The Three "Musts" of Christianity

 

Deacon Dave · The Three "Musts" of Christianity

Homily for the 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 30, 2026. Gospel of St. Matthew 16:21-27. Theme: The Three “Musts” of Christianity 

 In today’s Gospel we heard Jesus state quite simply and clearly what can be called the “Three Musts of Christianity”. They are: We must deny ourselves, We must take up our cross, and we must follow Jesus. It’s important to note that by using the word “must” He’s informing us that these are not just suggestions. They are in fact non-negotiables for those who want to embrace the way of Jesus and lay claim to the name of Christian. 

 The first “must” is that of denying ourselves. Now, to some people this can sound like a form of self-punishment but what it really means is that we work on letting go of self-centeredness. Why is this first? Because love is the Great Commandment of Jesus and the central moral teaching of Christianity and as we all know, real love has nothing at all to do with being self-focused! As Christians we’re called to develop within ourselves the priorities of Jesus, and so when it comes to loving, His priorities go like this: God, first. Others, second. And oneself, last. 

 This rooting out of self-centeredness will look somewhat different for each one of us in real life because we are each unique human beings. However, there are some tendencies that we all share in common and so working on this might mean that we need to stop insisting on having things go our way. It might lead us to giving up the tendency to control others. It can motivate us to rid ourselves of the need to always be right. Christian self-denial moves us to stop wasting time and energy on arranging things to please ourselves and instead to start thinking about ways in which we can promote the happiness and well-being of others. It inspires us to no longer ask ourselves “What do I want?” but, instead to turn to Jesus in prayer and ask, “Lord, what is it that You want for me?” 

 The second “must” of Christianity is taking up the cross. This one surely must have been the biggest shocker to those who heard it because it brought to their minds one thing and one thing only: the very real and dreaded punishment of crucifixion that they knew from experience all too well. In their first century Roman Empire world, condemned criminals were forced to take up their own crosses and carry them to the place of execution. This intentionally included being paraded before their peers, exposed to public ridicule and social humiliation. Finally, they were stripped and crucified naked in what was considered the final act of public shaming for a Jew. We put a loin cloth on Jesus on our crucifixes out of respect, but that's not at all the way it really was. So you see, those who heard Jesus declare that they “must take up the cross” were surely saying among themselves, “He means that we have to be willing to suffer and die for Him.” 

 And they were right! Millions of believers in every era of history, including over 60% of today’s Christians, have carried the cross of persecution and martyrdom. But taking up the cross can also lead to another kind of suffering and death besides a literal one. It’s what we might call a “social crucifixion”. This can happen when the Faith we hold dearly in our hearts comes into conflict with the values of our culture, especially when this conflict is among those with whom we live, work and socialize. This can put us in some pretty difficult situations that force us to ask ourselves some pretty tough questions about the sincerity and depth of our personal relationship with Christ. Am I willing to publicly follow Jesus if it means being ridiculed by some of my friends? Am I willing to follow Jesus if it means becoming alienated from some members of the family? Am I willing to follow Jesus in the workplace even if it means losing a promotion or having to change my job? I know for a fact that there are some among us here today who have had to deal with these very questions and situations and I am humbled as well as inspired by their fidelity. 

 Lastly, we come to the third “must” which is that of following Jesus. Now, at first glance, this one might seem to be the easiest of the three. But that perception changes once we realize that being a disciple of the Lord involves much more than simply bearing the name of Christian and attending Mass on Sundays. Following Jesus actually means rolling up our sleeves, so to speak, and getting busy with the difficult work of becoming more like Him in thought, word and deed. You see, the word “disciple” comes from a Greek word that means an apprentice, that is, someone who spends their days in the presence of a Master, watching him carefully, copying his example and learning from his words. This is what our following of Christ is supposed to be like. So, as 21st century disciple-apprentices of Jesus the Master, we need to turn to the Gospels for our daily instruction and formation because that’s where we can learn about Him, where we can hear and absorb His teachings, where we can be inspired by His actions and form ourselves with Him as our Model. So, I think it's plain to see that “following Jesus” puts us on a lifelong journey of personal transformation in which we are always a “work in progress”. 

