Don't be where the Word of God goes to die!

 

Deacon Kevin Gingras

July 16, 2023

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071623.cfm

Is 55:10-11    Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14

Rom 8:18-23     Mt 13:1-23

God speaks through Isaiah today with the line:

so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it

Then in today’s Gospel Jesus tells us:

But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

The divine message of God comes down to us like rain and snow through two main methods, tradition and also Holy Scripture.  They go hand in hand but today we will focus on Holy Scripture - the Bible.  This book, or book of books is broken into two main divisions, the Old and the New Testament.  St Augustine described the relationship between them as:

The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.

However distinctly different they may seem they cannot be separated.  The Old Testament contains forty-six books and the New Testament has twenty-seven.  Both of them have been written down by man but divinely inspired by God through the Holy Spirit as St. Paul wrote to Timothy:

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Again, we turn to St. Augustine who wrote in the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation:

Therefore, since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully, and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of our salvation.

If I didn’t believe any of the above to be true, I wouldn’t be here preaching to you today, I wouldn’t be a deacon and I wouldn’t be Catholic - I’d probably be off fishing.  Why? (not why fishing, why am I Catholic) Because the Catholic Church holds the true sacred deposit, the canon of scripture.

Today we also hear that we cannot be where the word of God goes to die!  Jesus tells us several times that we must hear the word of God and then bear fruit of it.

But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.

So that’s fantastic, isn’t it?  But how do we become rich fertile soil?  We need to know Jesus and love Jesus.  We do this through reading and studying sacred scripture.  If you have a bible don’t be afraid to read it and if you don’t have one get one!  My wife and I are big fans of the Didache Bible which has commentaries based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, that bible gives you the best of both worlds!  My bible is a great fertilizer for the soil of my soul!

Another way is through the study of scripture.  Today you heard readings from the Old Testament books of Isaiah and Psalms.  Then we heard from the New Testament books of Romans and Matthew.  I hope you were paying attention, there will be a quiz outside today after Mass!  Put down the bulletin and give God your full focus while here at Mass to the readings, to the Homily, to all that the priest says and does - it’s all from sacred scripture!  We didn’t make this up, God did!

Here at Holy Family, we are always trying to do something to aid us all in that endeavor, sign up for one!  Come till your soil at the men’s group Thursday nights or the Tuesday night women’s small groups.  If you are just visiting, then welcome, find out what your own church is doing to further your faith and become that deep rich soil that Jesus was talking about.  Then when satan comes along and sows his weeds of doubt you will be able to withstand those trials and temptations.

When you open the Holy Gospel, think that what is written there—the words and deeds of Christ—is something that you should not only know, but live. Everything, every point that is told there, has been gathered, detail-by-detail, for you to make it come alive in the individual circumstances of your life. 

St. Josemaria Escriva

Know Jesus, Know Peace, No Jesus, No Peace!

Deacon Kevin Gingras

April 18, 2121, Third Sunday of Easter

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041821.cfm

 

Peace be with you!

He stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

Jesus only used this greeting after his Resurrection, not before it.  We heard Jesus say, “peace be with you” twice in last week's Gospel.  Again we hear it today.  Why?  They NEEDED peace at that moment!  His Apostles were kind of freaking out.  Jesus died and they were left without a teacher, a leader, they feared that same death would strike them!  They were like a fish out of water, I fish, I’ve seen them out of the water, it’s not pretty!

Today 

The two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them 

in the breaking of bread.

Suddenly, there is Jesus standing in their midst.  They were sure it was a ghost.  They still didn’t understand the resurrection.  “Peace be with you,” he says.  He tries to calm them down, showing He is a physical man and not a ghost, even asking for food!  Ghosts don’t eat food!

What he does next is amazing.  He opens their minds to understand the Scriptures so they will understand all that was written from Moses to the prophets and the Psalms - to understand that these things Jesus came to fulfill.

I wish it was that easy for us!  We could just hang out with Jesus and our minds would be opened to the Scriptures.  It’s not so easy but it is doable!  It’s been very hard for me to have that faith kick in where logic can’t explain what we will read in the Bible.  That’s where the Holy Spirit comes in, we need to ask for the gifts of wisdom and understanding.  Trust me, it works.  I’m a computer programmer by trade and have been for over 30 years.  Logic is my business and I have trained my mind to be logical so when I try to understand certain things in the Scriptures, Moses and the Jews walking dry through the Red Sea, manna in the desert, the lifting of the brazen serpent to heal those bitten by the seraph serpents, none of it makes logical sense.  

When we see Sacred Scripture as a whole, what Jesus was doing with his followers in the Gospel, opening their minds to the Scriptures, giving them the whole Scripture picture. We can see how walking through the Red sea is a precursor to Baptism.  It becomes obvious that manna is a foreshadowing of the Eucharist.  How Moses lifted the serpent to save those who were dying is like Jesus being lifted on the cross to save us.  See, totally logical!

I hope we all read our Bibles at home.  Before reading Scripture do you ask the Holy Spirit for guidance?  If you get tripped up on understanding a reading do you ask for help?  Ask a priest, a deacon, or a friend that you know is well versed in scripture.  If you decide to ask Google, do so with caution, there are a lot of things out there and some of them won’t be in line with the Catholic Church's teachings.  

Once you start to get a grasp on Scripture you will find there is peace in the Scriptures, look for some quiet time to find that peace in your Bible at home.

