The 'appalling strangeness' of God (Sunday homily)

 The Book of Wisdom is unfamiliar to most of us. 

But let’s not be afraid of the deep end of the pool; let’s dive in!

This first reading comes from a section 

where the sacred author reflects on God leading his people out of Egypt. 

He contrasts the true God with the fake gods of Egypt 

and, more broadly, with the gods of the nations. 

What struck him about those pagan gods 

was that none of them had care of everything. 

Each had his or her own “portfolio.”

But Israel’s God has no rivals, no competition, no need to “win” or prove himself. 

He alone has care of all.

That leads to the truly startling thing the Book of Wisdom shows us;

that God does not think or act the way we expect him to. 

As the novelist Graham Greene put it, 

we cannot conceive “the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God.”

What is so appalling and strange? 

God isn’t overly interested in retribution or balancing the books.

He is all about conversion. He wants us changed, healed and made new.

Many of us imagine sin like a traffic stop. 

You’re speeding, the officer pulls you over, you show your license, 

accept the ticket and pay the fine. Done. 

A lot of people picture confession the same way: 

break a rule, say the penance, pay the fine, and you’re square.

That misses the point entirely.

The real problem with sin isn’t just that we broke a rule. Sin is corruption. 

Think of a car you love that starts to rust. At first, it’s just a spot or two. 

You can hide it. But rust spreads. It eats away at what is sound. 

Eventually, the car becomes unsalvageable.

Sin does the same to our human nature. 

It starts small, we ignore it, and it spreads—

corrupting desires, relationships, our whole life. 

When something is ruined by rust or wear, we throw it away. 

When people ruin themselves, we often do the same. 

But God refuses to do that. 

And at times his approach feels downright offensive to us.

People mock the Catholic faith: “Someone can live a terrible life 

and at the last minute say sorry, go to confession, or get baptized, 

and it’s all wiped away?” 

Yes, it’s true—because God’s mercy is that deep, that wide, that total. 

But what they miss is that forgiveness without conversion is meaningless. 

It is more than canceling a debt. God makes us new.

This is a big reason why God lets the wheat and the weeds grow side-by-side. 

Weeds don’t turn into wheat on our farms, 

but in the field of God’s mercy, hearts do change.

Conversion is rarely instantaneous or painless. 

It is the frustration of hearing “No” to what is wrecking us —

“No” to the cravings, the grudges, the selfishness — 

so we can say a wider, freer “Yes” to life. 

It’s the reverse path from corruption. 

Cleaning rust takes elbow grease or a powerful solvent. 

Getting back in shape after years of neglect is hard work. 

The same is true for the soul.

Even those deathbed conversions that people scoff at 

involve a mystery we cannot see. 

I cannot imagine, nor can you, what a soul must undergo 

to be made ready for heaven after a lifetime of resistance. 

That is part of why we speak of purgatory: 

the purging of what is corrupt so we can enter glory whole and holy.

It would be easier if we could just pay a fine. But God is not a bored bureaucrat. 

He is the Father who created you for a glory we cannot begin to imagine. 

He is the Son who went to the Cross to pay the debt once and for all. 

He is the Holy Spirit—the universal solvent—

who will undo the rust in our lives if we let him

Conversion usually begins with a moment of surrender, 

but then it continues: a choice, followed by a thousand more. 

Maybe dare to ask the Holy Spirit to show you one spot of rust—

and with his help, make a plan to begin cleaning it.

About Saint Henry (Sunday homily)

 Our air conditioning has been revived 

but is very tenuous so I will be brief.

This weekend we remember the patron of this church, St. Henry.

It doesn’t seem that many politicians have been recognized as saints.

You and I can speculate about why! 

So, when one makes it, we should take note.

One point that is hard to appreciate about Henry 

has to do with his involvement as emperor in the Church. 

He worked passionately to clean up immoral behavior 

in monasteries and slap down clerics who traded sacraments for money. 