 However, Jesus never asks the impossible of us and he knows how challenging all of this can be! And before returning to Heaven, He gave us two gifts that enable us to faithfully carry out these three musts of Christianity. The first is the Holy Eucharist, by which He personally comes to live within us, empowering us from the inside out with the strength we need to keep pressing forward towards the goal. And the second gift is what He Himself called “power from on high”, by which He meant the Indwelling Presence of the Holy Spirit who enlightens us, enlivens us, and enables us to do all that He commands. So you see, He makes the impossible possible. And as if to cheer us on, Jesus ended the message of today’s Gospel by assuring us that when our time arrives to leave planet Earth, He will come with His angels to escort us into His Father’s glory. And that is when and where we will receive our eternal reward for having done our best with the help of His grace to deny ourselves, to take up the cross and to follow Him.

From Fisherman to Rock

 

Deacon Dave · From Fisherman to Rock

Homily for the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 23, 2026. Readings: Isaiah 22:19-23; Gospel of St. Matthew 16:13-20. Theme: From Fisherman to Rock 

 If someone was to ask you, “What doctrine makes Catholics distinctive from other Christians?” How would you reply? Chances are that you might respond with something like, "We believe in the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist." Or maybe, "We honor the Blessed Mother and the saints." And while those are good answers, they are not the right ones because the Eastern Orthodox Churches share our same faith in the Eucharist and forms of devotion to Mary and the saints are practiced among some Protestant denominations. So, what is it then that clearly sets us apart from other Christians? 

 It’s the office and ministry of our Holy Father, the pope, that makes us uniquely and distinctly Catholic! And today’s Gospel is the one that most clearly reveals that Christ personally and intentionally established His Church as a community with a hierarchy of leadership. From among His countless followers Jesus chose 12 men to be His Apostles, that is, those to whom He gave specialized training along with the authority to preach and teach in His Name. Then, from among those 12 He appointed one to be the leader of them all. 

 I’ve often wondered if Jesus asked his Apostles the question, “Who do you say that I am?” precisely to find out by their replies which one his Father had chosen to become this first leader. And it was Simon the fisherman who gave the correct reply saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” In response, Jesus said to him in effect, “Now let me tell you who you are Simon…I am renaming you Peter, which means “the Rock” and on the solid spiritual foundation of your leadership I will build my Church.” From that moment on the Scriptures often refer to Simon by his new name and whenever the list of apostles is given in the Gospels, he always comes first. This tells us that the early Church saw quite clearly that Jesus and Peter had now entered into a new and unique partnership within the community of disciples. 

 Jesus then went on to say that the gates of the netherworld would not prevail against this Church guided by the leadership of Peter. In biblical language “gates of the netherworld” meant destruction and death. Jesus was saying that His community would never pass away from history. Kingdoms, governments, dynasties and empires have all risen and fallen over the centuries, but the Catholic Church has persisted despite the odds because of God’s protection. Why so? Because the Church is necessary for salvation because it’s the Mystical Body of the Risen Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit to continue His mission throughout time. Through preaching, teaching, celebrating the Sacraments and serving the needs of the poor the Church persists on planet Earth through thick and thin because humanity desperately needs Christ! 

 At the end of today’s Gospel Jesus declared to Peter, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom…” Christ was directly quoting the prophet Isaiah which we heard in our First Reading about Eliakim, who was given the Jewish office of steward. In ancient Israel the steward was second in command and often acted in place of the king. He was officially given the keys to the kingdom as a sign of this authority to make laws and enforce policy. And so, we can see that Jesus was clearly appointing Peter as His steward. This is why the pope is called the Vicar (that is, Representative) of Christ. And as such, he is tasked by the Risen Lord to carry out this duty in three ways. 

 First, the pope enlightens us about the teachings of Christ. In our secularized world there are so many loud competing voices clamoring for our allegiance and drowning out the truth. So we need to be able to hear the voice of Christ clearly in the midst of all the noise. Guided by the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised, the pope applies the teaching of the Gospel to the various issues and needs of the times in which we live. In this way we Christians can walk by the light of Christ as faithful disciples despite the darkness and confusion that often engulfs the world. 

 Second, the pope strives to help us root our lives in Christ. By his encouraging words and hopefully equally encouraging example, the Holy Father calls us to grow deeper in our relationship with Jesus through prayer, the Sacraments, pondering the Gospels and serving the poor, the sick and the suffering. He asks us to allow our faith in Christ to influence every aspect of our lives - personal, social, sexual, economic and political - so that by the grace of the Holy Spirit we can be continually transformed from the inside out. It’s only through such a conversion of individual hearts that society itself as a whole can be collectively renewed in Christ, making the world a better place. 

