Homily - The Solemnity of Pentecost - 8 June 2025

The Solemnity of Pentecost (C)

Dear brothers and sisters,

Too often we imagine the Pentecost event as applying to the early Church, as though it has nothing or little to do with us today. This is simply not the case, as I hope we will see.

When the Holy Spirit came down upon the Apostles at Pentecost, it was the second time they received this great gift of God; the Lord Jesus had already breathed the Holy Spirit upon them (cf. Acts2:3; John 19:22). They received the Holy Spirit at least twice, which corresponds to our double reception of the Holy Spirit, first at Baptism, and second at Confirmation.

Pentecost, Rabbula Gospels

We could spend time today asking why the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus in the form of a dove and over the Apostles as “tongues as of fire,” but I would rather consider the role of the Holy Spirit in the course of salvation history, which is to say in the early Church and among us today (cf. Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; Acts 2:3).

Perhaps the first role of the Holy Spirit is to enable us to pray, to believe. Saint Paul explains this very directly when he says, “No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit” (I Corinthians 12:3). Faith is, on the one hand, something that we do, a work we perform; on the other hand, however, faith is a gift from God.

Every gift must be freely given and freely received; otherwise it is not a gift. We can – and do – resist and even refuse this give of God himself, because we think the gift of faith, the gift of the Holy Spirit, will somehow take away something of our freedom. But this is far from true. The reality is much more profound.

God deals with us freely because God always deals with anything according to its nature. God does not pervert or destroy or weaken or cripple the nature of anything but perfects it. So when God’s grace deals with you, it does not take away your freedom – the free will that is essential to your human nature – but perfects it. It is like light: it does not remove or destroy or weaken the colors it shines on but intensifies them, makes them more visible, makes red redder and green greener and blue bluer. So when God’s Spirit moves you to faith, when God gives you the light of faith, he does not do it by bypassing your free choice but by perfecting it. it is your free choice to believe in him and to trust him, to entrust your whole self to him. The very same act of faith that comes from your free choice is also coming from God’s Spirit with you inspiring you.[1]

If natural light makes green greener, then the light of the Holy Spirit makes you more you. We know this to be true and this is why we sometimes resist the gift of the Holy Spirit, because we know he is desirous of us becoming holy ourselves, of us becoming Saints, those who have been perfected in and through love.

Perhaps the second role of the Holy Spirit in the early Church and today is to draw us into unity with one another. We see this clearly happening at Pentecost when the Apostles speak and the vast crowd of many different languages understand their words all at the same time (cf. Acts 2:4, 11). That crowd numbered at least three thousand from at least sixteen different parts of the world (cf. Acts 2:41, 9-11).

It cannot be denied that the world is very much divided today, and not simply by different languages. Individual nations are divided within themselves, even cities and families, including the family of the Church. The Holy Spirit does not wish to see us lash out at each other, to be indifferent or antagonistic toward each other; rather, he longs to draw us together into the unity of the Body of Christ, for we are members of that Body in which there should be no discord (cf. I Corinthians 12:25). This brings us to the third role of the Holy Spirit, both in the ancient Church and today.

It is the Holy Spirit who distributes different spiritual gifts, services, and workings upon each one of us (cf. I Corinthians 12:4-6). He does not give each of us the same gift because his gifts are given for the benefit of others.

Some of the gifts he gives are more attractive to us than others, such as the gifts of healing or working of miracles (cf. I Corinthians 9:9). We tend to prefer the more exciting or glamorous gifts, but we should not forget that some gifts of the Holy Spirit are not quite so glamorous, at least in our estimation: helpers and administrators are usually forgotten (cf. I Corinthians 12:28).

The variety of the Spirit’s gifts is not given for the benefit of the recipient, but rather, as Saint Paul says, “for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). The gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to be used for the benefit of others until we are all perfected in love (cf. Ephesians 4:12).

