Bonding with Christ Through Two-Way Prayer

 

Deacon Dave · Bonding with Christ Through Two-Way Prayer

Homily for the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 21, 2026. Gospel of St. Matthew 10:26-33. Theme: Bonding With Christ Through Two-Prayer 

 In today's Gospel we heard some sayings of Jesus that are pretty easy to understand at face value. Well, maybe the first one about shouting from the housetops needs a little bit of explaining? Back in those days news was spread by literally shouting it from housetop to housetop for all in a village to hear. So, Jesus is saying that His Message is not to be kept secret because it is Good News for everyone. And so He’s telling the disciples to go out and make some noise about the Gospel! Traditionally, we call this spreading of the Gospel “evangelization” (from the Greek word for Gospel which is evangelion) but Pope Francis made it more personal by calling it “missionary discipleship”. With this in mind, we can paraphrase this “housetops message" of Jesus as saying, “Go out as my missionary disciples and spread the good news that I can give anyone a brand new start on life from the inside out!” 

 To be a missionary disciple is a big responsibility given to us by the Lord. It means that he is willing to actually trust us. A missionary simply means “one who officially is sent out” and it doesn’t require that we go to a foreign land, which most of us typically associate with that word. The next word, disciple, means “student” , “learner”, “follower”. Being an attentive disciple is necessary because we cannot give what we do not ourselves possess. So, if we hope to spread knowledge of Jesus and Christianity among others then we have to learn it and live it ourselves! To do so we become lifelong students in the School of Jesus where we learn from His Word and train ourselves to follow His example of loving God and neighbor more than oneself. In this way we become more credible and effective missionary disciples among those with whom we live, work and socialize. The spaces and places of our daily routine become the “missionary field” in which we work. Being a missionary disciple thus gives added meaning and purpose to our lives. 

 But only a truly deep personal bond with Jesus will give us what it takes to be faithful missionary disciples, especially when we face opposition or ridicule. And Jesus warns us about this challenge in today’s Gospel as well. So, it seems to me that if we discern that our relationship with Him isn't at that level of commitment that it should be, then we need to get it there. To do this we only need to look and learn from how we build any significant relationship in our lives. We get to know someone deeply by spending quality time with them, by opening ourselves up to them honestly from the heart. We speak and we listen. Christianity calls this dynamic process of building an intimate relationship with God “prayer”. 

 However, for most of us the word “prayer” doesn’t conjure up an image of friends spending time together. Instead it usually makes us think of speaking, talking, telling, and asking. Too often when we pray we engage in what can be called “One-Way Prayer” which means going on and on with God about this thing or that event in my life. It’s me doing all the talking. But the kind of prayer that begins to form a deep bond with Christ can be called “Two-Way Prayer”. This implies that along with speaking we also listen and allow time for God to have His say. In other words, prayer becomes a person-to-person conversation and not just a monologue.  And so we need to approach prayer in the same way that we would arrange a get-together with any friend. 

First, we need to make the time for it, perhaps even schedule it into our day. We need to arrange a meeting place, which can be anywhere that will allow us to engage in our prayer-conversation with God uninterrupted. We need to do our best to leave distractions behind so as to focus on Who we are with. And it’s important that this prayerful exchange takes place in an atmosphere of silence because the voice of Christ is most clearly heard in the quiet depth of our hearts and in the stillness of our minds. We begin our prayer-time by remembering that we are in the Presence of God who dwells within us by grace through faith. Then in our own words we express our love, adoration and gratitude to God. We ask forgiveness for our failings and invoke the Holy Spirit to help us to pray, for that is His special task for us believers. Then we take up the Bible or some other solid spiritual book and choose a passage. We go over it slowly, thoughtfully. We ponder what the Word might be saying to me, what it might mean for me, right here and right now in my life as it is today. We speak to the Lord and share our thoughts about what comes to mind. We ask Him for insight and remain interiorly quiet with the ears of our hearts open so as to hear whatever God might want to say to us. 

