Homilies

9.25.22: 26C

January 25th is the feast day of the Conversion of St. Paul. It was his personal wake up call with Jesus. God uses a variety of ways to awaken the soul. St. Paul got knocked off of his high horse and was blinded and 3 days later he could see physically and spiritually. Some people describe their conversion as getting knocked off their high horse or getting hit across the head with a 2x4. Some say their conversion took a life time. Or is taking a life time. But Whatever it takes for us to become spiritually alive God will allow it.

When Archbishop Coakley wrote his letter to the people of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City it was dated January 25, Conversion of Saint Paul. That was clearly intentional. The name of his letter is: Go Make Disciples! Creating a Culture of Conversion and Discipleship for the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. This letter is an exhortation. He clearly is urging us to go and do something. In it he says- The primary work of a spiritual life is to cooperate with God’s grace. Which implies I can cooperate with God or be uncooperative with him. Cooperating with God is allow Him to sow seeds of faith through me; and the other option is to avoid interacting with him. On the cover of his letter is an impressionistic figure casting seeds into a plowed field. Cooperating with God means we sow the seeds and He provides the rest.

We mentioned last month that the parish and archdiocese has several options and opportunities to be involved and participate in discipleship, sowing, growing and making disciples. Friday afternoon the Catholic Woman’s society met to honor those women who are doing exceptional work in the archdiocese. Friday Evening the Saints and Scholars event honored the Catholic School teacher of the the year. Constance Clark from Christ the King School was in the top three candidates. Next week Catholic Charities will be here to share some of the heroic life changing work that they provide for people who are in crisis or desperate need of assistance. October also has a number of opportunities, 5Krun/walk, the Rosary coast to coast, Cristo Rey High School faith talk, The Three Hearts pilgrimage in the Tulsa diocese, our parish Stewardship Fair, a Finance update. And then Dec. 4 our Parish Dream event.

Those are a few of the ways you can cast seeds and learn how to go make disciples. You dont have to do all those things but you have to do something. (Like they say at last call, You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here.) The soul is like the body. If it becomes sedentary it becomes lethargic and the less engaged it is the more it atrophies. It’s like a car, Whether you’re a race car, sedan or a classic, if you leave it parked in the garage too long it starts to have problems.
The spirit is meant to be driven and used for the purpose it was designed, which is to go.

In the first reading, the prophet Amos is really giving it out to these high society ladies who are just laying around not doing anything. A prophet like Amos, is someone who states the obvious. Like if a society eats excess sugar you are going to have a culture of diabetes. They say out loud what we need to hear. Amos says these Jewish princesses are consumed with pleasure, comfort, and convenience. For them life is grand. But he calls them fat cows just laying around all day. They have become lukewarm in their concern for others and mediocre in their social and religious obligations. He says they will be the first ones to be hauled off
at the beginning of the Babylonian exile because they are so consumed with themselves and not aware of the danger they are in. They are so disengaged with the people and world around them. A pagan non Believing culture is about to take over and they will be enslaved because of their own complacency.

This should sound alarmingly familiar to us. Fr. Mike Schmitz says we are in exile anytime we are away from God. The Babylonians of today are the extremists in our culture. To do nothing, to be lukewarm in our faith, leaves us in danger of being enslaved and hauled away into places that not only take away our joys and comforts but causes emotional and spiritual deterioration. Like the rich man in the Gospel. He didn’t have a name because he was rich, he was nameless because he didn’t care. He was nice enough. But nice is not enough. Lazarus The poor man had a name because he knew he was beloved by God even with his skin disease and starvation. He was a prophet for all those who are overlooked and ignored.

The overlooked and the invisible are all around us. Wearing a Roman collar gets you into places that some people would not be expected to go, like the back of a restaurant where you can go surprise the dishwasher and cook with a heartfelt thank you, or the hospital or nursing home after hours to pray with the sick and then say Thank You to the overworked staff. But you don’t have to wear a collar to be a priest or a prophet or even a king.

When you were anointed at your baptism, you were given your credentials. Your spiritual passport was stamped as a priest, a prophet and a king. You are authorized to worship, proclaim and lead. You have the full authority as a disciple of Jesus Christ to go and pray with the sick, to acknowledge the Lazarus’ in our world, to treat people like they belong here and they are beloved. Being lukewarm in our faith leads to complacency and then emotional enslavement.
Exercising your faith empowers you in the common priesthood of believers to praise God and worship Him (in awe and wonder.) To prophesy the truth with courage, like Amos. (but maybe not call people a fat cow.) And then to lead like a king, Your job as the laity is to get involved, change public opinion and be a light to your corner of the world. Get on a public school board, write your legislator or run for office. Being lukewarm is good for cheese and fruit but not for faith. Who are the potential disciples around my life?

