Sermon, Septuagesima Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013

Septuagesima Sunday – Jan. 27, 2013

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27, 10, 1-5             Gospel: Matthew 20: 1-16

Today we begin Septuagesima Season. In the liturgical seasons of the Church this is the time to prepare ourselves for Lent and following Lent, for the joy of Easter. Now is the season for us to get a clear understanding of the misery of our banishment from the Garden of Eden.

The Householder in today’s Gospel is of course God. His vineyard is the Church. He sends out workers to his vineyard at all hours, and never ceases to send them out; from the beginning it was the Patriarchs and Teachers of the Law, and lastly the Apostles and their successors. The workers of the early morning and the third, sixth and ninth hours “signify the Jewish people, who . . . have from the beginning of the world endeavored to serve God . . . But at the eleventh hour the Gentiles were called, and it is to them it was said: ‘Why stand you here all the day idle?’”

Consider what they answered: “Because no man hath hired us.” What does this mean except that no man has preached to us the way of true life?  What if at our judgment Our Lord asks, “Why did you stand idle?” We are members of His Church, some of us since the cradle. We don’t have the same excuse as those men in the Gospel. We can’t say “no man hath hired us,” because we have been hired, we have been called to work in our Lord’s Vineyard.

Christ’s parable today seems to be directed to those who have followed Him since their youth as well as to those who are late converts – directed to cradle Catholics so they won’t become proud and scornful of the later converts, and to them, so they will know that it is possible to earn the whole day’s wages, which is the Kingdom of Heaven.

The Vineyard is God’s, of course, and Pope St. Gregory points out that at no time has God failed to send workers into His Vineyard.  First the Patriarchs, then the Doctors of the Law and the Prophets, and now His Apostles and their successors, and the faithful. The natural state of our hearts, as God made them, is to love our neighbor, to rejoice with our neighbors when they are joyful, and to be sad when they are sorrowful. When we feel sadness or resentment at the happiness of others, then we are being envious. The workers who were called early to the vineyard were envious of those who were called at the last hour because they received the same wages. “Is thy eye evil because I am good?” our Lord said to them.

Today’s Gospel is also a message to the Jews of Christ’s time that salvation is about to be offered to the Gentiles, that the Law of Moses will give way to the Christian Law through the preaching of the Apostles. Dom Guéranger points this out: “By the selfish murmuring made against the master of the house by the early laborers, our Lord signifies the indignation which the scribes and Pharisees would show at the Gentiles being adopted as God’s children. He shows them how their jealousy would be chastised: Israel, that had labored before us, shall be rejected for their obduracy [hardness] of heart, and we Gentiles, the last comers, shall be made first, for we shall be made members of that Catholic Church, which is the bride of the Son of God.” This is the interpretation given by Sts. Augustine and Pope St. Gregory the Great and others, but it also contains within it the second instruction, and that is that God invites each of us individually and personally to labor in His Vineyard for the promised payment.

These hours in the parable can also be seen as the years of our lives. Morning is the childhood of our reason. The third hour, adolescence, because while the heat and energy of youth increases, it is as though the sun mounts higher in the sky. The sixth hour is young manhood and womanhood, because the sun is now at its zenith when we are at our full strength. The ninth hour is our mature age because as the sun now declines so does the heat and energy of youth. The eleventh hour is our old age. Some are called to our good life in their young years, others in adulthood, others  in maturity and still others in old age. Laborers are called at different hours to the Vineyard. We should all look to our manner of living then to see if we are really laboring the Vineyard of the Lord. Those who live for themselves and feed on the pleasures of the world are truly idle because they do not work for the fruit of divine labor. That fruit is heaven.  It is good to remind ourselves, also, that God does not promise us a second calling if we do not answer the first.

 St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians today speaks of our lives as a race, that we should run to  win, and the prize we seek is the incorruptible crown of eternal life with God. Paul was aware that he might lose this race, so he chastised his body and kept it in subjection to the spirit. We have an inclination to sin. It is an effect of the Original Sin of Adam and Eve and defines the human condition, that is, it’s part of what we are. Our only means of winning the race is to subject our bodies to the spirit. This is a very harsh doctrine because we know that it is difficult, to say the least, to make an impression on those whose happiness is fixed only on the things of this present life. “Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 1: 2) But for these people, we pray.