 And that raises an important question: how does God speak to us? It’s kind of difficult to explain but experience shows that He typically communicates through thoughts, words or images that come to mind during prayer and which impress themselves upon us in a distinct way. The more a person grows in the practice of prayer the more they will learn to recognize God’s response. It brings with it a deep sense of inner peace and spiritual joy, even when the message challenges us to do something demanding or difficult. The saints are unanimous in saying that we need to have this kind of a deep prayer-life in order to form a tight bond with God. It will bring us to a spiritual experience of Christ that rests upon the personal conviction that He is not simply a figure in the Bible or a holy man of history but rather. Rather, we will come to see more fully and clearly that He is truly risen and alive and very much interested in my life right here and right now. Such prayer experiences will deepen our bond with Jesus and strengthen us to acknowledge Him publicly before others no matter what might come our way.

Being Called and Chosen

 

Deacon Dave · Being Called & Chosen

Homily for the 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, June 14, 2026. Gospel of St.Matthew 9:36-10:8. Theme: Being Called and Chosen 

 Have you ever wondered why out of the billions of people who inhabit planet Earth, you and I have been freely gifted with the Christian Faith? How is it that we are among the mere 30% of the world’s population that has received this grace? It’s certainly not as if any one of us has done something spectacular to grab God’s attention. And it’s not like we stand head and shoulders above the rest of humanity as more worthy or less sinful. It’s a great mystery to be called by God, to be chosen, to become part of a people uniquely His own. Yet this is what today’s readings are all about. 

 God calls and chooses whomever He wishes and He seems to have a special delight for those who by worldly standards are considered to be rather ordinary and unimportant. The Twelve Apostles who were all just ordinary guys with ordinary families working in various ordinary occupations. But then Jesus called and chose them, sending them out as missionary disciples of the Kingdom of God and made them the foundation of the Church. 

 This mystery of God’s manner of calling and choosing is exemplified for me in a powerful experience from my childhood that is still quite vivid and meaningful. If you were like me, growing up in a small town, then you might recall how the neighborhood kids (and there were tons of us back then) would often gather in a local field for a game of ball. The older guys, typically the jocks of the neighborhood, were of course always the captains. The rest of us wannabes lined up for the ritual of choosing sides where your talents and abilities (or lack thereof) were publicly acknowledged. Now, I could hit the ball pretty well but I just couldn’t run to save my life. While my typical at bat could send the ball far into the outfield, I’d be lucky to pull a single out of what most guys could turn into a double. And so, I dreaded those line-ups before my peers for I knew well where I stood in the neighborhood rankings. 

 But there was this one guy named Charles, who even at our young age stood head and shoulders above the rest of us. No one dared to question his choices or doubt his selections. But whenever I saw Charles take up a captain’s spot my fear of humiliation diminished and I would get a kinda smile on my face. Because you see, I knew that whenever Charles was captain I was safe from total and utter embarrassment before my peers. No, he wouldn’t pick me in the first couple rounds because he was after all a jock and wanted to win! But I also knew that with Charles I wouldn’t be left standing there as the last choice of the day. Why did he pick me so often? And why did he potentially risk the game by choosing me? Since I really had no extraordinary talent that would merit my selection the only answer I could come up with was that he was just that kind of guy. Within his towering athletic frame was a tender heart as big as his muscles. His action was and remains a mystery to me. But it also has become a reflection of Christ who also had a big tender heart and who also chose those who didn’t seem to have a lot to offer for the making of a “winning team”. 

 It seems that like Charles, Jesus has a “soft spot” for the underdog. I think this is how the Twelve Apostles must have felt when Jesus selected them to become his daily companions and share in his ministry as we hear in today's Gospel. They were a real mixed group of everyday guys who must have been amazed that the Messiah had called and chosen them! There was nothing special or outstanding about any one of them. Simon-Peter, was a shrewd impetuous fisherman; the brothers James and John were so emotionally explosive that Jesus nicknamed them the “sons of thunder”; Simon the Zealot was a vengeful guerilla freedom-fighter. We surely can’t forget Matthew the greedy turncoat tax-collector. And of course there was the infamous traitor, Judas Iscariot. But as unlikely as any of them were to become companions of Christ and sharers in his ministry, they were each called and chosen on no merit of their own. And even more amazingly, Jesus shared some of His divine power with these ragtag men! They were sent out by Christ on a mission in which they had spiritual authority to drive demons out of the possessed and gifted with the supernatural ability to cure the sick and heal the lame! 