The purpose of the Church, who is animated by the Holy Spirit, is to make us more and more like Christ. For this reason, we have to keep in mind that

…the Church is a family, not a business; it is an organism, not an organization. God is our Father, not our boss. In that supernatural family, as in your natural family, nobody else can be you. Somebody else can take over your job, but nobody else can take over your soul, your personality. You are indispensable.

 

That’s why you have to make it to heaven: there is something you alone can do in heaven. There is something in God, some aspect of his truth and goodness and beauty, that no one else can know or appreciate as you can. And you will show that aspect of God to everyone else in heaven, just as you do now on earth – but much, much better. That’s why God created so many people, not just one. Even every snowflake is unique, and certainly every person is unique. As light is reflected differently in different snowflakes, God’s image is reflected differently in different persons. You are one of them.

 

There is a place setting for you at the banquet table in heaven, at the big family dinner. Your name is on that place setting. Your name is also on God’s personal invitation to you. He does not address his letters to “Dear Occupant” or “Dear Citizen.” He sends a personalized love letter to you alone. Be sure you respond with a yes. He’s your Father, and he loves every single one of his children more passionately than any earthly Father does.

 

How do we know that? It’s very clear and simple: Jesus says so. Do you think you know God better than he does?[2]

Today, then, let us call ever more fervently upon the Holy Spirit, that he may give to each of us and to all “virtue’s sure reward,” salvation, and “joys that never end.” Amen.[3]

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[1] Peter Kreeft, Food for the Soul: Reflections on the Mass Readings, Cycle C (Park Ridge, Illinois: Word on Fire, 2021), 342.

[2] Ibid., 344.

[3] cf. Sequence for Pentecost.

Homily - 31 May/1 June 2025 - The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

Dear brothers and sisters,

It seems a strange question to ask of the Apostles: “Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky” (Acts1:11)? They had just seen Jesus “lifted up” and taken from their sight” (Acts1:9). The one to whom they devoted three years of their lives “blessed them [and] parted from them and was taken up to heaven” (Luke 24:31). They had never seen this happen with anyone else. What else were they supposed to do except stare up in wonder and awe? What would you have done?

MS M.648 fol. 123v

There is an important lesson for us in Jesus’ Ascension into heavenly glory, one we too often overlook; it is the importance of the human body. If the creation of the human body by God was not enough for us to recognize the dignity of the human body; if the breath of God being breathed into the human body to enliven it was not enough for us to recognize the dignity of the human body; if the only Son of God taking on human flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary was not enough for us to recognize the dignity of the human body; then surely the fact that the Son of God and Son of Mary took his human flesh with him into heaven should be enough to make us understand the dignity of the human body. It is so important that Jesus did not leave it behind or discard it; he took it with him because, being human, he could not do otherwise.

Today’s Solemnity, aside from highlighting an important moment in the life of the Lord, focuses our attention on what it means to be human: “The human person, created in the image of God, is a being at once corporeal and spiritual.”[1] To put it perhaps more simply, to be human is to be a union of body and soul. This is why the Second Vatican Council said,

Man, though made of body and soul, is a unity. Through his very bodily condition he sums up in himself the elements of the material world. Through him they are thus brought to their highest perfection and can raise their voice in praise freely given to the Creator. For this reason man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and hold it in honor since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.[2]

This is why the sin of abortion is so unspeakably horrendous and why turning someone’s earthly remains into jewelry is so dreadful; both deny the God-given dignity of the human body. This is also why the sin of physician-assisted suicide or so-called euthanasia – literally, “good death” – is so unspeakably horrendous.

This past Thursday, the Illinois House of Representatives debated SB1950, a piece of legislation titled, “Sanitary Food Preparation.” Despite being described as “AN ACT concerning health,” much of the bill concerns the enshrinement in law of a medical doctor’s legal ability to violate the Hippocratic Oath he or she took to do no harm; instead, the legislation seeks, at the patient’s request, to allow physicians to do great harm by prescribing medication to actively kill his or her patient.

