Holy Spirit Protects Catholic Church From Officially Teaching Error on Faith & Morality (Homily #157)

(audio 12pm)

(audio 8am)

There is an important distinction between Memorial Day and Veterans Day.  Memorial Day is to remind us of members of the Armed Forces that have passed away, while Veterans Day is to remind us of those that are still alive.  It is said that there are 2 forces in the world willing to die for us: The first is Jesus Christ and the second is the American soldier.  In the first case, Jesus died for our spiritual freedom, but the American solider is willing to die for our physical freedom.  Thank you for those that have served in uniform and are no longer with us.  And speaking of being reminded of those who died for us, this leads into today’s homily.

In a couple of weeks, we will close these 40 days of Easter.  During these 40 days of Easter, the Risen Christ Jesus stayed with the Eleven Apostles before he ascended into Heaven.  Then, after ascending into Heaven, the Church prayed 9 novena days for the great Feast of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church.  This is the context for today’s Gospel: Before the Ascension and before Pentecost, Jesus prepares us, His Mystical Body, to continue His mission of saving the world through His Spirit.  There are 3 main points, therefore, in this homily from today’s Gospel:

1.) First, the Holy Spirit reminds us about Christ’s teachings through the Church. 

2.) Second, the Holy Spirit protects the Catholic Church from officially teaching error in matters of faith and morality.

3.) Third, the Holy Spirit helps us to live the official teachings of the Church on faith and morals, especially through the Sacraments and personal prayer.

Again, the Holy Spirit reminds, Holy Spirit protects, and the Holy Spirit helps…

I

For the first point that the Holy Spirit reminds us about Christ’s teachings through his Church, Jesus said, “The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.”  In other words, the institution of the Church has not just a human element but a divine element to it. 

Think about this: If the Church does not have the divine spark of the Holy Spirit, then it is a mere human institution.  And, as a human institution, it will collapse.  If the Church can make an error in her official teachings, then that means that Christ’s mission has failed in a sense.  The resurrection will have meant nothing if God’s Church is teaching darkness and error.  And so we need the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Spirit of God himself, to teach and remind us of the truth. 

The Spirit of God, then, is active in official Church teaching.  We hear in the First Reading from Acts of the Apostles how the first Apostles and elders officially taught.  The Greek words here to describe the official teachers were “apostoloi” and “presbyteroi”.  Presbyteroi is sometimes translated as elders or presbyterate or priesthood.  When there were controversial issues, it was the apostoloi and the presbyteroi who resolved errors through official teachings.  So when the Church heard that there were some Christians going around without any mandate from them to officially teach, they sent representatives with a letter that boldly said, “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us that you must avoid paganism and unlawful marriage.”   Here, the Apostles and their Successors have the audacity to dare claim not only the authority of the Holy Spirit but also their own authority.  The Holy Spirit reminds us through formal teaching, like the Creed or the Liturgy or the Mass or the Catechism or the Bible.  The Holy Spirit reminds us.

II

Second, the Holy Spirit protects the Catholic Church from officially teaching error in matters of faith and morality.  Throughout our 2,000-year teaching history, the successors or the replacements of those first Apostles over time handed down a clear body of public declarations.  Now, just because the Church is protected from teaching error doesn’t mean that the members of the Church are protected from sin.  In fact, as human beings, they sin and make mistakes; however, when they teach with the authority of the Apostles on faith or morals, it is preserved.  We have to distinguish between official Catholic teaching versus official teachers who sin.  Peter sinned, and yet he was the official leader of the Church.  Also, the protection of the Holy Spirit is on a religious faith or moral issue and not just whatever they say goes.  For example, political diplomacy or a member of the clergy’s personal opinions for dinner are not protected by the Holy Spirit, but a moral issue like God’s plan for marriage and family is a moral issue, and as a moral issue the Church’s teaching are protected from error.  Jesus said that whoever loves him keeps to the words of his teachings.  The Father sent Jesus, and the Spirit is sent upon the Church.  So, whoever then loves the Church’s teachings loves the Spirit and Jesus and the Father.  Her teachings are his own.

