Go in Peace, Glorifying the Lord by your Life

Deacon Kevin Gingras

March 15, 2026

4th Sunday in Lent

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031526.cfm

1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a   Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

Ephesians 5:8-14    John 8:12

How is Lent going for you?  Are you encountering Christ more deeply this Lent? If not, then thank God that we still have time! There have been a lot of “encounters with Christ” lately in the Gospels.  The women at the well, the man born blind, next week we will hear about the raising of Lazarus (sorry, spoiler alert).  This week, the encounter includes the symbolism of water and light.  Water and light are so important that they were at the very beginning of creation, and we cannot live without them.  As Fr. Matt said last week, 3 days without water and you are soon to be a goner!  Light gives us vitamin D, regulates our sleep, and without it, all plant life, and all life for that matter, would perish.

 Today, Jesus uses water as he spits on the ground, yeah, gross, but there is the water, perhaps that’s all he had available, and he makes clay with it and anoints this man’s eyes.  He further instructs him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.  The gospel tells us Siloam means “sent”.   When he does, he is cured and can now see the light!

Just like the woman at the well was sent back to town to “evangelize,” this man is now being sent to evangelize, thus fulfilling why Jesus said he was born blind:

It is so that the works of God might be made visible through him. 

These encounters with Jesus changed them, for good!  The women at the well evangelized about Christ, and those in that town began to believe. In the blind man's encounter, he is “anointed” with clay made from water and dirt, and his sight is restored to him; this healing shows the works of God.  In our baptism, we are anointed with chrism, which probably smells much better than clay!  Because of our baptism, we are inherently changed.  

The Catechism tells us that:

Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte "a new creature," an adopted son of God, who has become a "partaker of the divine nature, member of Christ and coheir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit”.

Our sacraments include not just spiritual elements but physical ones also, like water, oil, and chrism.  All our sacraments are also encounters with Christ.

The elect are now preparing for baptism, the first of these encounters.  The scrutinies help them to turn away from sin and toward the light of Christ. While specifically for the Elect, they offer all parishioners a time for reflection on their own baptismal commitment.  Saint Paul gives a great summary of that change that baptism brings:

Brothers and sisters: You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light,  for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.

Before our baptism, we were spiritually blind, and afterwards we were given sight, spiritual sight.  We have great examples from the Gospel to live up to.  The women at the well went into town, no longer afraid and ashamed but bold in proclaim she things she has found the Messiah!  The man born blind stands up to the Pharisees and tells them:

This is what is so amazing: you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he would not be able to do anything.

In anger, the Parisees throw him out.  We need to show courage like them. The Church calls us to do so as the Catechism further speaks on baptism:

We are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that we may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light." … Reborn as sons of God, [the baptized] must profess before men the faith they have received from God through the Church, and participate in the apostolic and missionary activity of the People of God

We cannot be ashamed of our faith, of our God, of our Savior, once we leave the safety of this church today.  We must go forth and glorify the Lord by our lives, our deeds, and our words.

Saint Catherine of Siena gives us great advice to sprint towards the finish line this Lent:

Start being brave about everything, driving out darkness and spreading light as well. Don’t look at your weakness, but realize that in Christ crucified you can do everything.

Fishers of Men

 

Deacon Kevin Gingras

January 21, 2024

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/012124.cfm

Jon 3:1-5, 10    Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

1 Cor 7:29-31   Mk 1:14-20

Follow me and I will make you fishers of men - boy have I been waiting to preach on this Gospel for a long time so let’s get right into our first reading. Jonah was called to be fishers of the entire city of Nineveh.  We all know that story, he refused to fish for people so a large fish fished for him instead!  Ultimately he he did go to Nineveh, prophesied about the destruction of Nineveh and they all repented and lived happily ever after…well, they weren’t destroyed immediately, not yet, that happened in 612 B.C. by the Medes around 140 years after Jonah.

We now go to today’s Gospel, John has recently been arrested and Jesus is about to bring John’s preaching to the next level, it’s time to proclaim the gospel of the Son of God, the Evangelium, the words of the very Son of God.  Jesus sees Simon and Andrew and speaks to them one of my favorite lines in scripture:

"Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."

They immediately do just that!  God bless them for that, I probably wouldn't have been so quick to drop what I was doing to follow Jesus to become fishers of men, especially if the bass were hitting that day.  I probably would have said, “Be right there Jesus, just one more cast”! 

Our first reading from Jonah foreshadows the eventual successful preaching and teaching of Jesus and his apostles to sinners and Gentiles.  This preaching is just beginning in today’s Gospel.  They were indeed to become fishers of many men, women, and children.

By our Baptism, we are reborn as members of Christ’s Church.  As members of this Church, the Catechism tells us (1267):

Its mission is to be the salt of the earth and light of the world. This people is “a sure seed of unity, hope, and salvation for the whole human race”.

Further along, when talking of Baptism the Catechism states (785):

 "The holy People of God shares also in Christ's prophetic office," above all in the supernatural sense of faith that belongs to the whole People, lay and clergy … when it deepens its understanding and becomes Christ's witness in the midst of this world.