What does a food sanitation bill have to do with suicide, you might ask. Nothing, except by way of a legislative amendment; namely House Amendment 2, which is nearly eleven times as long as the original bill. SB1950 cleared the House of Representatives on a purely partisan vote; it now moves to the Illinois Senate for approval by that body before going to the Governor’s desk.

Before I say more, let me first say a word to those who have contemplated or attempted suicide: “May the eyes of your hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call” (Ephesians 1:18). You are loved by God. You have been made in love, by love, and for love. Loved suffered for you. Love died for you. Love rose from the dead for you. Love ascended into heaven for you. Love did all this so you might know how very much you are loved.

At his inaugural Mass, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed, “Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love!”[3] This is truly the hour for us to love each other, especially those who live without hope. This is the hour for us to open ourselves to receive love from one another and from God. This is also the hour for us to share love with those who feel far away from love.

Even as the government rightly puts resources behind suicide prevention – and has even recently created a mental health hotline to prevent suicides – the General Assembly wants to legalize one form of suicide. What sense does this make? How can any suicide be justified and encouraged?

The State of New York is also considering legalizing euthanasia, which led Timothy Cardinal Dolan to point out this legal double-standard:

I can’t help but shake my head in disbelief at the disparity in official responses. Our government will marshal all its resources to save the life of one hopeless and despondent man. Yet it may conclude that some lives aren’t worth living — perhaps due to a serious illness or disability — and we will hand those despondent women and men a proverbial loaded gun and tell them to have at it.[4]

 

The Archbishop of New York urged lawmakers to prevent - and not to assist - suicide.

Here in Illinois, Blase Cardinal Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, also called out the double standard in healthcare, saying:

I have to ask why, in a time when growing understanding of the deteriorating mental health of the U.S. population – and particularly among our youth – caused the country to create the 988 mental health crisis line, we would want to take this step to normalize suicide as a solution to life’s challenges. While the bill sets parameters for assisted suicide, the data from places where assisted suicide is available are clear. Rates of all suicide went up after the passage of such legislation. These rates are already unacceptably high, and proposed cutbacks in medical care funding will add to the burden faced by those contemplating suicide.[5]

It makes no sense at all to encourage people away from suicide by means of a weapon or a bridge and at the same time to tell them they may commit suicide through a physician.

House Amendment 2 purports to deal with “the full range of end-of-life care options;” what it actually amounts to, however, is purposeful and sanctioned medical killing.[6] No sane person who understands the human person as a union of body and soul could ever refer to killing someone as “end-of-life care.” Even the government does not do this, which is why the mental health hotline exists.

Wherever such legislation has been passed, both within and without the United States of America, physically and mentally ill patients have been pressured to commit suicide with the help of a doctor to save money or to no longer be a burden on others. Let us remember: no human being is ever to be looked upon as a burden, but as someone to be loved, someone made in the image and likeness of God with an inherent value, dignity, and worth that cannot be taken away. This must be stressed in every moment of life, especially when life seems unbearable.

If we consider today’s Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we can learn another important lesson in addition to the sacredness of the human body: the importance of being with the Father, for Jesus took his human body to the right hand of the Father (cf. Ephesians 1:20).

…there is no doubt at all of what mattered most to Christ – his Father. The first word we hear from him is, “Didn’t you know I must be in my Father’s house?” The last word before he died on the Cross was, “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.” The first message he sent to the Apostles after his Resurrection was, “I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” A good hundred times we find him talking of or to his Father. He makes him the object of his life: “I do the will of him that sent me”; he makes him the object of ours: “No one comes to the Father but by me.” At death our welcome will be, “Enter into the joy of my Father.”[7]

But such a welcome cannot be ours if we have not died in friendship, in communion, with our Father, with his Son, and with their Holy Spirit.

The Father clearly commands, “You shall not kill” (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17). Jesus takes this command a bit further yet. In no uncertain terms, Jesus says, “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30). So it is that Jesus also commands us not to kill (cf. Matthew 5:21-22). Because Jesus is “the way and the truth and the life,” anything directly contrary to his commands and teachings must be opposed (John 14:6). Jesus says to us, “You are my friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14). If we wish to die in friendship with God and be welcomed into the Father’s house, we must die in friendship with Christ; we must keep his command against killing.