 Thirdly, the spiritual fatherhood of the pope is meant to unite us. The early Roman Christians started calling Peter’s successors “the pope” which comes from the Latin word “papa” and this gave rise to his title of “Holy Father”. The figure of the pope reminds us that we are one spiritual family and not isolated individuals, not competitive parishes, not autonomous dioceses. We are but one worldwide Church, gathered around one Lord, professing one Faith, and united under one earthly shepherd. We always pray for the pope and for our unity with him at every Mass because it’s the one Eucharist we all share that is the real supernatural source and bond of our Church unity. 

 You know, I’ve always been an avid student of Church history and I’ve read a lot about the vast array of sinners as well as saints who have been elected pope. And the more one reads the more one sees clearly that the gates of the Church have indeed been shut tight against the destructive forces of the netherworld. And also, the more I read the more convinced I become that the Church was truly founded upon a solid supernatural foundation on that day 2,000 years ago when Simon the Fisherman became Peter the Rock.

Expanding Our Hearts and Our Minds

 

Deacon Dave · Expanding Our Hearts and Our Minds

Homily for the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time, August 16, 2026. Readings: Isaiah 56:1-7; Romans 11:13-32; Gospel of St. Matthew 15: 21-28. Theme: Expanding Our Hearts and Our Minds 

 In the Scriptures today we hear God calling us to a change of heart and mind in our human tendency to judge those whom we deem to “unfit” or “unworthy” to be in a relationship with Him. In the first reading God calls Israel, through His prophet Isaiah, to expand their hearts and minds in order to welcome outsiders into their worship. You see, they had developed the exclusive idea that only the Chosen People were pleasing to God and therefore only their worship was acceptable to the Lord. But God informs them that their most sacred place of worship, the holy Jerusalem Temple, was intended to be a “house of prayer for all peoples.” Unfortunately, this message of inclusivity was not well received nor obeyed! 

 In our second reading, St. Paul takes up the same theme of expanding our hearts and minds. In his day the Church in Rome was in the midst of a power struggle of sorts, an ongoing in-house argument between Jewish and Gentile converts to Christianity. He reminded the Jewish Christians to stop looking down on their Gentile brethren and remember that once upon a time they were considered “nobodies” among the nations of the world. And that it was only by God's free and generous grace were they themselves were able to become “somebodies” as His Chosen People. And in turn he told Gentile Christians to stop denigrating the Jewish members of the Church and realize that they owed their faith in Christ to them for it was through Israel that the Messiah came into the world.. So, St. Paul is basically telling both factions to get off their high horse and to remember , as we say, “who you are and where you came from”. 

 This same dynamic of expanding hearts and minds is the theme of our Gospel reading. Jesus and his disciples are being pestered by a Gentile woman who is quite insistent on being heard! The disciples’ are annoyed by her attitude and beg Jesus to get her off their backs! As they see it, she is both pagan and female and thus has no business whatsoever speaking publicly and directly to a man, let alone a devout rabbi, such as Jesus. However, the woman ignores their rebukes and persists in her plea to Jesus. Like any devoted mother she would not take “no” for an answer when it came to her sick child. 

 Our Lord responds by telling her that He was sent first of all as Messiah to the Jews saying, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” Gentiles were sometimes rudely referred to as “dogs” in ancient Jewish culture and it may seem shocking to us to hear Jesus taking up that same kind of language. However, in reality He was testing the depth and sincerity of her faith as we will see. She humbly responded to His words by admitting that while the Israelites were indeed children of God, this didn't mean that Gentiles were left out of the picture! And the way she did this was quite interesting and bold! 

 You see, there are two words for "dogs" in the Greek language of the Bible and the woman’s clever play on words is missed in most of our English translations. The word that Jesus used was "kunon" which meant a wild dog. But the lady used a related word "kunarion" which means a tame dog or a puppy. So in her quick wit, she responded by saying that not all dogs are feral and that some are beloved house pets who are well-cared for and fed by their owners! I think we can almost hear a chuckle in Jesus' response as perhaps he thought to Himself, "Good one! Great come back!" And so, the woman’s daughter was healed because of her faith in Jesus as Messiah of all people. She recognized correctly that if He so wished, He could open the door for Gentiles to share in the Lord’s table alongside the Jews. 

