help present the true meaning of the body, and the true meaning of the body is to reveal the person. Women's dresses should frame the face and enhance the natural beauty of the body, whatever size it is. I am glad male formal wear does that; now we only have to figure out a good summer look.

Year of the Priest - Some Sage Advice

The US conference of Catholic Bishops has been using this beautiful icon to promote the year of the priest. This is not a year for us to be honored but rather a year to remind us of the sacred duty we have to live the priesthood to the full. Here is some excellent advice from St. Charles Borromeo. He was made the Archbishop of Milan at the age of 25 because his uncle was Pope Paul IV (it's called nepotism). But he turned out to be an excellent choice, working very hard to reform a diocese where the priests were lax and the religious orders were houses of vice. He was shot at more than once and one time miraculously survived an attack by a hired assassin. Here's what he has to say about priesthood:

On Doing Your Job

"If teaching and preaching is your job, then study diligently and apply yourself to whatever is necessary for doing the job well. Be sure that you first preach by the way you live. If you do not, people will notice that you say one thing, but live otherwise, and your words will bring only cynical laughter and a derisive shake of the head.

"Are you in charge of a parish? If so, do not neglect the parish of your own soul, do not give yourself to others so completely that you have nothing left for yourself. You have to be mindful of your people without becoming forgetful of yourself."

On Meditation

"My brothers, you must realize that for us churchmen nothing is more necessary than meditation. We must meditate before, during and after everything we do. The prophet says: I will pray, and then I will understand. When you administer the sacraments, meditate on what you are doing. When you celebrate Mass, reflect on the sacrifice you are offering. When you pray the office, think about the words you are saying and the Lord to whom you are speaking. When you take care of your people, meditate on the Lord's blood that has washed them clean. In this way, all that you do becomes a work of love.

"This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work: in meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in other men."

From the Breviary Volume III,
Proper of Saints for Nov. 4th

When the Saints go marching in

- Fr. Benjamin

From Saints Row to the Boondock Saints to A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, we often hear whispers of saints even from Hollywood. Who are these majestic people? Saints are those whose lives reflect best what it means to be human. They are the ones on fire with love for God and for the people around them. Saints are those who express the Gospel of Jesus Christ in flesh and bone, and become "living Gospels," examples of what life can be when we give everything to God. They are the most precious treasures of the Catholic Church.

The process to be officially recognized as a saint is a strict one. It involves a thorough investigation of their lives to demonstrate that they were not pretending to be holy but truly were holy. In that process, the person is first declared Servant of God, then Blessed, and is finally added to the canon (the list) of official Saints. Hence the process is called "being canonized." Part of this process is proof of two miracles that are unexplainable by science. As far as I know, canonization is the only process that requires you to do something impossible. Miracles are used because they are testimony from heaven. In the cases of martyrs who gave their lives for the faith, the investigation is less rigorous because their death is a testimony to the grace of God shining through our human weakness.

Often we think of saints as "floating above the ground," undisturbed by the problems that trouble the rest of us. This is not true. If you read the lives of saints, you realize that they lived on the same planet we do, ate the same food, and faced all the same troubles. These troubles, combined with faith and perseverance, are the recipe for holiness. We use exactly the same recipe, but generally we do not add enough faith or we do not stay in the "oven" long enough. Half-baked saints, however, are a good start, and God will use our little efforts to spread his peace and love.

We imagine that there must be a great distance between heaven and earth, but our faith teaches us that the saints are not only examples to us, they also pray for us, protect us, and can even help us. St. Therese of the Child Jesus said that, if we were not able to continue doing good from heaven, she would insist on staying on earth. She died very young, at 24 years old, and has been doing good from heaven ever since. This is the reason why most parishes are put under the protection of a saint or dedicated to Our Lady. The success of the Church here on earth depends on the prayers of the Church in heaven.

While the Church will not officially pray to or honor any saint who has not been canonized, there is nothing wrong with offering personal prayers to those who were holy or who inspired us in our faith. The Feast of All Saints honors both the Saints whose lives are known and the saints whose lives are less known, but are no less meaningful to us. I hope we all have relatives or friends who have gone before us and have left a good example of faith. If not, we can always adopt a few friends from the Church's list of saints. They know what it is like to live on earth, and they will help us and hold the door open for us until the whole Church is gathered into Heaven.

Fr Benjamin's Homily for November 1

Saints in white robes

Those who are baptized are given white robes, a symbol of their dignity in Christ. For first communion and weddings, girls return in white robes. Finally, at a funeral, we drape the coffin in a white pall. The white robe symbolizes our dignity in Christ Jesus, and our hope to be included with the saints in Heaven. Often we think we cannot possibly be holy like they are, but remember they are not the ones who "never stained their robes," but the ones who "washed them clean in the blood of the Lamb".