The Church strongly opposes physician-assisted suicide because each of us, body and soul united, “is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.”[8] It remains for us never to forget this, and to help others know it. Amen.

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[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 362.

[2] Gaudium et Spes, 14 § 1; in Catechism of the Catholic Church, 364.

[3] Pope Leo XIV, Homily, 18 May 2025.

[4] Timothy Cardinal Dolan. In Tyler Arnold, “Cardinal Dolan Urges New York lawmakers: ‘Prevent, don’t assist, suicide,” Catholic News Agency, 30 May 2025. Accessed 30 May 2025. Available at https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/264451/cardinal-timothy-dolan-urges-new-york-lawmakers-prevent-dont-assist-suicide-in-op-ed?fbclid=IwY2xjawKn2XBleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFGOFVvZGF2Zm9sNDc2M3NaAR6v0_KMMvOi__FohiD5wFGRk3mzzlw-oVevyh8MP9k3Yl1w2wTc4zXDU6sUtg_aem_jiQP_QeXyLzoTr1fENAxZw

[5] Blase Cardinal Cupich, “Statement of Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, on SB 1950 Assisted Suicide Bill.” Accessed 30 May 2025. Available at https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AsuXutzGY/

[6] House Amendment 2, Section 5(a)(2). Accessed 30 May 2025. Available at https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=10400SB1950ham002&GA=104&SessionId=114&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=161335&DocNum=1950&GAID=18&SpecSess=&Session=

[7] Frank J. Sheed, Christ in Eclipse: A Clinical Study of the Good Christian (San Francisco: Ignatius Press), 25.

[8] Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, 24 April 2025.

Homily - The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time - 23 February 2025

The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Dear brothers and sisters,

Even to those who were raised in the Christian faith nearly since the day of their birth, some of Jesus’ teachings still strike them as extreme, out of touch, and maybe even unreasonable. We hear one of these teachings today: “Love your enemies” (Luke 6:27).

Because words mean something and because we cannot love our enemies without knowing who they are, I began digging into the etymology of the word enemy. Our English word comes from the Latin inimicus, which literally means “unfriend.” This would seem to mean that an enemy is someone who is not my friend, but this seems rather extreme; could everyone who is not my friend really be my enemy?

Digging a little deeper, I learned the Greek word for enemy is polemioi, which is distinct from another Greek word, ekthroi. Here I thought I was on to something and pulled out my Greek New Testament to discover which of the two words Jesus used. He used ekthroi, meaning one who is hated or who is hostile, one intent on inflicting harm. In Greek, though, the prefix of this word – ek – means “out of,” but I could not discover the meaning of throi. What are my ekthroi, my enemies, out of?

One source pointed me to the probable Proto Indo-European origins from ek, still meaning out of, and ros, but the only meaning for ros I could discover suggested the suffix made the previous part of the word in the past, as in “outed,” but still outed from what? Out of the house, the family, the city? I was getting nowhere; sometimes searching the scriptures can be frustrating (cf. John 5:39).

The Greek word for friends is philoi, so it did not seem possible that the ekthroi are the ones who are cast out of my friends because the words are not the same, yet that seems to be precisely the meaning of the word. The Greeks seemed to use this word in the same sense we use “my ex” for a former lover or spouse. In this sense, then, Jesus commands us to love those who betray us, or even those whom we betray, as well as who wish us – or those to whom we wish - harm.

Setting aside God’s revelation as the Trinity, as a tripartite communion of love, the most unexpected aspect of the teachings of Jesus Christ is his command to love not only those who love us, but to also love those who hate us, who persecute us, and who wish us dead.