Lord inflame my desire to care more for them so they will learn about You.

8.21.22: 21C
In many of the worlds great religions they each have their own way of acknowledging God as their Lord or master. When Muslims pray they place their foreheads on the ground because their dignity is found in submission to God. (In prostration, they are nearest to God.) In Judaism they place the Yalmakka cap on the very highest point of their being—on their head, the vessel of our intellect—to tell themselves and the world that there is something which is above man’s intellect—the infinite wisdom of God. In the Eastern Orthodox Church a person makes the sign of the cross and then they bow from the waist and touch the floor with their fingers. This expresses their reverence and subservience to God. Roman Catholics genuflect for much the same reason. Facing the tabernacle where the blessed sacrament is reserved inside a sacred vessel called the ciborium, we Bend our right knee to the floor showing that we are the obedient servant to the master, just like a Roman soldier makes himself available under the service of his Lord commander. All of our gestures and postures in mass are important.

Our actions say out loud what we believe and who we serve. We want our master to know who we are.
We want God to be able to recognize us, as His beloved creation, especially at the our of our life.
Of all the estimated 36K souls that die each day that go and meet the Master face to face for the first time, we want Him to know who we are. We don’t ever want to hear him say to us, I never knew you. He certainly recognized St. Lawrence, a deacon, who was arrested by the pagan prefect of Milan and told to gather up all the treasures of the church and bring it to him. So he spent the next three days distributing all the church’s wealth to the poor and widows and then gathered those folks up and told the prefect, these sick and poor souls are the greatest treasure of the church. The prefect was not amused so he made a large cooking grill and a bed of hot coals for Lawrence to expire slowly and painfully. St. Lawrence is another example they shows us how God can give us strength in adversity. Ironically St. Lawrence is the patron saint of chefs. When Judas left the 12 for being unfaithful and unrepentant, Jesus didn’t try to stop him. He was replaced with Matthias. If there is someone that is not on board with the mission it may be time to do some pruning. God will provide the next steps. Most of you received a letter from me this week about preparing Christ the King for the next steps. If you did not receive it, make sure you are a registered parishioner.

 If you are over the age of 18, it’s time for you to register under your own name and start participating in the life of the parish as a young adult, even if you still live at home. We sent everyone a copy of their total contributions to the parish that were made last year. The letter has been a good conversation starter. Even I was surprised at my total giving. I thought I was giving more than what the records show. But I have not increased my giving for several years and I know that things have gone up considerably especially these past couple of years. So I’m going to increase my giving by 10%.

You have seen in the bulletin that our collections have been 10-15% under budget all year. This number negatively effects our school subsidy, parish events and our maintenance projects. If you consider yourself to be a participating parishioner at Christ the King please prayerfully consider where shod is inviting to you contribute. If you have not increased your contributions this year I invite you to think and pray about increasing. Like they say This is a pay to pray operation, so please pray about what you feel the Lord is calling you to give. Christ the King has been hit like everyone else with inflation, pandemic, and uncertainty with a new pastor, new president and new war. Some of you may be struggling financially which could be an opportunity to place your trust in God even more.

Some of you are doing very well but just haven’t been asked to help so here it is. Some of You were very generous to make large gifts to get the parish through Covid but this parish, like most parishes, has not recovered. Those large gifts incentivized by Covid have stopped. It was a big relief for two years but now that we are returning to regular parish activities, the costs of commodities and utilities, as you are well aware, have increased considerably and even nearly doubled in some areas. We did have over 20 families sign up for auto draft or Faith Direct last week so Thank You for answering the call to support the parish.

I’m just asking everyone to take another look like I did, and help the parish keep up with inflation which is around 9%. Your Finance Council is taking this very seriously and I really appreciate all the hours and effort they are putting into this and they are staying on top of it and plan to give a parish report before year end. But everyone needs to participate. Last Sunday I mentioned that the coming months will Have a lot of different opportunities in which to participate. You have to prayerfully choose the ones you feel God is guiding you to support. After your parish of course.

Discernment is usually between two good choices, a higher good and a lesser good. Choosing can be difficult. Prioritizing is necessary to make proper choices. That narrow gate we have to pass through does not allow us to take much with us. There’s no gate check to pick up later because what we leave behind in order to get to the other side just leaves more room for all the new things we will be given. So how do we get through this narrow gate?

Jesus says we have to strive! For many will try but won’t be strong enough. So it sounds like a very narrow passageway. And There’s no getting stuck. It’s either you get all the way through or you don’t. How do we get through it? How do I leave my baggage, my pride and my nonsense at the gate so I can get through? The lord gives us everything we need to slip through. Maybe we look at the four Ss. Sabbath, Silence, Solitude, Slowing.

