Category: Homilies

Recordings of Recent Sunday Homilies

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Power and Witness to the Ends of the Earth

     I worked construction for many years in the western Aleutian Islands. One of islands was a place called Shemya. It is a small island that sits about 1800 miles west of Anchorage, at 52°43′27″N 174°07′08″E in the North Pacific. As we used to say, “It’s not the end of the world, but you can see it from there.” There is an Air Force Base with a chapel there. I used to go to Mass there every Sunday.

       I wonder if our Lord had Shemya in mind when he said that the disciples would receive power from on high and be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Perhaps, but in truth, the antipode of Jerusalem is in the middle of the South Pacific. The nearest city is Mataura in French Polynesia. That is as far away from Jerusalem as you can get on the planet. In downtown Mataura is the old parish church of Christ the King.      That is amazing, but we should not fall prey to the temptation of thinking that our work as disciples is complete. Geography is one thing. Demographics is another. As of the last study, Alaska was still one of the most unreligious places in the country. According to the 2020 Census, the population of Alaska was 733,391 in 2020. The adherent totals of all religious groups (258,020) made up only 35.2% of the total population. Of this, Catholics make up only 5.5% of the population (down from 8.7% twenty years ago.) We have work to do. 

       Thankfully, the same power from on high given to the disciples that allowed the gospel to travel to the remotest ends of the earth, is the same power given to you and to me by virtue of our baptism and confirmation. Now, however, our focus needs to shift from geography to demography and even, if I may, to spiritual physiology.   

       I have said before that the Ascension of Christ to the right hand of the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit allows Christ to be as truly and substantially present today in every time and place, as He was to the disciples in his Passion, Death and Resurrection. This is accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit through the grace of sacraments of the Church.   The difference now is that our efforts must be directed to reaching those souls and hearts which are furthest away from Christ and his Church. For us here in St. Patrick’s the focus is two-fold.  First, we must strengthen the faith and open the door of interior conversion to the people in our own parish family. Second, we need to reach out to those in 99504 who are searching for the truth and introduce them to the One who is Truth itself.

Sure we have work to do, but we do so having entered the true sanctuary and clothed with Power from on high.

And if you think about it, if your entire life is spent bringing just one other person to the Gospel, is that not a life well spent?

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Waiting and Wondering. Moving Across Town

It’s nice to live in the time of fulfillment. After 2000 years of Christian living, we know what Jesus was talking about when he promised the coming Advocate to the disciples before he went to the Father. Those in the Upper Room, however, were hearing it for the first time. How could they know or appreciate what he meant? That realization would not come until the Holy Spirit actually descended on Mary and the apostles at Pentecost. In the meantime, they had to wait and wonder about what he said.
I have always been struck by the difference between Jesus’s words to the disciples before the resurrection and his words after.
So often during his ministry he would encourage or reassure the disciples by saying, “Be not afraid!” But after the resurrection, his first words are almost invariably, “Peace be with you.” Perhaps this is because everything changes after the resurrection. The price for sin has been paid, a disordered world is set aright, and all creation is reconciled to God. Things can now be as they should be. It is the time of fulfillment which continues to unfold unto the present day.
The Christian who loves Christ and keeps his word realizes this. The Father and the Son love him and make their dwelling with him. This indwelling of the love of God, who we know as the Holy Spirit, gives a peace that the world cannot give. Rooted in the love of the Father, redeemed by Christ, and animated by the Holy Spirit, we stand in the truth in love, no matter what chaos this passing world may throw our way.
This promise of Christ to his disciples as recorded in the Gospel of John (14:23-29), is the promise of Christ that allows us to move from “Be not afraid.” to “Peace be with you.”
It is Christ’s gift to us. Let us make it our gift to the world.

MOVING TO ST. ELIZABETH’S

Yes, it is true. Effective July 1, 2025, I will be pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in south Anchorage. It’s been a good run here at St. Patrick’s, a time of growth for the parish, the people and the pastor. Lots to do before then. Let’s go do good thing for Jesus.

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We Win!!!

Perhaps one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible is the Book of Revelation (No “s”, by the way). It’s understandable given that it is a very particular type of text known as “apocalyptic literature.” It comes from the Greek word apokalysis which literally means “unveiling” as when a statue is revealed when the veil is taken away.  Colloquially, it can mean “to bring one to knowledge he could not get on his own” or simply “revelation.” Most notably, it is seen in certain parts of the Book of Daniel and in the Book of Revelation, but also in Isaiah and various parts of many of the prophetic books. It became very popular in post-exile Judaism as a way to make sense of present suffering and how the righteousness of God would reconcile all things in his divine justice, and establish lasting peace. Of course, when you are being persecuted, the last thing you  want to do is name your persecutor outright. By using highly symbolic language, it allowed the author to identify certain people, places and events without others outside the group knowing about it. Thus, Rome becomes “Babylon” and the Emperor Nero becomes “The Beast” whose name, if you translate it into Roman numerals adds up to “666.”

