Being Changed From The Inside Out!

 

Deacon Dave · Being Changed From the Inside Out

Homily for the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter & Paul, June 29, 2025. Theme: Being Changed From the Inside Out! 

 Saints Peter and Paul, whom we are commemorating in today’s Liturgy, are two of the most important figures in the history of Christianity. Peter, whose name was originally Simon, was a typical working class Jewish fisherman with only a most basic understanding of Judaism. Paul, on the other hand, came from an upper class Jewish family that had the rare privilege of Roman citizenship. In addition, he was a well-educated rabbi. By nature, Peter was impetuous and volatile, while Paul was arrogant and conceited. And yet here we are today, venerating them and celebrating their memory. How so? What happened to change them into the saintly men that they became? Well, we need to have a little backstory to answer that question. 

 Both Peter and Paul were devout Israelites, which meant that their religious practice was all about carefully observing laws and rituals. From the time they woke up until they went back to bed at night, there were rules governing just about every possible human action or behavior! As we can imagine, this tended to foster in them the idea that one’s devotion to God was measured according to how well the law was being kept and how accurately the rituals were being carried out. The danger of defining religion in this way is that it misleads us into thinking we’re all good with God simply based on external compliance regardless of interior attitude. 

 And this was very much the way Peter and Paul were until each had a life-changing personal spiritual experience of Jesus Christ! Their encounters with the Lord were total game-changers that freed them from seeing religion as primarily all about rule-keeping and introduced them to the liberating truth that right religion is about a personal relationship with the Living God who loved them. Their spiritual experiences brought about within them a radical readjustment of the mind which then allowed them to have a radical change of heart. And once their eyes were opened to see old things in a new way they were well on the road to becoming the transformed men and great saints that we're honoring today! 

 Peter’s first spiritual experience of Christ came to him during a miraculous catch of fish which opened his eyes to recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. It enabled him to see himself as he truly was apart from observing the law. It moved him to throw himself on his knees and confess his sinfulness to the Lord right then and there on the shore of Lake Galilee. He would go on to have other spiritual awakenings such as those we heard about in today’s readings, when Jesus declared him to be the rock on which His Church would be built and when he was miraculously freed from prison by an angel. These spiritual experiences changed Peter to such an extent that, he who once denied even knowing Christ in order to save his own skin, became a courageous martyr for the Lord, which happened when he was crucified upside down in Rome about the year 64 AD. 

 And now for Paul. He had his first spiritual experience of Christ on the road to Damascus when the Risen Lord appeared to him. He was then known as Saul of Tarsus, a fierce and bloody persecutor of Christians. His first encounter with Jesus literally knocked him off his feet and resulted in physical blindness. And then he was given another spiritual experience when a Christian prayed over him, laid hands upon him and restored his sight. These events radically altered his way of thinking and transformed Saul into the Apostle Paul. a dynamic missionary of the faith he was once trying to destroy! He who used to be all about observing the ritual laws of Israel was now preaching that the law kills while the Spirit gives life! Like Peter, he would also die in Rome, where he was martyred by being beheaded on the same day that Peter was crucified. And we have venerated them together in the Liturgy just about ever since. 

 You know the saints are all examples for us to follow and learn from. And it seems to me that one thing the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul teach us is that if we want a faith that is vibrant and meaningful, and if we want our practice of religion to be more than just going through the motions, then we each need need to have a personal spiritual experience of Jesus Christ at some time in our lives. And so we might wonder…what is a spiritual experience? How can we define it? Well, it’s hard to describe supernatural things but I guess we can say that it’s like an “aha moment” so to speak, during which we become convinced that Jesus is not a dead and long-gone Savior, but is in fact the Risen Lord who is very much alive and present to us. It’s an enlightenment through which our faith becomes more important in our lives. It’s an awareness that alters our way of thinking, that touches our hearts, bringing about a change in our attitude and behavior. And it’s something that God offers to us throughout our lives because we are always in need of conversion and growth in holiness. 

 Now, such spiritual experiences don't have to be spectacular or dramatic or sensational as we saw in the stories about Peter and Paul. As a matter of fact, they are usually quite simple and ordinary. They can be anything God so chooses and can happen anywhere God so pleases. They can come to us while we are praying in our homes or out enjoying nature. They may spring into our hearts at the birth of a child or upon the passing of a loved one. We might experience an “aha moment” of encountering Christ while serving the sick and needy or while listening to the readings or the prayers or the music of the Liturgy. Who knows, it might even be possible to have a spiritual experience while listening to a homily! 