It is a difficult world to do that in but think back to Jesus, Peter, and the Apostles, it was even tougher back then, all but one of them were put to death for preaching the Good News!

Now about that whole fishers of men/people thing.  How does one go about that and what does that have to do with today?  I want to talk a bit about a fly fishing phrase: “Matching the hatch” and a day I was fishing the Battenkill River in Vermont.  The phrase matching the hatch means the fake fly you tie to your line should look like whatever the trout are eating that day, whatever bug is hatching.  Most bugs spend their infancy living in the water, come to the top of the river, and “hatch” by sprouting their wings and flying about for a bit to mate and die within a day or two.  What a life!

Several years ago one of my employees was an avid and experienced fly fisher.  He taught me a lot about the sport (yes, fishing IS a sport, so therefore I’m an athlete).  He had booked a trip to Vermont to fish the Battenkill and invited me to go.  I got there a day earlier than everyone else to scout out the area.  My first stop was a local fly shop to get my license.  I also asked the man working there what the trout would be eating for the weekend.  He showed me two hand-tied flies that should do the trick.  I bought 10 of each and excitedly hit the river.  The first fly I tried seemed to do the trick and I was quickly getting hits (and lots of misses) and even managed to land a few.  Suddenly around three pm, I got to witness a massive hatch.  The fly I was using matched perfectly to what was suddenly buzzing all around me by the thousands!  The fish were going crazy!  Thanks to that guy at the shop I had a great night fly fishing and indeed matched the hatch!

Ok, back to God and Jesus and all that again (however I could talk about fishing all day)!  We too are all called to be fishers of men and women by our baptism.  We are grafted on to Christ and His Church and must participate in its mission.  From the Catechism 849:

The missionary mandate. "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be 'the universal sacrament of salvation,' the Church, in obedience to the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all men"

To catch men and women we must match the hatch!  What lures do we have to do this?  The first lure we should use must be our joy in the message and hope of Jesus Christ.  The joy and hope of our salvation.  This lure of joy, sadly, I tend to leave in my fly box far too much!  We should be so joyful that people want what it is we have, they want to have what Catholics have.  

The second fly in the box we must use is the truth.  We need to always teach and speak the truth to others, the truth of how Jesus Christ is our salvation.  The truth of what Jesus Christ taught in the Gospels. Put the lures of truth and joy together and it’s a winning combination for sure!

Don’t be afraid to talk about the truth and joy of our faith. Remember, none of us are all-knowing experts.  We are all walking the road to our salvation together, share that journey with as many people as you can and share it joyfully!

Mother Teresa of Calcutta tells us:

"Joy is prayer–Joy is strength–Joy is love–Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls…. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of the Christ risen.”

I am the gate for the sheep

 

Deacon Kevin Gingras

Aug 21, 2022

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082122.cfm

In late June I was walking around the grounds of my work and noticed an area coned off.  In the middle of it was a piping plover sitting on a nest with three eggs.   Later in July I was walking around that same area and noticed, what appeared to be a very injured plover adult.  It was making a racket and wriggling around upside down with its wings out as if it were hurt.  I also noticed three very small plovers sitting motionless in the nest.  If the adult were to die then so too would the chicks.  I went to check on the adult to see if I could help that poor plover and as I got closer it got up and ran quickly away from the younger plovers then proceeded to lie upside down as though injured again.  The adult was trying to get me, a perceived predator away from its chicks, it was using itself to pull me away from them.

Seeing this made me think about how Jesus is like that to us.  He is pulling us away from any dangers, sacrificing himself so that we remain safe, we just have to trust in Him and do as He says.  Jesus is the way to eternal peace, happiness, and joy in Heaven:

"Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.

For the piping plovers I know one of the chicks was not strong enough as there were only two around the adults after a couple of weeks.  

Of course, there are minor differences between piping plover parents and Jesus Christ.  Ok, MAJOR differences.

First, God instilled into the parent plovers the instinct to protect their young in this manner, it’s programmed into their brains to do this.  God has instilled into us His own image and God has done this out of love - a perfect love - agape love, and with that love, sometimes comes discipline and we must accept both!

"My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges." Endure your trials as "discipline";

God treats you as sons.

Second, the plover's parents are protecting them to keep them from injury and death, the end of the line for them. Since humans are the only part of creation God gave a soul to our death isn’t the end of the line for us.  Jesus isn’t protecting our bodies from physical death as we are all sure to pass from this Earth, instead, he is protecting us from spiritual death.  Jesus wants every single human soul to be with God the Father in Heaven.  Jesus died for every sin of every soul from the beginning of time to the end of time to help us gain that eternity in Heaven.

A third difference is that when a predator is near, the plover chicks were supposed to ball up, be still, and do nothing as the parents try to draw that danger away from them.  When we feel threatened or troubled by things in life we should do the exact opposite, we should run to Jesus, and pray for help and protection to get us through this trial. We must strive to enter through the narrow gate.  Jesus is that gate! Sometime this week read and meditate over the Gospel of John chapter ten.  It begins with:

“Amen, amen, I say to you, a whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber.

And then verses 7-9:

So Jesus said again, “Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.

