HOMILY Third Sunday of Easter Cycle A April 26, 2020

HOMILY    Thirds Sunday of Easter   Cycle A     April 26, 2020

          Some disciples are on the way to a village called Emmaus.  A pair of disciples, on the road. 

          ‘The Road’ is an image of life, as in many Hollywood road pictures.   All of us are on a journey, from birth to death.  For some it is a short road, for others, like my Dad who thankfully is doing better, it is a long road.  For some it is pretty bumpy, with lots of twists and turns, several diversions and back-tracks and blind alleys.  And for others it is pretty straight and mostly smooth.  But all of us are on the journey of life. 

          All of us are on our own journey to Emmaus.  And as the couple in the Gospel, Cleopas and his companion, maybe his wife, go along, who shows up but Jesus?  Of course, they don’t recognize that it is Jesus.  They are too absorbed in their own grief, their own bewilderment, their own issues, and so they don’t recognize Jesus.

          So also for us, as we go along the path of life, Jesus is often there, on the road with us.  But also for us, we often don’t recognize Him, because sometimes we too are to absorbed in our own plans, our own issues, our own worries, and so we don’t recognize Jesus.  

          In short, this pair of disciples is a lot like us.

          Jesus asks a simple question: “What are you discussing as you walk along?”   Be careful of those innocent questions Jesus asks, especially when they look simple and innocuous.   

          “What are you discussing as you walk along your path of life?”  What preoccupies you in life?  What do you concern yourself with?  What do you spend your time and energy on?  What interests you as you go through life?  What are YOU discussing as you walk along?

          Brothers and sisters, like this pair of companions on the road to Emmaus, we too, on the journey of life, often don’t get it.  We are concerned with the wrong things: with our self-importance.  Our comfort, with looking good, with having it all.  What are you discussing as you walk along the pathways of life?

          Jesus gives them something of a rude awakening: “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe…” 

          Jesus observes and listens to you on the Journey of Life.  What is His reaction to you?  For me, I am afraid it would be very similar to Jesus’ reaction to Cleopas and his companion.  “Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe…  Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?”       //

          Right now, a lot of you are having a hard or difficult time.  A time with suffering.  Maybe suffering sickness in this pandemic.  Or economic hardship.  Sorrowful over relatives or friends who have fallen sick or died.  Fearful what the future brings as the bills mount up and the bank account drains.  Suffering from loneliness and isolation, wanting to be with other people, to hug family and friends and loved ones.  O what I would give for a good hand-shake right now, much less a hug!   

          Or suffering from too much closeness to family, cooped up in a small space, getting on each other’s nerves.  Or suffering from confusion about what to do?  Or just bored silly.         //

          I believe that Jesus is on the road with us.  Jesus certainly understands suffering much more deeply than we do.  He has been there.  Not just physical pain, but bitter betrayal by his followers and friends, rejection by His own people, and worst, the sense of abandonment by God. 

          But,,, Jesus came through all that, and entered into His glory.  We celebrated that just two weeks ago on Easter.  Jesus is Risen!  Alleluia!

          Now Jesus walks along with us. To instruct us. To reassure us.  To comfort us.  To challenge us, so that we may not be foolish.

          Life is not about popularity, nor bank accounts, nor the kind of car you drive. Life is about relationship, and especially relationship with Jesus.  He walks along with us in Life.  He challenges us, but we can rely on Him.

          The two disciples came to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread, an early name for the Eucharist.  Breaking.  Jesus was broken for us.  But in being broken, He was thereby opened to receive the glory the Father yearned to give Him.  As we heard in the preaching of St Peter in the first reading today, “God raised this Jesus; of this we are all witnesses.  Exalted at the right hand of God, he received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father.”  Jesus taught us that we too need to be broken open for others, and so be open to receive His love and life.  Happy Easter!  Alleluia

Fr. Chuck's Column, April 26, 2020

I hope this finds you and your family well. I pray that you are safe. Some of you are lonely. Some are bored. Some are tense and irritable from being cooped up and the disruption of routine. Some are facing increasing economic hardship, facing the prospect of ruin. Some are angry and frustrated. Some are sick. It is a difficult time.