III

Finally, the Holy Spirit helps us live Catholic teachings on faith and morals, especially through the Sacraments and personal prayer.  In the Second Reading from the Book of Revelation, the holy city Jerusalem came down from heaven like a bride prepared for her husband.  The city is the Church, the mystical body of Christ.  She had no need of sun or moon to shine on her, for the glory of God gave her light, and her lamp was the Lamb.  Here, the holy city of the Church of which you and I are members through baptism shines brighter than the sun.  The Catholic Church uniquely was granted by her divine Founder, Jesus, the means to conquer the evils of the world.  And we know today how evil is increasing in the world.  No other institution can claim this!  [If time permits, talk about Protestantism and warmly invite back home to the Catholic Church.]  The mysteries of faith or the Sacraments like the Eucharist at Sunday Mass and Confession, and Matrimony and Baptism and Confirmation, all of these will assist us in living Catholic teaching on faith and morality, esp. the difficult teachings.  And if there is a difficulty, remember that one thousand difficulties do not make a doubt to leave the Church.  Let it be an invitation to renew our faith in the Risen and Ascended Christ who said that whoever loves him will keep to his teachings.  During this month of May, which is dedicated to the Mother of Jesus, let it be an invitation to pray the rosary more, esp. every day, and to consecrate and entrust our weak and fallen nature to her loving and motherly Immaculate Heart.  Let the difficulty with Church teaching be an opportunity of growth [and study more] and for deeper conversion, as we prepare for the Ascension of Jesus and the sending of the Spirit at Pentecost.

So, in summary: (1) The Holy Spirit reminds us of Christ’s teachings through the Church.  (2) The Holy Spirit protects the Catholic Church from error in matters of faith and morals.  (3) The Holy Spirit helps us to live official Church teachings that come from Jesus Christ.  Just as Memorial Day reminds us of those who gave their lives so we can be physically free, let us remind Jesus who gave his life so that we can be eternally free.  God the Holy Spirit himself will teach all nations now and until the end of time.  O God, let all the nations praise you.

100th Baptism of My Former High School Student's Daughter: "Avengers of God, Assemble!" (Homily #156 for 10 New Superheroes of Heaven)

My former high school student, Regina, was a quiet kid in the back of my Religion class over 20 years ago, but now she is one of the "loudest" of them all-- by having her daughter baptized as a royal princess of the King of Heaven!

What do I mean by this?  The Catholic Church in western countries is in a state of decline.  Sacramental life across the board, such as infant baptisms, are statistically in a freefall.  Although there were 10 newly baptized that day, parents overall in society increasingly are not bringing their children to the Sacraments.  

However, through this motherly act of bringing her child to the font of baptism, she has proclaimed to the whole world the saving waters of Christ the Living Water.  This is true love: to bring a child into God's divine life.  Parents, do not deprive your children of the graces of baptism!  As Jesus commanded, "Go and make disciples and baptize them..."  And in Acts of the Apostles, entire households were baptized.

Regina in Latin means "queen."  Regina's daughter is now a princess.  She is a princess anointed with the sweet smelling chrism now united into the royal office of Jesus Christ.  I did not mention this in my homily, but if I had to do it over, I would proclaim to the world that her baby is a princess.  This was one of the readings from the Letter of St. Peter, the first Pope of the Catholic Church (1 Peter): You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a people set apart; once you were no people but now you are God's people.

The congregation clapped when they heard that this was my 100th baptism.  As I think about it now, it is the lay faithful's way to celebrate that great Sacrament of Initiation in Baptism, the gateway to the other sacraments, and mystery of new life with Jesus.  

Thank you, Regina and family, for this great gift of baptism and for proclaiming this loudly throughout the world!

And as I said then many years ago -- and as I say as your "Religion teacher" now -- say your prayers every day.  

And please keep me in your prayers.  Your goofy ol'teacher is getting old.

(audio only of homily)

After everyone left the church, and I cleaned up, I sat in the pew to say thank you to God for this privilege.

I am also grateful to the family that invited me to their reception even though I couldn't make it.  It touched me deeply.

