Homily - 26 May 2019 - The Sixth Sunday of Easter

The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Dear brothers and sisters,

Into what have you placed your heart? To what have you given your heart? I ask this question today because a short time ago we prayed together asking God that “we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion these days of joy” (Collect). This is another way of asking God that we might dedicate our hearts to him fully, totally, completely, so as to keep the joy of the Resurrection.

We give our hearts – or at least part of them – to so many different passing things, all in the vain hope that these things might fill us with joy. They might – it is true – provide some small joy for a time (as a good book does), but these things always leave us wanting more (like another good book, for example).

Although very few people think of it this way, every time we pray the Creed, Mother Church invites us to dedicate our hearts anew to God, to place our hearts completely in him. Sadly, in many places, people’s first reaction to the words, “I believe in one God,” may be a sigh or a silent grumble that this takes too long. What does you heart say at this moment of the Mass?

The Creed, the Profession of Faith, begins, in Latin, with credo, which translates to “I believe.” In the original Latin, however, it means something a bit more.

Some suggest credo is made up of two smaller words: cor is the word for “heart,” as in “coronary” or “cordially,” and do means “I give” and is the origin of “donate.” Thus, the words “I believe” are no simple nod to what God says in the readings – as we might give to the country station versus talk radio. Rather, saying “I believe” is putting one’s whole heart on the line for the Word of God just heard. If I have heard with the ear of the heart, I can then give myself wholeheartedly back to God: “I believe” – which is the response He wishes to hear.[1]

Is this what happens when you take part in the recitation of the Creed? Do you simply mumble through the words, or have you allowed them to become part of the fiber of your being? Have you placed your whole heart in God through them?

To say “I believe in God” means not only placing one’s whole heart in God; it also means keeping the word of God (cf. John 14:23). To put it another way, “being a Christian means having love: it means achieving the Copernican revolution in our existence, by which we cease to make ourselves the center of the universe, with everyone else revolving around us.”[2]

Believing in God thus makes us harbingers of values that often do not coincide with the fashion and opinion of the moment. It requires us to adopt criteria and assume forms of conduct that are not part of the common mind-set. Christians must not be afraid to go “against the current” in order to live their faith, resisting the temptation to “conform.” In many of our societies, God has become the “great absent One”, and many idols have supplanted him, multiform idols, especially possession and the autonomous “I”. And even the major and positive breakthroughs of science and technology have instilled in people an illusion of omnipotence and self-sufficiency and an increasing egotism which has created many imbalances in interpersonal relations and social behavior.[3]

In recent decades, and especially in recent weeks, the power of the autonomous “I” and the imbalance in interpersonal relations has reared its ugly head in the horror of the demands for abortion without restriction which says my life is more important than another life. This is not the way of the Christian; this is not the way of love.

Here in Illinois, as the legislative session draws to a close on May 31^st, our politicians are seeking to sneak through a horrendous piece of legislation in both chambers of the General Assembly. The House will reconvene at 4:00 p.m. today and legislators will be in session tomorrow on Memorial Day. Although they have not yet taken a vote on identical bills both misnamed the "Reproductive Health Act" that would go further than Roe v. Wade in eliminating rights for the unborn child, as well as jeopardizing conscience protections for doctors, nurses, and hospitals who refuse to participate in an abortion – you can be sure that the opponents of the Gospel of Life want to force these bills through. The legislation specifically states: "A fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus does not have independent rights under the laws of this State." This claim stands in stark contrast to the findings of science that such a fertilized egg, embryo, or fetus is, in fact, a human being, as every embryology textbook clearly states. At the same time, such a statement seeks to deprive small and weak humans of the Constitutional right to the pursuit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Both bills would repeal the Illinois Parental Notification of Abortion Act, which requires a parent or legal guardian to be notified when a minor seeks an abortion. The law already allows for exceptions - including children physically or sexually abused - as well as a waiver if notification is not in the best interest of the child. Every state that surrounds Illinois requires at least parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion.

Minors today in Illinois cannot legally use an indoor tanning bed; buy cigarettes, alcohol, or lottery tickets; apply for a credit card, or vote in an election. They need parental consent if they want to get a tattoo or body piercing, or join the armed forces. To forbid these activities to a minor while at the same time allowing them to procure an abortion – which can lead to the death of a minor and causes grave psychological harm and trauma – is simply ridiculous and not in keeping with sincere love.