How do we enter the narrow gate?  How can we be one of the few?  Here are some suggestions.

Get to Confession:  confess your sins regularly to a priest. Write it as a monthly event on your calendar so you don’t forget.  I need to do this myself, I’m every other month or even an every three-month confession guy myself.  I need to fix that for sure!  After a good confession, all you’re sins are forgiven and you are given a clean slate!

Read your Bible: Read and study the scripture and learn from the scripture!  We try to have a scripture study here every season.  The last one on the Biblical Roots of the Mass was awesome. Studying scripture and the Catholic faith is better with others as we can learn from them as well.  

We should also remember our baptismal roles as Priest, Prophet, and King:  The Catechism of the Catholic Church talks about this:

The anointing with sacred chrism, perfumed oil consecrated by the bishop, signifies the gift of the Holy Spirit to the newly baptized, who has become a Christian, that is, one "anointed" by the Holy Spirit, incorporated into Christ who is anointed priest, prophet, and king.

So you are probably thinking - “So Deacon, How do we fulfill that role”?  We heard the major way to do that in today’s Responsorial Psalm:

Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Our role as Catholics doesn’t end when we walk out of Church right after the dismissal.  There are options to what we can say after the final blessing.  Things like:

Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord

or

Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life

So remember this, when we leave Church today our job as Priest, Prophet, and King isn’t over, it’s just begun.  

As St. Augustine said:

Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.

Care for your Soul

Nov 17, 2019, Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111719.cfm

In our first reading today Malachi is not talking about Thanksgiving in a couple of weeks when he says:

Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven and that day will set them on fire.

Our ovens will indeed be blazing but hopefully, the day isn’t coming when your turkeys will be set on fire!  

The second reading is what I want to post on my fridge for my older children to see as Paul writes:

we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat

In reality, Paul wasn’t trying to get his kids to rake the lawn or do the dishes in his letter to the Thessalonians, instead, he was talking about those among them who stopped working.  Some Thessalonians were so certain that the end times were imminent that they decided they should stop working to wait for Christ’s return. It makes me wonder if the blazing wrath that Malachi discusses will come to those who decide to do nothing until the Lord of Hosts returns.  To be that lazy is foolishness, for Christ himself told us we know not the hour of His return. If we sit around and do nothing we become like the wicked lazy servant from the parable of the talents who, out of fear of his master buried the money entrusted to him in the ground and gained nothing more with it.  The instruction from Paul to those Thessalonians is clear:

Such people we instruct and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to work quietly and to eat their own food.

These words can seem to conflict when we hear the Gospel.  We have not been lazy when it comes to fixing up our church here at Holy Family Parish.  We have done a lot of work to make it look like something new. It looks fantastic and people are always talking about how nice it is now and then today we hear the words of Jesus in Luke:

"All that you see here--the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down."

Say what?  Should we have bothered with all that fuss?  After all, there will be a day that comes that this church will no longer be here.  Let’s all pray that it is hundreds of years from now but it will happen. Do Jesus’ words make this building irrelevant?

No, this building is important to all of us and how we worship, VERY important.  I think today I want to focus on how Jesus’ words are not all about the building where they worshiped, but instead, His words should get them to focus on the state of their faith in Jesus Christ and how their perseverance in times of trouble will secure their lives.  Today in time this also holds true. This church is important, I’m not trying to say it has no purpose. It is where we gather together, where we laugh together, where we cry together and most importantly where we hold our sacred Liturgy together. Those are very important roles, however, what is more significant, what is totally indestructible and will live forever, is our soul.  We have done well to take care of this building that houses our worship but do we do as well taking care of our souls?  

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 366 has to say this about the human soul:

The Church teaches that every spiritual soul is created immediately by God - it is not "produced" by the parents - and also that it is immortal: it does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection

Some of us, myself excluded, go to the gym, work out, eat right, try to get at least 8 hours of sleep a night (ok, I’ve nailed the sleeping part of this), we try to take care of our bodies as we should. It’s important!  Just read the first letter to the Corinthians chapter 6:

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body.  

So we should care for our bodies but our souls need care as well more than our bodies and more than this church building as those will pass away but our souls are eternal!

Now I could make a bad joke here that I change my oil and rotate the tires and wash and wax my Kia Soul, my car, often enough but I’ll spare you from that.  Instead here is a list of things Jesus said in the Gospels about things we can do to keep our soul healthy.

• Matthew 6:24 - Don’t love money more than God.
• Matthew 14:31 - Avoid doubt.
• Matthew 18:8 - Take sin seriously, VERY seriously.
• Matthew 22:39 - Love others and yourself too.
• Matthew 5:44 - Even love your enemies.
• Matthew 6:33 - Seek God first.
• John 12:25 - Follow and serve Jesus.
• Mark 8:36 - Don’t gain the whole world and lose your soul.
• John 14:6 - Jesus is the way.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, there are other things we can do, and things we should avoid to grow closer to Christ and strengthen our souls.  The way we need to think as we are doing or saying something is “will this bring me closer to Christ or are we walking away from Him instead. We all need to be like Peter:

Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”