Our character is being tested. Some handle it better than others, but I am confident that as a community, as a parish and school, we will get through this. We have a mission to accomplish that is more important than the temporary troubles of the pandemic.

Recognizing that eventually we shall come through the other side of this, I encourage you to join us next Sun., May 3, for the online presentation of our parish and school development update. It will be given twice, once at 11 a.m. and then again at 2 p.m. We can accommodate 180 computers per presentation, please sign up as soon as possible before the slots fill. Please register for the webinar early here. There is also a link on the front page of the St. Austin website. Sign-in instructions will be emailed to you on Sat., May 2, so watch your inbox! (Please note, if you registered for the Apr 5 session that was canceled, you must register again.) I hope that many of you will do so, and will join as a family to watch our presentation.

If nothing else, it will get you to stop thinking about all the difficulties of today, and think about the problems and possibilities of tomorrow. The Development Committee has done a great deal of work over hundreds of hours. I hope you will find the presentation both enlightening and encouraging. Our parish and school have a dynamic and wonderful future ahead of us!

There is a great deal of work yet to be done. There are significant hurdles to overcome. There are important decisions to be made. There is just a lot to do! Please continue to support our development project by your prayers. And I hope to see you online next Sun., May 3.

Wishing you all Health and Safety!

Fr. Chuck's Column, April 19, 2020

We have just negotiated and survived one of the most unusual Holy Weeks Easters I have ever expe-rienced. Thanks to all who pitched in and helped with our live streaming of Masses and services. We are still learning how to master all this way of do-ing church in a virtual, electronic way. Thank you to all who have tuned in, and continue to support our parish with your prayers, donations, and good wishes.
We will be social distancing for at least a few more weeks. By the end of it, we will all have become experts at living a more con-fined life. The hermits and monks will have nothing on us! So many funerals, baptisms, confirmations, weddings, celebrations, anniversaries and other events have been put on hold. How will we ever catch up when this is finally over?
I do hope and pray that we will be able to gather by Pentecost. That would be wonderful. In any case, we will strictly adhere to and follow whatever are the social distancing regulations and sug-gestions to keep us safe. Especially as Christians we are called to care for our neighbor, and there is no more basic form of care than avoiding getting your neighbor sick.
I am perplexed, and more than a little upset, by those Christians claiming a “right” to worship who ignore the regulations for so-cial distancing, and have large gatherings in church during this pandemic. That is just not Christian. Jesus calls us to love our neighbor. Insisting on my personal right to gather for worship, rather than act in the care of my neighbor’s (and my own) health, just strikes me as very selfish and profoundly un-Christian. Jesus did nothing like that.
So while it is awkward, uncomfortable, financially ruinous and even depressing to practice social isolation for weeks and weeks on end, it really is the most loving thing to do. Jesus laid down His life for us. We are called to lay down our “rights” out of con-cern for our neighbor, as well as for ourselves.

Fr. Chuck's Column, April 12, 2020

ALLELUIA! Happy Easter! My dear St. Austin parishioners, this must be one of the most unusual, weirdest, and most uncomfortable Easters we have experienced in quite some time. No public Holy Week or Easter Sunday celebrations! No Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist of the Catechumens. No reception into the Catholic Church for candidates. No blessing of the Easter fire. No gathering with friends and family and neighbors. It is all just disjointed, out of whack, off kilter, and strange. The whole thing is just plain weird. There is fear of getting too close. There is sadness and grief over friends, family, co-workers, fellow parishioners, and neighbors who have fallen ill, and some have died. Who will get it next? The more we love, the more we worry.

Yet we also approach this Feast in a stance of faith. Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death. He is Risen! Alleluia! We know in the short-term things could be very bad indeed. But our faith tells us that in the long run Christ is triumphant, so much so that the troubles and travails of today are made bearable, for we bear them in HOPE. So to say “alleluia” in this difficult and painful time is an act of faith. We can not unthinkingly say “alleluia.” To say “alleluia” in the face of our current experience is an act of defiance against illness and death. It is an affirmation of Jesus’ Resurrection. It is a cry of hope that transcends the fear and pain we currently experience. Even with bitterness and sorrow, we cry in faith, “ALLELUIA!”

