Monthly Newspaper • DIOCESE OF BRIDGEPORT

So my dear sisters and brothers,

As we can well imagine, the customs of hospitality are very different among the various cultures and nations of what we’ve called our family of humanity. And it certainly changed over history.

The one thing they have in common is that they wish to make whoever is our guest feel welcome and a part of our family.

And so what we gather here tonight to celebrate, the great sacrament of the Eucharist, we are given this extraordinary episode in the life of Jesus where the custom of the age, to make a person welcome, is done in the strangest of times by the most unlikely of persons. For you can well imagine that in a time and in a place mostly of desert that was hot, to make a guest welcome you would allow them, and ask them as they enter into a home, to have their feet washed, so that the dust of the road could be washed clean, and they can be cooled and refreshed literally from the bottom up.

Tonight we hear that beautiful gesture of welcome is done by not a slave, but the Master of the House, the Master of the Table, the Master of all Creation. For was the task of the slave, or the servant, to make the guest welcome.

Jesus takes that place of a slave. The night before his life was forfeited by thirty pieces of silver, the cost of the of the life of a single slave in the Roman Empire. And if that was not provocative enough, it’s timing was strange. Because we hear in the gospel that Jesus washed the feet of the disciples after the meal was finished, after they reclined that table. Not when they arrived. Because Jesus was trying to teach them a lesson; a lesson not about what He was doing, but what He had already done.

For recall what happens at the table of the Last Supper. Jesus takes the rituals of the Passover, the celebration of God’s chosen people set free from the slavery of Pharaoh, and brought into the liberation of the Promised Land. Jesus takes that ritual and gives it eternal meaning by taking simple bread and wine and, foreseeing His death the next day, makes it the sacrament of our liberation from sin and death. And makes it the sacrament by which we will eternally be with Him in His glory. He gives it to the apostles to strengthen them. Yes, to encourage them yes, but also to give them the grace so that they might do what? That they might also give their life over for love of their neighbor, as the Master would give His life for the whole world.

For you see my friends, on this altar where heaven and earth kiss, on this altar when we enter into the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are seeing the greatest act of love creation will ever know, over and over again in the one singular, irrepeatable act of Jesus’s self-offering, freely given, so you and I may be set free from sin and death.

And in that remarkable self-empting, self-giving – in that remarkable act of love, Jesus waits until after he gives the sacrament to show them what it really means; with their own eyes, with their own feet, to teach them what it means to love, and to give, even if it requires to take the place of the servant or the slave. To be able to do what no one else would dare to do. To give and not count the cost. To make oneself available until perhaps there’s nothing else to give. Jesus is teaching them that whoever receives this must be ready to do this. And if we’re not ready to do this, to give, then we must examine ourselves deeply: of why it is we come here to receive the ultimate sacrament of
pure, divine love.

My friends, we gather here in quiet now. The bells are silent, the organ is silent. We have begun the great mystery of our salvation. We gather here as if we were in the upper room, huddled, waiting, watching. We gather around the table of the Lord. And in His priest you will hear once again the same words the apostles heard in that very first night we remember. And we will be able to do what they did; come forward to receive the bread broken and the cup shared so that the Life of Christ may dwell in our hearts, in our stomachs, in our spirit, in our mind, in all of who and what we are.

But let us consider, that as we adore the Lord in just a few minutes, let us consider how ready we are, how willing we are, how prepared we are, to truly follow in the footsteps of the Lord, being encouraged by his sacred body, blood, soul and divinity. And to love as he did with friend, spouse, child, nephew, neighbor, acquaintance, co-worker, and even enemy.

And if we are not ready to do that, let us sit before the Lord tomorrow on the Mount of Calvary when he shows us with our own eyes how much He loves us. And to pray that His Spirit may help us wherever we go, wherever we find ourselves. Even if it means taking the place of the servant and slave. Pray for the grace to love as He did.

My dear friends in Christ,

Each Holy Thursday morning, you and I gather here in the mother church of our diocese to ask our gracious and merciful Father, in union with His risen Son, to send the power of the Holy Spirit upon the oils which will become the vehicles of His healing and grace; oil that is the fruit of the olive. And yet it will become a powerful venue, avenue, channel of the very power and grace of God.

And so in a few moments I will have the privilege to bless the oil of the sick, which will bring consolation and peace. And perhaps healing in body and certainly in spirit to those who are suffering, those who are living unto the frailty of old age. We will ask the spirit to bless the oil of the Catechumens that will strengthen and encourage the minds and hearts and wills of those who are seeking full communion in the church, who have found the Lord in their hearts, who wish to become part of His mystical body.

Then of course I, with my brother priests, will invoke the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the Sacred Prism, which is the vehicle through which those who come forward are consecrated forever. All of us in this church, in the sacrament of baptism where you and I receive the gift of adopted sonship. We receive through adoption, what Christ has by nature in His death and resurrection. And we become forever sisters and brothers, united in a single mystical body who is Christ. And for many of us confirmed in that baptism with the Sevenfold Gifts of His holy spirit so we may rise to the challenges of our age.