First S is the Sabbath. Sunday is a day for God. Mass is the place where it’s nearly impossible to work or worry if I am worshiping. Worshipping God starts at home on Monday. If you pray for your priests on Monday and deacons on Tuesday, read the readings on Wednesday, make your Sunday plans on Thursday, eat fish on Fridays or else make an act of service or charity, and finish your work on Saturday, then you are ready to feast on Sunday. Rest and leisure are made to renew and restore our soul so it doesn’t get so prickly and dry. So that’s the Sabbath.

The second S is silence. That is Gods first language. It can be ours if we start going to language school. It can be a very difficult language to learn but when you meet some else that’s learned to speak silence there is no greater peace or friendship simply being with someone you trust and love. Silence is the second half of prayer. The first half is talking to God, the second half is listening.

The third S is solitude which is very different from loneliness. If you’re an introvert this is not your escape route. Solitude is an intentional mindfulness that God is present in this moment. You can have solitude in a crowd if you are aware that Christ is present there with you. Solitude is a peaceful contentment whether you are alone or in a concert. It is a remembering God is with you.

Slowing is the fourth S. You can’t just make a running lunge for the narrow gate. You can hurt someone. A methodical slowing down in life is caring for your spirit. We often neglect our soul by over animating our mind with information or entertainment. Slowing down to enjoy nature and created beauty is a joy to the senses. These are all attributes of Jesus.

Sabbathing well, Silence, Solitude, Slowing down: Jesus recognizes himself within us when we do and practice the things He does. If we don’t practice those things he does not recognize us and we don’t get to come through the gate.

What do I need to start giving away? What is my baggage I need to discard so I can get through that gate?

8.14.22: 20C
The month of October is a big month in the Church and the Archdiocese. Saturday Oct 1st is feast day of St. Teresa of Avila, it’s Catholic Charities Annual weekend, the CK school 5K run, the 2nd is the blessing of the animals. Oct 7 is our Lady of the Rosary, 15/16 weekend is the Cristo Rey High School Faith in Action talk, 22/23rd is the parish Stewardship Fair weekend, 30th is the Rite of Acceptance for people planning to come into the Church, it’s also our Fall Festival trunk or treat and it’s the all night prayer vigil to kick off the week of events before the blessing of the new Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.

Those are just some of the highlights of October. September, November and December are just as full
but todays reading from Hebrews is a good reminder of how not to get overwhelmed when the days and weeks can feel overloaded.

Whether it’s a 5K, a business merger, family crisis or faith desolation, the wisdom of Hebrews shows us how to get us through it. Not over it but through it. We are told to first to rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us.

If I am trying to work on myself or my life situation whether it is emotional, spiritual, physical, or all of the above, the best time to make a change is right after receiving the sacraments. If I am in a state of holy humble grace, like we are after confession or like I should be just before receiving the Eucharist, my heart and mind is in a state of clarity and confidence that allows God to work more completely and purely in my conscience and decision making ability. That’s why it says to rid ourself of every burden and sin that clings to us. Otherwise It’s like trying to swim in cowboy boots.

When I keep wearing Resentment or fear or anger, that is like dead weight that keeps me from being buoyant and move forward in my life pursuits. It’s like when our students are training for sports or band
and the goal is to win or perform their best. To do that they have to stay focused on the objective. If I am in training or cramming for an exam, or preparing for a big event, then I am going to be very focused on my sleep and what I drink and eat and think because I have my mind on the goal, I just look up and keep my eyes on the prize. The best time to do my best is shortly after Ive trained and prepared and practiced and rested.

Hebrews says to be our best self we have to get rid of the things that weigh us down and persevere in running the race that lies before us. We just have to look up. To keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. Jesus is the ultimate trainer. He tells me when my form is off and how to achieve the best results from my training because he wants me to win. He wants to perfect me. To be perfect means to be complete, to be made whole. Jesus means for me to have everything I need. Sometimes what I need is to have less. Less worry, less anxiety, less baggage in my life. Less obsession over the competition and less fear of not winning. So Maybe what I need is more fear of not seeing Jesus in the Eucharist.

When I fix my eyes on Jesus I see everything in its proper perspective. I see Him making me perfect. I see me winning, I see that I am enough. Maybe today when I come come forward to receive the Eucharist I can ask myself , what do I see in the Lord? Is it what He sees in me?

7.24.22: 17C
In the Lebanese Maronite Catholic Rite St. Charbel is celebrated tomorrow/Today. St. Charbel lived in solitude and prayer in northern Lebanon for 23 years to get to know the nature of God more deeply. In 1898 he became sick during Mass and died on Christmas Eve. Four months later bright lights emanated from his tomb and throughout the monastery so they exhumed his body which was still incorrupt. Many healings and miracles have taken place through his prayers of  intercession. Happy feast to our Lebanese brothers and sisters.