 But the bottom line is that it really doesn’t matter what spiritual experiences consist of or how they come to us. What matters, you see, is how open we are to receiving them and how we respond to the graces God gives us through them. But the one thing that they all have in common is that they change us from the inside out. Because of them God becomes more real and important. Because of them religion becomes a way of being in a personal relationship with Him. And because of them, we treasure our faith in Jesus as something worth living for and if needs be, even worth dying for, as we see in the lives of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

The Living Bread!

 

Deacon Dave · The Living Bread!

Homily for Corpus Christi Sunday, June 22, 2025. 1 Cor. 11:23-26; Gospel of St. Luke 9:11-17. Theme: The Living Bread! 

 Today's Gospel story about the multiplication of loaves has always been seen by Christians as directly connected with the Eucharist. This is because both deal with Jesus providing miraculous bread that nourishes people in an incredible way. In the Gospel story the meager supply of bread never runs out so that there is more than enough to feed everyone. In the Eucharist the bread is transformed into the very Body and Blood of Christ to satisfy our spiritual hunger. And so, both deal with something that is beyond human explanation and baffles our understanding. 

 But you know, that’s not surprising because the reality of Jesus Himself was baffling! What I mean is, when the people in that crowd encountered Jesus in person, what they saw and smelled and touched and heard was to all appearances just an ordinary Jewish man. He was a carpenter from the obscure village of Nazareth and as such He spoke with a heavy Galilean accent (which culturally for us would be how we would classify a southern redneck accent). He was in his 30’s, fit and strong from his work as a laborer, and was covered with the dust of the road. But that wasn’t the whole story as to who this miracle-working Man really was. Their senses could not identify the fact that standing right there before them was Adonai, the Lord, their glorious and mighty God! 

That reality was there, but it was hidden from them by the ordinary physicality of His flesh and bone. The Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist is very much the same and puts us in a similar situation. We don’t grasp the full truth of what is happening in our presence, before our very eyes. And yet, a genuine miracle takes place at every Mass. What was simply bread and wine become the Sacred Body and Saving Blood of our Risen Lord Jesus Christ. Though they continue to look and taste the same, Christ our God is in fact really and truly present in every morsel of what was once bread and in every drop of what was previously ordinary wine. 

 God knows that this is a hard teaching to believe and accept and so every once in a while he gives us tangible evidence that what we believe is true. Every so often God has changed not just the inner reality but also the actual physicality of the bread and wine of the Eucharist. There are over 100 of these documented Eucharistic miracles affirming for us that what we worship, what we receive and what we adore is truly the Flesh and Blood of Christ the Lord. I want to mention just two of them. 

 The first and most famous of these took place in Lanciano, Italy in the year 750 AD. A priest celebrating Mass was having doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in Holy Communion. During the words of consecration, the host he was holding began to literally turn into flesh right in his hands, and the few drops of wine in the chalice were transformed into globules of blood. And most amazingly they have remained so over the past 1300 years! In 1971, Pope St. Paul VI permitted carefully guarded scientific studies to be carried out and it was discovered that the flesh was from the heart of a male and the content of the chalice was human blood type AB. 

 Jumping ahead to the 20th century, a host also turned into bloody flesh in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1996. The bishop at that time was the future Pope Francis. He sent samples under careful guard to a reputable lab in New York for reserach into this phenomenon. Those who tested it were not told what it was nor where it came from. The man in charge of the study was Dr. Frederic Zugibe, a world-famous cardiologist and forensic pathologist. The findings revealed it to be part of a male heart muscle with blood type AB. This meant that Eucharistic miracles of Buenos Aires and Lanciano were a perfect match! 

 But the examination of the Argentinian host resulted in an even more astounding and inexplicable fact. When the lab samples were put under a microscope, Dr. Zugibe saw that the cells were actually moving, pulsating and beating, like a normal human heart! The host was somehow and inexplicably living cardiac flesh! He declared it to be a mystery beyond the capability of science to explain. However, our Faith supports this incredible finding because it tells us that the Eucharist we receive is the Body and Blood of our risen and Living Lord and not that of a dead and long-gone Savior. We proclaimed this mystery at the Alleluia acclamation today which said: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven…”. The Living Bread! 

 We cannot comprehend or explain how this miraculous transformation of the Eucharist happens. But I think we can see why God chose to have its physicality remain as bread and wine in taste and appearance. For who of us would actually go to Holy Communion if it looked and tasted like what it really is: the living Flesh and Blood of Christ? And yet, that is the awesome reality. And so, with faith we must look beyond the appearance of the consecrated Host held up before us and remember that Jesus said, “This is my body given for you…”. We must look beyond the consecrated Wine in the chalice and remember the words of Christ at the Last Supper: “This is my blood, poured out for you.”