So this Easter, be intentional about your faith. We have ample reason to rejoice. ALLELUIA!   

Fr. Chuck's Column, April 5, 2020

I hope this finds you all well, not suffering from the caronavirus, nor going stir-crazy from home seclusion with either your family, your pet, or just yourself. All of those options have their particular benefits and challenges. I am spending much more time in contact with five brother Paulists, and I must say so far it has been going quite well. Better than I expected if I am honest about it. Ask me again after a month.

This will be a particularly unusual Passion/Palm Sunday. There will be no blessing of palms. No weaving of crosses out of palms. No gathering in front of the Harry Ransom Center with the congregation from University Catholic Center for the blessing of palms and processions to our respective worship areas. That is particularly disappointing because this is the last Palm Sunday with my brother Paulists staffing the University Catholic Center. It is a shame. (You can take that several different ways!)

This weekend was also to have been the weekend our parish religious education program and our school’s second grade celebrated First Holy Communion. This must be a bitter disappointment to the 65 second graders who were anticipating their first reception of the Body and Blood of Christ this weekend. And possibly disappointed because they are not able to get all dressed up for their First Holy Communion with all their classmates. And perhaps even some disappointment in not receiving any presents they expected. In many ways it is a shame.

Of course this does NOT mean that they are denied the Eucharist forever. It just means we need to wait until it is SAFE for us to congregate and worship as a body of believers. Maybe that will be in a month or two. Hopefully it will be soon. So while the festive and party aspects of First Holy Communion may be downplayed, when it finally does occur, the much more important spiritual aspect of Holy Communion will be just as real, just as meaningful, just as formative and just as powerful as if we celebrated it on the original schedule. In some ways this delay may increase the first communicants longing for this wonderful gift. I hope that not being able to receive the Eucharist every Sunday is increasing in you a greater appreciation of what a gift the Sunday Eucharist is. Unfortunately, we need to lose somethings in order to better appreciate what value and importance they have. We all look forward to when we can again gather in church as the body of Christ, to receive the Body of Christ.

God bless!

Fr. Chuck's Column, March 29, 2020

We are now fully in pandemic response mode. Again, you are excused from Sunday Mass attendance. If you are sick, or just not feeling well, or have been exposed to someone who has been exposed to the virus, or are sixty years or older, PLEASE STAY HOME!!! Your obligation is not to attend Mass but rather to NOT attend Mass. We don’t know what will happen in the long run. We can say that Holy Week and Easter will happen with or without a congregation. We can say that we will get through this.

Hopefully, most of us will not get sick as younger people and children seem relatively more immune to this virus. Eventually life will resume a normal pace. Some of us will get sick, and then get better. It will be like a bad case of the flu. By next year we could have a vaccine for this virus, and we will be much better at controlling it.

Some of us will, no doubt, get sick, not recover, and die from it. That is just the reality. But none of us live forever anyway. In fact, we know through faith that our ultimate destiny is NOT here in this life, but with God forever in Heaven. A few years more or less on this earth really doesn’t make much difference in the long run. That is not our society’s common wisdom, but it is the truth. We approach this current crisis, as we approach all things in life, from the perspective of faith. At least that is what we are called to do. Our society values a LONG life. Our faith values a HOLY life. The two are not the same. In the long run a short, holy life is much better than a long, unholy life.

Meanwhile, we have to deal with the daily disruptions caused by the virus. Everyone has their favorite “folk-remedy” methods of staying healthy. Mine is to drink more coffee and take naps. Even if that doesn’t really help, it makes me feel better.

Wishing us all Good Health and Peace,

FRIDAY April 24 School Mass Homily

In the Gospel we just heard, it says: “Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to Jesus, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are those for so many?’”   Remember that?

“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.”  Hmmm.  Who is this boy?  What’s his name?  What is he doing there with five loaves of barley bread and two whole fish?                 We don’t know.