And then to some of us here, you my brothers with me, unworthy as we all are, we have been chosen to enter into the great mystery of Holy Orders with our brother deacons, to be consecrated to ministerial service. And for those of us who are priests, to enter into the great mystery of becoming another Persona Christi and to become the instruments by which the power of the spirit can take the simple elements of bread and wine, and render them to be the body, blood, soul and divinity of the Risen Lord.

We all come here to be encouraged. We all come here to ask that Spirit to give us strength in these challenging times. And to those of us who are priests, to you my brothers, we come here to seek a great gift; that you and I may rise to the challenge of our times and to seek to live radical, fearless, courageous lives of holiness.

At the risk of striking a very somber note, and forgive me for raising this point, but for the last few months in my prayer and reflection I have given much thought. The Lord has led me to very interesting places in my prayer, reflecting on the very hours you and I are living on this Thursday we call Holy. For on the First Holy Thursday, I wondered to myself, what was in the mind and heart of the Apostles as they bustle to prepare, to sit and share the Passover meal with their master and rabbi.

To the great betrayer, these were the hours he made his definitive choice. I wonder what fears he had in his heart, what wounds that went unaddressed, what great disappointments that haunted him. The stubbornness, perhaps, of not getting what he thought he should deserve or what the people of God deserved or what they expected to get when the Savior finally came. I wonder what it was in his heart that created the sin that made him so blind and obstinate, that when he said ‘surely it is not I Lord’ and the Lord said ‘it is you who said it’. And (and) of course the apostles who remained by his side and the meal ran; in the garden when they began to glimpse what it was to walk in the footsteps of a Lord who exchanged His life for thirty pieces of silver, the cost of the life of a single slave in the Roman Empire. All good, faithful men who, to the path of their life, one in particular, veered to make grave decisions.

I raised that question, my dear brothers because the same father of evil that lurked in those hours remains in our midst, remains amidst all of us, at every turn in our lives. For he seeks to do whatever it takes to make sure that all of us, and especially you and I my brothers, not to seek that which is the requirement of our ministry, that we seek true fearlessness, courage, and the pursuit of a holiness that will require that we completely die to the Lord whom we love, and we all love in this church so deeply.

So I’m going to suggest for all of us who are here, but especially those of us who share the priesthood of Jesus Christ, that perhaps you and I can spend the balance of this day, the mystery of the Triduum, and the weeks and months ahead, to form a deep examination of life and conscience and to ask the Holy Spirit to help us to understand what it is in my life, and in yours, that does not allow us to seek that radical fearless holiness. To kick the father of evil out wherever he is lurking. So that with God’s grace, because it can only be with God’s grace, that we can rise to what the Lord is asking of us.

For this, my dear brothers, is whether we choose it or not, it is going to be the age of the Heroes of Faith. For the renewal of our Church will not come by program or initiative, it will not come by any glorious homily, it will come from the true witness of Holiness for all the baptized and for all who lead the Church. And I’m not ashamed to say I am convicted by my own words.

So what is it that you and I must root out in our lives? We begin with the wounds we carry. We all carry them. Wounds that will – sometimes we’re afraid to admit to – sometimes they are so deep, they’re painful even to admit they’re there. Wounds are nonetheless fester in my life, in your life, wounds that the father of evil can use against us to discourage us, to make us believe there is no hope for change, to make us think that our weaknesses will always be who we are meant to be. To lull uss into complacency and maybe perhaps worse, perhaps a lifestyle that seeks gratification or power or privilege or pleasure over an intimacy with the Lord. So perhaps we could ask for the grace of the Spirit for all of us. And for us, in leadership, to finally, if there are wounds in our lives, to ask the Lord for the gentle grace to see them and offer them to Him so His Holy Spirit can be balmed to heal them and to set us free.

And then it would seem to me, my dear brothers, that as good men, faithful men, as you all are, as I seek to be, sometimes we fall into the temptation to believe that our differences are a cause for division, when our differences should be a cause of celebration. That God has made us different so that we could be stronger together; that my gifts are not yours, your gifts are not mine, and together we are stronger when we share them.

We’re tempted to think at times that my way is the way, when it’s the Lord’s way that is the way. And so can we dare to work in the months ahead to grow into a true unity, a true brotherhood where we can speak honestly to each other, and that we can forgive each other. And that you can forgive me as I can forgive you. Because in the end, you have heard me say that we are embarking on an auditious, auditious experience together. Do you and I have been called in this moment in the life of the church to rebuild the culture of our Church so that it will permeate every aspect of our lives. I call it the one. Call it whatever you like. But to be able to build a world where all God’s children, in every aspect of their life, can recognize the presence and life of Christ. And to be able to be accompanied by sisters and brothers who love them, who know their name, and know their heart, and know their struggles, and will walk with them. I walking with you, you walking with me, we walking with one another.