On Friday, the Holy Father Pope Francis asked an important and striking question: “Is it licit to throw away a life to solve a problem? Is it licit to hire a hitman to resolve a problem?”[4] He has, of course, received some criticism for posing the question in this way, but what else do we call someone hired to kill an innocent person but a hitman? What has unsurprisingly received less attention is His Holiness insistence that we need “a culture that recognizes the value of life, a culture that recognizes in every face, even the smallest, the face of Jesus.”[5] Seeing the face of the unborn children in a sonogram image, who can deny the value and the dignity of even the smallest of persons?

There is perhaps still time to stop this legislation from passing, but only if Christians in the Land of Lincoln hold fast to what they say in the Creed. Only if we act with the bold courage of love can we work to end the culture of death and bring about the culture of life. Have you placed your heart firmly enough in God to live out what the Creed requires? Do you love enough to bother to make a simple phone call or to send an e-mail to our legislators? Perhaps you might be worried what others will think of you for defending the rights of all people. If so, hear again the words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27). If we place our hearts wholly in God, then - through the reception of the Holy Eucharist - he will “pour into our hearts the strength of this saving food” and conform us to the mysteries of his mighty love (Prayer After Communion; cf. Prayer Over the Offerings). Let us, then, place hearts wholly in God – and not in ourselves – that he might place his heart wholly in us. Amen.

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[1] Christopher Carstens, A Devotional Journey into the Mas: How Mass Can Become a Time of Grace, Nourishment, and Devotion (Manchester, New Hampshire: Sophia Institute Press, 2017), 46.

[2] Joseph Ratzinger, Credo for Today: What Christians Believe (San Francisco, California: Ignatius Press, 2009), 11.

[3] Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience Address, 23 January 2013.

[4] Pope Francis, in Nicole Winfield, “Pope:Abortion Is Never OK, equates it to ‘hiring a hitman,” Associated Press, 25 May 2019.

[5] Pope Francis, in “Pope Francis:Foster a culture that recognizes the value of life,” Vatican News, 24 May 2019.

Homily - 7 August 2016

The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Have you ever looked up into the night sky and wondered which star God made to burn for you?[1] Centuries ago, the Lord God took Abraham – while his name was still Abram – “outside and said: Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so, he added, will your descendants be” (Genesis 15:5). You and I, dear brothers and sisters, are children of Abraham through faith, as Saint Paul teaches us (cf. Galatians 3:7). If we are, then, Abraham’s descendants, then one of those stars in the sky shines for you and another for me. What is more, because Christ the Lord has commanded us to “make disciples of all nations,” we might say a star shines for every person ever conceived (Matthew 28:11).

We heard a few moments ago that “faith is the realization of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). Because he desired friendship with God, Abraham obeyed in faith and “sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country” (Hebrews 11:9). Abraham “obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go” (Hebrews 11:8). Would you or I do the same? Would we simply set out at the command of the Lord without knowing where we were to go?

Abraham did because “faith is man’s response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life” (CCC, 26).

Yet faith is also more than this. It is “a personal adherence of man to God,” an adherence of the whole person to the revelation of God in Christ (CCC, 150). While it is true that “believing is possible only by grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit,” it is also true that “believing is an authentically human act” (CCC, 154). Indeed, the knowledge that comes from faith “is more certain than all human knowledge because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie” (CCC, 157). Moreover, because faith is a human act, because it is “the free response of the human person to the initiative of God…, faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone” (CCC, 166).

The faith we profess, the faith to which we cling and that motivates our actions, comes from the Church, and “because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother;” “because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in the faith” (CCC, 169). Holy Mother Church teaches us how to live out the double command of loving God and our neighbor so that, when the Lord comes, he will finds us faithful and prudent stewards of his love (cf. Luke 12:42).

This past Thursday, we in Springfield saw a new affront on the dignity of our neighbors and a stubborn refusal to live out the love of neighbor when the Planned Parenthood facility began performing surgical abortions, that is, the purposeful killing of babies inside their mother’s wombs using forceps and suctions. This will now be done in this Capitol City every Thursday.[2] If we are honest, we know that abortion is, as Dr. Peter Kreeft has said, nothing less than “the anti-Christ’s demonic parody of the eucharist. That’s why it uses the same holy words, ‘This is my body,’ with the blasphemous opposite meaning.”[3] Certainly, not everyone who has an abortion has this intention, but the intention of the Evil One – of the tempter and deceiver – remains the same.

