Category: Sermons and Liturgical Homilies

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To Know Christ Jesus

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Cycle “C”)

Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-8
Luke 16:1-13

September 23, 2007
St. Andrew’s Catholic Church
Clemson, South Carolina

The Rev. Jeffrey Kirby

** A friend once told me he didn’t believe in “organized religion,” so I asked him if he would consider the Catholic Church.

The encounter is a familiar one: I don’t believe in organized religion. I’m spiritual but not religious, etc. We’ve had these conversations: with loved ones, neighbors, and co-workers. They raise some questions.

Perhaps it’s a good thing to return and review the basics: Who is Jesus Christ? St. Paul writes that he is the only mediator between God and man. Is that right? What did Jesus do? What is the Church? Is it the trustworthy guardian of the things of God, both great and small, as the Gospel seems to imply?

** Who is Jesus Christ? He is the eternal Son of God, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. He is true God, alpha and omega – beginning and end – of all things. And, yet, he became a man. He became Jesus of Nazareth, son of Mary and foster son of Joseph, the carpenter. Jesus Christ is both truly God and truly man. His two natures – human and divine – exist within his one being without tension or confusion.

His coming was expected. It was a fulfillment of prophecy. The Hebrew people waited millennia for God to fulfill his promises. The Lord came – and his coming was to seek and to save what was lost.

Everyone who is saved is saved only through him, through Jesus Christ. Consciously or not, salvation is won only through the Lord Jesus. Even the person far in the Amazon, who – through no fault of their own – has never heard the Gospel, yet follows the dictates of their conscience, we believe that even that person can be saved. But his or her salvation is only through Jesus Christ (even if they don’t know it). It had to be through Christ. The world was caught in slavery, the gates of heaven were closed. To quote St. Paul, we were all enemies of God. Heaven was open, freedom was assured, through Christ. And so, all salvation is through Christ alone, the one mediator between God and man.

** While on earth, the Gospels tell us that “crowds” followed Jesus. From these crowds, seventy-two disciples emerged. And from these seventy-two, the Lord Jesus after an intense night of prayer – chose twelve. He named them “apostles,” literally those who would be “sent.” He gave these apostles a special mission and mandate. He specifically gave St. Peter, the chief of these apostles, a specific office and task. The Lord Jesus told these apostles, those who “hear you, hear me” and those who “reject you, reject me.” He intimately connected himself with the work of these twelve apostles. He told St. Peter, you are the “rock” upon which I will build my Church. And the early Christians understood how important St. Peter was: the Acts of the Apostles tell us that they would line the streets with the hope that at least Peter’s shadow would fall upon them.

Around these twelve apostles, the Lord Jesus would found his Church, which is the fulfillment of Israel, and would be the continuer of his work of redemption, until the Lord returns in glory.

** After his Death, Resurrection, and Ascension to the Father, the Lord Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to guide and protect his Church. He sent the Holy Spirit to specifically watch over and instruct the apostle and their successors (whom we call Bishops). From the time the Lord Jesus walked the earth until now, the Bishops continue to speak in Christ’s holy Name and by his authority. Their teachings, guided by the Holy Spirit, are the teachings of Christ. And the Lord Jesus says to them, as he said to the apostles, those who “hear you, hear me” and those who “reject you, reject me.” The bishops are called and given the grace to teach, govern, and sanctify in Christ’s Name.

This is not to say that the Bishops cannot make mistakes in their prudential judgments. They can be terrible administrators. But, when the Church teaches on faith and morals, she cannot make an error. In fact, the Holy Spirit secures a special grace for the Bishop of Rome (who is the successor of St. Peter, and whom we now call “pope”) that when he teaches, he can use a distinct charism called infallibility. This means that he cannot make a mistake.

Now, does the Pope have this grace because he is a very holy person? No. In fact, in our history, we’ve had some real sinners as popes.

The papacy is given this special grace because Christ does not want his faithful to be lost or confused. To be left seeking answers without a way to them. To be left to figure things out on their own, or to cause division, or even to follow a path which will lead to eternal damnation. Christ wants his faithful to know him, to know with clarity his teachings and expectations.

** There is one mediator, one Church – led by the Bishops – who teach, sanctify, and govern until the Lord Jesus returns.

Is this a new belief? No, it is found through the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The letters of St. Paul and St. John depend on this foundation of the apostles and their successors.

How is it, then, that this might seem so new to many of us? Well, for many decades, some well-intentioned (seriously well-intentioned) people slowly became self-hating Catholics. They began to seek and implement the lowest common denominator to our Church. They approached Catholic things and teachings of the Church with embarrassment, avoidance, and sinful neglect.

But our distinctiveness is important – it’s our Catholic identity. Our differences are important (and honest): the way we read the Scriptures, our understanding of the Incarnation, of Baptism and the Eucharist, of the priesthood, of Mary, and so many other doctrines and traditions.

