BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Paul Werley The Pittsburgh Oratory & Catholic Newman Center ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Without paying undue attention to anyone in particular, I just want to point out that there is a statistical possibility that at least one of us in this chapel may have a close friend, or at least an acquaintance, who is a Mount Everest expedition enthusiast. Such people might aspire to climb the world’s tallest mountain even though their knowledge about doing this Herculean undertaking is superficial and limited... Contrast this with a Sherpa. A Sherpa is a native Tibetan and an expert climber, who acts as a guide for hikers as they ascend Mt. Everest. If we should find ourselves on our first expedition and we had to choose between following the Mt. Everest enthusiast, also there for the first time, and following a Sherpa, who knows the mountain by heart, who would we choose to follow? Knowing the choice was a matter of life or death, who would we follow? Today, Jesus tells t...

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) From time to time, I hear parents telling me about their attempts to guide their teenage sons and daughters. They are concerned about what their kids are doing after school with their friends. They are concerned, and rightly so, about what their kids are doing or not doing. But many times, these parents are scolded by their kids and told, “Stop judging me!” Too many times these retorts stop parents dead in their tracks, especially when they are reminded that Jesus told us not to judge others. What is really curious is to note how judgmental many people are, not just kids, especially when they tell others to stop judging! There’s something terribly ironic in that. The ones who complain about judging others are themselves judging! In today’s Gospel reading we hear Jesus telling us to, “Stop judging.” But at the same time, we must all remember that Jesus did, in fact, judge the behavior of others. Take what He...

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) We all know of people who, whenever they can, debunk religion, particularly Christianity. They tell us that the bible stories are fables, laugh at the story of the Wise Men, the star over Bethlehem, and ridicule belief about a virgin having a baby. These sophisticated despisers of religion take themselves very seriously and think it is their duty to liberate the ignorant masses from the influence of religion and faith. Let’s be honest. If Jesus were to live among us today, He would be considered to be more than strange. I mean, after all, here He is declaring how happy the poor are, how happy the hungry are, and how happy are those who are weeping. He goes on to say we are happy when we are spurned and rejected, even when we are abused. Then Jesus tells us that those who are rich are going to go hungry, those who are laughing now are going to really hurt, and those who are popular are going to be knocked off ...

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Simon Peter was a fisherman. It was his livelihood. He wasn’t a sport fisherman, fishing simply because he liked to fish. His life and the lives of his family depended upon his skills and his talents in catching fish. Not only that but the livelihoods of the men who worked for him depended upon him, as well as the security and happiness of their family members. Peter knew what he was about because he had to. People depended on him. We find him in today’s gospel account in a moment of failure. We shouldn’t think it was his only failure. He probably encountered many other such moments in the years he had been in the business of fishing. Was this failure the last straw? Was this the final failure for him? Was he about to abandon his fishing business and start out all over again in a new business? We don’t know. But many of us do know the feeling; many of us have had moments of such profound doubt that we’ve bee...

There is no homily this week from Fr. Irvin. We present this homily from Fr. Manfredonia Fr. Ignatius Manfredonia Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Today's Feast of the Presentation reminds me of something that Padre Pio said. He said, "For those souls who are faithful, this life in this world is like a purgatory." The souls in purgatory experience great joy knowing that they are saved and that they will see God face to face. At the same time, they experience great pains because they aren't yet given the beatific vision that they long for with incredible desire. Today's feast interestingly, is the fourth joyful mystery of the rosary because it is a great joy for our Lady to present her Son, the Redeemer of the world, in the Temple. But at the same time, it is the first sorrow of our Lady of the Seven Sorrows. So our Lady is experiencing great joy and also great sorrow. Saint Simeon who had received the promise from ...

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) All of us are quite familiar with inaugural addresses, especially when presidents of our country take office and begin their elected terms. Some of these addresses are, of course, more memorable than others. Unfortunately, much of the content of these inaugural addresses bear little relationship to the actions of these presidents subsequent to their addresses. John F. Kennedy’s memorable inaugural address might be an exception. I have a framed copy of it because it’s such a classic. Jesus Christ gave an inaugural address shortly after He returned from spending forty days and forty nights in the desert preparing for His public ministry. He returned to His own hometown of Nazareth to begin His public ministry. His inaugural address is what you just heard reported in today’s Gospel account: "He came to Nazareth where he had grown up and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. H...

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Today’s Gospel account comes to us from the Gospel of St. John, a Gospel dominated by the theme of God’s love. Of the four Gospels, John’s is the Gospel of Love, particularly God’s commitment to you and to me to care for us, to cherish us, and to belong to us if we give Him our love in return. In St. John’s Gospel the first miracle of Jesus Christ takes place at wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. At that banquet Jesus, performing His first miracle, changes water into wine. St. John closes his Gospel with another wedding feast, the Last Supper. The bible speaks of it as the “Wedding Feast of the Lamb.” There Jesus, performing His last and greatest miracle before suffering and dying on His Cross, changes bread and wine into His Body and Blood. In the first wedding feast He changes water into wine, in the last wedding feast He changes wine into His Blood, Blood to be poured out for us in redemptive, self-sacrifi...