Up until Thursday, the Springfield Planned Parenthood only dispensed pills for chemical abortions, up to 300 per year, which is itself horrendous; but now, as it were, they have upped the ante against the beauty, wonder, and dignity of human life. We cannot simply stand by and watch this happen! We must act to protect the unborn, to welcome them and their mothers, to support them, encourage them, and help them know the love of God. It is not enough to pray for them; we must reach out to them; we must open our hearts and even our homes to them; we must embrace them with the love of Jesus Christ. He extended his arms on the Cross to embrace them and we must do the same! We must show them a better way, a loving way, a beautiful way!

Rich Mullins, one of my favorite musicians, in his song “Sometimes By Step,” reflected on this verse about the descendants of Abraham being as countless as the stars of the sky. He sang to God:

Sometimes I think of Abraham

How one star he saw had been lit for me

He was a stranger in this land

And I am that, no less than he

And on this road to righteousness

Sometimes the climb can be so steep

I may falter in my steps

But never beyond Your reach

These are powerful lyrics from a man who understood well what it means to adhere his life to God, who knew the merciful love of God, and who knew he was only a stranger in this land. He knew what it means to walk, to live, and to love by faith.

To those who have had an abortion, I wish to offer a word of hope. I know this homily is not easy for you to hear, and I am truly sorry if my words reopen old wounds; this is not my intention. However, I know that, as Pope Francis has said, “the tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realizing the extreme harm that such an act entails.”[4] This is too often the case and we cannot allow this to continue; we must realize the extreme harm that abortion has on the innocent, the physical and psychological harm it does to women, and we must work to overcome and heal it as best we can.

With Pope Francis, “I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal. I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonizing and painful decision. What has happened is profoundly unjust; yet only understanding the truth of it can enable one not to lose hope.”[5] We know that “the forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented, especially when that person approaches the Sacrament of Confession with a sincere heart in order to obtain reconciliation with the Father.” With contrite hearts, we cannot falter beyond God’s reach.

I urge you to enter the confessional; pour out your heart to the Father of Mercies, and let him heal your heart. Do not forget that “the Cross of Christ is God’s judgment on all of us and on the whole world, because through it he offers the certitude of love and new life.”[6] See the arms of Jesus extended on the Cross to embrace you; draw near to him in the confessional and let him wrap you in his merciful love. Let him grant you his forgiveness and hear him say to you, “I absolve you of your sins.” Know that you are mothers still and your love and grief are real. Each of us here today must acknowledge this. We must never assume we know the nature of another’s sin or the place repentance has in their life. We must love others exactly as we would want them to love us if they knew our own faults.

I turn now to you parents, especially those of young children. I know this is a hard truth to present to your children and I know some of you are likely now squirming in your pews. I understand your discomfort and I do not want to frighten anyone or take away from your role as the primary teachers of your children, but I must preach the Gospel clearly; must has been entrusted to me and much will be demanded of me (cf. Luke 12:48). I urge you to be cautious: do not hide the truth from your children, however revolting it may be; we cannot overcome evil by ignoring it or by hiding it. Strive, instead, to teach your children that the purposeful killing of an innocent human being – especially the most vulnerable – is always both wrong and evil, no matter the method or the euphemistic terms used to describe it.

Each one of us bears the responsibility of defending the weak. Do not make your children victims; rather, make them defenders of the weak and defenders of truth, teach them to be heroes, and help them understand that we are “strangers and aliens on earth” who “desire a better homeland, a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:13, 16).

If this means you have to learn for yourselves what is truly going on, if you have to study what actually takes place during the different kinds of abortions, then do so. Do so even if it makes you uncomfortable; do so because it makes you uncomfortable; let your hearts speak to you! This is your responsibility as parents. You owe it to your children to teach them the truth, how to reject falsehood, and how to fight against evil; you must teach them how to love both God and neighbor, how to love every neighbor and not just some. As parents, you have the difficult task of judging how best to do this, what ages and what ways will best help your children both understand and face the truth. Because your children look first to you for models of right conduct, you are the ones who do this best and so you must do it.  As a star shines for your own children, so, too, does a star shine for the victims of abortion, the children, the mothers, and the fathers.