 I have grown and changed in so many ways since those days of neighborhood games, but I’ve never outgrown the memory of Charles. I have never forgotten his mysterious graciousness in calling and choosing. And for me this experience from childhood throws some light on the mystery of Christ’s calling and choosing. Just as Charles’ kindness helped to boost me up and feel a bit less unworthy, so being called and chosen by God tells us that the Lord sees more about us than we can see or imagine about ourselves. So we no longer have to wonder if we are lovable or fixable. We no longer need to doubt as to if we have some value and mission in this world. God’s gracious and mysterious selection of each one of us has proven our worth! So let’s thank God for calling us and let’s praise him for counting us among the Chosen!

We Can’t Really Live Without Him!

 

Deacon Dave · We Can’t Really Live Without Him!

Homily for Corpus Christi Sunday, June 7, 2026. Gospel of St. John 6: 51-58 Theme: We Can’t Really Live Without Him! 

 Jesus’ words in today's Gospel are among the most startling words He ever spoke. They were so shocking that His listeners could hardly believe what they were hearing when He said, "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you." This was the breaking point for many of Christ’s disciples so they stopped following Him. But notice that Jesus didn’t back away from what He said. To the contrary, He repeated Himself again and again. He went on to emphasize in no uncertain terms that His flesh was indeed to be true food and blood true drink. 

 And then, as if that wasn't already enough for his disciples to absorb and take in, He added, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." Notice that Jesus didn’t say, "Whoever admires me," or "Whoever remembers me." Rather, He said “lives in Me” which speaks about an up close and personal relationship with each one of us. A union that is so intimate that He actually becomes part of us we actually become part of Him. The Risen Lord lives in us and we live in Him. His thoughts become our thoughts, His compassion becomes our compassion, and His life becomes our life pulsating through our spiritual veins, so to speak. This is why, as His Church, we are called what we truly become through the Eucharist: the Mystical Body of Christ. 

 To better understand this teaching, let’s think for a moment about ordinary food. In the natural order of things, what we eat becomes part of us. It nourishes us and sustains our life. But when it comes to the Food and Drink of the Eucharist, something totally different and more wonderful happens. That natural process is reversed and becomes a supernatural process. Christ takes us into Himself and we become part of him, we become what we eat! The more we mindfully partake of Holy Communion, the more we grow and become strong in the spiritual life because Christ lives in us! 

 But you know, the opposite is also true. We can stop having Christ live in us which will lead to spiritual death. How so? Because without regular feeding on the Flesh and Blood of the Eucharist, our faith weakens, our moral choices get blurry-eyed and we grow tired of following Jesus. If we deprive ourselves of this supernatural nourishment for too long a time, spiritual life is drained out of us and we will eventually find that we have fallen away from following Christ. I am sure that many of us have sadly seen the reality of this downhill dynamic happening among our own family and friends. 

 To keep us spiritually strong and united with Jesus is why the Eucharist stands at the center of our Catholic Faith. This is why the reception of Holy Communion is so very vital for us. This is why every single one of the saints without exception cherished the Eucharist so deeply. However, Holy Communion isn't something reserved only for those who are living a totally ideal Christian life! As the late Pope Francis never tired of reminding us, the Eucharist is not a reward for the perfect nor a gold star for good behavior. It's medicine for the spiritually sick and a remedy for sinners. It’s strength for the weak and healing balm for the wounded. And so, if we ever are tempted to think that we are not good enough to receive Jesus, then all we need to do is remember that accusations were heaped upon Him by “respectable and devout” people because He shared meals with tax collectors and prostitutes. They insulted Him by calling Him the “friend of sinners.” Well, we can find hope in the fact that it is still that very same Jesus who delights to come to us sinners in the Eucharist today! 

 As we approach the altar to receive Holy Communion on this feast of Corpus Christi, let us ask for three graces. First, a deeper faith in the Real Presence of the Lord in this Sacrament. Second, for a greater hunger and thirst for the Supernatural Food and Drink of the Eucharist. And third, that we open our hearts to conversion and be transformed by the One Whom we receive. And may the "Amen" that we say upon receiving the Consecrated Host be much more than just an habitual ritual response. May it be a heartfelt profession of faith by which we mean: "Lord, I believe. Remain in me, and help me to always remain in you."