These are not icing on the cake, but essential to the life of a disciple, and essential to the life of the Church. They are means of salvation and instruments of grace, so essential, that those who do not have them, we say they are lacking something in their discipleship.

We do not say this in pride, but in gratitude for what the Lord has given us, and we say it because it is the truth, and the truth will set us free.

Some might try to tell you or argue for belief: do whatever you want, follow whatever you want to believe, do what fits for you, etc. But these thoughts are contrary to the Gospel and the teachings of Christ, they are contrary to the Lord’s understanding of the Church, and to the Church as it is seen in the New Testament.

The Lord Jesus has given us the Church so that we might always have an avenue to the truth, of true knowledge of him, and of the means which truly save our souls. He promised us that he would not leave us orphaned, and that he would send an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to teach us.

** But, how, you might wonder, does all of this apply to me? Why is this important? Is there any practical application of all this to my life?

Yes. When we see the Church in this way, in the way Christ sees her, we begin to understand our connection with Christ more intimately, and in a radically more personal and communal way. The Lord seems so close. We wonder: was it really 2,000 years ago that the Master walked the earth? Because he seems so close, his teachings so relevant, and his love so apparent. We start to see Christ speaking to us, guiding us, and teaching us in and through his Church. We begin to see Christ the Head, and the Church his Body, as one, indivisible being. Tension disappears, spiritual Marxism and supposed class struggle is deflated, and Rome is seen as our friend, as our greatest insurance policy that what he believe is true, reliable, and credible. That what we believe can truly save us.

** But I ran the risk of still remaining in the abstract. Perhaps we need some specifics. Let’s hit real life with these beliefs. Of the many areas, I’ll address only three:

** Sunday worship. Christ teaches through is Church that Sunday Mass is obligatory. As disciples of Christ, we are expected to be at the Sunday sacrifice. As people of the New Covenant, we are called to come together and offer our gratitude and praise to God. We offer him our week, its work, struggles, and joys. The Lord calls us to worship.

** Our sexual lives. Our discipleship doesn’t end at our bedroom doors. Christ teaches us through is Church that even our sexual lives must be ordered to his teachings. Christ and the Church aren’t joking when they teach about pornography, masturbation, fornication, adultery, homosexual acts, and artificial contraception. The Lord calls us to give him everything, including the intimate realms of our sexuality.

** Forgiveness. The Lord Jesus teaches through is Church that we must freely give the forgiveness that we receive. We do not have the option of withholding forgiveness from others. As disciples of Christ, we forego that option.

** But who am I? And who is the Church to tell anyone what to believe? Or how to live? Or what Jesus teaches and doesn’t teach? St. Paul answers those questions today. The Church says, with him, that she is a “preacher and apostle,” a “teacher in faith and truth.” The Church is the God-given instrument to teach and interpret, exhort and encourage the disciples of Christ. His teachings are clear. Will we accept them?

** The Lord Jesus wasn’t trying to fool us. He never lied. He told those who desired to be his disciples, “take up your Cross.” Yes, it’s a cross, not a lawn chair or a Lazy Boy. Jesus offers the Cross because it strengthens us, orders us and our lives to him, and it has the solemn promise of Resurrection.

** Give me a repentant disciple over an obstinate one any day. The repentant sinner, even if it’s the same sin, every day, is nevertheless open to God’s grace and he or she will become a saint and truly “shine like the starts in the heavens.” The obstinate sinner, who believes that he or she knows more than the Church of Christ, who chooses to rebel and follow their own path, they dam-up the grace of God, God cannot work, and they may well be on the road to perdition. To live only for oneself is a hell not only in eternity, but even now, here on this earth.

** The Lord Jesus calls us to repentance. He calls us to follow him, to hear his voice, and heed his counsel. As we assemble around God’s altar, let us pray for the faith and grace to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd, to accept it, and work to live it in our lives.

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In Remembrance and Supplication

Friday, October 6th, 2006

Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving
On the Occasion
Of Diaconal Ordination

2 Maccabees 12:43-46; Psalm 143;
John 17:24-26

“In Remembrance and Supplication”

October 6, 2006
Sacred Heart of the Sufferance Catholic Church
Rome, Italy

The Rev. Mr. Jeffrey Kirby

A an elderly woman arrived at the front steps of her local church. There were several steps, and so she asked a young man close by, “Excuse, Sir, could you help me up the steps?” Each step was difficult for her, but she slowly made her way up to the church’s man door. Once she arrived she thanked the young man, and innocently asked, “Sir, do you know who’s preaching today?” The young man was excited, and responded, “One of those new transitional deacons from Rome.” The old woman looked at the young man, and politely asked, “Excuse me, Sir, could you help me down the steps?”