And it seems to me for all of us in this church, on this eve of the great Triduum of our salvation, and especially you and I who shared this mystical precious, priceless gift of the ministerial priesthood. May we recognize that we cannot lead others unless we ourselves are being led. And you and I are being led by the Shepherd who calls us, caresses us, forgives us, empowers us, and leads us forward to lead God’s people in this time (time) of challenge, and in time that is pregnant with opportunity. For bursting new life for the church and to bring conversion to the whole world.

Let me just say this. I am deeply grateful to you, brothers, and to my brother deacons. But to you my brother priests, for all of your sacrifice, your generosity. Your hard work oftentimes goes unnoticed and unthanked. I am privileged to walk in your midst as your spiritual father and as your Bishop. For I know you now, after all these years, very intimately. And I’m proud of every single one of you.

But we have work to do to rebuild our Church. And we cannot do it without His grace. The Lord asked the original Apostles, ‘one of you will betray me’. We heard that yesterday at Mass. My prayer is for all of us in this holy church, especially for you my dear brothers, may it never be said of me, may it never be said of you, in answer to that question you have said so.

My dear friends,

When the Lord Jesus met his first disciples in the Gospel of John, he asked them the question, “what are you looking for?”, the question that everyone who has met the Lord must ask himself or herself. What is it that we are truly looking for in our lives?

Today, as we hear the passion read anew, we know the answer the crowd gave. They were looking for a king. And they got a king beyond their wildest imagination. For they were looking for a military king, a king who would dislodge the Roman Empire that held them in brutal subjugation. They were looking for one who would come with legions and might and armament and shield. That is why they gave Jesus the great privilege of being greeted with palms and cloaks strewn on the road. For that, my friends, was an honor given only to Caesar and his leggetts. For they were considered too important to have their feet touch the ground.

But the true King came for a different purpose; to enter into the city of David to show them, us, and all who would believe in Him, that He has come as the King of love. And the crowd went from adulation to crucify Him in five days.

The apostles remained with the Lord after He entered Jerusalem. But even they began to doubt. Because the Lord was willing to exchange His life for 30 pieces of silver. My friends, that was exactly what it cost to buy a single slave in the Roman Empire. But how could this King be a slave?

And so we hear that in the moment, when He was revealed in all His glory, the apostles ran and only a few women and the youngest of the Apostles remained. When the King was enthroned, not in gold, not in jewels, but His throne was made of wood, and His jewels were nails that held Him as He extended His arms upon all creation, and revealed what the love that only matters is free, self-sacrifice for the good of those around Him. In this case, for you and me. And when we come here to our blessed cathedral and we will uncover this image of the Lord crucified on the day we call good – for our sakes, not for His – we will look upon the King of all creation.

So allow me to ask us all, what are you looking for? What are you really looking for in your life? Where will you and I find the peace and the courage to face the sufferings that inevitably come for anyone who truly loves. How can you and I in the moments when we are before those for whom we can no longer help, before the mystery of suffering and pain, or when we look upon the challenges that surround us in this world, who is going to give us the hope and the peace and the joy that our hearts truly are looking for? There is no king, government, constitution, or society in this world that can give them. Only One. The One whom we welcome with the same palms in the city of our hearts.

So my dear friends, I ask you, this week, this week that is the holiest of them all, will you have the courage? Will I have the courage to walk with Jesus? To rediscover His kingship over your heart and mine? And will we rediscover the power He gives us in His resurrection so that we can love as He loved and to go forth into the world. And to love the sick and the afflicted, the immigrant and the poor, the recently incarcerated, the lonely, the anxious, the ones who are despairing. To love the ones that the world says are not worth our love. To love in a way that makes us weak and vulnerable. To love until it hurts and beyond. For if we do that, we will have a place in glory and we will have a throne made for us. And because our Lord died for us and rose for us, our thrones in the heaven to come will not be made of wood or nails, but it would be made of everlasting life.

So my friends, what are you really looking for? Let us follow the Lord. Let us go and see.

Sisters and brothers in the Lord,

While I was growing up as a little boy, if I heard it once I heard it perhaps thousands of times from my mom, she would say to me ‘young man, open your eyes and watch where you are going’. Now of course when I was with my father and he wanted to express the same sentiments, the way he described it, I could not repeat in church. But the idea was the same.

Now of course I could see. But I was a daydreamer. I would oftentimes get lost in my own thoughts, in my own little world. So it was not uncommon I would walk into fire hydrants. And many a pair of pants had a hole in the knee because I tripped over things because I was – kind of – I had not yet learned to see what matters. That’s a lifetime project for all of us.

And it seems to me, for you and I today, it may help us to understand what it is that the Lord is asking of us in our own individual journeys of discipleship. Because today in that very beautiful story of the healing of the blind man, we have an extraordinary contrast. For on one hand, we have a man born blind that Jesus physically heals. And recall, my dear friends, the miracles of Jesus were signs of the inbreaking of the Kingdom. He was teaching His own, and those who followed after Him, what it is that the Kingdom of Heaven would be like when there would be no blindness. When we would live in perfect love and sight before Christ. We would be able to see the very face of God.

And as he healed this man who was ostensibly blind, this man could see what really matters. His heart longed to see the Messiah. It was ready to be able to recognize Him and embrace Him and that’s why the Lord said “(what are) what are you seeing?” And he said “I believe Lord”.

