On Confirmation, Sermon of May 29th

A youth is confirmed in the Usus Antiquior

6^th Sunday of Easter

May 29^th, 2011

Acts 8:5-8,14-17

They sent them [i.e. the newly baptized Samarians] Peter and John, who went down and prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

No matter what President Obama might tell you; and, no matter what any politician might tell you – Life begins with conception. From the first moment a child is conceived and through till his birth, that child is a human person with all the dignity of a human being.

There is nothing lacking to a newly-conceived child, but he is a full and complete human being. However, although the child is in himself fully and completely a human person, nevertheless we admit that the child must grow into adulthood. Not that there is anything lacking in the child – for life and humanity begins with conception and continues through to birth – but we admit that human nature demands also the natural process of growth into mature adulthood.

This relation between the infant child and the grown adult has been used by the Church Fathers and theologians as an analogy for the relationship between baptism and confirmation. At baptism an individual becomes a Christian and is truly and really incorporated into the mystical body of Christ, the Church. From the moment of baptism, the soul is filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit and lives a new life in Christ. There is nothing lacking to the Christian soul reborn in baptism, excepting that there is need for a growth into spiritual maturity.

Just as the newly conceived or newborn child is truly a human person and yet must grow into adulthood, so too the baptized must come to spiritual maturity – And this is precisely what the sacrament of confirmation does. As baptism give the soul a new birth into Christ, confirmation brings that soul to maturity in the Lord. The confirmed are no longer simply children, but have become adults and even soldiers for the Kingdom of God.

This reality of spiritual maturation from baptism to confirmation is the subject of the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles. St. Luke tells us that a group of individuals in Samaria had been baptized by St. Philip – and this is Philip the deacon, not Philip the apostle. These newly baptized had not yet received confirmation and it was on this account that the Christians in Jerusalem sent the two apostles, Sts. Peter and John, to pray over them and lay hands on them, that these Samarians might receive the graces of confirmation.

St. Luke goes so far as to say of these Samarians, the Holy Spirit had not yet fallen on any of them – not, of course, that they had in no way received the Holy Spirit; for, in baptism, they had been filled with the Spirit and with the grace of the whole Trinity. But St. Luke says that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit, meaning that they had not yet received the fullness of the Holy Spirit – for they had only been baptized and had not been confirmed.

From this event, we see just how necessary confirmation is. The Church teaches that, in a qualified sense, confirmation is necessary for salvation. Let me be clear: Confirmation is not simply and absolutely necessary in the way that baptism is necessary. However, St. Thomas Aquinas gives us a helpful analogy when he says that confirmation is necessary for salvation in the same way that a horse (or, we should say, a car) is necessary for a long journey. True, we could travel hundreds of miles by foot, but anyone would know what I meant if I said I needed a car in order to travel from New York to Los Angeles.

Confirmation is necessary for salvation not as though salvation cannot be attained without this sacrament, but insofar as the sacrament is the most fitting (and ordinary) means of coming to salvation. Confirmation brings us to the perfection of the Christian life begun in baptism. Likewise, confirmation bestows upon us new graces which bring us more perfectly and completely to the perfection of salvation.

When we consider the importance and even the relative necessity of confirmation – in addition to the fact that it completes and perfects baptism – we can quickly understand just how important this sacrament is for our Christian lives. It is the grave importance of confirmation which has led our diocese and many dioceses to lower the age of confirmation to the same age as first communion.

Now, to be very clear, I am not saying that what was done in the past was wrong or bad – it worked for the time and had certain pastoral benefits to it. Still, when we consider how important the sacrament of confirmation is and also how many graces it bestows, we can easily see that this sacrament ought not to be delayed so long.

Perhaps in years past, in an age when there was much less temptation and perversion in the world, we could afford to postpone confirmation until around junior-high or even high-school. But today, with the world in the state it is in and all the many evils which are thrown at our children, how could we not want them to receive the helps and the graces of this sacrament? Certainly, there are some drawbacks to moving confirmation up to a younger age (just as there were some advantages to the previous practice of delaying confirmation); however, when we consider the objective value of the graces of the sacrament and consider these graces in light of the horrible perversions of the modern world, it seems pretty clear that our kids can use all the help that they can get. And what better help than the supernatural sacramental graces of confirmation?