Podcast | Subscribe

Fr. Joel's Homily for Nov 1

Nov1 - The Joy of Innocence (7:56)

Solemnity of All Saints. God has adopted us as his children. "See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we might be called Children of God. Yet so we are." Children are innocent; they enjoy things simply because they are good. Children love to sing for the fun of it, while adults only sing if they think they are good at it and that people will notice. What does being a child of God look like? Here and now it looks like the Beatitudes. In the next life it looks like a multitude which no one can count, wearing white robes and praising God. (1 Nov 2009)

Readings | Subscribe | iTunes

Zombies vs. Vampires

Halloween is the perfect time to reflect on the strange new popularity of zombies and vampires. The early vampire movies depicted creepy old men sucking the blood of young women while they slept. They were a form of undead that had to sleep during the day to avoid the killing power of sunlight. But the new vampires are young and hip. Buffy used to slay them; Angel was one. In Underworld and now Twilight, vampires have become heroes. They walk among us in broad daylight, dressed in the latest fashions and wooing the hearts of women. Quite a makeover. What's next, Vampire Eye for the Human Guy – where vampires show ordinary guys how to catch their style?

Then there's the Zombie. Partly rotten, dripping blood, and stumbling slowly through a city street seems to do little for their public image. How much more can you do with a zombie? Yet they are now popping up everywhere. The Zombie Reporting Center listed 24 new zombie movies in 2007 and the trend has continued strong. Now there are zombie angels, zombie strippers, Zombie Diaries, and no shortage of zombie comedies. What's next, a zombie family show? The cartoon Zits recently ran a series called "6 Reasons why Zombies would make cool Parents."

Why are such strange things suddenly so popular? This author speculates that zombies are how we see our world, and vampires are how we see ourselves. Let me elaborate and see if it makes sense to you.

American Zombieland

Zombies – they trail blood as they stumble around, but if they get their hands on you, they will eat you. Very many of our neighbors and fellow citizens stumble through life like zombies. They wander from thing to thing doing one thing after another without a lot of thought or concern. They rarely sing, often groan, and never take time to sit and think about what they are doing. How often do we engage in real conversation with the people around us? And when we do, we are always afraid that the person in front of us might take advantage of us, monopolize our time, or worse. I think the new self-checkout kiosks are so that we can avoid even the minimum of contact with others because it is so painful. We thoughtlessly consume food, drink, and whatever else is put in front of us, regardless of its quality. Watch kids walking through the hallway in a high school, then watch a zombie film. The similarities are remarkable. Perhaps the popularity of zombie films finds its roots in a simple fear: we are afraid that the strangers all around us who have to chug coffee and energy drinks just to put on the appearance of being alive, will soon look up, notice us, and come after us.

My Secret Vampire Life

So how about the vampires? They look like ordinary people, but deep down they are different. As long as they can control their desire to drink blood, they can live ordinary, productive, almost-human lives. This is how we see ourselves. Each of us believes we are different from the others and special. Our "real self" is something that we hide when we put on masks at work and at home. So often the people around us are completely uninterested in us, and they go about their daily life oblivious to the fact that we are someone special. We are afraid that if we show who we really are, those around us will be repulsed by it. At the same time we secretly dream that we can find someone who will discover who we really are and love us for it. Until then, we keep our sunglasses on.

Humanity Reborn

So life is a struggle between zombies and vampires. Not a pleasant place to live. Fortunately, the answer to this dilemma is closer than we realize. It consists very simply in recognizing our own humanity, and doing the same for others. Being human is more than just producing and consuming. Imagine if the time spent beating levels in guitar hero were actually spent learning to play the guitar? Our own lives and those of our friends would be so much more enriched. But you can't quantify that, so unless it can be packaged and marketed, we aren't interested. We have a yearning for love, beauty, goodness, community, and authentic interactions. Yet while we feed our bodies (and how!), we starve our souls. We rarely touch people, afraid of spreading germs or being accused of something. We spend little time and money on music, art, or dance. We fail to appreciate what we are eating and we miss most of the sunsets and the goodness of people all around us. Slowly we become zombies. Fight the undead! Take time out to pray and meditate. Think about what you are doing and what it means. Are you learning to appreciate your own humanity? Are you taking time to recognize the humanity of others and rejoice it in? A good reminder every week is to take time to come to church. It reminds us of all the important things that can't be quantified, like friendships, love, beauty, joy, and flowers. Most of all, time "wasted" being human is time spent the best way possible.

Have you hugged your zombie parents today?