That’s in very stark contrast to the Pharisees who could see very well, and were as blind as bats, blind to the mercy of God that was allowing this man to see even on the Sabbath. Blind by their own self-righteousness that they were quick to accuse the man of sinfulness, when they refused to see their own sinfulness. Men who were educated and religiously observant and were blind to the needs of those around them.

Because they did not learn to see what really matters. Or perhaps a better way to describe that, my friends, is to see as God sees.

Today on this fourth Sunday of Lent we are called to meditate and reflect deeply and profoundly on the task of every disciple, to see as God sees. In the first reading we are reminded of appearances and superficiality. And the truth is we live in a world that is very much, very much enamored, committed to the appearances of life, to the superficiality of life. And unfortunately the relations between people are governed by that. You and I have been asked by the gift of the Holy Spirit to look deeper, to look into the heart, to see as God sees.

And my dear brother Knights and sister Columbiettes and your families, for that reason I am very grateful that you are here today. For it allows us, and me, to offer in perhaps a meager way a profound heartfelt word of thanks, for seeing as God sees. For the Knights of Columbus are known for many things. You and I know that. But central to much of who you are and what we do, is to enter into the world and see and act as God asks us to.

So consider all the work that you have devoted yourself to, to the work to allow the hungry to eat, and those without shelter to have a place of refuge, those who are poor to have a message of hope, those who are struggling in whatever way to be able to know they do not struggle alone. For you see those in need around you as God sees them, as sisters and brothers who have names and families, and who are to be loved as brothers and sisters.

Today in a very special way I am deeply grateful on behalf of all of the children in our Catholic schools. They are among God’s precious children. And in countless ways, too many for me to list now, you have been at their service, you have been at their support, and you have been role models for them for many, many years, by the labor of your hands, by the generosity of your spirit. And in many ways, by the example of your faith and charity, you are helping to mold our children who are entrusted to our care to be able, not to see as the world sees, not to see as the Pharisees saw, but to see as Christ sees: through you.

And I know your material generosity is deeply appreciated. But your spiritual generosity is appreciated more. For I cannot imagine how difficult it is for a young person to grow up in a world that is so blind, a world that is so committed to see in a way other than what God asks of us. And thank God, and I am grateful, that you are showing them a better way.

So my mother was wise in many ways, I must confess. And the older I become the more I realize it. So perhaps her words to me as a young boy are the words you and I can meditate on in this week as we continue this journey of Lent. Let us continue to pray, that you and I may keep our eyes opened. That is to continue to do as best we can in our private lives, in our lives as brother knights, in our discipleship of Jesus Christ, to see what really matters. To keep our eyes open to see as God sees. And to watch where we’re going. Because my friends, we are all going, please God, to eternal life.

My dear sisters and brother, I think it would be expected and quite natural that, for any of us in our own individual professions or trades, that we would take great pride in what we do. And we make it our business to do it well and to learn as best we can how to be successful. Whether it’s a lawyer, a doctor, a plumber, or a fisherman.

So with that as perhaps the backdrop today we hear an absolutely extraordinary story. For today we hear that a fisherman who came from a family perhaps of many generations, who fished as a profession, took the advice of a carpenter. Very strange.

And yet my friends, in its strangeness there is a great lesson. For Simon Peter intuited that this Jesus with whom he was walking, with whom he was becoming to know and loving, was someone he could trust. And that he did not have to stand on his own self-sufficiency, his own skills and talents, his own history, nut he could literally trust him to do something new. And he yielded great fruit.

I would like to suggest to you, my friends, as we celebrate the Feast of Saint Patrick, our Patron patron of Ireland and also in the cathedral Parish, our co-patron since the church of Saint Patrick is part of our larger Cathedral family, that Patrick himself wishes to teach us the same lesson. Because Patrick’s life yielded great fruit precisely because he trusted in the Lord. For you know his story well. Having been enslaved he trusted enough in the Lord to go back to the country in which he was enslaved so that he could bear the message of Christ.

When confronting evil in the form of the snakes that he encountered, he trusted not to run away but to confront them. And he bore great fruit precisely because he was able to expel them and to create a soil that was worthy and ready to receive the faith. And Ireland has stood for centuries as a bulwark and foundation of our faith in Europe and way beyond. Patrick understood that in the end, there’s a fundamental choice to make. Do we trust in ourselves, perhaps those around us, alone, or do we trust in God’s providence, mercy and love? Patrick chose wisely and bore great fruit.

So today we ask ourselves a question. I ask you, of myself, I ask it of you. In whom do you trust? For many times in our lives, even those of us who are trying to follow the Lord as best we can, we are tempted to forget that those who walk in His footsteps need to trust Him even when it’s difficult. Even when it hurts.

For example, when our prayers are not answered or our prayers get an answer of ‘no’, in those moments of great trial, do we trust that God’s providence and love can see what we cannot see? That God loves us despite the answer ‘no’. Or do we rebel because we trust in ourselves to know better than God does? Or in our times of prosperity and success are we tempted to think that we are the authors of it? Or do we forget that it was only because of God’s providence in the Lord’s love and mercy that we’re able to accomplish anything in our lives, and everything that has eternal value.