  Before I left the church, I then entrusted these 10 new disciples to the Immaculate Heart of Mary:

Gianna Renee

Gisselle Marilyn

Olivia

Edgyross

Adrian Gabriel

Alina

Jenalla Marie

Hakeem Elias

Victoria Rose

Hudson Daniel

_______

"Avengers of God, Assemble!"

Dr. John Collins (1950-2019)

Homily #155 on St. Thomas the Apostle & Our Diocese of Sacramento Releasing Names of Credibly Accused Clergy This Tuesday

10am Mass (audio)

5pm Mass (audio)

I.

On February 22, 1931, the Risen Lord Jesus appeared to a Polish nun named Sr. Faustina.  Sr. Faustina later wrote in her Diary: “I saw the Lord Jesus clothed in a white garment.  One hand was raised as though blessing, the other was touching the garment of his breast.  … There were two large rays, one red, the pale.  After a while, Jesus said to me, ‘Paint an image according to what you see, with the signature, ‘Jesus, I trust in You.  I want this image to be solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter; that Sunday is to be the Feast of Mercy’” (Diary #49).

The Gospel for today, then, the Sunday one week after Easter, is on this mercy of Jesus through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance.  A week after the Resurrection of Jesus, the Apostles were gathered in fear when the Risen Jesus appeared to them.  Jesus said to them, “As the Father sent me, so I send you.”  He breathed on them and then said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven.  Whose sins you retain, they are retained” (John 20).

In other words, Jesus entrusts the great Sacrament of Penance to his Apostles.  In the Bible, Jesus gives the authority to forgive sins to ordinary human beings.  Jesus chooses sinful and weak men to absolve our sins.  [The Greek word for the apostles that replaced the first Twelve Apostles is episkopoi, or in English overseer or bishop.]  This is why it is necessary to go to a priest for Confession.  The Apostles continue the work of Christ to heal and build the Church.  In today’s First Reading, the Word of God says that the mere shadow of Peter, the first papa of the Church, was enough to heal (cf. Acts 5).  Then in today’s Second Reading, John the Beloved is now an old man, and the last of the Twelve Apostles alive, exiled on Patmos Island, where he wrote the Book of Revelation (Rev. 1).  [Just and Peter and John continued the work of the Resurrection, so too in our own time Jesus continues in His Church today.]

Now, today, we may know some people, family and friends, that have been away from this Sacrament of Forgiveness for many years.  That person may even be us sitting here.  It is significant that Jesus chose to appear to the Apostles when the doubting Thomas was not present.  It is significant because Thomas is you and me!  We have moments when we doubt and do not trust Jesus.  We have moments when we are like the first disciples who gathered in fear.  We experience the same things the first Apostles did.  Thomas couldn’t wrap his head around the Resurrection.  Then, when Jesus appears to us doubting Thomases, he says, “Blessed are those who have not seen me and believe.”  And in that simple, childlike trust, Thomas is our model where we too renew trust in Jesus and exclaim with love once again, “My Lord and my God!”

Thomas’ confidence takes us back to the prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You,” no matter what.  Today, Divine Mercy Sunday, Jesus asks us to trust him no matter what we and the Church are going through.  Sr. Faustina’s wrote in her Diary, “Jesus complained to me, ‘The distrust of a chosen soul causes Me even greater pain; despite my inexhaustible love for them they do not trust Me.  Even my death is not enough for them…’” (#50).  So it wasn’t atheists and unbelievers that hurt Jesus the most, but it was us, the chosen ones, those closest to him, that don’t trust him who hurt His tender Heart.  Thomas is our model of trusting Jesus.  [If time permits, say steps for Confession.] 

Jesus said that the soul that shall go to Confession around Divine Mercy Sunday and receive Holy Communion in the state of grace shall receive complete forgiveness of sins AND punishment due to sin in Purgatory.  This is complete baptismal innocence again!  “Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet” (#699).

II.

