Form the office of readings

From a homily in praise of Mary by St. Bernard
(Hom. 4:8-9; Opera omnia, Edit Cisterc 4. [1966], 53-54)

The whole world awaits Mary’s reply

You have heard, O Virgin, that you will conceive and bear a son; you have heard that it will not be by man but by the Holy Spirit. The angel awaits an answer; it is time for him to return to God who sent him. We too are waiting, O Lady, for your word of compassion; the sentence of condemnation weighs heavily upon us.

The price of our salvation is offered to you. We shall be set free at once if you consent. In the eternal Word of God we all came to be, and behold, we die. In your brief response we are to be remade in order to be recalled to life.

Tearful Adam with his sorrowing family begs this of you, O loving Virgin, in their exile from Paradise. Abraham begs it, David begs it. All the other holy patriarchs, your ancestors, ask it of you, as they dwell in the country of the shadow of death. This is what the whole earth waits for, prostrate at your feet. It is right in doing so, for on your word depends comfort for the wretched, ransom for the captive, freedom for the condemned, indeed, salvation for all the sons of Adam, the whole of your race.

Answer quickly, O Virgin. Reply in haste to the angel, or rather through the angel to the Lord. Answer with a word, receive the Word of God. Speak your own word, conceive the divine Word. Breathe a passing word, embrace the eternal Word.

Why do you delay, why are you afraid? Believe, give praise, and receive. Let humility be bold, let modesty be confident. This is no time for virginal simplicity to forget prudence. In this matter alone, O prudent Virgin, do not fear to be presumptuous. Though modest silence is pleasing, dutiful speech is now more necessary. Open your heart to faith, O blessed Virgin, your lips to praise, your womb to the Creator. See, the desired of all nations is at your door, knocking to enter. If he should pass by because of your delay, in sorrow you would begin to seek him afresh, the One whom your soul loves. Arise, hasten, open. Arise in faith, hasten in devotion, open in praise and thanksgiving. Behold the handmaid of the Lord, she says, be it done to me according to your word.

What were you hoping to see?

Sed Quid Existis Videre?

Homily for Gaudate Sunday

December 15^th, MMXIII

Parish of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (Rosa Road)

Rev. Michael Taylor

 Blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in me.[1]

            On first glance, our Gospel reading seems a bit odd. John the Baptist’s disciples come to Jesus asking, art thou he that art to come, or do we look for another? [2] Jesus answer, the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he that shall not be scandalized in me. Why would anyone be scandalized by this? People being cured, the dead being raised, all of these are good things. Why would anyone mind? It would like going to a doctor, being cured, and then being angry at the doctor for having been cured. To understand it though, you must understand what Jesus is saying. He’s quoting from three different places from the Prophet Isaiah; Isaiah 35.6,[3] 26.19,[4] and 41.17.[5] Why are these scandalous? Because in these passages from Isaiah, it is the Lord God Himself who promises to do these things. As we heard in our first reading, God Himself will come and save you.[6] Jesus is claiming to be nothing less than God Himself, the one who is to come. That’s why it’s a scandal. That God would become flesh and dwell among us.[7] And in case anyone doubted what He was saying, Jesus goes on to say about John the Baptist, for this is he of whom it is written; “Behold I send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.” He’s quoting Isaiah again,[8] and the one who is to come is none less than the Lord God.

            So what were you expecting? What are we expecting when we see Jesus? What effect does it have in our life? Jesus asks the crowds around Him, What went you out into the desert to see? A reed shaken with the wind? [9] Wouldn’t it be so much easier for us if God just revealed Himself to the world? If He were to peal back the veil of heavens, and reveal Himself, saying, “Hello, I am God. I exist. This is my beloved Son Jesus, fully human and fully divine. This is the Holy Spirit who proceeds from Father and Son. Here is the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints here in heaven. There is heaven and hell. There. You don’t have to doubt anymore.” It would be nice to have that assurance. To have some sign that this is true. Yet think to this question. How many times do we receive a sign, and it turns out to not be enough for us to believe? At one point the scribes and Pharisees come up to Jesus demanding a sign, to which Jesus responds, an evil and adulterous generation seeketh a sign: and a sign shall not be given it, save but the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah was in the whale’s belly three days and three nights: so shall the Son of man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights.[10] Jesus has risen from the dead. Is this proof enough for us? Because the truth is that miracles happen all the time and people still do not believe. When Our Lord multiplied the five barley loaves and two fish to feed over five thousand people, people still walked away from Him and His teachings.[11] When you go to Lourdes, you can see records of sixty-nine miracles that science and medicine cannot provide an explanation for as to their cause. These are events from just the 19^th century either, but some are within the past couple of years, the last one being certified on the 20^th of June of this year. Yet people still do not believe. The Fatima miracle of the dancing sun occurred before tens of thousands of peoples, believers and atheists alike.  Still people do not believe. We just celebrated the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The tilma, the cloak that the image of the Blessed Virgin appears on, is over five hundred years old. It exists on a fabric that should have disintegrated after twenty years. Yet even after being subjected to fire, smoke, acid and war, it is still is as vibrant as it was in 1531. And these are just the miracles that belong to the patronage of our Blessed Mother. Every saint we canonize has two miracles that have been scientifically examined, by believers and atheists alike for the sake of veracity. Still people do not believe.