You see my friends we live in a world not much different from Patrick’s. In a world that aspired to basically be one of subjection and power over others, a world that thought they were in charge. And they had to learn to the example of Patrick that a fruitful life finds its anchor in Jesus. Not in me, not in you, and not in us.

So my dear friends, we have much to celebrate today. And I know you’re off to the parade and to festivities, and since there is the dispensation enjoy whatever you plan to eat today on St Patrick’s Day. But in all that joy, please take a moment to reflect on the great lesson Patrick teaches us, following in the footsteps of Simon Peter. Let us ask ourselves the question: are we willing to trust in God’s love in providence, and please God we may answer the same way Patrick did, by saying yes.

My dear sisters and brothers in the Lord,

It’s interesting to recall that the great episode we hear in the Lord’s life today, in that moment when He was Transfigured in the Glory, glimpsing the Glory He has as God, that that episode has its own feast day in the life of the church: it is August 6th. And so it’s interesting that the same episode is always repeated every second Sunday in Lent. Perhaps in part because it has something important to teach us about what Lent means. But I would like to suggest it also can teach us a lesson about our lives in general that at times we forget.

There are two things we need to remember before we can answer that question. What is this lesson?

The first is at this point in Jesus’s Ministry, Jesus had already looked, placed His sights on going to Jerusalem. Peter had professed Him to be the Messiah. And Jesus then begins to turn His ministry and is walking towards Jerusalem because He knows what awaits Him; where you and I will celebrate in just a few weeks, where He will freely and willingly give His life over as the ultimate victory of Love over sin and death. He will show us the face of pure, genuine, divine love here in this cross, which we will commemorate in about five weeks.

The second is when Jesus chose the disciples, the apostles He wanted to accompany Him on this little side trip. He chose them purposely because consider what awaited them.

John, the only Apostle who would not abandon Jesus at the foot of the cross and to whom the Blessed Mother was given, imagined the suffering he endured to watch his beloved master and friend die before his very eyes. James, the leader of the Jerusalem Church, the first of the Apostles to be martyred infidelity to Jesus. And then there is Peter, who would have to undergo The Crucible of suffering in his weakness, betraying Jesus to his face, and then in the agony he endured to understand how frail and sinful he was, and to rediscover the power of God’s mercy.

Each had a path to suffering walking in the footsteps of the Lord.

So on the first level, the answer to the question is obvious; that is the Lord took them and reminds us that we are to be encouraged in times of suffering. That He’s always there even though we may not see His glory. His glory is there, His love is there, His power is there, even in the darkest moments of our lives, even in the most profound moments of suffering. Love will conquer all things. And he is love made flesh.

And we rejoice in the encouragement. But I think there is a deeper lesson, and it all comes from the natural instinct that the apostles had: to make a tent.

Strange isn’t it? Of course they were itinerants which meant they went from city to village and town to town. And I’m sure many a time they would make a tent precisely to remain in a place for a while. And what was the instinct, the impulse for the apostles was: this is great! We could see His power because His glory, we could see it on glimpse. So let’s stay a while. Let’s build some tents for Jesus, Moses, Elijah and we’ll stay too because this is what I really want.

And what does Jesus do? His Father says He is my beloved Son and Jesus says ‘let’s get up and keep walking.’

For the temptation in life, my friends, is to shy away from the sufferings we will have to endure to be faithful to Jesus. Our temptation in discipleship is to try to find the places where life continues, to go great and stay there.

But you and I know that if you and I are going to love, we are inevitably going to have to sacrifice. We know that there are times when we will have to take ourselves. There are times when we will have to suffer, to tell the truth, to challenge people, to love them with their true good in mind; not cheap love, not love the world wants, but the love that Jesus teaches us.

You see my friends, we don’t have to look for suffering in life; it will find us if we are faithful to Christ. And in those moments we have a choice to make. Either we remain faithful and keep walking, reminded, encouraged by Jesus, is there even when we don’t see His glory. But He is there with this strength and mercy. He’s the one who wipes away our tears. He’s the one who whispers encouragement in the bitter hours of the night when there’s no one there.

Perhaps (He) actually understands how deeply we are in pain. He is there at every moment, of every time, of every day in our deepest sufferings, if those sufferings are for love. And as a disciple we can never shy away from our journey to Calvary. And when we want to build a tent and be satisfied with some other cheap form of Glory, we are making a terrible mistake.

And that is why we are in Lent. So that we might together, as sisters and brothers, walk this journey that will be one of repentance, penance, abstinence, fasting and sacrifice. Not because the Lord wants us to suffer, but the Lord wants to teach us the true meaning of love. And encouraging us in His glory reminding us that when we are at Calvary, it is not the end, it is the beginning of our victory in Him.

So my dear friends, as we meditate on the Mystery of the Transfiguration, what do you choose to do? Build a tent, or keep walking?