It’s easy for us to become indifferent to praying and to the liturgy of the Church.  Liturgy means the way we worship God, in a certain order and in certain forms given to us by Jesus and His Church.  It’s also easy to become indifferent to the rules of the Church regarding fasting and attending Mass.  Before the fall of our first parents we could walk and talk with God, but now we have to fight the devil all our lives to get to see God at the end.  So use these days before Easter to develop habits of holiness by praying, fasting, going to Confession and by attending Mass and receiving Communion as often as possible, but always on Sunday, the Lord’s Day. The Church and Her priests are here to show you the way to heaven.  +++

Do not let His Blood fall uselessly on your soul.

(Dom Guéranger)

We Celebrate the Tridentine Latin Mass

Sermon, 2nd Sunday after Epiphany Jan. 20, 2013

2^nd Sunday after the Epiphany, January 20, 2013

Epistle  Romans 12: 6-16            Gospel,  John  2: 1-11

Scriptures have no meaning unless we understand that Christ is in all the Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments. Our Lord said as much when, just before He ascended to Heaven, he told His Apostles in Luke 24:44, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me.”

            The Law that the Jews lived under began to speak at the beginning of the world.  And God’s Law continues to speak from the beginning to the sixth age of creation, which is the period we are in today. These ages of creation were taught by St. Augustine, and the first age is reckoned from Adam to Noah, and the great destruction of the flood. The second age is from Noah to Abraham, our Patriarch. The third is from Abraham to David,  king and prophet. The fourth from David to the transmigration into Babylon, into slavery. The fifth is from then until John the Baptist and Jesus. The sixth age is from Jesus until the end of the world.  So the six water jars at the wedding feast in Cana signify the six ages of the world. In each age there were prophesies of the Christ. All the prophesies have now been fulfilled, and so today’s Gospel tells us the water jars are “filled to the brim.”  We can easily understand now that Christ has kept the good wine, that is to say, the Gospel, until the last, the sixth age of the world.

            The Gospel continues: “And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine.” The wine provided at the wedding was all consumed. In a religious sense, however, the wine referred to by Mary was not a simple drink, but the nuptial wine of the Holy Spirit, Who inspired the Prophets. This “wine of the Holy Spirit” was gone because the prophets, except St. John the Baptist, had now ceased to speak and minister to the people of Israel. Their role ended with the appearance of Jesus. The Gentiles also had no one to give them spiritual drink, but Jesus was there that day to fill new bottles with new wine. “For the old things,” St. Paul tells us, “have passed away: behold all things are made new.” (2 Corinthians 5: 17)

          Each year God makes wine from water and grapes on the vine, but this miracle of nature loses its wonder through its yearly repetition. So at Cana God used an unaccustomed means to rouse men to the worship of Himself, and this is the reason at the end of today’s Gospel reading that St. John added the words “and manifested his glory”. Following this he wrote: “and his disciples believed in him,” because after seeing what Jesus did at Cana, they were obliged to believe in Him and to pay more attention to everything He said and did.  

 If pride is the beginning of all sin as Ecclesiasticus 10: 15 tells us, how could our pride be healed if God Himself had not shown us how by becoming lowly? Let us be humble because the Son of God became humble. God was hungry, He was tired. He was beaten and spit upon and put to death. Why such humiliation? Because only the Son of God could offer Himself as the Perfect, Holy and Unspotted  Sacrifice to His Father in reparation for Adam and Eve’s original sin.  And that is why Jesus gave His priests the power to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood – to continue this Perfect Sacrifice at every Mass.

When the priest makes the offering after washing his hands he prays, “Receive, O holy Trinity, this oblation offered up by us to Thee in memory of the passion, resurrection, and ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ . . .”  Then at the  beginning of the Canon of the Mass he prays, “Wherefore, we humbly pray and beseech Thee . . . to receive and to bless these gifts, these presents, these holy unspotted sacrifices . . .” Following this, at the Hanc Igitur, he again prays, “Wherefore, we  beseech Thee, O Lord, graciously to receive this oblation which we . . . offer up to Thee . . .” And then, just prior to the Consecration, the priest prays,  “And do Thou, O God, vouchsafe in all respects to bless, consecrate, and approve this our oblation, to perfect it and to render it well-pleasing to Thyself, so that it may become for us the body and blood of Thy most beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Here today, and at every Mass, we continue to offer to God the Perfect Sacrifice in this unbloody recreation of the Passion and Death of our Lord.