I turn now to you young adults, to you who give so much hope to the world. The strength of your voices united together against abortion continues to grow. Your unity frightens the likes of Planned Parenthood because they suspect, as do I, that your generation will be the one to overturn Roe v. Wade. Abortions among your demographic continue to decrease because you recognize – if only implicitly – that you are the ones who survived the age of abortion, whereas one third of your generation did not. Do not lose heart, but keep bearing witness to the beauty of life and you can heal much of the harm that has been done.

Jesus says to us today, “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock” (Luke 12:32). This is not the time for fear, but for heroic and courageous love, the same self-less love we see displayed on the Cross. May the Lord embolden us – each of us – to proclaim his Gospel of Life so that hearts broken by fear and pain – including our own - may be healed by his love! Amen.

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[1] Cf. Rich Mullins and Beaker, “Sometimes By Step,” The World As Best As I Remember It, Volume 2.

[2] Dean Olsen, “Planned Parenthood tostart surgical abortions in Springfield,” State Journal-Register, August 3, 2016.

[3] Peter Kreeft, Jesus Shock (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2008), 144.

[4] Pope Francis, Letter to ArchbishopRino Fisichella, 1 September 2015.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus, 21.

Cowardly Republicans back away from being Pro-Life

Last week it was announced that the U.S. House of Representatives would vote on January 22nd - the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion in the U.S.A. - on H.R.36, the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act sponsored by Representatives Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a piece of legislation that would make abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy once again illegal.

Initially, I thought it was nothing more than yet another Republican public relations stunt, especially given the hundreds of thousands of people - particularly young people - gathered now in the nation's capital for the March for Life. Some small part of me,  however, held out hope that this time they actually meant to do something significant toward upholding the natural moral law in our legal code. I was foolish.

Moments ago, on the eve of the announced vote, Republican lawmakers decided to pull the vote. Out of fears they would lose the votes of women and young voters. Given the data, this only shows how very much out of touch Republican politicians are, and how lacking they are in integrity.

According to a recent CNN poll, 20% of Americans oppose all abortion and 38% oppose in most circumstances. That's right; the majority (58%) of Americans oppose abortion. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.

Following a poll published in May 2010, Gallup described being pro-life as "the new normal". In 1995, 33% of Americans identified themselves as being pro-life; in 2010, 47% identified themselves as being pro-life. (Remember, just five years later, 58% oppose abortion). In 2015, Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.

On the other hand, in the same poll, in 1995, 56% of Americans identified themselves as being pro-choice; in 2010, that percentage fell to 45%. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.

A recent poll from Marist University shows that 84% of Americans support a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. Faced with these results, even Slate had to acknowledge that "even the most pro-choice people aren’t sold on abortion rights beyond the first trimester." Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.

A poll from Quinnipiac University found that even 46% of democrats favor a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.

The same poll found that 56% of independents favor a ban on abortions after the 20th week pregnancy. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.

The same poll found that 57% of voters between the ages of 18 and 29 and 61% of voters between the ages of 30 and 49 support a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregancy. Yet the Republicans are worried of losing the vote. Cowards.

What is more, the same poll found that 61% of men and 59% of women support a ban on abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy. Yet the Republicans are afraid of losing the vote. Cowards.



To be fair, President Obama threatened to veto the Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. Some would say, then, that voting on the legislation would be a waste of time. To that claim, I answer that it would not at all be a waste of time. It would, rather, be an expression of the will of the people and this is never a waste of time. We do, after all, live in a representative republic and it is high time our politicians began governing with the will of the people instead of their own wills aimed only at re-election. It would also demonstrate to the voters that the Republicans mean what they say, which isn't the case at the moment.


In an effort to appease those of us who are furious at their cowardice and to make it look as though the Republicans actually care about being Pro-Life, they will vote instead (so they say, but what's to stop them from pulling this vote, too?) on the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2015.

Pilgrims for Life, you are in my prayers

A great many of my friends are presently in Washington, D.C., ahead of the winter storm that threatens to drop up to ten inches of snow on the nation's capital.  Life feels a bit strange as I follow their happenings via Facebook and Twitter.  While I do not enjoy winter and the weather it brings (the high today in Rome was about 55 degrees), my heart does long to be with them.

