Holy Communion brings us to the New Creation (Sunday homily)

 A few moments ago, we heard a reading

in which John tells us he saw “a new heavens and a new earth.”

Our world is beautiful!

Every day, as spring unfolds, it’s more marvelous.

Think of all his wonders to behold:

rivers and meadows, waterfalls and canyons,

snow-caps and rain forests, deserts and oceans—

Think of all the forms of life that fill the earth.

When night falls, look up and behold

the spangled sky, littered with gaudy extravagance.

Imagine what wonders fill the countless galaxies!

You fall asleep, dreaming of them!

What a world—why make a new one?

Because it is damaged.

I left out one part of God’s Creation: US!

Human beings have not only the greatest potential—

but we can also do the greatest damage.

So, you and I are the ones who need to be made new;

and a new us means a new heavens and a new earth.

What might that be like?

Well, imagine we could somehow extract from this world,

all the envy, and greed, and pride…

all the anger and apathy and selfishness?

That would be a “new heavens and a new earth”!

That and more is what John saw.

So: how do we get there?

Today you and I celebrate the Lord rising from the dead,

same as every Sunday, but especially in Easter Season.

Ah, but there’s something special today!

Many fellow believers here

will receive the Eucharist for the first time!

So I just asked: how do we get to the new Creation?

The Eucharist is how we get there.

Jesus told us many things.

He said, “I am the Bread of Life”;

He said, “my flesh and my blood are truly food and drink.”

In a few minutes, at this altar,

you’ll hear him say, through me,

“This is my Body” and “This is the Chalice of my Blood.”

So, all that points to the Eucharist we share.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus spoke of “glory”:

The Father gives glory to the Son;

and the Son shares his glory with us.

That happens through the Eucharist.

Boys and girls, I know that your teachers and parents

have taught you many things about the Eucharist.

We believe that we’re together

with Jesus, Mary, the saints and angels—

all heaven and earth, right here in the Mass!

You and I know that we don’t come to receive the Eucharist,

unless we have faith, unless we turn from our sins,

and unless we are ready to live as part of His Church,

the New People, his chosen Bride.

So, the Eucharist is not a gift just for us:

this isn’t a “look at me, I’m special,” day.

Instead, this is a day Jesus chooses us in a new way,

to be givers and sharers of his life, with others.

All this is how we become his new creation.

We might wish for a “one-and-done” process to holiness.

But that isn’t how it works.

You were baptized as babies;

then you had to grow up some, before this day.

And far more lies ahead for you.

God wants us to grow into that new Creation.

And that’s the same for everyone here.

Yes, including grandma and grandpa.

Each of us needs to keep growing in holiness.

Let me tell you a secret…

The communion that matters the most,

isn’t the first…but the last one!

Remember I said, this Creation is wonderful—

but a new one is coming, far better?

This first communion is wonderful;

but the last one—the one that takes us from this world to the next – 

that’s the one to get excited about:

because that communion will never end!

Grownups, maybe you’re looking back

on your first communion.

But don’t look back, look forward—

to your next one, and to that last one!

And, if it’s been a while, do as these young people did:

go to confession, and make another “first” communion,

back on your way to that forever communion!

Boys and girls, I just want to end by saying “Thank you!”

Your eagerness, your joy, is a powerful example for everyone here.

I said a moment ago Jesus wants you to share

the new life he gives you in the Eucharist.

And already, you are witnesses to that 

by your joy and faith and reverence today. Thank you!

Helping others join the 'great multitude' (Sunday homily)

 On Thursday, you and I received the news: a new pope, Pope Leo XIV.

You and I can only imagine 

the sense of responsibility Pope Leo must feel. 

It may have taken a few hours or even a few days for it to sink in.

The most important response you and I can give, 

beyond our gratitude for having a shepherd, 

is to give him our best help.

Here’s how you and I can help Pope Leo:

First: pray for him!

Second: don’t impose unfair expectations on him. 

Namely, he’s not Pope Francis, 

nor is he Pope Benedict or Pope John Paul.

Third, remember that he is a human being, the same as you and I.

What we believe is that God gives the bishops – 

and the pope in particular – 

help to avoid running the Church “into the ditch,” as it were.

That doesn’t mean the pope is given divine illumination.

Nor does it promise that every decision he may make will be perfect.