I guess what I’m trying to say is, “know Jesus, know peace, no Jesus, no peace”.  This won't translate well in my spoken homily but it's pretty clear here!  The bottom line is we have to know who Jesus is to receive the peace that he has to give to us.

Every time we celebrate Mass, we hear the priest say:

Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you.

He didn't give this peace before his Resurrection, but afterward, he does give it, and he gives it because we need it.

Christ's peace is the antidote to most problems of our modern, secular society: stress, depression, and anxiety, and even this pandemic. We have all been affected by these things in some way. 

As we get to know the Lord more through Scripture, through Adoration, and through prayer He will give us peace of mind, peace of heart, and peace of soul.

Today’s Psalm is a Psalm of David and he put it well when he said: 

As soon as I lie down, I fall peacefully asleep, for you alone, O LORD, bring security to my dwelling.

Remember, even David was granted this peace as he came to know the Lord more and more and repented for what he had done.

Saint Jerome gives us a great three-thousand foot summary of this as he said:

Be at peace with your own soul, then heaven and earth will be at peace with you.

Dress for the Banquet

October 11th, 2020 - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101120.cfm

Here I am trying to lose weight and I have to preach about feasting!

We have gone from discussing the vineyard the past few weeks right into a wedding feast.  We are done working in the vineyard and now get to reap the rewards of our labors at a banquet …  with God … in Heaven!  Well, some still refuse to attend the feast and Jesus is not afraid to point that out to the chief priests and elders since their hearts are still hardened.  Lately, the Parables of Christ are really zoning in on the Chief Priests, the Elders, the Scribes, and the Pharisees.

Today’s Gospel is actually two parables in one - that’s right, bonus parable this weekend!  The first is the parable of those who were invited to the wedding feast but refused to attend, some of the invitees even killed the servants who invited them.  Glad I didn’t have to deal with these folks when I planned my wedding 31 years ago.  Since these invited guests didn’t want to attend, the king opened the wedding feast to all, good and bad alike, and filled the hall with those people.

The second parable is about the man who snuck into the feast but wasn’t dressed properly, he didn’t have on a wedding garment so he was cast out.

That’s what I want to focus on, how to dress for the heavenly banquet so that we can get in?   If I do this I won’t be preaching about feasting and my diet can stay safe!

Regarding how to dress, Jesus isn’t talking about what clothes we wear or if we are up to the latest fashion trend or not.  Jesus is talking more about how we dress our souls.  Paul mentions how to dress in his letter to the Ephesians when he states: 

Ephesians 6:13-17

Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Put on the strength of the Holy Spirit when it comes to speaking about your faith.  Don’t fear telling others the truth of the Catholic faith but always do it in love, not by putting others down. 

Be humble also, and that doesn’t mean weak.  It means putting others' needs before yours when appropriate.  Wear a humble demeanor and allow that to show instead of wearing arrogance or pride. 

Paul talks of knowing how to live in humble circumstances in his letter to the Philippians today.  Currently, with everything going on,  a lot of us are learning to live a bit like this.  On the contrary, in Heaven, we will always have abundant circumstances instead of humble ones.  We will have a feast laid out before us, a feast more generous than we can imagine as the first reading from Isaiah states:

On this mountain, the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.

We are experiencing a very small dose of heaven here today at Mass.

Pope Saint John Paul II describes the Mass as “Heaven on Earth”  saying that “what we celebrate on Earth is a mysterious participation in the heavenly liturgy”.

Sitting in the church shouldn’t be the first time you hear the readings.  Find time to be quiet and reflect on the readings for Sunday prior to Sunday.  Reflect on what they are saying to you.  Where are the readings trying to set you straight?  Ask yourself, are you in line with God in every aspect of your life.  If not, correct that part, dress that part of your life for the wedding feast.  Prepare that part of your life for when you attend Mass, the wedding feast of the Lamb here on earth.

Think about the words of St. Gregory the Great when he stated:

“The heavens open and multitudes of angels come to assist in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.”

Where is that in the Bible?

The Bible - it's a Catholic thing!
I often get frustrated that some argue that the Catholic Church is not a bible based church.

Jesus came to establish one church and only the Catholic Church existed since the time of Jesus. The Catholic Church is the oldest Christian church in existence. Eastern Orthodox Churches began in 1054. The Reformation, when the Protestant churches were established began in 1517. Most of the Protestant churches that exist today are breakaways from the original Protestant break.

The Catholic Church is indeed Bible based however some argue it is not.

Where is that in the bible?

Often people will ask where is that in the Bible. Especially when it comes to the Catholic Church. Folks don't seem to want to believe that the Catholic Church is a bible based church. Well, believe it or not it is. Hopefully some of the articles below can illustrate that.

Does it have to be in the Bible to be truth?

We also cannot deny the value of tradition, because our very own bible tells us not to do that! The Catholic Church is steeped in tradition going all the way back to the time that Jesus walked the earth!


1 Corinthians 11:2 I praise you because you remember me in everything and hold fast to the traditions, just as I handed them on to you.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.


For a far more eloquent explanation check out the Catechism of the Catholic Church "Chapter Two, God comes to meet man"http://old.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt1sect1chpt2.shtml#50


I hope to blog about some of the things that are in the bible that the Catholic Church takes hits on like the sacraments and Mary and other things.  I'm no Bible expert, I don't claim to be, I'm not trained in theology either but I'm just searching for the truth....since I have heard that the truth can set you free.