Trinity is Another Word for Love!

 

Deacon Dave · Trinity is Another Word for Love!

Homily for Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2025. Readings: Letter to the Romans 5:1-5; Gospel of St. John 16:12-15. Theme: Trinity is Another Word for Love! 

 Today’s Liturgy reminds us that we Christians have received knowledge from God and about God that sets us totally apart from all other world religions. I am talking, of course, about what we have come to call the “Mystery of the Most Holy and Blessed Trinity”. Now, the word “mystery” in Catholic vocabulary doesn't mean something that needs to be figured out or solved as in an intriguing detective novel or a “who-done-it” movie. When we say “mystery” we affirm that we’re dealing with a truth that is far beyond our reckoning powers. This doesn't mean that we can’t know anything about it. It simply means we can’t know everything. 

 So, no matter how smart we are it’s impossible to wrap our minds around the fact that the One True God is a plurality or communion of persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And equally mysterious is that fact that this doesn’t mean that there are three gods who are intimately related, rather, it tries to describe in limited human words that the One Divine Being is (somehow) existent as three distinct Persons. So, no matter how much time we spend thumbing through the pages of the Bible, we will never find any explanation whatsoever as to HOW this can be true…but what we WILL find is a hint as to WHY it can be true! It’s in one of the shortest but most powerful statements about God that is recorded in the entire Bible and is composed of only three words: “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) 

 So, by knowing that God is love we can venture out into the mystery of the Trinity and see how it can make a bit of sense to us. How so? Because we know that love is not a solitary affair. It requires at least two persons: a Lover and the Beloved. And then we can move on from there by looking at marriage, the ultimate human love-bond which the Church teaches is a reflection of God’s threefold relationship. And we see in marriage that the fruit of a Lover and the Beloved coming together is another person. So now there are three. And so, as limited and imperfect as this example might be, it can help us reach a point of at least imagining the possibility of the Trinity. But we are not left just imagining. Jesus’ words enlighten us like a beam of a lighthouse piercing through dense fog, and assure us that there is indeed this Third Party in the Divine Relationship. And Christ called Him the Holy Spirit. 

 But that’s pretty much all that we can say with some confidence about the Trinity. Anything else would simply be theorizing and speculating. So then why did God reveal it if we cannot truly grasp it? Well, first of all, perhaps it’s because God really wants to be known by us. He doesn’t want us to think of Him as simply some faraway Creator who glances down upon us now and then, checking in to see how we’re doing but otherwise leaves us to ourselves. No, by revealing Who and What He is, God wants us to know Him and by knowing Him better, to love Him more and more. In other words, God wants to be in a meaningful personal relationship with us. Second, knowing more about God can tell us something about ourselves as well, because we are made in His image and likeness. And this “something” that God shows us about ourselves by revealing Himself as a Trinity of Persons, is that we came from Love and are meant to return to Love. We were each made for the sake of love and are each given a share in a mission of love. As the awesome St. Therese of the Child Jesus put it upon discovering the meaning of the Trinity in her life, “At last I have found my vocation: it is to love!” 

 You see, as Christians we are baptized (which means “immersed”) into the Divine Relationship of Love that is the Trinity. We are given both the privilege and the obligation to be instruments of God’s love in all that we are, in all that we do. This is a big mission but we are not left to our own devices in order to accomplish it. Today’s second reading reminds us that this love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who is our connecting bond with the Blessed Trinity. The more we open our hearts to the Spirit of the Father and the Son the more will this Divine Love spillover from us and flow to others. And thus the importance of cultivating a vibrant living devotion to Him! 

 Through us the Trinity’s transforming love can gradually spread out into our troubled, divided, confused and violence-torn world. Now, of course, we can’t each directly influence all of the world but we can each certainly influence that part of it in which we live, work and socialize. So, consider this: if the whole Mystical Body of Christ, that is, we who are the Church, commit to this mission of love each within our own little slice of life, then as a worldwide body we can indeed influence the entire planet! This is not an impossibility but can indeed become a reality, but only IF we Christians each take our mission to be living reflections of the Trinity seriously.

As If By A New Pentecost!

 

Deacon Dave · As If By A New Pentecost

Homily for Pentecost Sunday, June 8, 2025. Reading: Acts 2:1-11. Theme: As If By A New Pentecost 

 The first Pentecost Sunday was such a significant turning point in the story of Jesus and His disciples that it is celebrated as the birthday of the Catholic Church. Up to that day the Church existed of course, but in a kind of hidden way, very much like an unborn child growing quietly in the womb. But with the dramatic outpouring of the Spirit as we just heard from the Book of Acts, this Church-in-the-womb burst forth into the world kicking and screaming like a newborn baby! The apostles and disciples of the Lord made a lot of noise in Jerusalem on that first Christian Pentecost, boldly proclaiming the truth about the Risen Christ and baptizing 3,000 people! 