     Despite what Hollywood would like you to believe, the purpose of the Revelation of John as the book is rendered in English, is not to be a repository of strange and mysterious prophecies of cosmic, cataclysmic struggles, but rather it is written down by John to the churches who were being persecuted to strengthen their faith and remind them that no matter what they may have had to endure, in the end God’s mercy and God’s justice will prevail.  In short, a subtitle of the Book of Revelation could be “We Win!!!” or more specifically, “Christ wins and we who are united with Christ are victorious with him.” 

     In the five verses we see in this week’s second reading (Rev 21:1-5a), we see the revelation of a new heaven and a new earth.  The old order has passed away. Gone are sin and suffering and death. Everything, including us, is as God has intended for it to be. This is nothing to be feared. This is the fulfillment of all that we could hope for, and more than we can imagine.

     Still, we have an odd tendency to think that this is some kind of far off, distant reality. In truth, it is something that has been unfolding since Pentecost. Even now Christ is renewing the face of the earth. God’s plan of salvation is unfolding in the life of every Christian. The Kingdom of God is in our midst. 

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Good Shepherds

Wow! What a week! A new pope, born in America but really a citizen of the world, and with a really cool name. Christ continues to bless his Church. Let us keep our new chief shepherd in our prayers.

Speaking of shepherds, the 4th Sunday of Easter is always known as Good Shepherd Sunday.  It’s done so, because the gospel reading in all three cycles of the Lectionary makes some mention of Christ, the Good Shepherd.  So, I figured I would start us out with five clean sheep jokes:

  1. What do you call it when a young sheep attacks you by surprise? A lambush!
  2. What’s a sheep’s favorite car?  A Lamborghini
  3. Where did the female sheep like to watch videos? Ewe Tube
  4. Two sheep were talking about a ewe. They were trying to figure out if they’d met herbivore.
  5. What’s the optimistic sheep’s motto? All’s wool that ends wool.

Our shepherd reference in today’s gospel is pretty brief.  It’s just two lines from John 10:27: 

My sheep hear my voice

I know them and they follow me.

Let’s take the first line:  My sheep hear my voice.

Sheep are interesting creatures. Unlike goats, who are primarily food motivated.  Sheep are more highly motivated by safety and security. The are most calm when they feel most safe.

       Since they are a herd animal, they are very good at recognizing threats and benefactors. Sheep recognize the shepherd by appearance, voice and smell. 

       I’m told that a shepherd will try to be present when a new lamb is born. As soon as practical, he will hold the sheep and speak or sing to it.  In this way, his face, his voice and his smell will be imprinted in that lamb’s mind forever. In a very short time, that lamb will respond to no other person than its shepherd. 

       Fr. Scott Garrett tells a story about when he visited Iceland and watched the shepherds call their flocks out of the common sheepfold. As each shepherd when to the gate, his sheep would recognize his face, and each shepherd had a unique call.  When they heard this, all of his sheep and only his sheep would come out of the paddock. The rest simply ignored him. 

       If you think about it, a similar thing happens to us here in Church. We behold the face of Christ, we hear his voice and we recognize him as the Good Shepherd.  At baptism we are sealed by grace, imprinted so that we can recognize the voice of Christ, the Good Shepherd in a world of voices contrary to his own.  In time, we learn to hear only his voice and simply ignore the others. For it is in him that our safety and our salvation lies. With him we thrive.  Apart from him, we wither.

       Let us listen then to the voice of the Good Shepherd.

Now let’s look at the second line:

I know them and they follow me. 

I know them.  Now that is a really comforting thought. 

It is one thing to seek to know Christ.

       It is quite another to realize that long before we do, he has already known us.

       You may recall what God says in Jeremiah 1:5:

       Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.

       I often say that when you were created, God spoke a word.  It’s a word that has never been spoken before and will never be spoken again. God already knows what he intended when he spoke the divine utterance that is you, but after that your entire life is giving that word its proper meaning so that it may be shouted or danced, or proclaimed or sung perfectly in the heavenly liturgy for all eternity.

       You are known by Christ.

       And, I would hope, you are known by your pastor.

The late Pope Francis said that pastors should have the smell of the sheep, he was right on the money. He meant that the pastor needs to know his people so that he may respond to their needs.

