Homily - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

We all love weddings. Weddings are such joyful occasions. Sometimes we are quick to judge a wedding by where the reception was and the quantity of food served. Everyone loves to go to weddings at Russo’s on the Bay in Howard Beach, Queens, New York.

There is certainly no shortage of great food and drink there. I love it when the guests say how full they are after the cocktail hour and dinner, only to see them race up to the Viennese table when it’s presented an hour later.

I am sure the folks in Jesus’ day did somewhat the same. After all, the headwaiter noticed how the good wine was served first.

When I am privileged to witness and preside at a wedding, I try to emphasize that a marriage is more than a wedding day. Couples spend an enormous amount of time preparing for a wedding day and often forget about a marriage, which should last a life time.

St. John gospel is telling about something far greater than the reception.
This story, told in the context of a wedding, reveals the first of Jesus’ signs. Signs point us to something important. A great example of this is a stop sign, which is intended to prevent us harm.

Often in scripture, Weddings symbolize our relationship with God. How often we hear St. Paul speaking about the union between Christ and His Church?

All the signs in John’s Gospel aim to tell us the importance of Jesus presence among his contemporaries and about His Glory achieved through his passion, death and resurrection.

The wedding at Cana, Marriages today, and our relationship with God are all about transformation. God changed ordinary water into extraordinary wine.

How do we transform our lives?

Mary had the answer - Do what ever he tells you?

In today’s Second reading, St. Paul in his letter tells us of all the gifts each of us has been given by the Spirit. The Spirit gives gifts not only to those who are leaders, but to everyone. The Spirit has given us these gifts to transform our lives so we can be signs of God’s Glory among God’s people.

We begin that transformation by opening our minds and hearts to understand St. John’s message about Jesus and to recognize the presence of the risen Christ in our midst.

This past week, we have all seen the death and destruction caused by the earthquake in Haiti. But we have also seen the presence of the risen Christ in the faces of all those who are reaching out with their time, talent and treasure.

May we too recognize the signs of Jesus among us.
May we become signs of the presence of Jesus to all those around us.

The only possession this Haitian woman has - a Rosary?

In the midst of total devastation, death and destruction, we see this elderly woman, holding on to perhaps her only possession, a rosary.

My dear friends, one who has so little left, shows us so much! The power of prayer and dependence on God is her consolation.

Let us pray for God's presence in the midst of tragedy. If ever we can practice the Gospels Jesus preached, now is the time to do our part for the least of our brothers and sisters.

May God's presence be felt through our prayers, support and generosity.

Feast of the Epiphany - Homily

Children love stories, the more imaginative and explicit the details , the better. Adults enjoy telling children stories that capture their attention. That is probably why the Harry Potter Series is so popular. But as children age, they come to see those stories as fairy tales and life moves on.

This gospel is a wonderful story and it is easy to get caught up in the details, the star, the magi, the gifts, journey and the newborn King.

But like the children, we have to move on beyond the enticing details and get right to the challenge of the message St. Matthew is trying to get to, God chooses to manifest (Epiphany) Christ Jesus to the world and to us Too!

Matthew tells us of all the people (Herod, the Magi and all Jerusalem) now interested in this new born child. A King destined to Shepherd the people and guide them on their journey to God.

Matthew tells of the The Magi . They were people on a quest, looking for more in their lives. If they had been satisfied with the way things were, they would have stayed put.

Change began for them because God made the first move and showed them a light in their darkness. They didn’t have to follow that light, they could have chosen to stay put, satisfied with the status quo.

But they picked up and began a journey that eventually took them to Christ.
The same is true for us, we are all on our journey of faith. We search for Christ as well as manifest his presence for others. Our task-response is not only to search for Christ among us but also to manifest that divine presence.

In other words, like the Magi who have found the King, we must make him known to others.
The Magi have given the new born King great gifts, but the greatest gift of all was their presence to pay him homage.

Sometimes, we when celebrate great miles stones (birthdays, anniversarys, weddings) and even Christmas itself, we get so caught up in the size of the gift – what’s important is the gift of our selves.

After the lights are down, the trees recycled and the ornaments packed in the attic, our challenge is to live the mystery of Christmas each day. There will still be friends, family members, co-workers, members of our faith community who need to be touched by the light of Christ – we can give them that light by the gift of our presence, a visit, a phone call, a letterand perhaps, an email.

So as we continue to celebrate this great feast and reflect on the mystery of God living among us –
Like the Wisemen who encountered Christ for the first time, and went home another way, may we too be transformed to live in the light of Christ and making his divine presence known to others.