Speaking of priests and innocent ones, dear brothers and sisters, I need to shift gears to a related topic for the second main part of my homily.  It is a more uncomfortable but necessary topic of our entire Diocese this week, and it will be addressed next week, too.  This Tuesday, April 30, the Bishop of the Sacramento Diocese will release to the public the names of priests and deacons credibly accused of abusing minor, these innocent ones.  Like Thomas who couldn’t wrap his head around the Resurrection, we too may not be able to wrap our heads around the truth of the abuse that had occurred.  We are like Thomas who touched the wounds of the Body of Christ.  These wounds in the Body of Christ did happen.  These betrayals by men of the cloth did happen.  And there were leaders of the Church that covered it up.  So there were 2 major sins by members of the Church’s hierarchy: First, the abuses by priests and, second, the cover-ups by the bishops [and cardinals].  Pope Emeritus Benedict called this a form of moral relativism even among the shepherds, even among shepherds with a lack of a deep prayer life, among other reasons, even among shepherds whom we look to for spiritual and moral guidance.  With the releasing of the list of the list of names on Tuesday, we will get a glimpse at the full extent of the pain caused by clergy.  It’s time for us, like Thomas, to open our eyes to the truth, so that the Church can be changed by it.  It’s time to ask ourselves, “What can I do to make sure this doesn’t happen again?”  More than ever, we need to be a Body of Christ that prays for priests and work together.  We’re not out of the woods yet after Tuesday.  What we do know is that the way forward needs to be bathed in the light of Christ’s Resurrection and his Divine Mercy, to overcome the darkness of this night in the Church.  Jesus, have mercy on us in ordained ministry!

The leaders of the Church have failed you.  We failed to protect you as children, and we failed to tell the truth as adults by shameful, sinful crimes.  While the overwhelming number of sins occurred before 2002, when the new system (called the Dallas Charter) was put into place, the releasing of the names by Bishop Soto on Tuesday is still a step forward to confront the past and make a public accounting in the present.  The Diocese has strict safeguards in place to protect children and vulnerable adults in the future.  Let us pray for the victims and take concrete action for them.  We need your help and input in building a clerical culture dedicated to celibate, generous service.  And may the Catholic Church, which is going through a period of painful purification, be renewed in her priesthood.  May Thomas the Doubter help us open our eyes to this moment in the Church.  And may the rays of the Divine Mercy shine upon this situation in the Church so badly in need of Jesus’ touch.  Jesus, I trust in you.  Amen.

Story of How 20 Years Ago Today, I First Spoke to My Now-Wife

After the Confirmation Mass at my parish exactly 20 years ago today, I walked up to my now-wife and spoke to her for the first time.

"Judge Actions Not People" (Homily #154 Distinguishing Act v. Person in Woman Caught in Adultery, Year C Readings)

(audio)

“Judge Actions Not People” (Homily #154 Distinguishing Act v. Person in Woman Caught in Adultery, Year C Readings)

by Deacon Dennis Purificacion

April 7, 2019, 5pm Mass

I.

There is a joke related to today’s Gospel.  And it goes something like this:  One day, a crowd brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus.  Jesus stood up and said, “Let he who is without sin throw the first stone.”  Then all of a sudden, this big rock flies through the air.  The rock hits the woman on the head and the woman caught in adultery falls down dead.  Jesus looks around at the crowd, and he says, “Oh, Mom…how could you?!”

And that’s the punch line.  “Oh, Mom, how could you throw the first stone?”  The joke is that only Jesus’ mother could throw the first stone because she was conceived without sin and never sinned her whole life.  Of course, the Mother of God would not really throw the first stone since she is the mother of mercy and the refuge of sinners.

But behind this joke, there is a truth that emerges from today’s Gospel from John Chapter 8.  Why does the Church give us the story of Christ with the woman caught in adultery today?  As we end our discipline of Lent, we look back these 40 days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, and we once again take a moment to repent of any failings and sins we have committed.  In fact, as a parish, we will have 9 priests this Tuesday evening, April 9, to hear Confessions before Holy Week to help us.

II.