He supported more beautiful celebration of the sacred liturgy.

Yet as Americans, the very last thing we want 

is a politician using government power to shape the Church! 

Instead, we apply the lesson by taking up this call ourselves. 

Through baptism, each of us shares 

in the dignity of Christ as priest, prophet, and king.

One great strength of the Church in our country 

is the activism of lay Catholics, being well informed about our Faith, 

and being engaged with decision-making.

For example, Archbishop Casey is inviting every Catholic 

to participate in an upcoming archdiocesan synod. 

This week you can sign up online, just google “Synod 2027 Cincinnati.”

Another way the grace of baptism is powerfully at work

is lay Catholics embracing evangelization 

as their personal task, not just for the priest.

Think about what God told Isaiah just now, 

and what the Son of God told us: 

The ordinary deeds of generosity and justice – 

which all of us can offer – bring the glory of God into our world.

Jesus did not say, you are a light to your neighbor but to the world. 

Yet: that light illuminates the world, one neighbor at a time.

There is another detail from Henry’s life that shines like a supernova 

across the 1,000 years that separate us from him. 

Henry and his queen, Cunigunde, were unable to have a child. 

Most rulers would rid themselves of their spouses in this situation, 

no matter the damage caused. 

Henry remained faithful to her, and by all accounts, 

they were a partnership. 

In the city of Bamberg, there is a massive cathedral which he built. 

I’ve been there. But what I recall most powerfully 

wasn’t the impressive architecture, but the two graves, 

of Henry and Cunigunde, side by side.

It is fun to imagine being an astronaut or a king; 

to do valiant deeds that change the world. 

And perhaps you will ride a rocket and be the first president of Mars!

But in any case, the moments that matter come in small choices, 

out of everyone’s sight but God’s. 

It recalls a well known quote, attributed to many: 

“Sow a deed, reap a habit; sow a habit, 

reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

Saint Henry & Saint Cunigunde: pray for us!

Be little -- like God (Sunday homily)

Last week, we heard our Lord Jesus speaking to – and about – 

his Twelve Apostles before sending them out, for the first time, 

to be ambassadors of his Kingdom.

In between the reading for last week, and what we hear today, 

The Lord praises John the Baptist, 

who is entirely open to the Holy Spirit, 

while then speaking very severely about several towns he visited, 

because they hardened their hearts to his presence.

And that brings us to today, 

where Jesus contrasts those that are wise and learned, 

and “little ones.” 

Last week, it was the Apostles who were “little ones.” 

Now, he is inviting everyone to be a “little one.” 

Then, we have something stunning. 

And I want to slow down here, to bid you slow down and notice this. 

When Jesus says of himself, “I am meek and humble of heart,” 

realize who is saying this. 

The Second Person of the Trinity – 

all powerful God who created all things – 

is saying: “I am meek and humble of heart.”

God is “meek and humble of heart”! 

I’m going to be silent for a bit so you can dwell on that for a moment. 

(Long pause.)

When God says this of himself, 

what does that fact change for how we, his creatures, operate? 

If God can say this, who of us would hold back?

What kind of conversion does this demand of each of us?

So, as we know, this is our nation’s 250th birthday! What a moment!

No nation in history ever created itself in the way we did.

Our nation is founded, as much as anything, on an idea:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, 

that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator 

with certain unalienable rights, 

that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Against all odds, we won our independence.

We began as a fragile, uncertain republic. We were a “little one.”

Today, we are the biggest of the big.

No nation has been so blessed with prosperity, technology and liberty. 

None has ever been as powerful as we are.

In light of today’s Gospel, that is a spiritually perilous place to be!

Because our nation is governed by “we the people,”

Then we the Catholics have a grave duty to be witnesses.

To be prophets. To be prayer warriors. 

Let me add, just as our nation enjoys such astounding advantages,

So too do we as Catholics in this country.

When our nation was founded, 

our religious holidays were illegal in some colonies 

and we were barred from public office in others.