We believe that the Holy Spirit protects the bishops, 

in their shared teaching office, from teaching error. 

That is what “infallibility” means, 

and it applies to the bishops when they act together, 

and when the pope acts as our chief pastor.

Today, you and I are also celebrating a special day 

for several of our children, 

who are receiving their first Holy Communion.

Children, maybe you noticed the curious words in the second reading: 

the Apostle John said he saw “a great multitude,

which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.”

Think of how vast a crowd that must be! As far as the eye can see!

This is a promise of what Jesus will do to bring people to heaven.

But here’s something each of us needs to recognize:

Jesus chooses to do this, not all on his own, as he might, 

But rather, to do this through you and me.

He gathers this “great multitude” through his Church. That’s us.

It is your job and mine to tell people about Jesus.

To give everyone a welcome to know Jesus better.

To show in our daily lives, the difference Jesus makes.

Now, this is a good time to recall the first reading:

Paul and Barnabas and other Christians – 

when they did what I just described, in telling others about Jesus – 

did you notice what happened? 

They were insulted and beaten up.

Eventually, Paul and Barnabas and others were killed 

because they were faithful to Jesus!

You and I must not kid ourselves 

or mislead others about the cost of being a disciple of Jesus.

To say yes to Jesus is to say no to other things in life:

It may mean we don’t end up with as much money or stuff;

We may have to give up some fun things on the weekend, 

so we can attend Holy Mass.

Most of the time, the choice to be faithful involves small decisions, day-by-day, 

that maybe no one but God will know about.

It can seem easy to say “yes” one time to Jesus.

Where it gets harder is to keep saying “yes,” day by day by day.

This is why Jesus gave you and me the sacraments, in particular, 

the sacrament of confession, 

where we return to him after we lose our way;

and the Most Holy Eucharist, 

where we are united to him as fully as is possible in this world.

Remember: the Holy Eucharist isn’t just a symbol.

Holy Communion is union with Jesus himself.

He gives his Body and Blood – ALL of himself – to you and me.

He does this so that you and I can be able to make him real to others. 

To be faithful. To be strong. To remember who we are.

I can only imagine the first time Pope Leo offered Mass, 

after becoming our shepherd, 

he focused on how much more strength and courage and help 

he needed from Jesus. To be a witness.

You and I may not be pope. But we need that same help.

Today, second graders, you say yes to Jesus in a new way.

The rest of us are helped by your example: to consider our own “yes.”

Please, children, show us: not just a “yes” today, but every day,

Until one day, you help the rest of us join that great multitude!

Why are they eating all the time in the Gospels? (Sunday homily)

 If you look at the Gospels, 

Jesus spent a lot of time eating with people and feeding them.

Did you ever wonder why that is?

To prepare a meal for another person,

to invite someone to a meal, and to accept that invitation, 

are powerful signs of welcome and love. 

And turn it around: what would it mean to say, 

“NO! I will NOT eat with you!”?

So the reason there’s so much eating in the Gospels?

Because Jesus wants us to know: he likes being with us!

He wants to feed us! He loves us.

So notice what Jesus put at the center of the life of the Church:

The Holy Mass, where he gives us, 

not just ordinary food, but his own, precious, Body and Blood! 

The best of foods! The best of meals!

Many of us have family or friends 

who belong to other Christian traditions, and for them, 

Holy Communion, or the Lord’s Supper as some call it,

Is only a sign, or only a reminder.

They believe that the bread and wine never become anything else.

That’s not what we believe as Catholics, together.

However, some individual Catholics actually think that way.

They say, well, it looks like bread, it tastes like wine,

So that’s all it is, and I don’t believe there’s any miracle.

But then, there were people who met Jesus, and said,

He looks like he’s only a human being, 

So I don’t believe he’s also the Lord our God!

People don’t ever say these things to me, but if they did, 

here’s what I would want to say back to them:

And, 2nd graders, these questions I’m going to pose are only for reflection, 

you don’t have to raise your hands!

But: I would ask people who doubt the Eucharist:

Do you believe that you need to be saved?  

Do you need God to rescue you from what sin does?

Do you need God to forgive your sins and change you, 

to keep you from hell and bring you to heaven? 

Now, some people, if they were very candid, would admit:

No, I don’t need God to do those things. 

I’m doing just fine.