I hope that no one here will have such a response after hearing this first liturgical homily from this transitional deacon.

Yesterday, many of us had the opportunity to tour and pray in the Catacomb of Priscilla. There, we recounted the martyrs and saints, the glorious members of the Church in heaven. We recalled these heroic older brothers and sisters, and reminded ourselves of their enduring presence among us, and of their total willingness to intercede for us and help us to come closer to the Lord Jesus.

Still in the company of this cloud of witnesses above, we assemble here today to remember another portion of Christ’s Church: the members in purgatory. We congregate today for the holy Sacrifice in this beautiful, neo-Gothic church dedicated to the Sacred Heart for the consolation of the poor souls in purgatory. In thanksgiving for a call to the diaconate, and a mutual call to discipleship, we remember these members of the Church and offer them our prayers.

But what is purgatory? And why run the risk of dampening our festive gathering here in Rome by talking of such a place?

It’s worth noting that Pope Leo XIII, the pope who ushered in the twentieth-century, on the occasion of his 50th Anniversary of priesthood, the pope offered all the graces and favors of the anniversary year to the souls in purgatory. He exhorted the faithful of his age, and ours, to – what he called – an “apostolic duty of charity,” to remember the poor souls. He wrote, “We think we can give them no more useful and desirable pledge of Our love than by everywhere increasing the offering of pure libation for them.”

But what is purgatory? Some might suspect that it’s a foreign, pagan insertion into the Gospel; others might argue that it’s an imposing of our human sense of law and punishment onto God, or that it is a sacrilegious system of redemption independent of the Cross of Christ; still others might think that it’s a medieval superstition and fear tactic that was exposed at the Reformation and is best abandoned to history; and, still, a few others might consider it as a mere exaggeration of good will or sentimentality.

Is purgatory an affront to God’s mercy, and a scandalous attempt at self-redemption on the part of humanity? Is it a superstition in league with ghosts and astrology?

No, to believe in purgatory is to understand the constitution of the Church by Christ, her divine Founder. To believe in purgatory and pray for the dead is to understand the fullness of our privilege as baptized Christians, and to accept and apply all the merits of Christ’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Simply put, purgatory is the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ washing the human person clean of all temporal punishment and venial sins before entering the All-Holy Presence of God. By analogy, it’s like the shower we’re asked to take before jumping into a swimming pool. It gets us ready, it cleans us up for the party.

Purgatory is not a “second chance.” If one dies away from the Lord, either by mortal sin or negligence, at the time of his or her death, purgatory is not for them. Purgatory is for those who have chosen the Lord and have sought to follow him, and who just need some washing before entering Heaven. Purgatory is not a plea bargain to maybe sneak in, or twist God’s arm. Purgatory is for those who have accepted and desired to cooperate with God’s grace throughout their lives.

Purgatory, however, is not a vacuum. Our loved ones in purgatory are not blocked from us. We pray for one another, and make intercession for one another here on earth. Who among us would refuse to pray for a friend (or, as Christians, for an enemy)? And our capacity to pray continues even after death. We can continue to pray for our loved ones who might be in purgatory. Our prayers console them and assist God in his work of purification. Who among us would refuse this charity to our beloved dead?

We must remind ourselves that Jesus Christ is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the Lord of the living, not of the dead. We see throughout the Old Testament, petitions and prayers being offered for the dead. In Jesus’ on earthly life, as a devout Jew, he would have regularly prayed for the dead.

In constituting his Church, the Lord Jesus fulfilled the covenant of Israel, and by his Resurrection from the dead and the establishment of a new and eternal covenant, he gave a renewed grace and power to our prayers for those who have passed away.

The Lord Jesus made his Church one and arranged it in such a way that we are still all dependent upon each other. By Jesus’ commission and the power of the Holy Spirit, we receive the prayers of the saints and those in Purgatory receive the charity of our prayers. The people of God are one Body each helping the other in Jesus Christ.

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Here, In This Place

Thursday, October 5th, 2006

Holy Hour of Thanksgiving
on the
Occasion of Diaconal Ordination

“Here, In This Place”

October 5, 2006
Catacomb of Priscilla
Rome, Italy

The Rev. Mr. Jeffrey Kirby

Brothers and Sisters, I’d like to offer a few reflections for our Holy Hour today. The late Pope, the Servant of God John Paul II, wrote in his priestly memoirs that, as a student priest studying in this city, he began his experience of Rome with the catacombs.

Knowing his life and teachings, we can understand why the catacombs were the first, and perhaps, one of the more important sites of Rome to our first Polish Pope. I’d like to give some thoughts that might help us to appreciate the catacombs as much.

While there are over sixty catacombs outside of the city limits of ancient Rome, Priscilla is one of only five catacombs opened to the public. And for many reasons, perhaps it’s one of the most important.