Good morning everyone.

Allow me to begin by asking you a question. If the Lord Jesus appeared to you today and said, ‘I would grant you one request, one desire’, what would you ask for? Another way to ask that question is to say, at this point in your life, what is your deepest desire? What is it in the heart of hearts you have, that above all else, (you) do you need, desire, want?

It may sound almost like a silly exercise, but in fact it can help us to understand the extraordinary episode in Jesus’s life when he entered into the desert and allowed the father of evil to tempt Him. And it is, in the end, all about desire.

So we can begin by asking the question, why is it that the Lord went into the desert in the first place? And the scriptures, the Evangelist tells us it was in fact to allow the devil to be there to tempt Him. But we could also surmise there is another reason that points to the deepest desire in Jesus’s heart. Because He was preparing for His public ministry and the very fact that that ministry would be public would take Jesus to many different places and towns, seeing many different people. We often hear in the scriptures, He cured and preached all day into the night and would escape to the mountains to feed His deepest desire. For in the desert alone, stark, He could fulfill that desire to be one with His Father, to enjoy the communion He has always had from the beginning of creation, from the beginning of time, before there was time. The profound love He has for His Father and His Father with Him, even in His humanity. For the deepest desire of the Lord was always to be one with His Father and He always was one with Him, desiring Him above all else.

So when the father of evil came to tempt Him, he did for Jesus what he does for us; that he takes what appears to be somewhat of a legitimate desire and twists it, precisely because he is hoping that we would forget that the one desire you and I, in the base deepest part of our lives, must nurture every day, is the same deepest desire Jesus had; which is to be one with God and to allow God to be the foundation of our lives, and to have everything else in our lives flow from that.

So the father of evil takes the legitimate desire to have food and drink, particularly after 40 days. And yet he twists it to say to Jesus ‘but use Your divine power to do it’ so it’s an illegitimate use of power. And Jesus said no, because ‘I’m one with My father’. Or when He looks at the temptation of being at the parapet and saying ‘jump off because the angels will protect you’, we know God will protect us and certainly His Son, but it’s not a right – it’s a grace.

And so when we presume it again, and a legitimate desire that the father of evil twists, when we forget that God the Father is the source of all blessings and grace He gives even before we ask.

And then of course all the kingdoms of the world, it’s ironic my friends all the kingdoms of the world will worship Jesus. He is the Master and Savior of all things. And yet the father of evil twists it so that it becomes an end in itself. And Jesus says no. Because in His heart of hearts, all of His life is offered to His Father. And all the sovereignty that is given to Him is given back to His Father.

For you see my friends, the lesson is this; if we wish to have an ordered life, if we wish to have the legitimate desires that you and I have that are good, not to be twisted into something evil. If we wish to avoid sin in all its forms, we must always go back and ask the fundamental question: what role does God play in my life? For if He is not the foundation of my life, if He’s not the prism through which we order everything else, if we don’t always start with Him and end with Him, if we are tempted to do something other than that, my friends, we are going to get into trouble. And when you examine your conscience as I examine my conscience, and when you look your sin squarely in the face in the most brutal honesty you and I can muster, the roots of every one of those sins begins by forgetting who God is, what role He plays in my life. And we forget to trust Him for all the good desires we want for ourselves, for those whom we love, and for the whole world.

Jesus never forgot it. Sadly you and I do, and that is why we have the season of Lent.

So let me ask you one last time: if Jesus appeared to you today, what would you ask? For above all else, what is your deepest desire? Jesus knew the answer to that question. Do we?

My dear sisters and brothers in the Lord,

It has become commonplace in many different ways for us to be reminded, perhaps encouraged, even challenged, to take care of our good health. For it is a blessing that my mother always told me, money cannot buy. So we’re reminded to watch what we eat, to eat good, and host some food to moderate the amount that we eat. To cut back on our sugars, not to drink too much alcohol . We’re told to rest so that we could live the blessings of this life as much as possible, for it is a gift from God.

And so it is not uncommon, I think, that we run into people who are living wonderful lives in their 80s and 90s. And at Christ the King Parish two weeks ago I had a woman come up to me in spitting health at a 105 years old.

And yet for all our best efforts, today we’re reminded of a basic truth; when you come forward, you may hear the words: remember you are dust and unto dust you shall return. For as great as the blessing is of this human life, it cannot last forever. And today the Church reminds us of that, and asks us to consider a very important point. That for all the effort we make in keeping this human life healthy and strong, to receive its benefits and to enjoy its fruits, why is it that many times we forget to invest the same energy in a life promised us that will not last a hundred years, it will last forever?

For the simple truth is, as we begin this Lenten Journey, you and I together, is that we have not taken care of that spiritual health that will one day, with God’s Grace, lead(s) us to eternal life. At times we’ve taken it for granted. At times we have actually worked against it. For each time you and I have sinned, then we are hurting that spiritual life that is destined for eternal life.