Today, we have Catholics in the highest offices.

For heaven’s sake, a fellow American is our pope!

So, these successes can tempt us to be complacent.

We have so much richness in our tradition that if we aren’t careful, 

we can be smug, or seem like know-it-alls.

Let’s go back to the astounding thing God said of himself: 

“I am meek and humble of heart.”

As witnesses sent by him to repeat his words: “Come to me,”

Our hearts must likewise be humble and meek.

That transformation happens through our own ongoing conversion.

There is no better spiritual medicine, to change our hearts, 

than the sacrament of confession.

A powerful prayer to begin each day is the Morning Offering.

Taking time each day to ask help – from God and others – 

exercises our humility.

One day, each of us will come face-to-face with Jesus, our Lord.

He showed us what his heart looks like.

Do we not long to show him a heart that looks like his?

Of course we do! 

But if that seems too overwhelming, hear again what Jesus also said: 

“Come to me…take my yoke…I’ll give you rest.”

Jesus is ready to do this work with us, through us.

He asks you and me to surrender our hearts to him, to become like his.

The surprising littleness of the Kingdom (Sunday homily)

 You may be surprised to learn who Jesus is referring to when he says, “these little ones.” 

He’s talking about his apostles!

Yet that fits everything else Jesus taught them. 

Recall that when the disciples asked who was the greatest,

the Lord put a child in their midst and said, 

“Unless you become like children, 

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Another time he told them, 

“If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

And then there’s the Last Supper. 

It is very likely that Peter — the one Jesus named as their leader — 

was seated at the far end of the table, where the servant sat. 

That same night, the Lord of the universe 

wrapped a towel around his waist and washed their feet. 

The Suffering Servant of Isaiah became their servant.

This is how Jesus’ kingdom works. 

We can imagine the apostles being startled — even offended — by it.

In calling them “little ones,” Jesus conveys two important realities. 

First, lowly status in the eyes of the world. 

Second, radical dependence on God. 

As children, you and I strain each day to become less dependent:

“I can do it myself!” 

Later in life, we learn humility on the installment plan 

as we slowly become more dependent again.

So, how does this apply to us?

It means our bishops, the successors of the apostles, 

are called to be shepherds who smell like their sheep, 

as Pope Francis said. 

There was a time when bishops were treated like princes. 

That honor was meant to point to Christ the King, 

but it also fed arrogance. 

We’ve tried to move away from that. 

When St. John the Baptist Church burned down in Mercer County, 

Archbishop Casey was in Maria Stein that next Sunday. 

The same lesson applies to priests. 

We receive a lot of deference — sometimes in unhealthy ways. 

No normal person likes being told, “that’s a bad idea!”

But it’s important that pastors have folks around them to do that. 

Our finance committee, school committee and pastoral council, 

our staff, our priests and deacons, provide that help. I’m glad they do. 

Even better is that we have so many people in our parish

who aren’t just naysayers, but problem-solvers. 

This truth reaches far beyond the clergy. 

It is a powerful thing when parents – or anyone in authority – 

is prepared to say, 

“I was wrong. I showed anger, I wasn’t patient. Please forgive me.” 

In fact, that boils down to six of the most powerful words 

any of us can speak: six words that – it is not an exaggeration to say – 

can change the world. Those six words are: “I was wrong. I am sorry.” 

Then, add two more: “Help me.”

There are a lot of employers who need to say these words 

to their coworkers. Husbands and wives, to each other. 

Jesus never had to say, “I was wrong.” He never sinned. 

And yet the eternal Son of God became a baby in a stable, 

dependent on others for food, warmth, and shelter. 

The Lord stood mute when, through Pilate, 

his creatures put him on trial, convicted and executed him. 

Not for any crime of his, but for the sins – and the reconciliation – 

of the world.

Our God who needs nothing still says to us, 

“Come to me… I thirst… Help me carry this cross.”

The Apostles may have been irked that Jesus called them “little ones.” 