Finally, when we think of the graces of this sacrament, recall that the Holy Spirit has called you and chosen you. He has elevated you and built you up through confirmation. And so, when you feel exhausted or stressed, when you doubt whether you have the faith and the courage to carry on, whenever you are tempted to discouragement or despair – recall that you are no longer a mere child, you are now a soldier for Christ! The Holy Spirit is at work in you, what have you to fear?

The grace of almighty God is more powerful than any force in the world. The outcome of the spiritual battle you wage is already decided, if only you will remain faithful to the Lord and follow the new life which is being perfected in you through the graces of your confirmation.

Abortion will end and the Culture of Life will triumph, Sermon of January 23rd

3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

January 23^rd, 2011

Sanctity of Life Sunday

Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen.

As Jesus moves from his home town of Nazareth to Capernaum in Galilee, St. Matthew sees the fulfillment of the prophecy which was given to Isaiah: The Messiah has come to the Galilee of the Gentiles and a light has dawned for Zebulun and Naphtali.

Yet, we may not be too familiar with Zebulun and Naphtali, or with any of the circumstances of the prophet Isaiah – without this knowledge, we can scarcely appreciate the power of this prophecy. It was during some of the darkest years of the history of ancient Israel that God spoke to Isaiah and many of the other prophets. The nation of Israel was being assaulted by extremely powerful nations, and it seemed that there was little hope. Indeed, the Jewish people were conquered and dispersed, exiled to Assyria and Babylon – the temple plundered and destroyed, Jerusalem ransacked, many of the people were killed. It was a time of darkness and despair.

But it was precisely at that moment, when it seemed that the light had gone out, that the Lord gave some of the clearest prophecies of the Messiah. It was then, when hope was nearly lost, that God was most closely united to his people, calling them on by the promise of the Christ.

There is a great lesson to be learnt here: When things are most difficult, when defeat seems inevitable, when all seems to be lost; then, most especially then, the Lord is present, he is working, and he will indeed be victorious.

It has been thirty eight long and difficult years since the US supreme court decision in Roe v. Wade to legalize abortion. For thirty eight long years, our nation has been a “Galilee of the Gentiles” and “a land overshadowed by death.” And, although there has certainly been great efforts and many good works accomplished by the Pro-life movement, it does not seem that we are any closer to winning the victory for the Culture of Life. Perhaps we are even tempted to despair, to think that abortion is here to stay, that the culture of death has won.

I tell you banish the thought! Banish despair and discouragement from your soul! For it is precisely now at this moment that God is most powerfully at work – yes, his work is hidden and mysterious, but it is also great and almighty. We know these two facts: God is all powerful and he is pro-life, that means that the Pro-life movement wins! We know the outcome, it will be a great victory for the Culture of Life. What we do not know is how we get to that victory. What is not yet clear to us is how we move from our current state of affairs to the total reign of the Culture of Life – and this is what causes pain and suffering on our journey, for the way is not wholly apparent to us.

But we know this – we know that the Pro-life movement will win, that the Culture of Life will be victorious, and that this victory will be accomplished through the work of God. It is God who will win the victory, it is God who will bring an end to abortion, it is God who will convert the hearts of our nation and the world. And because it is God who fights, the victory is already certain – what remains to us is to participate in his great triumph!

But how can we participate in the Lord’s work? What can we do to take part in the victory of the Culture of Life? There are three things I will mention, three essential ways that we can be involved in the Pro-life movement – prayer, works, and a boycott.

First, prayer. The most important and powerful way that we can support the Culture of Life and participate in the Lord’s victory is through prayer. We must pray and pray and pray, every day. Here special mention should be made of the Rosary, and the Family Rosary in particular. Through the Rosary, Mary will bring peace to the world and an end to abortion. Prayer is that most powerful means of changing the world because prayer contains the power of God himself!

