BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) The gospel accounts of last weekend, this weekend and next weekend are all taken from the 24th and 25th chapters of St. Matthew. The teachings presented in them by Christ are his last ones before he was to enter into Jerusalem and there be put to death. They are his final testament to his disciples, intended to guide them and us in the “already but not yet” time, that time between his presence here on earth and his Second Coming at the end of the world. These final teachings are therefore of great importance. And, when you plumb them to their depths, they are challenging – even menacing. Last week’s parable told us about the five wise and the five foolish virgins. The foolish ones did not look ahead and make provision for the coming of the bridegroom. They were guilty of the sin of presumption – presuming that in their lack of oil for their lamps the wise ones would provide for them.

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) In today’s first reading we hear the prophet Isaiah calling us to climb to the top of the mountain and look for the Lord’s advent, the Lord’s coming into our lives. At the end of today’s first reading when we hear Isaiah cry out, “ O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord! ” We need to understand that Isaiah isn’t simply talking about nature’s daylight nighttime’s darkness, he is talking about what we see with our minds and hearts. He’s calling us to rise above our daily worries, concerns and anxieties in order to take a look over the whole of our lives with all of their peaks and valleys. As Christians we do that in the vision of Christ, the Light of the World, God’s gift to us. The problem you and I face comes not from the fact that we are unconcerned or apathetic or lazy. The problem you and I have is that we’re far too concerned about so many other things. Often these are legitimate

Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem , Francesco Hayez, 1867. Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Who is your judge? I mean in the ultimate sense who do you look to as the judge of the true worth of your actions and your worth as a person? Some of us turn to our parents and judge our actions and our lives on their approval alone. Some of us look to peers – it is peer group judgment that is the ultimate criterion that determines our actions in life. Still others look to no one but themselves to judge the relative goodness, or lack thereof, in their choices and deeds. One of the distinguishing marks of a Christian is the fact that he or she looks forward to the judgment of God. The Christian is aware of the constant in-breaking of God into his or her life. A true Christian sees this not as a threat or in negative terms but rather sees it as a summons, a calling, or as an invitation from God for us to grow. To believe in and assert that Ch

St. John of the Cross, the Carmelite saint, mystic and Doctor of the Church, was imprisoned three times while trying to reform his own order. He was shamefully persecuted by his brethren and publicly disgraced. The physical and emotional suffering he endured was immense. This total abandonment by creatures served to deepened his peace and love for God. Here is his insight into the Judgment. In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone. — St. John of the Cross ______________________________________ Prayer for St.  John of the Cross’ Intercession Almighty ever-living God, who gave the priest and mystic Saint John of the Cross an outstanding dedication to perfect self-denial and love of the Cross, grant that, by imitating him closely at all times, and by his intercession, we may duly come to contemplate eternally your glory. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and with the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever. Amen.

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Last Sunday we considered the broad sweep of Advent and reminded ourselves that Advent begins with us looking at the end of the world. It is right that we should be anxious and concerned about the judgment of God on the Day of Judgment. But we should not be held in the grip of fear because God’s judgment is that we are worth saving. God’s judgment comes to us in His grace and mercy, His grace and mercy given us in His Son, Jesus Christ. That theme continues this weekend. The first words in today’s first reading come from the prophet Isaiah. God tells Isaiah to comfort His people. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,” He tells Isaiah, and proclaim to her that her time of trial is coming to an end. “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; the rugged land shall be make a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed.” Advent is a t

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Advent begins with us looking at the eventual end of the world. The passage in today’s Gospel account is taken from St. Mark’s report of Jesus speaking to His disciples about the end of the world, telling them (and us) to be watchful and alert because we do now know when the Last Day will dawn. No one does. Advent, I say, begins with us looking at the end of the world. Advent ends with a beginning, the beginning of the kingdom of God that has been established here on earth by the One whom God has sent to us as our Messiah, Christ Jesus, the Son of God whose nativity we are about to celebrate. It is right that we should be anxious and concerned about the judgment of God on the Day of Judgment. But we should not be held in the grip of fear. Why? Because God’s judgment is that we are worth saving. God’s judgment comes to us in His grace and mercy, His grace and mercy given us in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Parables are teaching devices used by rabbis for instructional purposes. The wonderful thing about a parable is that we can identify ourselves with one or more of the characters in the story. Read one or hear one and it’s sort of like seeing yourself reflected back, perhaps as in a mirror with some fuzziness, not with a whole lot of precision, but the general image is there. “This one’s about me” is the usual reaction. You’ve just now heard one of the most famous of all of the parables used by Jesus. There are those on the right, and those on the left; there are the sheep and the goats, the saved and the damned. But everyone in each group is surprised! When, they ask, did we treat you, or not treat you, in these ways? And Jesus then tells them. What about you? Where do you see yourself in the story? Do you belong to those that care, the ones on the right, or those who simply didn’t have enough

By Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America (Ezekiel 34:11-17; 1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Matthew 25:31-46) Hungry, thirsty, naked, stranger, sick, in prison. That’s the checklist Jesus uses in the famous judgment scene in Matthew’s gospel. There is another list, in today’s reading from Ezekiel, where the Lord catalogues all the things he will do for his sheep which, as we find in the preceding verses (not included), the official shepherds have failed to do. But, as with other lists in the Scriptures, these are not exhaustive. They point us in a certain direction and allow us to see beyond the list, to draw up “new, improved” lists according to the world we live in. This is exactly how many Religious Orders came into existence. Some literally feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Some meet other, equally urgent, needs. Interestingly, though hunger and sickness are specifically mentioned in the message of La Salette, the perspec

Msgr. Bernard Bourgeois Exodus 34:11-12, 15-17; Psalm 23; 1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28;  Matthew 25:31-46 "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brethren of mine, you did for me. "   (Mt 25:40) This feast of Christ the King is a paradox. Here is the King of kings who associates with tax collectors, the sick, and the outcast. Here is the Lord of lords whose primary mission was to conquer all sin, suffering, and death. Here is the monarch who died the death of a common criminal. And here is the king who taught his subjects—you and me—to be sure we are taking care of the poor, homeless, hungry, thirsty, naked, and estranged. Why should we share our resources with anyone in these groups? Because this King lives in them. Instead of inhabiting a castle filled with riches, this King chooses to live in the hearts and souls of the poor, oppressed, and those who cry out in suffering. God does things differently than humans do. The Gospel for this w

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) The gospel accounts of last weekend, this weekend and next weekend are all taken from the 24th and 25th chapters of St. Matthew. The teachings presented in them by Christ are his last ones before he was to enter into Jerusalem and there be put to death. They are his final testament to his disciples, intended to guide them and us in the “already but not yet” time, that time between his presence here on earth and his Second Coming at the end of the world. These final teachings are therefore of great importance. And, when you plumb them to their depths, they are challenging – even menacing. Last week’s parable told us about the five wise and the five foolish virgins. The foolish ones did not look ahead and make provision for the coming of the bridegroom. They were guilty of the sin of presumption – presuming that in their lack of oil for their lamps the wise ones would provide for them. Their even great

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) A fundamental theme that runs throughout the entire Bible is this: “God offers, we respond.” God’s offer of love for us is a given; His unconditional love is always offered to us no matter what. The result, however, is conditional. The result depends upon our response to His offer. How, then, do we respond to Christ’s mandate that we love everyone as we love ourselves? First of all, we should take it for what it is – a mandate, a command. It is something we must choose to do with little regard for our feelings. Feelings are important but feelings are not decisive. Convictions, things we are convinced of, are decisive. Feelings are not. More often than not, acting on our feelings leads us down wrong paths and into trouble. Then, too, we can be victimized by our feelings. We can feel sorry for ourselves and spend so much time pitying ourselves that we end up feeling like we are victims. We can impri

On the last day, when the general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian. Charity will be the whole syllabus. — St. Robert Bellarmine ______________________________________ Prayer for St. Robert Bellarmine’s Intercession Almighty ever-living God, who adorned the Bishop Saint Robert Bellarmine with wonderful learning and heroic virtue to vindicate the faith of your Church, grant, through his intercession, that in the integrity of that same faith your people may always find joy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns together with you and with the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