Given this call to conversion, therefore, the two main parts of this homily are taken from the 2 sentences of Christ at the end of today’s Gospel.  Jesus said 2 sentences to the woman caught in adultery: First, Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you.”  In other words, Jesus said that I do not condemn you – you – the person.  But, at the same time, in the second sentence, Jesus said, “Go and sin no more.”   Jesus makes a judgement, not on the person, but on the action.  Judge actions not people.

Thus, there are 2 separate but related points: There is a difference between the person and an action.  The classical way of saying this, “Love the person, hate the sin.”  We should never judge a person, but we can still judge right and wrong actions.  Christ shows us that we should never hate the person and love the sin, but rather to love the person and hate the sin.  Or as the great Protestant minister Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Judge not the color of the skin but judge the content of character.”  Today, the Church proclaims Christ who loves all persons but also calls them to repent of any sinful acts.

III.

So let’s unpack the first of those two main points.  First, in Catholic teaching, every human person, regardless of their past, has human dignity.  The human person is made in the image and likeness of God.  This is called Imago Dei in Latin which means “Image of God.”  In the First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, it is written, “Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; see I am doing something new” (Is. 43)!  Our human dignity is not defined by what we do or our titles or past mistakes, but our dignity and worth and value are based on who we are as persons – as human beings – created in the image and likeness of God.  As the witty Mother Angelica once said, she is not concerned with the letters that appear after our name, but the letters that should appear before our name.  S and T.  S and T for saint!  Be a saint!  This is what we are all called to be, what will make us happy.  We are human beings; we are not human doings.  The gift of being human does not depend on actions, or how we self-identify, or how we perceive ourselves, or what other people say about us; rather, our gift of being human persons depends on God’s eternal love for us.  That is our worth.  That is what Christ restores to this woman caught in adultery that amazingly, beginning with the elders, caused people to drop their stones.  Christ got the scribes and Pharisees to see the worth in sinful human beings.  Christ the merciful Savior says to us, “Neither do I condemn you.”  That’s the first of two main points: love the person.

IV.

The second of these two main points is that while we do not judge and condemn the person, we do judge human acts.  Christ loves you and wants you to come as you are, BUT Christ does not want you to stay as you are.  He calls us to repent whenever we fall through human weakness.  Christ doesn’t just say, “Neither do I condemn you,” but rather adds, “Go and sin no more.”  Once we are redeemed by Christ, he calls us to turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel.  In the Second Reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, Paul wrote, “Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God’s upward calling, in Christ Jesus.”  The devil and the world are like slick lawyers that like to pull up dirt from the past, to drag us down, to make us feel unworthy of God’s mercy, but according to St. Theresa of Avila, “When the devil reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.”  St. Padre Pio said that any mental picture of past sins is from the devil, and any mental image of what you can be in the future is from God.

V.

So, in summary, judge actions not people, just as Christ did with the adulterous woman.  That is the correct understanding of “Do not judge,” according to the mind and heart of Christ, as we heard in today’s Gospel.  Like the woman in today’s Gospel, may we too experience God’s mercy and love.  With this important distinction, God will work wonders in our lives to mold to be more and more like Jesus.  As we sang in the Responsorial Psalm, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”  Amen.

Homily #153 for RCIA Third Scrutiny of the Elect (Jesus Raises Lazarus, Year A Readings)

'Raising of Lazarus" by Duccio di Buoninsegna (14th C.)

(audio)

Homily #153 for RCIA Third Scrutiny of the Elect (Jesus Raises Lazarus, Year A Readings for RCIA)

by Deacon Dennis Purificacion

April 7, 2019, 10am

I.

Many of us who have experienced hardship, or illness, or evils by others, or sins may have asked, “If God exists, then why do bad things happen to good people?” or “Why do evil people that disobey God’s laws continue to flourish while people who follow God’s law suffer for doing what’s right?”  This is called the classical problem of evil.

St. Thomas Aquinas replied that there are two reasons why God allows evil to happen: First, because of the free will of evil people.  God ordinarily does not violate the free choice even of evil people.  The problem then is man and not God.  God is never the cause of evil.  The second reason St. Thomas gives is that God allows or permits evil so that a greater good may come of it. 

God takes what is evil like sin or sickness or suffering or even death and He uses these somehow for His glory and our greater good.  As human wisdom says, “God writes straight with crooked lines.”