Jesus Christ became lowly to show us the way to eternal life, if only we will walk that path.  Throughout the coming week, live a life of prayer.  Fast, even if you give up only one dessert for Christ’s sake. Visit and pray for the sick. Pray for the souls in Purgatory.  Then come to Mass again next Sunday to receive a small taste of heaven, the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.  +++

We Celebrate the Tridentine Latin Mass

Feast of Holy Family, Jan. 13, 2013

Feast of the Holy Family, Jan. 13, 2013

Epistle Colossians 3: 12-17           Gospel Luke 2: 42-52

           “They found Him in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them and asking them questions.” The temple is the house of God. Since the Ascension of our Lord into heaven and since the first Pentecost Sunday the House of God has been the Catholic Church. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is here in the Tabernacle, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, in a way God was never present in the synagogues of old until Jesus Himself walked in. If you seek Jesus,  you will find Him here in the tabernacle.

        “And all that heard Him were astonished at His wisdom and His answers.”  He was in the temple built by Solomon. When he says, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” With this statement He is claiming the  synagogue and the Law and the Prophets not only for His Father, but also for Himself because He revealed to us  that He is the Son of the Father. “I and the Father are one.” (John 10: 30)

        The Curé of Ars said that Jesus was “full of tenderest love for the Temple of Jerusalem.” With holy anger He drove out those who bought and sold there, and He wept over the Temple, and all of the City of Jerusalem because he knew their destruction was coming soon. We also should be involved with our “Father’s business,” our Father in heaven that is, and our hearts should also be filled with a tender love for Christ’s Church. Our schedules make it difficult for many to come to Church other than on Sundays to pray, to seek advice or consolation, or to seek grace from the Sacrament of Penance (Confession).

        Even if we can’t get to Church during the week, we can make our home like a Church, like the Temple of God. We can do it with holy pictures and statues. From these visible objects our minds go up to the invisible, to God. From the earliest days of the Church Christians have used pictures and statues to direct their thoughts to God. The most prominent position might be given to a crucifix, perhaps in the family room.

        Family members will know that when they look upon the crucifix as faithful Christians it will teach them to pray to God and to have confidence in Him during difficult times. It teaches them to care not only for the physical needs of their familes, but also for the spiritual needs. A family that understands this language of the cross, will live their lives as faithful and obedient Christians, and they will have converted their home into a Church. That family is blessed by God. 

        On this Feast of the Holy Family we see them separated. Jesus is now 12 years old. It was the custom among the Jews of that time for men and women to travel in separate groups and it’s believed that Jesus spent some of the trip with his foster Father and some with his Mother. We can well imagine that the presence of Jesus among each group was greatly desired. Being the Son of God as well as the son of Mary, who would not want him as a companion. It is understandable then that each group, the men and the women, thought Jesus was with the other as they headed for home.

        After a day of travel, Joseph and Mary discovered He was not anywhere in their caravan.  They searched among the family groups that travelled with them. Not finding Him, they went back to Jerusalem, and after three days found him in the Temple listening to the doctors of the Law and asking them questions. And then Jesus began to make known the mysteries of Revelation, the mysteries of God. We know this because Luke tells us: “All that heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers.” Mary and Joseph were sorrowing because this Boy was the Son of God and the delights of His Presence were withdrawn from them. “So sweet is the Lord to those who taste Him, so beautiful to those who see Him, so gentle to those who embrace Him, that even His brief absence is a source of deepest pain.” (Venerable St. Ælred, Abbot of Rievaulx)

        Is this not the reason we are plunged into despair when we sin? Because God’s presence has been withdrawn from us? But since God is always available to those who seek Him, it is more accurate to say that when we sin it is we who withdraw our presence from God. When we realize He is no longer with us, we despair.

        Jesus reminded His earthly parents that day in the Temple that He must be about His Father’s business. But to give us an example of humility and obedience, he submits to His elders. Luke tells us: “He went down with them, and was subject to them.” And there He “advanced in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men.” This was for our sake, that we may be reborn and grow up in the spiritual ages to advance in wisdom and grace in our lives. His bodily growth - is our spiritual growth. His birth - is the beginning of our conversion. His persecution - is to us a sign of the temptations we suffer from the devil. His growing up in Nazareth - expresses our advancement to perfection.