       Many years ago, I had an associate pastor who grew up in eastern Europe.  He was a good kid, and was trying his best, but he had this annoying habit of beginning every one of his homilies with, “My dearly beloved in Christ…”

       At our weekly meeting, I asked him looked him straight in the eye and I said, “Father, I notice that you begin every homily with ‘My dearly beloved in Christ’.  I have one simple question for you…Are they? 

       “Vell, of course!” he said, “I am zer priest, zey are my people.” 

       “Actually,” I replied, “They are my people, but that is not the main point. The point is…do you know their joys?  Do you know their fears?  Do you know who is rejoicing? Who is suffering? Do you know how the local high school football team is doing. Do you know which of our kids is the lead in the school play? Do you know their hope, their dreams, their disappointments, their triumphs?  Are they truly your beloved?  Because if they are not, you have no right to say those words!”

       Both sheep and the People of God recognize when they are in good hands, and when they are not.

       Christ is the Good Shepherd,

and through the centuries he has called good men to be good shepherds for his People.

And he does so today.

       He calls them to the holy priesthood. 

So now, a little twist.  Do you recognize Christ the Good Shepherd in any of the young men of this parish?  If so, do you have the charity and grace to say to him,

       “You know, I see the qualities in you that would make a good priest.  I want you to consider it, and I’m going to pray for you.” 

       I guarantee you, if you can recognize Christ the Good Shepherd in him, he is like that sheep waiting in the paddock to hear the voice of that same Good Shepherd speak to his own heart and call him forth.

       Do not be surprised if the voice of Christ which speaks to his heart will somehow sound a lot like yours.

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Resurrection 101

There is the story about a teenaged boy who befriended some missionaries in a small town in Africa. For several weeks they chatted about their work and life in the mission. At one point, the boy asked them about Jesus. So they described the life and ministry of Our Lord to him. At the end of the conversation one of the missionaries gave him a small New Testament and suggested that he read it. To their consternation, the boy did not return for several weeks. Finally, one day he showed up on the steps of the church, asking to speak with the missionaries. They invited him in. He looked them straight in the eye and said, “I have read the gospels that you gave me and I need to ask you one question. Is it true that Jesus rose from the dead?”


“Why, yes,” they said.

To which he replied, “This changes everything! WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?!”
The young man is right. It does change everything. So why are we Christians so timid about proclaiming the resurrection of Christ? Perhaps it is that we have not stopped to understand what it really means for us and for the world.
Let’s start at the beginning.

Principle #1: Whatever Christ encounters, Christ transforms. He did this when he transformed the waters of the Jordan into the waters of baptism. He did the same at the wedding at Cana and at the Last Supper, transforming those rituals in the sacraments we know today. But he did this most profoundly when he took flesh of the Virgin Mary. Christ entered fully into our humanity and thus all humankind is transformed and perfected.

Principle #2: To be a human being is a wonderful thing. We have a body and a soul. No other being in creation is like us. For example, angels are spiritual beings. They do not have a body. We do. There is a strange heresy out there that when we die and go to heaven, we become angels. It makes for great Christmas stories, but it falls flat theologically.

Principle #3: The passion, death and resurrection of Christ not only restored humanity, but transformed and perfected it. By his passion and death we have been redeemed and reconciled to Almighty God. But it is his resurrection which is the kicker. By rising from the dead, he shows us that we too shall rise with him on the last day, body and soul.

Therefore: At the end of the age, if we have died with him in baptism, we will rise with him on the last day. Our final destiny is not to morph into something else. Instead, we become what God has created us to be—perfectly human, body and soul.
There is a tendency to think of the resurrection as some future, far off reality, but that is not the case.

As St. Paul says, if we have died with him in baptism, we rise with him in his resurrection.
From the moment of our baptism, our life of grace is unfolding,
Even now, we are becoming what God has created us to be,

Let us allow God to continue to transform us into what we have been created to be…now. Christ is risen. This changes everything, right here and now. Let us be people of the resurrection…now.

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What was Jesus Writing?