St. Charbel who once said “A man who prays lives out the mystery of existence, and a man who does not pray scarcely exists.” Most of us don’t have the luxury of quiet solitude in our daily lives like a monk or hermit. But we can still carve out some quiet time for reflection and prayer if we make it a priority. As the nuns say, if you're too busy to pray, you're too busy. 

Every day people from within and around our parish boundaries come to daily Mass at CtK as part of their daily prayer. Some people come early and sit and think in the early morning stillness as the sun comes up. Some stay after Mass and pray the rosary or Liturgy of the Hours or just sit with the Lord. Some people come into church halfway through Mass and then leave after communion. But at least they’re halfway there. 

Fr. Kirk Larkin of happy memory, was once asked why he always came to Mass or retreats or liturgies so early. He said, I just like to get the lay of the land. Which meant he was allowing himself to leave the world of time and space outside and enter into a place which is outside of time and space to be with the Lord. 

Instead of asking why some people leave mass early we should ask the people who come early and why they stay after. Why did the 11 disciples not leave earlier? What did they know that Judas didn’t?

What did St. Charbel mean when he said, that those who pray live out the mystery of existence and those that don’t scarcely exist? I think it means those that enter thoughtfully into the life of Christ enter into the eternal, and those that don’t, are choosing the things of life that don’t last. 

It’s a struggle we all battle. Everyday. Which is why the apostles had to ask Jesus how to pray. Almost all of them worked as skilled laborers. They were smart people.  They didn’t  have a high school diploma. But they knew enough to know what they didn’t know. In this case, they knew they were seeing something new and different in this Rabbi Jesus. There was a new “way” about Him. Like the Mandalorians say, this is the way. 

Before we called ourself Christians in the early days of following Christ they just called it, the Way.  Like the movie with Martin Sheen, called The Way, which is about a man making a pilgrimage walk from France to Spain. 

We have several parishioners who have made the Camino pilgrimage and are going to share their experience of this Camino de Santiago, or the way of St. James, this Sunday in the Garden Rooms at 7pm. Walking on a pilgrimage is a series of encounters. Some great and some intimate. But for the believer they all lead to the Way. To Christ. Jesus is the Way. 

In Jesus’ day you would walk to the temple to make your sacrifice and receive God's blessing. If you couldn’t walk it could mean you were cursed for something you or your parents did. So if you couldn’t walk you couldn’t make your sacrificial offering to God. 

St. John Bosco understood that there is another way to make a pilgrimage or a sacrificial way to God. It’s not just what we do but how we think and behave on the way. “Walk with your feet on earth but in your heart, be in heaven” - St. John Bosco   

So how do we do that? How do I stay grounded and integrated and remain in prayer? Or as St. Charbel says, stay in the mystery of life rather than in the passing trends that die? The Our Father prayer that most of us say or pray is the road map between heaven and earth. 

Pope Benedict XVI wrote, “The meaning of the Our Father aims to form our being, to train us in the inner attitude of Jesus.”  Let’s skip to the good part. 

1. Our Father is not just my father.  We don’t live in isolation but experience God's fatherhood as members of the Church, the family of Jesus. This reminds us that we recognize all those around us as children of God and treat them accordingly; as the school motto says, "where everybody is somebody and all live for God."                  
2. Hallowed be thy name, hallowed means holy and we are saying that God is Holy, His name is holy and not only do we want to use His name in a sacred context when we use God's name, but we want everyone in the world to know there is one true and holy God. 
3. Thy kingdom come, is asking that God's kingdom, where there is only goodness, honesty and love for one another, surrounds us in every day life. And we’re also praying that at the second coming of Christ He will grant us eternal life. 
4. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven is asking that God's grace move us to do His will throughout our life whether those things be small, great or difficult, we are asking for the grace to do whatever pleases God: taking care of an elderly parent, working at a homeless pantry, giving up a parking space or refraining from gossip. Committing ourself to Christ helps accomplish His will. 
5. Give us this day our daily bread means we recognize that everything we need comes from God and to please take care of us, especially with the bread of life, the Eucharist. 
6. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Much easier said than done. Forgiveness does not mean we will see justice done but it gives us the grace to move on with our own lives. 
7. Lead us not into temptation which is the first step towards sin, so we are asking God to please set up the road blocks to avoid the temptation. 
8. But deliver us from evil. Evil is a true reality but evil is not even close to being equal to God. 

So this is the way. To walk in the Kingdom of heaven and earth or on earth as it is in heaven. To walk the Way is to use more of our thoughts, to pray the words while we say the words. 

So where is my prayer on the Way?

Am I out of the Way? 
Am I in the way?
Or am I on the way?