Beyond prayer, there is works. We must also work in behalf of the Pro-life movement. This work is both local and national (and even global). On the local level we can support the Culture of Life through dedicating our time, talent and treasure to the various Pro-life organizations in our community. In our own town we are blessed to have a pregnancy outreach center starting – this is a great opportunity for us to participate in the building up of the Culture of Life. Special mention should also be made of the Knights of Columbus, their dedication to Life is well known to all.

We dedicate our time, talent and treasure to the Culture of Life – make no mistake, the proponents of the culture of death are very powerful and very wealthy, and they will use their power and riches to destroy your family and our nation. Though the victory of Life will be won by the Lord, he also desires that we should make use of the material blessings he has given us to fund and promote the Pro-life movement.

Another aspect of works for the Culture of Life, this time on a national level, is voting. In a democratic society, we are blessed to be able to influence our nations well-being through our vote. Be sure of this, there is no other issue on the voting ballet today which can be compared with the issue of abortion – this single issue is of greater concern and importance than all the other issues combined. We must vote with a pro-life conscience, as Catholics we must vote pro-life.

Now I am not talking about party politics here. I am not promoting one side over against another – I am speaking about issues, I am speaking about life. Some will say that no politician or party really cares about the Culture of Life at all, but that they simply give “lip service” to the Pro-life movement in order to get votes. Well, don’t let them! Don’t let them just pay “lip service”! The politicians need you more than you need them – you can force them to take the abortion issue seriously, if only you will let them know that this one issue is all important!

Finally, we participate in the coming victory of the Culture of Life through a boycott. We ought to boycott the culture of death – when we know that they are trying to destroy our families, why do we give the proponents of death our time and resources? We who stand for life must separate ourselves from the pro-death movement. But how do we do this?

First of all, we should take a look at any investments we may have. It will be imperative for us to ensure that our money is not invested in any company which profits from the culture of death. It is material cooperation in evil to have money invested with Planned Parenthood or other companies which sell contraceptives or abortifacients. How terrible it would be for us to make money from the growth of the death industry in America!

Moreover, we can boycott the culture of death by examining which companies and celebrities are most public in their support of abortion. If a company gives extensive donations to Planned Parenthood, we should boycott their products. If a celebrity is particularly vocal in supporting abortion or in advocating the destruction of traditional family values, we ought not to buy any of their movies or music.

For parents, there is a particular obligation to consider what music and movies your children are buying. Many of these celebrities are bent on the destruction of our culture – you would never let your children be friends with these celebrities in real life, why do you allow them into your home through the television or the stereo?

And now, last of all, I would like to address any here who have been harmed through the horrible plight of abortion – especially any who have been directly involved in abortion and who are still suffering from guilt and the adverse affects of this terrible sin. The Lord knows the pain you feel, our loving God reaches out to you today. Though indeed you may feel that you are in a dark valley and under the shadow of death, for you a light has dawned this day, which is Christ the Lord! Never despair, never give up. Remember, it is the Lord who will win the victory for you. No matter what the wound, no matter what the sin; Christ is greater. His light will dawn in your heart, indeed it is already illuminating the deepest recesses of your soul. His healing love will bring you to a place of peace, to the great joy of life everlasting.

For Respect Life Sunday: A sermon on abortion and contraception, October 3rd

Respect Life Sunday

October 3^rd, 2010.

2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.

I would like to share with you a very beautiful story from the life of Mother Teresa, a story of great compassion and love. In 1994, Mother Teresa was invited to Washington, D.C. to give a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. She was invited because of the great work she had done with the poor in Calcutta and throughout the world. The theme for her talk that year was world peace, but we are not at all surprised to see that she began by speaking about the Gospel.

She told us of how much Jesus loves each and every one of us. How he loved us so much that he not only became man for us, but he even sacrificed his own life in order that we might live forever. Mother Teresa pointed out that the love of Christ teaches us how to love – we must imitate our Savior and “love until it hurts.” This is what true love requires: self-donation and self-sacrifice, giving until it hurts. It was love that led Christ to die for us, so too only love can bring us to sacrifice for Christ and for others.

Mother Teresa told us that we cannot say we love God without loving our neighbor, and that we have not really loved out neighbor until we have given until it hurts. Until we are willing to sacrifice our wants and desires in order to help others, we will only bring injustice into the world. We must imitate Christ and die for love of others.