I’m told that children are no longer taught penmanship anymore, nor are they taught how to write in cursive. What further need have we of proof of the decline of western civilization? I bet Jesus knew how to write in cursive…in Hebrew! Still, I wonder what he was writing on the ground as the religious leaders confronted him with the woman caught in the act of adultery.
First of all, we know that they are not genuine in the encounter. They could care less about her offense. If they did, then where is the guy?! The last I checked, it took two person to commit this sin. No, they are simply using her situation to try to trap Jesus so they can have something to accuse him of. They think they have him in a “Catch 22.” If he says they should stone her, then they can denounce him to the Roman authorities as an insurgent. If he says they should not, then they can discredit him as one who does not know or follow the Law of Moses.
It’s not so easy to fool the Incarnate Word of God. Instead, Jesus simply bends down and starts writing on the ground. Many scholars have speculated about what he was writing. Was he writing the passage of the Law to which they were referring, thus showing his knowledge to them? Or was he writing down the sins of the religious leaders? The sacred text does not say. It does say that when Jesus says, “Let the one without sin be the first to cast a stone,” they have no response and drift away one by one, starting with the elders. Jesus is the only one present who could cast a stone, but he choses not to. Her guilt is not in question, but neither is the love and the mercy of Christ.
This Lent, do I have the courage to stand before Christ honestly and admitting my sins? Can I trust in the love and mercy of Christ who came not to condemn, but to save the world and to show us a better way?

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Of Burning Bushes, Fig Trees, and Such

There is a lot going on in the scriptures this weekend. While we are in Year C of the three-year lectionary cycle, various Masses will be using the A Cycle readings for the next three weeks as we celebrate the Scrutinies for the Elect in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA).

       While the burning bush is a neat attention getter, it is the parable of the fig tree that should really give us pause.  It’s notable that it comes in the context of two recent tragedies, the folks whose blood Pilate mingled with the pagan sacrifices (a terrible sacrilege and curse) and the death of 18 people who died when a tower collapsed.

Whether we admit it or not, we still carry with us the notion that “what goes around comes around.”  Namely, if you do something bad, something bad is going to happen to you. It was even more prevalent in the days of Jesus. Many in the crowd assumed that those who suffered these tragedies must have done something to deserve it. While our Lord is quick to disavow them of this, he uses it as a way to remind them and us that an even greater tragedy looms for our souls if we don’t repent of our sins and believe in the Gospel. Dying is not the worst thing that can happen to you. Eternal damnation is.

So how does this tie into the fig tree that does not bear fruit? Simple. A disciple who does not repent is not much of a disciple. Repentance, not perfection, is the fruit that Christ is looking for. If we are too proud  or too busy to repent, then there’s not much he can do for us, no matter how much he cares for us.

Lent is a time that reminds us that the first fruit, the first gift, we give to God is sorrow for our sins. Doing so opens the door for the healing grace of God to enter our lives and lead us down the path of reconciliation leading to the joys of the resurrection. May our Lenten prayer, fasting and almsgiving guide our steps into the way of true discipleship.  

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The View From the Top

Hey, Church Fans, this is the basic text, but there is a whole lot more on the video from the 8:30 Mass, including a little explanation of the Sacrifice of establishing the covenant with Abram in the first reading. I would have put a clip of it here, but Microsoft has decided that making a video clip should take at least 45 minutes instead of just two or three like it used to. You can see the homily by clicking here and then just fast forward. It is at 18:50 in the video. Sorry to make you work harder. You may want to tell Microsoft that if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

     Right in our backyard in Anchorage is the most climbed peak in North America. It is 3510 feet high and has a peak roughly the size of a football field. Easily accessible from the Glen Alps trailhead, it is scaled by young and old, humans and canine. In the old days, they would even haul a polka band and a few kegs of brew to the summit on the summer solstice. I am talking of course, about Flattop Mountain.

Most people climb Flattop because it is a quick and relatively easy hike, but also because on a nice day the view from there is really spectacular. It puts all of the Anchorage bowl, and sometimes life, into perspective.

You’ll notice that the encounter of Abram with God and the Transfiguration of our Lord both happened on the top of a mountain. In the ancient world, this is where one went to encounter God, presumably because it got you that much closer to heaven, but also I suspect that, just like on Flattop, the view puts everything into perspective. 

It was certainly true of the ministry of Jesus.  From this vantage point, we see by the presence of Moses, that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law.  By the presence of Elijah, we see that he is also the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy. From the mountain top, we can see all the way back to the origins of God’s people, and we can look ahead to “what he would accomplish in Jerusalem” by his passion, death and resurrection. 

It is good to pause once in awhile either in prayer, or even by climbing to a place like the peak of Flattop, to put things into perspective. It is good to look back on where we have come from, how God has accompanied us and guided us on this journey of life and then to try to get a glimpse of where that is leading, what God might be calling us to as individuals and as a parish “and what we will accomplish in 99504.” 

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How Tempting!

Temptation is an interesting thing. No one ever pursues something because they believe it to be evil. Rather, they pursue it, because it is something that they perceive to be good, or at least benign.