They would each, in turn, be embarrassed 

when they experienced their own weaknesses. 

They became giants as they yielded to the truth 

of Paul’s words in their lives: 

it isn’t me, but Christ in me, that is powerful!

How about you? Maybe you think, I don’t need this pep-talk. 

This is for someone else. Hmm. Maybe.

Or, perhaps you think, no, I really am helpless, 

And God should call someone else! Maybe.

The thread of grace (11th OT Sunday homily)

 If you are wondering what thread binds all these readings together, 

I will tell you what I see. That thread is grace.

What is grace? Here’s a short answer:

Grace is God’s love and life, acting in our lives, to make us like God.

First God nudges and prompts us, and even blocks our way, 

all to steer us away from spiritual danger and toward life.

Those helps, nudges, prompts – which can come in our conscience, 

or from our guardian angel, or from other people – 

comprise what we call “actual grace.” 

What we also call grace is that infusion of God’s own life into our lives.

That is “sanctifying grace,” because it makes us holy. 

This grace forgives us and changes us to become heavenly.

To become like God. To be united to God!

Jesus gave us the sacraments as certain sources of sanctifying grace.

He chose and transformed the Apostles to bring the sacraments, 

to give us visible, tangible assurance of his grace.

Here’s an analogy.

A friend looks at you says, “You don’t look well. 

You need to go to the doctor.”

So, you go to the doctor, she says “Yes, you are very sick”;

but she gives you medicine, and you get better.

The friend’s nudge was actual grace;

what the doctor gives – to heal you – is sanctifying grace.

Although sorting grace in this way is helpful, 

ultimately grace boils down to one reality: 

God, who is mercy and life; who is holy, who is love.

As you and I encounter God, either we are drawn in, 

and transformed, into God – this we call purgatory and heaven –

Or else we resist and reject his life.

It is sobering to realize, that if we isolate ourselves from God,

the word for that self-chosen isolation? Is hell.

Notice what God told the people in the first reading:

I carried you. And what Paul said: that we were “helpless.”

And what Jesus said: what you receive, you received “without cost.”

So here are two key points I urge you to reflect on deeply. 

First: Grace – God’s love, God’s mercy – is all a GIFT.

No one earns heaven; no one pays for his or her sins.

It is not necessary; it is not possible.

The only response that is possible is to accept God’s love, 

and be transformed into love! Or else, to refuse it.

The idea that you or I could offer any “payment”

is equal parts offensive and laughable.

Second point: God’s grace always is ahead of you.

You may think it was your idea to turn back to God, to put things right; 

but in fact, it was God’s idea first. 

His grace nudges you; supports you, draws you, 

assists you all the way to the destination, which is Himself.

The only thing you and I can contribute is “yes.”

Once given, that “yes” becomes something astonishing.

Think of our Blessed Mother: what came from her simple “yes.”

This is the mystery of it all: 

Even the breath to speak that yes is itself God’s grace!

But it is still ours, enabled by him to be freely given.

If it sounds like I’m saying that it is all God, and none of ourselves, 

I am not quite saying that. This is the jaw-dropper:

A finite creature – us – 

is drawn up into the Infinite Love of God. 

We are both overwhelmed, and by that overwhelming, 

at last we become truly human.

The one right and necessary response is openness and gratitude. 

Because of our own narrowness, these are lifetime tasks.

This is the rationale to prayer, penance, acts of self-denial,

Mass each Sunday, and regular confession.

It’s not about paying God or impressing him – good luck!

No! These are time-tested tools to help us cooperate with God.

When I was a boy, my parents provided everything for me.

But like all the rest of us, at times my father and mother said,

Get off the couch, come help.

My “help” wasn’t that much help; sometimes it was a distraction.

But my folks knew that my response and participation

was going to help me become less selfish, more generous – more human.

Has it occurred to you what is happening right now?

By God’s grace you are here. Right now he is giving you life.  