This ought not to have been a surprise to anyone; as a bride of Christ, Mother Teresa would certainly begin with the Gospel. But what she said next probably caught nearly everyone by surprise.

“But I feel that the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?”

Now I know that abortion is a sensitive issue, even for many Catholics. I am quite certain that many of us here have been affected personally by abortion in some way, either through family or friends, or perhaps through participating in an abortion ourselves. This can be a very difficult topic to hear about, but I would ask that you open your hearts to the words of Mother Teresa. If you know anything at all about Mother Teresa, I hope you know this – She loves you. If you can be certain about anything at all about Mother Teresa, it is this – whatever she says, she says it because she loves you and she wants you to be happy. These words are indeed challenging, but they are also words of love.

Mother Teresa continued, “How do we persuade a woman not to have an abortion? As always, we must persuade her with love and we remind ourselves that love means to be willing to give until it hurts. Jesus gave even His life to love us. So, the mother who is thinking of abortion, should be helped to love, that is, to give until it hurts her plans, or her free time, to respect the life of her child. The father of that child, whoever he is, must also give until it hurts.”

“By abortion, the mother does not learn to love, but kills even her own child to solve her problems. And, by abortion, the father is told that he does not have to take any responsibility at all for the child he has brought into the world. Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”

If many of the people at the Prayer Breakfast were on the edge of their seat up to this point, what Mother Teresa said next probably astonished all present – and perhaps it shocks us as well.

“I know that couples have to plan their family and for that there is natural family planning. The way to plan the family is natural family planning, not contraception.”

Here we need to point out that natural family planning has had many advancements in recent years. It is not just the old rhythm method – in fact, many statistics show that Natural Family Planning is more effective than the most common methods of contraception, and it has none of the adverse side effects. But as great as the statistics are and as good as it is that natural family planning is effective, there is something much more important – contraception destroys the love between a husband and a wife, but natural family planning nurtures love and teaches love.

Mother Teresa says, “In destroying the power of giving life, through contraception, a husband or wife is doing something to self. This turns the attention to self and so it destroys the gift of love in him or her. In loving, the husband and wife must turn the attention to each other as happens in natural family planning, and not to self, as happens in contraception. Once that love is destroyed by contraception, abortion follows very easily.”

Now I know that these words can be very challenging and may even seem too difficult for some; and I know also that, despite the Church’s clear teaching, many Catholics use contraception. Again, remember that Mother Teresa speaks to you out of love. She desires your happiness, she want your family to grow closer together.

Contraception destroys the love between the couple, and thus destroys the family – for if a couple will not give themselves to one another in love, how can they ever fully love their children? This is why Mother Teresa connects contraception with abortion – both destroy love, both treat children as a ‘choice’ rather than a gift.

“I also know that there are great problems in the world,” Mother Teresa says, “We cannot solve all the problems in the world, but let us never bring in the worst problem of all, and that is to destroy love. And this is what happens when we tell people to practice contraception and abortion.”

I would like to conclude by putting two women before your hearts and minds: Margaret Sanger, who founded Planned Parenthood, and Mother Teresa. On the one hand there is Margaret Sanger, she herself admits that she founded Planned Parenthood with the specific intention of destroying culture. She promoted contraception and abortion as a means of eliminated blacks, Hispanics, and the poor – Planned Parenthood, from its conception, has been an institution bent on tearing down, on destruction. Even today, it has been shown that Planned Parenthood targets minorities – it is a form of eugenics, an establishment which brings only death.

On the other hand, we have Mother Teresa and the Church. She speaks to you out of love. While Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood become rich through selling their cancer-causing Pill, Mother Teresa became poor to serve and to love. While Planned Parenthood works to tear down, Mother Teresa gave her life to build up.

We have these two choices: Life or death, love or hate, the Church or Planned Parenthood.

“If we remember that God loves us, and that we can love others as He loves us, then America can become a sign of peace for the world. From here, a sign of care for the weakest of the weak – the unborn child – must go out to the world. If you become a burning light of justice and peace in the world, then really you will be true to what the founders of this country stood for. God bless you!”