       As humans beings, it is part of our very nature to pursue the good.  As Christians, we understand that the greatest good is God. The problem is that there are all these other lesser goods out there vying for our attention. Some of these will lead us to God.  These we call “real goods.”  Others will lead us away from God and ultimately into perdition. These are called “apparent goods.” 

       So how do you tell the difference? The temptation of Christ in the desert depicted in this week’s gospel (Luke 4:1-13) can help us out. 

       Let’s take the suggestion of the Devil that Jesus turn the stones into bread. Is a bread a good thing? You bet! All things being equal, there’s nothing better than a big hunk of warm sourdough with a slab of melting butter on it. And Jesus was hungry after fasting for forty days, so what’s the harm? Well, there’s lots of harm, actually. He who is able to turn water into wine can certainly turn stones into bread, but that is not why Jesus has that ability. Rather, it is to bring others to faith in God and in himself. To do otherwise would be a misuse of God’s gift.

       Likewise, understood and used rightly, political power can be a very good thing for the building of a just society. However, the power that the Devil offers Jesus comes only if he turns from the Creator and worships one of the created. Secondly, the Kingdom that Jesus has come to proclaim is “not of this world.” To pursue worldly power would be to subvert the very reason of the Incarnation.

       Finally, reliance on the providence of Almighty God is a very good thing. However, there is a not-so-fine line between faith in God’s providence and presumption of the same. When we cross that line, we say “MY will be done.” not “THY will be done.” Remember, God has three ways of answering prayer: “Yes.”,  “Not yet.”, and “I have something better in mind for you.” Who are we to presume that we know better than Almighty God?

       Keeping in mind the grand scheme of things helps us to distinguish between apparent goods and real goods. Something may be good in itself, but if it is not what God intends for us, then it is not a real good that will lead to our fulfillment and salvation, but an apparent good that will lead to our doom. May we have the grace of prayerful discernment to know the difference.     

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A Practical Paradox

     St. Luke must have been an interesting guy. We don’t know much about him personally, but based on what we do have, I gather that he must have been a bit of a renaissance man. He was at once a doctor, an artist, an historian, and an author, among other things. I also get the idea that he was a very practical man.

       A good example of this is his presentation of Jesus’ teaching commonly known as “the Beatitudes.” Unlike Matthew who has nine, Luke only has four. Luke also has an accompanying “woe” for each beatitude. Why is this teaching of Our Lord so important to Luke?

       Perhaps it’s because as a physician and an historian, it was very important for him to highlight the practicality of Jesus’ teaching. Matthew was a Jew writing to other Jews.  Luke on the other hand, was a Gentile writing to other Gentiles. As such, he tailors his message to his audience. Luke knew about the deepest desires of people in the Greek and Roman societies of his day. He also knew that such desires were often as out of reach for most as the pagan gods to whom they were obligated to pay homage. The great fears of the day were poverty, hunger, death and persecution.

       It was in just such a social and spiritual environment that the paradox of the Paschal Mystery could bring hope. This paradox is expressed clearly in the Lucan beatitudes and woes. It is the poor who are blessed; the hungry, the mourners, the persecuted. In his life and ministry as well as in his passion, death and resurrection, Jesus had experienced all of these things and emerged triumphant and glorious. For the pagan Greeks and Romans, the good news was that there was a better way. That the limits of this world, including even death itself, no longer had the final say, and thus has no lasting power over us in this life or the next. Christ has shown us that our final destiny is far greater, far more triumphant, far more glorious, as we enter into communion with the Divine in this life and into the next.

       As human beings, we are made by God, for God. Our Deepest longings can only be satisfied by God.  We are all born with what Ron Rolheiser calls a “holy longing” that can only satisfied by communion with God.

Sadly, though, so many try to fill that holy longing for God with the very things Our Lord says will bring us woe: wealth, pleasure, power, and honor. None of these are bad in and of themselves, but if we place them in our heart before God, they will lead to our ultimate destruction. 

       The Christian knows that when Christ is the center of one’s being:

              Wealth finds its expression in charity.

              Pleasure is found in feeding the hungry

              Power is used in service to others.

              Honor comes from leading others to glory.

Thus, the paradox. blessed are the poor, blessed are the the hungry, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are those who are persecuted.

       Things have not changed all that much in the last 2000 years.  Our way of doing things has changed, but we humans still seek ultimate meaning and the revelation of our final destiny. We still have the same fears and desires; and these fears and desires are still overcome by the power of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection.

       Luke helps us to see that salvation is still a practical matter. Despite the passage of time, we humans have not changed all that much, and neither has the salvation won for us in Christ so that we may enter into the realm of the Blessed.