            What did you hope to encounter when you came into the desert? What did you hope to experience? The act of faith revolves around the encounter with the risen Lord, the one who suffered, died and was buried and then conquered the gates of hell and the sting of death through His resurrection.[12] It revolves around our belief in the promises that He made, that those who die with Him in baptism shall live with Him in that same Resurrection.[13] It then becomes a question of what are effects is this encounter going to have in our life?

            The entirety of the Advent season is actually a penitential season, a season where the Christian yearns for the return of the bridegroom. Our society has somehow inversed it though. We party hard during these weeks so that by the time Christmas comes along, the time when true feasting should be occurring, we are so sick of turkey, ham, egg nog, cakes, sweets and food, that we turn away disgusted. Are we awaiting for Christ or are we so consumed with the things of this world, that we don’t stand ready for his return? Recall the words of Our Lord when He warned, if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My lord is long in coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards: the lord of that servant shall come in a day that he hopeth not, and at an hour that he knoweth not: and shall separate him, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.[14]

            There is the parable you are all familiar with of the ten virgins who are awaiting the return of the bridegroom. Five are wise and have stored up extra oil, while five were foolish and did not. When the bridegroom returns those who had stored up enough oil were able to go into the banquet with the Lord whereas those unprepared are left out in the darkness. Therefore, store up with oil! In this we must understand that the oil is the means by which we bring light to the world. Does not our Lord say, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven? [15] Do works of righteousness so that when the Lord appears again in glory, you will be well stocked and ready for his arrival. What are works of righteousness? The scriptures tell us prayer is good with fasting and alms more than to lay up treasures of gold. For alms delivereth from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting.[16] This Advent season, instead of worrying about which holiday special to watch or what movie to catch on Netflix, spend time in prayer. Spend some of that time reading the Scriptures, the Gospels. Read the lives of the saints. Go to confession Instead of having lavish feasts and parties during this penitential season, make sure that food is being given to the food pantries. Instead of trying to buy more and more gifts for one another, let us make sure that the poor have clothes to wear during these bitter months. We ought to be more concerned with giving the necessities of life to those who need it rather than in consuming frivolities. When we do these things we build up for ourselves treasures in heaven. Our oil becomes stocked and we find ourselves more eager for the arrival of the bridegroom than about the passing pleasures of this world. Let us pray that the bridegroom finds us waiting and ready.

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[1] Matthew 11.6

[2] Matthew 11.3

[3] Isaiah 35.6: Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall be free: for waters are broken out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness.

[4] Isaiah 26.19: Thy dead men shall live, my slain shall rise again: awake, and give praise, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is the dew of the light: and the land of the giants thou shalt pull down into ruin.

[5] Isaiah 41.17: When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the LORD will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.

[6] Isaiah 35.4

[7] John 1.14

[8] Isaiah 40.3: A voice cries: "In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.

[9] Matthew 11.7

[10] Matthew 12.39-40

[11] cf. John 6

[12] cf. I Corinthians 15.54-56

[13] cf. Romans 6.3-4

[14] Matthew 24.48-51

[15] Matthew 5.16

[16] Tobit 12.8-9

Commemoration for the Souls of all the Faithful Departed

Quod fuimus, estis;

quod sumus, eritis.[1]

Commemoration for the Souls of all the Faithful Departed

Parish of Saint Pius X (Loudonville, NY-Extraordinary Form)

Parish of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha (Union Street)

November 2^nd, 2013

Rev. Michael Taylor

Before You, humbled, Lord, I lie,

My heart like ashes, crushed and dry,

Assist me when I die.[2]