Love of one's enemy constitutes the nucleus of the "Christian revolution," a revolution not based on strategies of economic, political or media power: the revolution of love, a love that does not rely ultimately on human resources but is a gift of God which is obtained by trusting solely and unreservedly in his merciful goodness. Here is the newness of the Gospel which silently changes the world! Here is the heroism of the "lowly" who believe in God's love and spread it, even at the cost of their lives.[1]

In this revolution of love, we see without question that authentic love is more than a matter of emotions. Indeed, love is something far greater than feelings that come and go.

To help us understand what love is, Jesus gives “a whole series of words that express a declension of love: bless, offer, do not reject, give, do good, lend, be merciful, do not judge, forgive. To love means all these things.”[2]

        To put it perhaps more directly, more bluntly, it is as if Jesus says to us:

You must love, yes, but also those who do not love you… You must bless, yes, but also those who curse you… You must give, yes, but without expecting anything in return… You also have to forgive those who have hurt you and will probably continue to do so.

And this applies to everything, to every area of life, to every area of our daily relationships.

So it’s not just about learning to love, but accepting that those who love are always on the losing end.

It is not possible to love in the hope of getting something out of it: That is an illusion.

Loving means accepting that you have accounts that are in the red, accounts that do not open, accounts that are open.[3]

To love as Jesus commands means to always be, as it were, on the losing end of love; it means rarely – if ever – having our love reciprocated. How can we do so? Is it not too much for us?

To love in this way may indeed seem too much to ask of us, to require of us, too much for us frail and mortal humans. However, as J.R.R. Tolkien says, “we do not know our own limits of natural strength (+grace), and if we do not aim at the highest we shall certainly fall short of utmost that we could achieve.”[4] We trust too much in ourselves and too little in the grace of God.

The command to love even my enemies is an unquestionably tall order, but we must remember that

…Christ's proposal is realistic because it takes into account that in the world there is too much violence, too much injustice, and therefore that this situation cannot be overcome except by countering it with more love, with more goodness. This "more" comes from God: it is his mercy which was made flesh in Jesus and which alone can "tip the balance" of the world from evil to good, starting with that small and decisive "world" which is the human heart.

…It does not consist in succumbing to evil, as a false interpretation of "turning the other cheek" (cf. Luke 6:29) claims, but in responding to evil with good (cf. Romans 12:17-21) and thereby breaking the chain of injustice.[5]

We can only tip the balance and break the chain by keeping the two-fold command of love of God and love of neighbor, by loving as Jesus loves, by loving to the end, by loving to the Cross. The lives of so many of the Saints show us that loving is possible, and they show us how to live out the love of Christ Jesus in our daily lives. One need only think of Saint Josephine Bakhita or the Venerable Servant of God Augustine Tolton for proof of this.

Detail, Crucifixion, Morgan Library, M. 300, fol. 3r.

It is on the Cross that we see most clearly that Jesus “does not limit himself merely to affirming his love, but makes it visible and tangible. Love, after all, can never be just an abstraction.”[6] Our love, too, must be more than an affirmation or an abstraction; our love, too, must be visible and tangible; our love must look like his.

Love can never be a question of a tit-for-tat. We cannot keep a tally of who has repaid our love, or to what degree our love has been repaid. This is not the way of love, for to love is always to be vulnerable. We see this by looking at the Cross. If our love is to look like that of Jesus, if it is to be tangible and not an abstraction, we must follow Jesus declension of love: bless, we must offer, not reject, give, do good, lend, be merciful, not judge, and forgive.

Jesus did not weigh the full depths of his love for us over and against our too-often shallow love for him. He simply loved to the end and gave himself fully for us. When we grow discouraged because our love is not returned, let us not focus on ourselves and what we think we deserve. Rather, let us implore the Lord to draw us deeper into his heart, wounded in love for us, until our love becomes like to his own. Amen.

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[1] Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, 18 February 2007.

[2] Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa, O.F.M., Meditation for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 23 February 2025.

[3] Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa, O.F.M., Meditation for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 23 February 2025.

[4] J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 246, To Mrs. Eileen Elgar (draft), September 1963.

[5] Pope Benedict XVI, Angelus Address, 18 February 2007.

[6] Pope Francis, Misericordiae vultus, 9.