But we can imagine.  We can speculate. We can give what is known as a “midrash”, a filling in of some details, provide some background and context, for this story. 

This Gospel story is set in Galilee.  That was the area, or state, where Jesus grew up, where he was from, from Nazareth of Galilee.  So this boy was a Galilean, just like Jesus.  You are a Texan, because you grow up in Texas.  This boy was a Galilean, from Galilee.

Let’s give him a name.  We don’t know what his name really was, but we will call him Joseph, or Joe for short. So, Joe from Galilee, and he has five barley loaves and two fish. 

Barley loaves are a type of bread, but not like the white bread you have for your sandwiches.  This was a coarser bread, a cheaper bread, the bread of the poor.  Rich people ate white bread made from wheat, and the poor ate cheaper bread made from barley and oats.  Like what we feed to horses today.

Joe also has two whole fish.  Maybe Joe had been fishing.  Maybe his Mother gave the fish to Joe.  But two whole fish seems like a lot for one boy to eat.  I think that instead, Joe was enterprising.  Joe was an entrepanuer.  Joe was a budding business man.  And when Joe saw the large crowd following Jesus, and knew they would be with Jesus for a while, Joe got the bright idea to sell bread and fish to the crowds and make some money.

So Joe took his savings, all his allowance and what he had earned doing odd jobs around the town, and went and bought all he could, which was just five barley loaves and two whole fish.  It was not a lot, but to Joe it represented all he had, and he figured he could double or triple his money, because he knew people would be hungry and he would have no competition.  Joe planned on making a killing.  Joe the bread and fish king!

Joe started to think about what he could do with his profits, daydreaming about a new robe, and maybe brand new sandals, not like the hand-me-downs he wore when he didn’t have to go barefoot.

That was Joe’s plan.  But when he got there, the Apostle Andrew saw him, and brought him to Jesus.  And everything changed for Joe.

Joe had never seen or met anyone like Jesus.  Jesus just radiated Peace.  And acceptance.  And love.  It did not seem to matter how you were dressed; if you were an important person or just a peasant; or even just a mere child like Joe.  Jesus just loved.

With Jesus there was acceptance and something very different for Joe: unconditional love.  It made Joe very happy, but also kind of uneasy.  It was so unusual.  Joe didn’t know what to make of it, didn’t know what to do.

Then Jesus turned to Joe, smiled at him, and reached out His hand.  Then Joe knew what he had to do.   Joe dropped his dreams of profit, of a new robe, even of brand-new sandals that nobody else had ever worn, and simply handed his five loaves and two fish to Jesus. 

Jesus nodded to Joe in gratitude, then Jesus lifted His eyes to heaven, gave thanks, and began to break the bread and pass out the fish.  But the strangest thing happened.  The more Jesus gave out, the more there was.  Then the Apostles started helping to share, and the bread and the fish just kept coming.  Thousands and thousands of people ate their fill of the five barley loaves and two fish.

Joe also ate until he was stuffed.  Never had he had such delicious bread, such tasty fresh fish!   It was a meal he would never, ever, forget.  And it made Joe very, very happy that he had given his bread and fish to Jesus.  He felt good, and satisfied, and proud.  He knew he had done the right thing, and that was better than the best robe or the most expensive sandals.

After a while the crowd started to disperse.  It was getting late and the people were heading home, full of the five loaves and two fish that Joe had brought.  Joe felt happy that they were so satisfied with his bread and fish.  He was all warm inside.

As the Apostle were gathering up the leftovers, the fragments left over, Andrew the Apostle came over to Joe.  “Thank you, Joe, for sharing your fish and bread with us” said Andrew.  “Oh, that’s OK” said Joe.  He suddenly found it hard to talk.

Andrew said to him.  “We have twelve wicker baskets full of fragments of bread and fish from what you had brought.  We will never use that much.  Here, take this basket full of left overs to your home.” 

Joe joyfully took the basket of fragments of bread and fish. And he knew what he wanted to do with them.  Not sell them for his own sake, but share them with his family and neighbors, because now Joe knew the true value and worth of sharing.  And Joe was very happy indeed.

