4th Sunday of Easter
After healing a crippled man in the name of Jesus Christ, Peter says to the leaders and the people in our 1st reading, speaking of Jesus Christ, “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.” That’s a bold statement! Could it possibly be true?! Because if it is, then it also has some very large repercussions that modern society will not want to hear…
Easter Sunday
Our faith is not primarily a set of rules and obligations, nor is it a moral code. Our faith is not a collection of beliefs for a good life or that help us merit heaven. Our faith is in a person – Jesus Christ! – and the relationship He offers to us! Without that relationship, all we’re left with is a bunch of rules and obligations that don’t seem to connect or make sense. In light of that relationship, everything begins to fall into place and make perfect sense because it’s all in light of growing in a relationship with Him! God is relationship (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), and God in Jesus Christ invites us into this relationship. So how do you see our faith? How do you experience the expectations of our faith? Do you see it as about something or some things…or do you see it as about SomeONE?!
Ascension Sunday
This weekend we celebrate Jesus’ Ascension into heaven – that after rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples for a number of days, Jesus ascends to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. The ascension is not just a one-and-done event of history, though: creation is called to follow where its Master has gone before. The ascension is still happening – heaven is waiting for it to be complete in three distinct ways! Can you name them?
5th Sunday of Easter
Every Christian, by their baptism, is anointed priest, prophet and king. Peter challenges us this weekend to that first anointing: “be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God.” There is the ordained priesthood by which priests in the Church offer to God the sacrifice of Christ and offer to God’s people the sacraments, but there is also the priesthood of the baptized by which every Christian, in Jesus, is called to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. Every day we can offer these spiritual sacrifices, and at Mass we have the opportunity to collect them all from that past week – our thoughts, words, prayers, actions, and intentions…even our anxieties, worries, concerns, hopes, and dreams – and place them on that altar as our sacrifice to God in the power of our baptismal priesthood! And like He does with the bread and the wine, He can take what we offer to Him and transform those sacrifices into something even greater.
Note: At the beginning of the COVID-19 response when public Masses were cancelled I was recording and posting the homilies of my Deacons on this podcast as well to help everyone stay connected with the weekend homily. Now that we are live streaming weekend Masses and you can both hear and see our deacons preach right on our website (www.stjoseph-hayward.org), I will no longer be posting the audio of my Deacons’ homilies on this podcast.
3rd Sunday of Easter
On the road to Emmaus Jesus walks up alongside two of his disciples, though He’s not recognized for who He is but thought to be a stranger. This Stranger begins to unpack for them the Scriptures and how they foretell and prefigure the Christ. The hearts of these two disciples are set on fire as Jesus teaches them, though they don’t fully realize it in the moment. It’s only at the end of the day, in the breaking of the bread, that they recognize Who was with them, and then Jesus vanishes from their sight. Take a walk on the road to Emmaus, let Jesus draw close, even if you don’t recognize Him at first, let Him teach you about the Scriptures and Himself, let Him set your heart on fire!
Pentecost Sunday
The coming of the Holy Spirit CHANGED the first followers of Jesus. We received the Holy Spirit in baptism, we were sealed by the Holy Spirit in Confirmation, we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus at every Mass…but how much are we CHANGED by these experiences? Do you ever long for more in your faith but just don’t know why you aren’t getting it? If that’s ever been you, listen to this homily, and most importantly – remember to breathe (spiritually)!
Ascension Sunday
In the new parishes I am serving – St. Joseph in Hayward and St. Ann in Cable – we have three gifted deacons. It is the custom in this cluster that the deacons preach every 1st and 3rd weekend of the month. As a result, I will be preaching less often. Lucky for you, I have homilies from previous years that I will continue to share ; ). This is last year’s homily from Ascension Sunday: (Enjoy!)
6th Sunday of Easter
Have you ever heard one Christian teach one thing about Jesus, and then heard shortly thereafter another Christian teaching the opposite? Who’s right? How do we find out the truth? In our first reading we see where the first followers of Jesus turned to find the truth in the midst of disagreements and controversies over what they should believe…and where they turned then is still where we as Catholics turn now!
5th Sunday of Easter
The resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead turned everything we thought we knew completely upside down! God showed that He has the power to bring good out of anything…even evil, and even the difficult and painful moments of our lives. This weekend I celebrated my final weekend of Masses in the Superior area. I have been asked to assist in covering the Masses in the Hayward and Cable Catholic Churches effective immediately. Thank you for welcoming me so warmly into your hearts and lives. Though this time of change and transition will be difficult, I know that God has the power to bring good out of all things. Please welcome whatever priest comes to this area next with the same warmth and love as you did me, and he will be one lucky priest!
4th Sunday of Easter
Jesus says today in our Gospel, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.” What does God’s voice sound like in your life? What happens when you follow it? What do we and others miss out on when we don’t? Often God’s voice/invitation doesn’t give us the whole story or plan He has, just the next step in the process…so we can easily dismiss those thoughts, that voice, because it might not seem, from our perspective, to make sense in that moment. But I challenge you this week: listen for that voice, and the next time you hear it (even if it doesn’t seem to make sense or takes you out of your comfort zone), follow it! God has something special in store!