Receive it without cost—so that you may share it without cost. 

Like the Apostles, you and I are sent.

Not as experts with all the answers, 

but as people so full of wonder that others cannot help but ask: 

“What happened to you?”

Three Words for Corpus Christi (Sunday homily)

 Pope Francis often created a homily 

around three words from the readings; 

that’s what I am going to do today.

The three words are “Remember,” “Participation” and “True.”

Let’s start with Moses telling God’s People to “remember.” 

“Remember how God directed your journey,” he said.

That was the point of the Passover, with the sacrificed lamb: 

to remember God’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt.

But for Moses and the people, 

that remembering didn’t just involve a thought process. 

By sharing the sacrificial meal together, 

they went back in time in a sense, truly reliving the saving events.

And that is what happens in Holy Mass. 

You and I are, in a real sense, present at Calvary.

Present at the empty tomb. 

Present at the eternal supper of the Lamb.

Even though those are events either in the past, or ahead of us,

Nevertheless, God makes all these things present:

That’s what “remembering” means to God;

Because, realize, there is no past or future for God;

He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Now let’s add in St. Paul’s word: “participation.”

A lot of people misunderstand what it means to “participate” in Mass.

While it’s good to give the responses, or to sing, 

or perhaps to help as a reader or usher 

or some other role at Mass,

these are not the primary way you or I “participate” in Mass.

So, someone might say, the Mass is in Spanish, so I can’t participate.

I can’t see, or I can’t hear, so I can’t participate.

These are legitimate concerns, but stop and think:

Do we really mean to say that folks with bad eyesight, 

or bad hearing, are unable to “participate”? 

That can’t be the right answer.

No, even if you don’t understand the language, you still participate.

The fundamental way we participate is by our intention:

We join our prayers and faith with those of God’s People, 

and above all, with Jesus himself, who is the true priest,

who really is the one offering the Mass.

Sometimes people won’t bring their children to Mass, saying, 

“Oh, they’re too young to get anything out of it.”

My answer is: What about grace? They get grace! Isn’t that the key?

We don’t come to Mass to get a bulletin or a homily or — 

sorry to shock you — even to get Holy Communion.

You and I are drawn here to be united with Jesus in his suffering, death, and resurrection. 

That’s the heart of what we come to “do” and what we come to “get.”

Of course, Holy Communion is the most profound gift — 

the summit of that union.

But if we reduce participation in the Mass to doing certain things, 

or to a certain level of understanding, 

or even simply to receiving Communion, 

we are missing the deeper reality.

The central reason we are here is because Jesus chooses — 

in the Mass — to offer himself in the fullest possible way. 

Yes, most of the Apostles weren’t at the Cross — only John was — 

but they should have been! Mary was there!

And let me explain that the reason 

some people shouldn’t receive the Eucharist is not about “worthiness” – 

because no one is ever worthy – but about “readiness.”

Not everyone is ready for that most intimate form of participation.

Some are too young – First Communion comes usually in second grade.

Some are wrestling with mortal sins and need confession.

Still others haven’t decided what they believe;

Or whether they really want to commit themselves.

Because we all agree that Holy Communion is supremely important,

Then, being ready in all these ways seems obvious.

Now let’s look at the third word, from the Gospel: “True.”

Jesus – who is the Truth – tells us, 

“My Body is true food. My blood is true drink.”

Through history, divisions have sadly arisen among Christians, 

As a result, we don’t all share the same understanding.

We Catholics must bear witness to what Jesus himself says:

Holy Communion isn’t bread and wine, it isn’t merely a symbol.

The Mass truly is a sacrifice, of Jesus’ true Body and Blood.

You and I cannot be smug or superior.

Yet: this Gift of the True Sacrifice and True Presence is here!

Ask the Holy Spirit for words of grace and love, to tell others!

Invite people to come and pray in our church.

Explain: that’s the altar; that’s the tabernacle. 

Welcome people to discover Jesus in our midst.