Amen.

EASTER SUNDAY HOMILY 2020

HAPPY EASTER!!!    ALLELUIA!!!

       In the Gospel we just heard, there is the following provocative statement: “Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed.” 

       The question is, WHAT did he see that caused him to believe?   There was nothing and no one there.  Just an empty tomb with some discarded burial cloths.  He did not see the Risen Jesus.  He did not see an angel, like in Matthew’s Gospel.  All he saw was an empty tomb. 

       Well, obviously he did not see only with his physical eyes, but rather with the eyes of FAITH.

       Sisters and brothers, we too must look, not with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of faith.  What are we looking at?  What are we looking for?  A resurrected body?  A kind of Hollywood special-effects spectacular?  

       Well, not really.  Rather we are looking for something both more subtle and more powerful: the PRESENCE of the Resurrected Lord in our lives.   We are looking for the power, impact, and influence of the Risen Jesus on our feelings, on our senses, on our relationships, on our actions, on our deepest selves.

       On the physical level, before us there is only an empty tomb.   What do you see?  In this time of terrible pandemic, is all we see economic hardship, isolation, worry, loneliness, suffering, sickness and death?  The Gospel today, and our Faith, call us to look in a different way – like the other disciple does, for we are that “other disciple” –  called to see and believe: to see the heroic generosity and bravery of EMS workers, nurses, doctors, researchers, and all who are battling this disease.  To see generosity, compassion, bravery and even heroism in our very selves.  To see the victory of Christ over death in 100 ways in our lives and in the lives of others.  To see and believe!

       Alleluia!  Happy Easter! 

Holy Thursday April 9, 2020 St Austin Church

Holy Thursday homily     April 9, 2020     St Austin Church

        How odd and disconcerting this year is.  We gather – not in person but electronically, “virtually” – to celebrate the institution of the Eucharist – Jesus’ great gift to us of His own Body and Blood – and yet are unable to participate in receiving His Body and Blood.

        Liturgically this is all wrong.  Frankly, it stinks.  Do you agree?

        However, the Eucharist is not primarily about a ritual action or a meal.  It is about a whole new mind-set, a whole new way of looking at things; A completely fresh way of acting, of thinking, of feeling, of being.  Of being made “holy” – which is what SACRIFICE is all about, “sacra ficere”, to make holy. 

        So, in the Gospel of John which we just heard, at the Last Supper there is no report or description of the institution of the Eucharist:  No telling of Jesus breaking bread, of sharing the cup, and declaring; “THIS IS MY BODY, THIS IS MY BLOOD.”

        Instead we have the washing of feet, an act of humble service, of self-giving, of dying to self.

        The message and the impact of the Eucharist – other serving love – is encapsulated and expressed by the act of service in washing the disciples’ feet.

        Jesus gave Himself for us on the Cross.   That radical act of Love is symbolized BOTH by the breaking and sharing of the bread, AND by the humble washing of feet.  They BOTH express the same reality of laying down your life for others.

        To all of you at home:  You cannot partake of Holy Communion right now.  You cannot receive the consecrated host and drink from the cup of blessing.

        That is a bummer.  And we long for the day when we will be able to fully celebrate Mass together as the Body of Christ receiving the Body of Christ.

        HOWEVER, you can still live eucharistically, still incorporate the meaning and power of the Eucharist in your life by living out Jesus’ other-serving love: because that is what Eucharist is all about.

        Wash each other’s feet.   Not literally, but actually:  helping each other in this time of trial.  Listening patiently to the lonely person.  Play a silly game with the child who is bored and also scarred.  Comfort the parent or spouse stressed out over loss of work and mounting bills.  Take groceries to the elderly or shut in neighbor.  Put on a smile when you are bored and depressed.  Compliment others.   Give of yourself in service.  Wash each other’s feet.  Then you will live what Eucharist is all about.

        And eventually, hopefully, when this horrible scourge is lifted, and we can go back to something more normal, and we again gather here in church to celebrate Eucharist, it will be a far more real, meaningful, authentic celebration.  For we shall have first lived it.

        God bless!