Here in this place, in these catacombs of Priscilla, we’ve been able to see the oldest image of Mary; one of the oldest images of the Eucharist; we’ve been able to see the scenes of Susanna, Daniel, Abraham, Jonah, and other Old Testament figures. We could see one of the oldest images of the Magi adoring Christ. And, here in this place, these catacombs, we’ve been able to see the burial places of some martyrs – among whom were popes – and the devotion of the Christian community towards them, especially in the practice of other Christians wanting to be buried very near to them.

Here in this place, we’ve been able to experience – to borrow a term from St. Paul – the “household of faith”; we can see around us the “cloud of witnesses” spoken of in the New Testament; we can behold Mary, who was given to us by Jesus on the Cross and to whom we were given; we can see the Eucharist, the sacrificial meal which St. Luke tells us Jesus “greatly desired” to share with us; and, we can see the early hierarchy taking shape, fulfilling its commission from Christ by exercising the “power of the keys” and “strengthening the brethren in their faith.”

Here in this place, we see so-called “primitive Christianity.” We see a lived Christianity only a few generations after the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, who are intimately connected to the Apostles and their immediate disciples. A Christian way of life from which we receive the New Testament. The New Testament was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, within a community of faith. Here, in this place, we encounter not only an historic community from by-gone ages, but our own breathing community, which is united and an extension of that early faith community. We are one body, and we are today only because they were yesterday.

Here, in this place, in prayer with our ancestors, we receive the “full Gospel,” which is a treasured inheritance of the Lord Jesus given to his well-beloved Church, and to each of us who are disciples within it.

In 64 AD, when the city of Rome burned and the insane emperor Nero used the Christians as a scapegoat, violent persecutions against Christianity began and continued for almost 300 years. When Nero began the persecutions, the Roman empire looked for the leader of the Christians. Because the Christians spoke of Jesus in the present tense and of his activity among them, the emperor thought Jesus lived in Rome and searched for him. We can only imagine what the emperor thought when he discovered that Jesus had been crucified as a criminal three decades before in Palestine, a backwoods province in the vast empire. Learning of Jesus’ death, the emperor heard of a leader, called a bishop, who led the Christians in Jesus’ name. He looked for Peter, the first bishop of Rome (in the fourth century, we would begin identifying the office with the term “pope”). Not forgetting about the criminal Jesus, the emperor sought to crucify Peter, killing him in the same manner as Christ. And Peter died on the Vatican Hill for the love of God.

Many others lost their lives because they refused to abandon the Christian faith. We call them “martyrs,” a legal term for witnesses in a courtroom, because they stand as witnesses to us and humanity of God’s truth and enduring love for each of us.

Nero’s was the first wave of persecution, many others would follow. One of the bloodiest was Diocletian, to whom most of the martyrs here in this catacomb lost their lives. When the Church was illegal, the Christians met here in the catacombs. Due to the Roman respect for the dead, the Christians were able to have legal catacombs (although the Faith was illegal). They would meet here to offer worship, and study the teachings of the apostles.

In 312 AD, the Edict of Milan gave tolerance to the Christian Faith. Pope Sylvester, the thirty-third bishop of Rome, and thirty-second successor of St. Peter, was pope at the time. He was the first pope not to be a martyr for the faith, and he was reverently buried here in these catacombs upon his death.

This is our history, these are our martyrs and saints. The faith they died for, and that the community here celebrated, is our faith. In the mystery of Christ’s Church, they are with us now, like a zealous audience at a game show, feverishly cheering on the contestants. They are with us, and we are continuing their celebration of the Lord Jesus.

Here, in this place, surrounding our Eucharistic Lord – who is our Good Shephard; in the presence of Mary – who is his mother and ours; and in the company of the martyrs and saints – his witnesses and our friends, we experience our communion as the Church, the Body of Christ, united amongst ourselves in Christ and forever united to Him, who is our Divine Head.

Here, in this place, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we realize how thin the veil of time really is, and how truly powerless death is in Jesus Christ. In this place, united by prayer, we can almost feel the presence of our ancestors in the faith. They are here with us. In our own prayer and actions, in our own worship of the Lord, we see their prayer and know of their worship. We understand that we are all one in Jesus Christ.

Raised to heavenly triumph, the saints and martyrs are still with us. We thank them for their fidelity and example. We ask them to pray for us, and to guide us closer to Jesus.

With all the martyrs and saints, in the company of the angels, let the Church pray together, “Our Father, …”

Raised to heavenly triumph, the saints and martyrs are still with us. We thank them for their fidelity and example. We ask them to pray for us, and to guide us closer to Jesus.

With all the martyrs and saints, in the company of the angels, let the Church pray together, “Our Father, …”

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To Know Christ Jesus

In Remembrance and Supplication

Here, In This Place