And if that’s what you believe, then Jesus makes no sense.

Baptism, confession, all the sacraments make no sense.

Above all, the Mass and the Eucharist just aren’t very important.

So bread, wine, body, blood, whatever? Who cares?

On the other hand, if you look in your heart, and see:

I’m not just fine on my own. I do wrong things, 

And if it weren’t for God helping me, I’d end up in a terrible state!

Then it makes all the difference whether Jesus gives you a cracker, 

or he gives you his own Body, his own Blood! 

His own divinity and soul and self!

 

If you believe this, if you believe 

Jesus really is making this happen at Holy Mass –

and that is our Catholic faith – 

then isn’t it obvious why we come Sunday after Sunday?

Like a lot of people, I have a pill I’m supposed to take every day.

It keeps my arteries clear. So, I take my pill.

Jesus doesn’t offer us a pill;

He offers us his very self.

Jesus says, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood.” 

And he said, “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood 

has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.”

Now, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is drawing Peter especially to a meal; 

But it’s not about fish and bread.

It’s about healing Peter’s earlier betrayal.

This episode on the beach is like going to confession:

Peter is forgiven and brought back into union with Jesus;

back to the union that is Holy Communion.

That’s what the Eucharist really is: not merely a ritual, 

but that union with Jesus that begins in this life, 

and it becomes perfect in eternity.

So why wouldn’t all Catholics want to have this Food, this Life, 

as often as they could?

Today, our second graders are making their first communion. 

I can see how much you have been looking forward to this day. 

So have your parents, and so have I!

But I want to say something I try to say each year.

It isn’t your first communion that matters the most, 

but our last communion, and all that come between.

 

That repetition is critical. Parents, you know this is true! 

You remind your kids over and over to say “please” and “thank you.”

Having to keep reminding them drives you crazy, 

but if you don’t, the habit will never take root.

So, why be surprised that Jesus knows this too?

And says, keep coming back, Sunday after Sunday?

Sad to say, lots of people make a first communion, but drift away.

So, you keep coming. Stay close to Jesus through prayer 

and especially in the sacrament of confession.

And keep coming to Mass and keep receiving Jesus’ Body and Blood.

He so wants to feed us. It’s the most important thing to him.

Don't answer too quickly (Easter homily)

Tonight’s Mass is supposed to be an ordeal. 

In the modern day, we have made it much easier.

It used to have many more readings, and would go all night.

When the faithful receive the Holy Eucharist,

particularly those doing so for the very first time, 

and the priest shows the Lord to the faithful, saying, 

“Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world; 

blessed are those called to the Supper of the Lamb”:

This would happen just before sunrise.

In other words, it coincides with the Resurrection!

So, for those who are becoming a Christian tonight,

With baptism, confirmation and the Holy Eucharist:

This night is especially for you.

For the rest of us – including those who were baptized 

in other Christian communities, 

and tonight enter into the fullness of the Catholic Faith – 

this is a re-experiencing, a rediscovery of these mysteries.

We call them mysteries, by the way, 

because the Apostle Paul and the first Christians called them that. 

The word “mystery” suggests something hidden and inaccessible; 

and that’s the point: Jesus gives us access!

The veil is torn in two; heaven is open; you and I are born again!

The other thing about a divine mystery 

is that pulling aside one veil doesn’t “solve” it. 

With God’s creation and redemption, there is always more. 

So the long vigil is meant to reinforce 

that exploring this mystery goes on, as it was in the beginning, 

is now, and ever shall be, world without end.

That is one reason why – 

although we are baptized and confirmed only once – 

you and I re-encounter these mysteries each year at this time, 

each Lord’s Day, and even every day.

In a few minutes, the deacon and I will lead you to the font.

The Easter Candle, the pillar of fire, goes before you.

Unlike pharaoh who perished in the sea, you are led safely through!

In baptism, you die: with Christ.

We all die; but this is the death you and I choose: 

with Jesus, accepting his cross and making it our own.

Every time you make the sign of the cross, 

Every time you bless yourself with holy water, you remind yourself:

I died with Christ, and through him, I will rise again!

So I want to be very clear and serious here:

this moment is a fork in the road, an ending and a beginning.

I will ask you to renounce sin and the vanities of this world.

I will ask you if you believe

in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 

and in the faith given to us through the Apostles.