 This Gospel is showing us that the Heart of Jesus excludes no one from His mercy and kind love. That what counts is faith in Him and not who you are or where you come from. His mission expanded to grant her request and heal her daughter. This expansion of heart and mind is at the very core of the Gospel message, of what it means for us to live and think and act as Christians. We are to accept others because God accepts both us and them. We are to forgive others because God forgives both us and them. And we are to love others because God loves both us and them. Does this describe our outlook towards others, especially those we might think of as beyond the reach of God? It's a tall order but Jesus never asks the impossible of us. He knows it’s a struggle for us to love as He loves and that we simply cannot do it on our own. And so He gives us supernatural power by coming to dwell within us through Holy Communion. 

 The Risen Lord working from within us can expand our own hearts if we allow it by giving Him permission to do so. He can heal us of the spiritual cancer of exclusivity and superiority and enable us to see the reflective image of God even in those whom we do not naturally like. Through consistent and mindful reception of the Eucharist He can transform us and re-make us from the inside out so that we accept those whom God accepts, so that we forgive those whom God forgives, and so that we love those whom God loves. And that, my friends, is everyone.

In Silence & In Storms

 

Deacon Dave · In Silence & In Storms

Homily for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Aug. 9, 2026. Readings: 1 Kings 19:9-13, Gospel of St. Matthew 14:22-33. Theme: In Silence & In Storms 

 Have no fear…Do not be afraid! Did you know that those words form the most common message in the entire Bible? The God who created us, the God who became one of us, knows that fear, born out of a sense of powerlessness over things we simply cannot control, lies in the deepest recesses of our hearts. In today’s readings God reminds us that in those times when we experience our powerlessness, we can reach out to Him for encouragement and strength. 

 In our first reading we hear about the great prophet Elijah, who lived about 800 years before Christ, hiding out in a cave. But it leaves out what happened to him to bring him to this place of refuge. You see, he had been on a crusade of preaching against the idolatrous deeds of the Israelite King Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel. They were worshiping false idols and leading the people away from the One True God of Israel. Elijah spoke out vehemently against this apostasy and as a result got his name put on the royal death list. And so in his powerlessness he fled into the wilderness where he hid in a cave and asked the Lord to take his life before Jezebel’s men could do so. In response, God made Himself known to Elijah in the quiet stillness of a gentle calming voice. Elijah immediately humbled himself before the Divine Presence by hiding his face in his cloak. 

 This story became a powerful lesson in Christian spirituality about prayer and meditation as the foundation of our relationship with God. It emphasizes that God comes to us in the quietness of silence more so than in the hectic busy-ness of the daily grind. And so we are encouraged to follow Elijah's example and go to a place in the quiet that can be our refuge in the midst of a busy day. This can be any place that allows us to be undistracted by all of our devices and duties, even if just for a short time, while we pray. Elijah’s story teaches us that without this time alone with the Lord in solitude we will more easily give in to our sense of powerlessness which then leads to a loss of serenity as we become focused on our fears.              

Our Gospel reading today shows us that God also comes to us amidst the ups and downs of daily life. The storm at sea can symbolize how we are so easily tossed about by various disturbances and situations that are beyond our control. Such experiences make us feel the depth of our powerlessness and so fears naturally arise. But this Gospel is telling us that at such times we need to muster up courage and realize that though we may be powerless we are not helpless. We can depend on the presence of Christ to be our anchor of hope and He is always only a whisper and a prayer away. 

 Like those disciples in the boat, we may have to look hard to see Him in the midst of our fears but He is, indeed, there. And once we catch sight of Him we must call out to Him with the faith of Peter. As long as he kept his eyes on Jesus he was fine, but as soon as he focused on the seas around him, he began to sink into its waves and Peter's fear turned into panic. This story is teaching us to keep our focus on Jesus, not on our worries or troubles around us, and then take that first step out of the boat of fear in an act of trust. 

 This is a good image for us to keep in mind as we approach the Lord to receive Him in Holy Communion. When we are standing in line making our way towards the altar, we carry within our minds all the issues, all the turmoils and all the fears of our day. But let’s bring these concerns to Jesus and reach out our hands in faith to Him as we receive the Eucharist. And then let’s say to Him with confidence, “Lord, save me!” Jesus will indeed pull us safely to His side as He did for Peter. The winds of fear swirling around us will die down and the waves of worry will stop crashing around us because we know the Lord is with us, grasping us by the hand.