            Death is always a tragedy. No matter whether it comes after a long and fulfilled span of days or a life horrifically cut short, death is always a tragedy. Even though we as Christians know that those who had faith in Christ Jesus and die in his good grace will be raised to life again, their absence is felt in the very marrow of our bones, and our lives feel poorer then before they died. The harshness of death reminds us that we were not meant to die, that sin, and its price of death,[3] was not meant for man.[4] This being said, it makes our belief in Purgatory difficult.[5] Often times, well meaning people at funerals will, as a mean of comforting, tell the grieving that their loved one is already in heaven. Other times, the ancient Roman dictum, de mortuis, nil nisi bonum [of the dead, (say) nothing but good)], seems good advice, and to say a loved one is in Purgatory would seem to be remembering the ill of their life rather than all the good they meant to our own lives. Yet let us pause for a moment, and take today’s commemoration as a opportunity for a more personal reflection.

            I sit here, and I find I am asking myself the question, if I were to die today, would I be ready to stand before the throne of God? When I look throughout sacred scripture, I find verses that trouble my false sense of tranquility. In the Old Testament, the Lord God is constantly telling Israel, you shall be holy, for I the Lord thy God am holy.[6] Jesus, in his sermon on the mount says, you, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.[7] Still further, Saint Peter emphasizes since Christ is the one who called us, and that as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct [8] and the beloved apostle says, he who commits sin is of the devil.[9] With all these things being written down, how could I feel at ease? Could I stand before the King, and proclaim myself clean? Pure of heart?

            While it is true that I desire to love the Lord my God with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind,[10] I must confess that there are times I am rather slothful in my spiritual life. There are times were I am apathetic at mass, my mind wondering. There are times when I would rather spend hours on television or mindless browsing of the internet than to take time in prayer, contemplation, spiritual reading, and learning my faith. There are many things which I find myself giving more attention to than my relationship with Jesus Christ.

            While it is true that I strive to love my neighbor as myself [11] I must admit there are times when I am jealous of those around me. There are times when I allow greed to cloud my ability to deal charitably with those for whom I am supposed to love the most. I have lied, gossiped and slandered other’s good names. I have lusted. These are the things that are not proper for someone who is charged to love his neighbor as himself.

            While it is true that I do try and care for the poor and the suffering, I all too often find myself wasting my money on frivolities and wasteful creature comforts. So while there are days where I would hope to be numbered among the sheep that we see in Matthew 25 who cared for the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned, the cold and the naked, there are many other days where I am fearful that I would be found among the goats, cast off from the presence of God for all eternity.

            And yet I am not without hope. For I know that a contrite, and broken heart [12] the Lord will not spurn. I know that to those who ask for his mercy and forgiveness, there is hope of redemption. If I can see that there are parts of myself that are not yet worthy to stand before the throne of God, hidden as they might be from you all here, is it not possible then to say that there are parts of those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, which are not yet ready to stand before God? If this is true, than Purgatory is not punishment, but proof of God’s mercy overflowing. Where I have, through human frailty, stained my soul with the sins of pride, lust, gluttony, envy, wrath, greed, and sloth, God allows me the chance to cleanse my soul once again. He does this so that I might stand before the throne of the Lamb by whose blood I am redeemed, clothed in a garment as white as the one I received on the day of my baptism, of a dignity worthy of the wedding feast of heaven. Thus we, in awe of God’s abundant mercy, pray for the faithful departed.

Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. Amen.

May they rest in peace. Amen

And may their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

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[1] “As we were, you are. As we are, you will be.” A memento mori that hangs upon the entry to the Capuchin church in Rome, Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini.

[2] Taken from the Dies Irae sequence which is used for Requiem masses in the Extraordinary Form.

[3] Cf. Rom 6.23: For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.

[4] Cf. Wis 1.13: Because God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living.

[5] Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§1030-1032: 1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.

1031:The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned [cf. Council of Florence (1439); Council of Trent (1563); Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus (1336). The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire [cf. I Cor 3.15; I Pet 1.7]:

“As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come” [St. Gregory the Great, Dialogues; cf. Mt 12.31].

1032: This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin” [II Macc 12.46]. From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God [cf. Council of Lyons II (1274). The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:

“Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them [St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in I Cor; Job 1.5].”

[6] Leviticus 19.2

[7] Matthew 5.48

[8] I Peter 1.15

[9] I John 3.8

[10] Matthew 22.37

[11] Matthew 22.39

[12] Psalm 51.17