Before you answer those questions, I must warn you:

to be a Christian has always been costly.

There has always been a tug-of-war 

between the kingdoms of this world, 

the kingdom of our own will, and the kingdom of Jesus.

And if no one ever told you this, I tell you now:

your choice of allegiance to Jesus Christ and his Kingdom,

which is in this world, imperfectly, in his Church:

that choice will cost you, sooner or later.

It may seem over-dramatic to speak of martyrdom; 

we’re in Ohio after all, not ancient Rome!

But martyrdom comes in a thousand small, daily, tedious choices 

long before it becomes some great climactic witness.

Probably none of us will ever stand before a guillotine; 

but every one of us faces the refrigerator, the computer, 

and the emperor that is our own will.

It isn’t a firing squad, but criticism from coworkers, friends and family, 

that cows us and shakes our resolve.

So, why should anyone profess this faith? Why should you?

On behalf of the faithful, some of whom are gathered around you, 

and on my own behalf as a Christian, I testify:

God has acted in time and history.

Jesus, the Son of God, having our same flesh,

revealed to us a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

For our salvation, he embraced the Cross. 

He truly died and rose, in his mortal body, from the dead.

He is the judge of all mankind, to whom he offers not only mercy, 

but new life, fullness of life, and union with God, 

in the resurrection and the new world to come.

Jesus, risen from the dead, is the true and faithful witness!

He drew you here and he invites you to life.

The Axis (Good Friday homily)

This day, which stands at the center of our Sacred Three Days,

Is the Day of all days.

The Cross stands at the center of time; and all Creation, all history, 

revolves around it as the earth revolves on its axis.

Thus everyone, without exception, 

must come and stand before the Cross. 

That is the meaning of the Final Judgment each human soul will face.

So it is a mercy that God has draws us here, now,

while you and I can still be changed by it.

We see the Cross, and we ask “Why?” 

Be very clear: No one made Jesus do this. 

The Father did not make his Son do this.

Before time, Father, Son and Holy Spirit knew man would sin. 

God saw it all, 

From the vanity and self-importance,

Wrath and pride, lust and greed and gluttony;

To the cruelty people visit on each other large and small,

From Cain and Abel, to Hitler and Mao,

To the crack of a whip, the prison of a slum, 

The office of an abortionist, and all the forms of our indifference.

Before anything began, God saw it all…

And He went ahead. He chose to create us.

And he chose to become one of us.

Was there no other way but the Cross? 

Of course there was. God chose this way. 

Remember, God didn’t invent the Cross; humanity did. 

Had God never become man, 

man would still have faced a cross, but now alone; 

and it would have been all death with no life.

St. Thomas Aquinas tells us the Cross was “too much”: 

“Any suffering of his, however slight, 

was enough to redeem the human race…” 

The Cross is God’s exclamation mark 

on the sheer extravagance of his mercy.

God did the maximum where the minimum 

would already have been generous!

Archbishop Fulton Sheen said this:

“I tell you that if God had not come down …

and given us the supreme example of sacrifice, 

then it would be possible for fathers and mothers, 

men and women of countless ages, 

to do something greater, it would seem, 

than God himself could not* do, namely, 

lay down their lives for a friend.”

Why the Cross? 

Consider an amazing image from our patron,

Pope Saint John Paul II:

God came to earth—so man could put God on trial—

so that man could forgive God.

Our late pope asked, "Could God have justified himself 

before human history, so full of suffering, 

without placing Christ’s Cross at the center of that history? 

"Obviously, one response could be 

that God does not need to justify himself to man. 

It is enough that he is omnipotent. 

From this perspective everything he does or allows 

must be accepted. 

"But God, who besides being Omnipotence is Wisdom 

and—to repeat once again—Love, 

desires to justify himself to mankind.

"He is not the Absolute that remains outside 

of the world, indifferent to human suffering. 

He is Emmanuel, God-with-us, 

a God who shares man’s lot 

and participates in his destiny.

"The crucified Christ is proof of God’s solidarity 

with man in his suffering."

We blame God. God does not argue. 

He comes to us; offers himself for trial. 

Pilate presides, and we are in that court as jury. 

We found him guilty; we sentenced him to death.

The price is paid. God himself atones. 

God and man are reconciled.