        I pray that my comments today will help you better describe who you are to other people, but at the same time may they leave your soul undisturbed in perfect faith. +++

(Thanks to St. John Vianney & Venerable St. Ælred for today’s sermon.)

We Celebrate the Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass

Feast of Epiphany, Jan. 6, 2013

Feast of The Epiphany, January 6, 2013

Epistle, Isaias 60: 1-6                     Gospel,  Matthew  2: 1-12

            “The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Madian and Epha: all they from Saba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense: and shewing forth praise to the Lord,” as Isaias prophesied at Isaias 60: Verse 6. Of Jesus of Nazareth it was said by the Prophet Balaam in Numbers 24: 17, “A star shall rise out of Jacob and a scepter shall spring up from Israel.” The star followed by the three kings was a new star rising, and a scepter is the symbol of kingly authority.  The Magi were teachers of a false religion and could not have known Christ as Lord had it not been for the grace of faith given to them. They are the first Gentiles to worship the Christ so that through them the door of faith might be opened to all Gentiles. It is said in tradition that the Magi were descendants of Balaam, who was himself a Gentile. Balaam by prophecy foretold that Christ would come, the Magi, with the eyes of faith, saw Him and believed. The Magi confessed a stranger to be King and God on the strength of one prophet. So many Jews, despite many prophesies, rejected their own. “He came unto His own and His own received Him not,” St. John tells us. (John 1: 11)

            The Magi offered gold, which is a tribute paid to a king, and incense, which is offered in sacrifice to God, and myrrh, which was used to embalm the dead. We offer gold to God if we live our lives in obedience to Him and therefore shine in the brightness of heavenly wisdom. We offer incense to Him if we burn away the sins of the flesh in our hearts so that we can send up to God “an odor of sweetness, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” (Philippians 4: 18) We offer God myrrh when we abstain from the vices of the flesh. Myrrh preserves dead flesh from corruption, and our flesh is indeed corrupt if we give ourselves over to wantonness.

            King David foretold the Magi in a representative figure. Scriptures often speak of the world as “Egypt.” David wrote that” Ambassadors shall come out of Egypt: Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God.” (Psalm 67: 32)  The Magi chosen to represent the “whole world, dedicate, in the gifts they offer, the will to believe of all mankind, and the beginnings of the faith.” (Author unknown, but often attributed to St. John Chrysostom.) When Herod heard of the birth of the King of the Jews, he only saw someone who would want to remove him from his throne. When the Magi saw the Christ Child they saw a baby, but they understood Him to be God, and they worshipped Him. What the Magi did that day was not unlike what we do every time we attend Mass. The priest raises the consecrated host and with our eyes we see a piece of bread, but we understand it to be the Body and Blood of Christ.

            St. John tells us that King Herod, and all of Jerusalem,  was disturbed by the news the Magi brought. Herod brought in the chief priests and scribes and asked them where the Christ would be born. They told him in Bethlehem, quoting Micheas 5: 2: Out of thee, Bethlehem “shall he come forth unto me [he] that is to be the ruler in Israel” -- they did not quote the whole verse, but I will to make a point – “and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity.” So they knew the Christ was born a man, and that he was God and was from eternity, and they rejected Him immediately.

            Herod it seems thought only of earthly things because he was immediately threatened by this King of the Jews who was just born. He planned to use the Magi to find the Baby so he could kill Him. Herod did not understand that he was being used by God, because in murdering the infants of Bethlehem Herod proclaimed to the world that Christ is born, and he caused His birth to be speedily and widely talked about among the people.

            The Magi were warned in a dream to return to their homeland by another route. In doing this, the Magi are communicating to us what we must do. Paradise is our true homeland, and having come to our faith in Jesus Christ, we are forbidden to return there by the same way we came. We left our homeland by way of pride and disobedience and tasting the forbidden fruit. We must return home by way of tears of repentance, by obedience to the rules of God and His Church, by contempt for the world and by controlling the desires of the flesh.

            Remember our judgment. Christ delays it so He may have fewer to condemn, but also remember how strict God is. How strict is that? The punishment to Adam and Eve for their sin of disobedience was death. That punishment carries down to all of us. Before their sin, man did not die. Since their sin, Christ, in His mercy, suffered and died for us and gave us His Church and Himself in the Eucharist, the  path to reclaim eternal life. +++

(Thanks to Popes Sts. Gregory & Leo and St. John Chrysostom for today’s sermon.)

We Celebrate the Tridentine Latin Mass