II.

This leads us to today’s Gospel from John Chapter 11.  When Jesus heard that his friend, Lazarus, whom he loved dearly, was sick and dying, Jesus replied, “This illness is not to end in death, but is for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”  That is why Jesus deliberately remained for two days where he was staying before going to Lazarus.  Jesus allowed the death of Lazarus to show a greater purpose.

However, for Jesus to change the evil of suffering and sickness and even death for eternal glory, Jesus required an act of faith among those enduring the suffering.  Martha made an act of faith.  When Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”  Jesus then asked, “Do you believe in this?”  Do you believe in this?  She replied, “Yes, Lord.  I do believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God.”  And from this, Jesus worked his wonder and resurrected Lazarus from the dead.  Jesus then said, “Untie him and let him go.”

So what about us, dear brothers and sisters?  As we come to the end of Lent soon, what remains that ties us down as though it were a type of Lazarus death?  Where can Jesus still uncover, then heal, and rise from the dead?  And, like Lazarus, Jesus weeps.  Can you imagine that?  Ponder that: Jesus weeps for me, because he loves me, even in my tomb.  Sometimes, he allows bad things in my life and seems to delay before replying to my prayer for help.  But I still believe, because I know that He always has my greatest good in mind.

III.

Now, some of us may have wondered why the Readings/Gospel were from Year A instead of Year C.  No, we didn’t get the readings incorrect for this Mass, but rather it is because we are celebrating what is called the Third Scrutiny of the Elect, the chosen ones, in RCIA.  The Elect were formed as Catechumens and will receive the life-giving Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist at the Great Easter Vigil in a few weeks.  They hear this Gospel, and through them we also hear about Christ raising us to new life.  These Elect remind us of our own baptism which raised us from spiritual death.  The 3 Scrutinies during Lent are brief rituals of the Catholic Church after the homily that are meant to uncover, then heal, all that is still weak, defective or sinful in the hearts of the Elect and to strengthen what is good in them.  The priest does a minor exorcism.  This gives light to the blind, living water to the thirsty, and life to the dead at the end of Lent.

In our First Reading, it is written in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, “Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and have you rise from them, O my people” (Ex. 37)!  These Elect, especially the children and teens, are models for us during Holy Week, the high point of the liturgical year when thousands upon thousands around the world are baptized and received into Holy Mother Church.  They are models because they remind us of the gift to be children of God and Holy Mother Church.  They remind us of the great gift of our faith that martyrs have died for. 

Next week is Palm Sunday when Jesus enters Jerusalem.  Then it will be Holy Thursday when Jesus institutes the priesthood and the Eucharist of love.  On Good Friday, the only day in the year when Mass is not celebrated, Jesus died on the Cross.  Then at the Great Easter Vigil on Saturday night, Christ rose from the dead.  He is the Resurrection and the Life.  He is only way home to God. 

As a parish, we must constantly be inviting non-Catholics into RCIA. This is how we initiate unbaptized adults and children beyond the age of reason that have not been baptized.  Or perhaps they are validly baptized in another Protestant tradition and seek full unity back to the Catholic Church which Christ Our Lord founded. 

I have to say as a side note, before I close, that there are some that think they were validly baptized but were not.  For example, many people think that the Aglipayan or Philippine Independent Church validly baptizes, but our canon lawyers say that there is what is called doubtful [validity of] baptism with Aglipayan.  [If one is baptized Aglipayan, then one should receive conditional baptism in the Catholic Church.  Also, Iglesiya ni Christo definitely has invalid baptisms.  If either are the case, come see us in RCIA and have us discern it together with you.  Thank you, Linda Becker for your leadership with adults and Deacon Juan for forming teens!

IV.

In closing, Jesus takes what is dead and restores it to life.  He takes what is evil and raises it up to some greater good.  He takes those without the life-giving waters of Baptism, unties the bonds of sin and death, and raises them to new life in Christ.  May our words, too, be those of Martha: Yes, Lord, I do believe, that you are Christ, the Son of the God.”  Amen.