September 16th, the Church celebrates two holy friends who received the crown of martyrdom in their imitation of Christ and in service to Christ's Church. Saint Cornelius, (251-253) a Roman was elected Pope in 251 amid the persecutions of the Emperor Decius. Little is known of his life before the papacy. Besides the danger posed by Roman authorities in opposition to the Church, he also had to contend with a deep schism occasioned by Novatian, the first anti-pope. The issue in contention resulting from the Decian persecution was whether those who had apostatized could be absolve and receive back into the Church. Novatian held that those who had apostacized must be rebaptized, and that some sins were so grave they could not be forgiven by the Church. (Such sins could only be forgiven at the Last Judgment.) Cornelius had the support of St. Cyprian, St. Dionysius, and most African and Eastern bishops convened a synod of bishops to confirm him as the rightful bishop of Rome and e

Father Lance Harlow As we mature, we gain experience in enduring the reality of changing events. The change in our own person is called aging. In society, change is called progress. In architecture, it is called development. However we categorize the experience of movement from one thing to another and its emotional effect upon us, St. Paul puts into blunt perspective that the minor changes in the human condition pale before the one fundamental life changing event, which is called death. He states in his letter to the Corinthians: “Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality” (1 Cor 15:51-53). St. Paul is speaking about the second coming of Christ at w

April 5th, is the optional memorial of Saint Vincent Ferrer, the 14th century Dominican priest who was instrumental in helping end the Western Schism or Papal Schism. Throughout her history, the Church has weathered many crises, and 600 years ago, St. Vincent Ferrer found himself in the midst of a major divide. The Church, and the papacy in particular, was going through a time of unprecedented upheaval, governed for 36 years by two and sometimes three "popes," with immense confusion as to who the true successor of Peter was. St. Vincent was born in Valencia, Spain in 1350. Against his parent’s wishes, he entered the Dominican Order at the age of 19, and was later ordained. A great scholar and master theologian, he knew the entire Bible by heart. He was also a renowned homilist, preaching throughout Europe. Jews, infidels and heretics were converted by his sermons on the true faith. The most obdurate sinners embraced a life of holiness. The favorite topic of his sermons w

As we all know the four weeks before Christmas, also known as Advent, is a time of preparation and anticipation. We prepare our hearts and our souls to welcome Christ anew, remembering how God became man 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. Nativity scenes the world over commemorate the coming of the infant Jesus. Through His Incarnation, Jesus: 1.) showed us in His words and deeds how to be His disciple; 2.) named twelve Apostles to help spread the Gospel throughout the world and build the Church on earth; 3.) set Peter apart, giving him primacy among the Apostles; 4.) instituted the Eucharist and also the priesthood to administer the sacraments, and; 5.) as the unblemished offering, paid the ransom for humanity's transgressions. In so doing, Jesus conquered sin and death, and opened up for us the gates of heaven and hope for everlasting life. Thus, while Advent is a time of preparation in anticipation of Christmas, it points to something more. Christ did become human 2,000 years

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) In today’s first reading we hear the prophet Isaiah calling us to climb to the top of the mountain and look for the Lord’s advent, the Lord’s coming into our lives. At the end of today’s first reading when we hear Isaiah cry out, “ O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord! ” We need to understand that Isaiah isn’t simply talking about nature’s daylight nighttime’s darkness, he is talking about what we see with our minds and hearts. He’s calling us to rise above our daily worries, concerns and anxieties in order to take a look over the whole of our lives with all of their peaks and valleys. As Christians we do that in the vision of Christ, the Light of the World, God’s gift to us. The problem you and I face comes not from the fact that we are unconcerned or apathetic or lazy. The problem you and I have is that we’re far too concerned about so many other things. Often the

Destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem , Francesco Hayez, 1867. Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) Who is your judge? I mean in the ultimate sense who do you look to as the judge of the true worth of your actions and your worth as a person? Some of us turn to our parents and judge our actions and our lives on their approval alone. Some of us look to peers – it is peer group judgment that is the ultimate criterion that determines our actions in life. Still others look to no one but themselves to judge the relative goodness, or lack thereof, in their choices and deeds. One of the distinguishing marks of a Christian is the fact that he or she looks forward to the judgment of God. The Christian is aware of the constant in-breaking of God into his or her life. A true Christian sees this not as a threat or in negative terms but rather sees it as a summons, a calling, or as an invitation from God for us to grow. To believe in a