We see the horror of the Cross; we see the horror of human evil; 

and we wonder—can man be saved?

The Cross is our answer.

It is God saying “Yes.”

* typo fixed.

Our first Supper as a family! (Holy Thursday homily)

Mystical Supper Icon, All Saints Russian Orthodox Church, Las Vegas.

Tonight’s Mass marks something very special for our parish family.

Look: you have never seen all these priests and deacons at one Mass.

I realize that this is a change: having Holy Thursday Mass together. 

And it may take some getting used to. 

But, if you and I are truly a family, then – like every family – 

There are moments when we’re busy in different ways.

Yet on certain occasions, it is necessary that we come together as one.

Tonight is one of only two times in the whole year

when the Church insists a parish has just a single Mass together – 

the other will be two nights from now, the Vigil of Easter.

Let’s peel back the layers of what we’re doing here.

The first reading describes the Passover, 

celebrated by the Jewish People. 

The lamb was one year old and “without blemish”; 

it was obtained several days before and lived with the family.  

Why is this important? 

This points to Jesus, who became a member of the Jewish household, 

a member of the human family.

Then, with the whole assembly present, the lamb was slaughtered. 

When we come to church tomorrow, what do we recall?

Jesus is crucified with the whole assembly present.

The blood of the lamb is then spread over the doorposts.

This is protection from divine judgment. 

By the way: when you and I are baptized, 

that’s when the blood of the Lamb covers us! 

When we fall back into mortal sin, confession renews it.

And then after the lamb is sacrificed, its flesh was eaten. 

This was necessary to complete the sacrifice.

But only those who were members of the household could eat the lamb.

So, this is why only those baptized 

and who have chosen to join themselves to the household – 

that is, the Church – and who are also in a state of grace,

receive Holy Communion at Mass. 

While the lamb is central to the Passover,

Notice the accounts of Jesus’ Last Supper never mention a lamb.

Why not? Because HE is the lamb!

Instead, he takes the bread, and says, 

“this is my body, given up for you.” 

And of course, there was a cup of wine.

But did you realize there were four cups of wine.

The first was called the “cup of sanctification,” 

and the father began the meal with a prayer, over this cup, 

and the food is brought to the table.

The second was the cup of “proclamation” – 

it was prepared, but not drunk right away; 

because while the food was on the table,

the father would tell the account of what God did 

for his people who were slaves in Egypt.

By the way, when these events were “remembered,”

the understanding was that in remembering, you were present!

You were actually brought there spiritually, through the meal.

So, when Jesus tells the Apostles, “do this in memory of me,”

two things:

That reveals he made a plan for each of us to be part of his Passover.

Jesus planned for what we call Holy Mass,

and for priests to offer this sacrifice.

And second, our “remembering” here, 1,995 years later,

likewise makes you and me truly present: 

in the Upper Room, at Calvary, at the empty tomb.

It happens not because we want it; but because he wants it!

Now, back to the Passover.

After everyone ate, the father would share the third cup, 

called the “cup of blessing.” 

And Saint Paul just told us that this was the cup Jesus took up, 

and said, “This is my Blood.”

I said earlier there were four, where’s the last one?

Tomorrow, you and I will hear these words in the Gospel of John:

After this…Jesus said, “I thirst.”

There was a vessel filled with common wine….

They put a sponge soaked in wine…up to his mouth. 

When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” 

And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

So, we don’t finish this Mass tonight. No final blessing.

We do go on a procession – to a special altar – recalling the Garden.

Let me share something very special 

about how Father Manning arranged this church.

By the way, Father Jim wanted to be here 

for this first gathering tonight as a family. 

He was a huge part of the work that brought us together.

Now, notice: the window to your left shows Melchizedek and Abraham. 

That meeting foreshadows the Holy Mass, 

and it’s referenced in the Eucharistic Prayer.

Look over to your right: that shows the Apostles 

gathered with Jesus on the night before his death. This night!

There’s still another detail I want to share with you.

In Jesus’ time, when the lamb was prepared for the meal, 

in order to roast it, do you know how they did it? 

They took two skewers, made of wood. 

One was speared through the torso, from head to tail. 

The other was speared through both shoulders. A cross.

Tomorrow we will worship the Cross on which our Savior, 

our Lamb of God, was slain. 

Tonight is our Passover. It begins tonight.