 But this Pentecost experience was never intended to be just a one-day event. It is meant to be spiritually repeated in every generation through the Sacrament of Confirmation. And actually, during the first few centuries of Christianity, the Spirit’s presence was manifested among the newly confirmed by tangible outward signs and dramatic changes of lifestyle. However, once Christianity became the status quo religion of Western Culture these notable manifestations seemed to lessen and even stop. How come? What happened? Well, quite often it was because the Faith was forced upon people by their rulers or embraced out of family expectations or even sought after for social status. In other words, the vital element of personal conviction of faith in Christ as Savior along with a heartfelt desire to live a Christian life was missing. And so without this indispensable personal desire for the Spirit, Confirmation became for most people a kind of “conveyor-belt” Sacrament that that everyone went through as a kind of religious rite of passage and nothing more. 

 I know that was true about me. If you were like me when I was confirmed, there was no real interest in being set on fire for Jesus nor any enthusiasm in wanting to receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Instead, the Sacred Fire of Pentecost passed on to me in that Sacrament was more like a dim pilot light in the back burner of my life and sometimes it very nearly went out! However, the good news is that it’s never too late to turn things around! The spark of the Spirit that was placed there at Confirmation can always be relit no matter how long it's been. And this is precisely what a conscious devotion to the Holy Spirit can do for us. It can turn up the burner on that pilot light of faith, making our love for God and neighbor both grow and glow. 

 Now, how this might happen differs for each one of us, but quite often it comes about when we have a personal realization that the faith should have an important place in our lives. And this can look different for different people. For some, life-challenging circumstances might show them how much they need to turn their lives and wills over to the care of God. For others it can come about when a self-revelation makes it crystal clear that they need to surrender their stubbornness and pride to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to burn away all the trash that they have accumulated within themselves. And then there are those who as they mature come to see that faith and eternal life are precious gifts to pass on to their children. The Gospels call this change of heart being “baptized with the Holy Spirit”. The Apostle St. Paul referred to it as “living by the Spirit”. Many of us today might know it better as a “conversion experience” or having a “spiritual awakening”. But whatever we call it, it means that the Pentecostal fire within us has been relit and Jesus becomes for us, in a much more real way, the Lord and Savior of our lives! 

 So, where do we go from there? Well, the first thing is to get to know the Holy Spirit better. I think many often find this to be a bit challenging because we often mistakenly think of Him in an impersonal way, much like the Force in Star Wars. But He’s not just some sort of supernatural energy or spiritual influence. He’s a Divine Person who loves us and wants to be in a relationship with us. So, then how do we get to know Him? Well, of course, the first thing to do is pray, speak with Him and ask Him to come, visit and fill your heart. And then get to recognize Him. The Bible tells us that the Spirit makes Himself known through symbols that describe how He acts in our lives. For example, He came down upon Jesus at His baptism in the form of a Dove, the sign of gentleness and peace. Jesus described the Spirit as both Living Water and the Breath of God both of which give spiritual and eternal life. At the Last Supper Christ called Him our Paraclete which means Advocate, Defender and Comforter. He also spoke of Him as the Spirit of Truth who enables us to recognize and reject the lies that our culture tries to sell us. And in our First Reading today, the Spirit manifested Himself as a Mighty Wind which speaks of invisible power and as Fiery Flames that purify and energize. His miracle of Tongues shows us that He is a unifier of people no matter who they are or where they come from. 

 So, when we choose to truly live our faith in the power of the Spirit, how might we recognize Him acting within us? Well, it seems to me that the Dove of the Spirit will guide us to live in peace and harmony with others. The Fire of the Spirit will burn within us so that we become enthusiastic and committed to doing what is right and just in God’s sight. The powerful Wind of the Spirit will push us out of our comfort zones so that we can be of service to others. His Living Water will refresh us spiritually through prayer and meditation and the Life-giving Breath of the Spirit will enable us to forgive those who have hurt us. Finally, I think that we will be participating in His Gift of Tongues whenever we use our speech to say the good things that people need to hear, things that will really help them. So, no matter how the Holy Spirit may choose to act in and through us, we can be confident that He will do so in such a way that His Presence and Power be manifested according to our own particular needs and situations. And if we do our best to grow in a genuine devotion to the Holy Spirit, then we can rightfully and hopefully expect Him to inflame our hearts with His love and renew us from the inside out as if by a New Pentecost in our lives today!