So we claim to want to be with God and act as if something else is more important. So lent is this time of honest, brutal honesty, when we look ourselves in the mirror and we admit the fact that we have all sinned, perhaps at times seriously. And we come to the Lord being reminded that we will be ash one day. And on that day, present to Him the fullness of this life. And we come to Him seeking His mercy. For there’s not a sin God will not
forgive, if only we are sorry for them.

And He will grant us the grace and power of His holy spirit so that we can continue the journey of our lives and grow in health of spirit and soul, so that when we enter the mystery of death you and I may have a life offer to Him, that He will bless with everlasting glory.

And so just as the disciplines that we observe in our earthly life to keep healthy, so too there are disciplines in the spiritual life. And so on lent we’re reminded what are they prayer each day from the heart, food for the spirit and soul. There is nobody in this Church too busy not to be able to set time aside to pray, to speak with our Lord, and more
importantly to let Him speak to us. For that is food for the spirit.

And we are reminded that in this search for spiritual health. We are too fast; fast from the things that do not matter, fast from the things that in their equivalent value we can give to those who do not have. For a journey to eternal life is not just mine, it’s ours together. And so we are also reminded that in our journey of life, and in lent in particular, you and I are to are asked to give alms, which means to make our love real for the sick, the poor, the needy, the lonely, the discouraged, the unemployed, the immigrant, the refugee; whoever in our midst is in need.

And sometimes, my dear friends, the person in greatest need is the person who is sitting across from us at our own kitchen table. These disciplines, my friends, have existed in the church from the apostles. And we’re reminded as we begin this lenten journey that they are for you and me to take seriously. For what would we have gained if we lay it led a long healthy joyful human life, joyful in terms of what the world promises us. And when we enter into the mystery of death, we will have nothing to offer the Lord. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust; those words are the last earthly words spoken over many a person, who having died, is interred and buried in the soil of this earth.

today we are reminded, my friends, on Ash Wednesday that they are not meant to be the last words you and I hear; but rather, walking the spiritual journey, asking for the forgiveness of the Lord, seeking the power and Grace of the holy spirit. Let us pray that the last words we hear in this life will be the first words we hear in eternal life, when our Lord will look into our face with love and say ‘come good and faithful servant, receive the place I have reserved for you from the foundation of the world.’

My dear friends,

Today we are asked to reflect upon perhaps what is the most challenging of all the mandates the Lord Jesus gave His disciples, and gives you and me: we ought to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. Perhaps the one question, and only question we could ask ourselves today is, how? How do you and I actually (can) love our enemies?

To say that that was shocking to the hearers of Jesus would have been an understatement. Remember, in the first reading Leviticus it says to ‘love your neighbor as yourselves’. For devout Jews that meant something very specific; that my neighbor was a fellow devout Jew, one to whom I could expect reciprocity, good rapport and friendship. And so to love your neighbor was easy.

As you know in the Good Samaritan, Jesus challenged his listeners to say, well, your neighbor is more than just someone who shares your faith or observes the law. But it is those outside the law, the samaritan. And that was hard to hear. But nonetheless it was to love someone who, presumably, wished you good.

So now Jesus takes it to the very extreme, to love those who have no interest in us, do not wish us ill, do not wish us good, but, not even ill, but hate us, wish to harm us. How do you love them?

Well perhaps the tradition of the Church can help us to understand it and answer the question. Because you know my friends, in English we use the word ‘love’. But it means many different things. In the ancient languages they use different words to describe the different aspects of what love really means.

So for example, in Greek there are three forms of Love. There is first and foremost ‘eros’. (Eros) is the love that is the passionate love that a man and a woman can have for each other. Usually the basis of marriage is that deep, abiding passionate attraction. And of course love involves emotion.

And then this ‘agape’ which is the love that God has for Him in Himself and for the world. Total, complete, self-empting and self-giving. Something we can strive for, but because of our sins in this world we will not fully achieve.

And then there’s a third love, you have heard me often speak of it. It provides the clue. In Greek it is called ‘philia’ which in English we would simply say ‘friendship’. And we all have them in our lives. Those are the individuals that we don’t have necessarily an emotional attraction to, but one we choose to walk with. We choose to do their good, we choose to open our lives to, we choose to become transparent with despite their faults and failings, for none of us are perfect. And it is in that, that the key lies.

For my friends when, we think of those who have harmed us, deeply harmed us, deeply wounded us, the emotions we feel may never fully pass away. When we think of those individuals, what the Lord is asking is not to forget what they did to us, not to condone what they did for us, but to begin by choosing to forgive them. Which means to choose to give them another opportunity, to give them another chance, and to will to give them what they need so that they will not do again what they did the first time.

To love one’s enemy is to choose to do what is good for them, no matter what that good may be.

Those of you who are parents and grandparents know what I mean because when your children misbehave, you choose to correct them because you love them, even though your children don’t like it. You’re not harming them, you’re willing their good.

So consider those who have harmed us in an analogous way. That we choose to do their good which means we may choose to give them another opportunity. When the opportunity arise, we choose to tell them the truth of how they have hurt us. We give them, by choosing the opportunity to learn the qualities that they possess, or do not possess, so that they will not repeat it again. We choose to help them when they are in need even though our heart may tell us ‘keep going’. They are choices, choices. And choices to do their good.

