TV Mass Homily

As we await the appointment of the ninth bishop of Sioux Falls, we have undertaken an upgrade of infrastructure of the Bishops House built in 1878. As a result, I have become a commuter which means I am spending more time driving. As I do so one thought has come to me: how much we rely on car brakes. Stops and starts are frequent and we expect to be protected by them from cars in front and behind to get to our destination, taking them often for granted. That thought led me to ponder whether we take for granted moral brakes, which includes the mercy our Lord offers to us in order for us to safely get to our ultimate desired designation which is oneness with Christ forever. Our readings…

Those of us who are short, or as it is said these days, vertically challenged, can relate to Zacchaeus. Sometimes our vision is blocked and we can’t see. I spent many years in the pew, often hidden behind others. Now as a bishop I have a better vantage point. (That is not always an advantage.) Zacchaeus was not only short. He was different from others. He was a tax collector and therefore despised by many for both the sin of extortion and for colluding with the Roman occupiers. He was different also in how he sought to see Jesus. Most of us would not have made a spectacle of ourselves by climbing a tree to see better, we just accept the blocked vision. And Zacchaeus was different in how he…

Our readings today offer us a caution and a promise. The caution is about the sin of pride; which is an equal opportunity threat, nourished by the devil. The sin of pride is most often reflected in how we relate to one another. The promise is about God’s mercy for those who come to him with true humility. The virtue of humility is most often reflected in how we relate to God, whether we acknowledge our need for God. Pride leads to anxiety, it can never be satisfied, and true humility leads to peace. During the month of October we reflect in a special way on respect for life, recognizing that all life is sacred from conception to natural death, a free gift by the creator. As someone said, “life…

Last week our readings encouraged us to always be grateful for God’s love and continuing presence especially in times of challenge. This week we are encouraged to pray without ceasing and also with persistence. Gratitude and persistent prayer are faith sustaining. First though we need to reflect on what we pray for. Prayers of petition are healthy and good but ultimately it must be God’s will we seek. When we lift up our hearts to God the Father who gave us life, to God the Son who died and rose for us and who offers himself to us in the Holy Eucharist, and to God the Holy Spirit who guides and guards us, our perspective is changed. When we lift our sight above the immediate to the eternal we discover…

There is a legend about two angels who were sent from heaven each with a basket. They went from place to place, to homes, churches, businesses, schools, anywhere people were active. Then they returned to heaven with their baskets. One was heavy with its bounty and the other was light. “What do you have in your basket,” one asked the other. “I was sent to collect the prayers of all the people who said, I want or please give me,” answered the one with the heavy basket. “What of yours?” the angel with the light basket was asked: “Oh I was sent to collect the thank you-s of all the people to whom God had sent a blessing. See how few remembered to offer thanks.” My life and I am…

‘How long, O Lord. I cry for help but you do not listen. I cry out to you. Violence, but you do not intervene.’ Those words from the prophet Habakkuk resonate with us as we look at the chaotic world in which we must live. They are pleading words offered in anxiety even in fear by someone seemingly overwhelmed. In the Gospel reading the disciples cry out, ‘increase our faith’. In anguish perhaps, declaring we can’t live as you want us to with what little faith we have right now. Help us. We can be fearful; we are tempted to anguish about so much. We fear growing older, contending with sickness, facing inadequate financial resources, being lonely, enshrouded in the uncertainty of the unknown future. We anguish for those who…

Do you ever feel compassion fatigue? With all the destructive happenings in the world as a result of natural causes, political infighting and human sinfulness we can get worn down by it all. Compassion fatigue is an inoculation against weariness from the enormity of the pain and suffering around us. Our readings suggest we ought not to let the immensity of human hurt prevent us from acknowledging poverty, injustice, racism, corruption, disease and loneliness and all their unpredictability to distract us from reaching out to others with personal and spiritual support in the name of Jesus Christ. Saint John Paul II wrote that: “the parable of the rich man and Lazarus must always be present in our memory; it must form our conscience. We cannot stand idly by, enjoying our…

“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple,” Jesus declares in the Gospel. Those are startling words. Yet, we know that Jesus loved his own family and friends, even sinners, that he healed and helped those in need, and then giving wholly of himself to his death on the cross. So what was he saying with these hard words? I think he was challenging us to get our priorities right, to recognize that half-hearted discipleship will not sustain us; that lukewarm faith will not nourish us; and that we must trust fully in him if we are to live with hope for the future and in peace in this passing chaotic…

In the Gospel just proclaimed, Jesus was at a dinner and the people were “observing him carefully.” The fact is that he was also observing them carefully with the intent to teach them. Jesus was not teaching good manners or how to get ahead. He teaches good discipleship and how to get to heaven. Our readings this week encourage us to approach social gatherings with humility. Jesus used a wedding banquet as an example. The ultimate wedding banquet of course is heaven. When priests get together, one of the topics is inevitably weddings. We are not taught in seminary how to choreograph a wedding, though we must. We learn it the hard way. It is amazing how complex weddings can become. Many in families have strong views on how weddings…

“Will only a few people be saved,” Jesus was asked. Some scripture scholars tell us that the questioner was likely expecting Jesus to affirm the belief that Gentiles, foreigners could not be saved. So he must have been taken aback with the response. ‘The gate is narrow,’ Jesus basically answered, ‘but open to all’ but not automatically. In the first reading from Isaiah, the Lord said, “I come to gather nations of every language . . . they shall bring their brothers and sisters from all the nations.” Jesus said in the Gospel reading, “people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and we will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” The universal Catholic Church includes those from all nations…