That, my friends, is how you and I can love our enemy and do good to those who hate us. It’s not pleasant. It’s not easy. And at times we may fail. But the truth is, it is a command of God. And we heard in Leviticus that we are called to be holy. And the fullness of holiness cannot be achieved unless we love all, including those who have harmed us and wounded us.

And so we come here, to the altar of God. Because I know I can speak for myself when I say, when I take the heart, the very words I offer to you, I find it awfully difficult at times to love those who have betrayed me. But what you and I cannot do in love, He who is Love can do in you and me. And that is why we come here, to eat His body and drink His blood, so that God can do in *us*, in our will, what you and I cannot do alone.

Allow me to conclude by offering you a challenge. It is hard to believe, is it not, that Lent begins on Wednesday? We were just chatting in the Sacristy, it seems like we were just putting away our Christmas trees and now we are at the beginning of Lent. And I am sure, my dear friends, you have much already on your mind as to what you wish to do in Lent; the things you wish to give up, and the things you wish to do. Allow me to offer you one suggestion, in this Lent, in the category of things to do.

Is there somebody in your life, and mine, who has hurt you deeply? Is there someone in your life, or mine, that we have had real difficulty forgiving? How can you and I do their good this Lent? What is it that you and I can do for them, for their good? So that they might know
that we are on the road to forgiving them. And that they have another chance. For if you’re looking for a great challenge in Lent, perhaps that is the challenge for you and me.

For those of us that are old enough to remember the Baltimore catechism and the way it worked, which is by questions and answers, almost everyone who ever did that still remembers the very first two questions that were in the Baltimore catechism.

And that is the question “who made me?” And then the answer, of course, is “God made me”.

“And why did God make you?” And the very concise answer, but important: God made me to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this life, and so as to be happy with Him in heaven.

Pretty basic, and pretty much an amazingly concise version of what we’re all about. But I want to talk a little bit about the last part of that; that idea of being happy with God in heaven.

And it’s funny that nowadays, not many people…people certainly don’t want anything bad to happen…when they die, but you know, people don’t talk about heaven that much. “I want to go to heaven” – that idea that part of what I’m doing in this life is to live in a way that will enable me to be with God forever in heaven. And I don’t know why that is, but I want to.

It’s interesting to see how people have considered what that was like over the centuries. What is it? What is it like in heaven? And we know, of course, it’s not exactly a physical place but…it’s more of a state of being. And it has to do with being with God.

And some of the things I was presented with (as) a kid I must admit, I was told “well…when you die…and if you’re good and you go to heaven. You’re going to get to look at God forever.”

That, I must admit, I mean I want to be with God, but the idea of just looking at Him for all time didn’t exactly make me wild with anticipation.

In fact, I remember somebody telling me a story about when he was taught about…limbo in heaven and trying to explain limbo, the place where tradition said unbaptized babies…when his sister told him, “you know, limbo is a place of natural happiness, so when you’re there, you know, you’re not with God but…you know, you can run around and play and have a good time, and there’s good things to eat…” And he says, “but when you (if you) go to heaven you have supernatural happiness, which means you get to look at God all day.”

When he went home and he’s talking to his mother about what he learned, he said “I want to go to limbo when I die.” And that was because his idea had sounded much more attractive; to be having a good time (rather) than just staring at God. But…you know, we’ve seen things in film, and of course Dante famously wrote a whole part of his Divine Comedy about what heaven was like, but I think that all of that, you know, thinking “what is it going to be like?” Will it be kind of like this world, with all the stuff that’s bad missing? Will we be able to be with those we love? That’s (what) a lot of the scriptures seem to say.

Many of the images that are given for that time have to do with feasting. Isaiah says talks about rich food and choice wines. He even says “rich, juicy food”…that’s what we’ll share. This idea of a banquet, a party, and enjoying the love, and the love and care of all those around us. And you know, there have been some really dramatic versions that we see in film. That, you know, big beautiful waterfalls and gorgeous sunsets all the time.

But I would like to point out that Saint Paul has something to say about it. And what he says is actually quoting a part of Isaiah. He says “what eye has not seen, what ear has not heard, and what has not entered into the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

What is Saint Paul saying? He’s saying, the best possible you can imagine about what it’s going to be like. You can spend a lot of time and come up with the most amazing place that you could possibly imagine. Saint Paul’s saying “not even close”. Not even close at all, the idea. And what an incredible thing for us to believe.

And what…helps us live the life as we live it, that idea that God…loves us so much that He’s prepared for us something we can’t even begin to grasp, because He’s so infinite and we’re so limited.

So I think we all…are here because we want to go to heaven too, and as we live our lives, we need to keep in mind what God intends for us; that life with Him forever maybe not staring at Him for all eternity, but sharing His love with Him and all those we love. That is something that we long for. But it means that we have to look at the way we live our lives. Because in a sense, our lives are rehearsal for that we need to (do) if we really, truly want to be with God forever in heaven. We have to know Him, love Him, and serve Him.