Before I was ordained a priest, I went several times to the March for Life, and since I was ordained eight and a half years ago, this is the first year I have not gone.  Most of these times I went with the pilgrims whom I now miss: four to six busses of (mostly) youth and adults from the southern half of the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois (other busses left from the northern half).  If I couldn't travel with them, I at least met up with them somewhere along the way.

Many of the adult pilgrims whom I knew before ordination are some of my dearest friends and have been a constant support to me. The young pilgrims always fill me with hope as they come year after year, never complaining throughout the many obstacles that invariably come and witness joyfully and publicly to the Gospel of Life.  Many of them fully understand that they are the ones of their generation who have survived the scourge of abortion, through no merit of their own.

For my part this year, here in Rome I have united myself spiritually with the Pilgrims for Life and have kept them in prayer throughout their travels.  Tomorrow, I will continue to keep them in prayer and will fast for them and for the growing success of the March for Life.  Each year pilgrims become more numerous and younger, even as the media continues to largely ignore it.  What is more, last year was the first time - in the years I have taken part - that the pro-abortion activists were present and organized, proof enough that we are winning.

Please, if you, like me, are unable to march for life in Washington, D.C., join me in fasting and praying for those who can.  May God keep them safe and make them joyful heralds of the Gospel of Life!

A media blackout on the March for Life?

On January 22, 2012, more than 400,000 people rallied in Washington, D.C. for the 39th annual March for Life in protest of the Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade.  But if your only source of news is the mainstream media, you likely never heard about it.  It's amazing how the media simply ignores what they don't like.

Have you heard about the growing of people in France rallying in support of "traditional" marriage?  Over the past several weeks the numbers have grown to more than 1.3 million people.  Even French homosexuals have joined the ranks.

Ireland recently saw it's largest pro-life rally, with more than 30,000 turning out in Dublin against abortion.

By any sensible measuring standard, both numbers are too great to simply ignore.  Remember: If it isn't reported, it must not have actually happened.

In years previous, the media reported "tens of thousands" of those marching for life, and focused on a very small number (I've never seen more than a dozen) "pro-choice" protesters.

The 40th annual March for Life will be held this Friday, January 25, 2013 in Washington, D.C.; it is delayed a few days this year because of the second inauguration of President Obama.

Call me a cynic, but I can't help but wonder how many different ways the media will find to ignore protesters numbering at least as many as last year, and perhaps even more than were present today at the inauguration ceremonies.

Urgent action needed: Support the "Protect Life Act"

From the USCCB:

The health care reform bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), was signed into law in 2010. On January 20, 2011, Reps. Joseph Pitts (R-PA) and Dan Lipinski (D-IL) introduced the Protect Life Act (H.R. 358) to bring PPACA into line with policies on abortion and conscience rights existing in other federal health programs. Later, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced the companion bill in the Senate (S. 877).

In the House, Committee consideration of H.R. 358 is completed. House floor action is scheduled for the week of October 11. Please urge your Representative to support H.R. 358 on the floor and to oppose any hostile weakening amendments.

In a letter to the House of Representatives, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, Chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, urged Members to support the Protect Life Act, which will do the following:

• Ensure that all PPACA funds are covered by the policy of the longstanding Hyde Amendment (no funds for abortion except in cases of life endangerment or rape/incest).
• Prevent federal funds from subsidizing health plans that cover abortions beyond the Hyde exceptions, so that PPACA will follow the policy of other federal health insurance programs.
• Uphold rights of conscience related to abortion, ensuring that governmental entities receiving federal funds under PPACA will not discriminate against health care providers who decline involvement in abortion.
• Close a loophole in PPACA’s non-preemption clause, so that state laws restricting abortion or protecting conscience rights will not be preempted, and states will not be able to override PPACA’s provisions ensuring that health plans without elective abortion are available in each state. See: http://old.usccb.org/healthcare/cardinal-dinardo-HR358-ltr.....

ACTION: Contact your Representative by phone, e-mail, or FAX letter:

• Send an e-mail through the CapWiz Action Center or print a pdf here.
• Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 202-224-3121 end_of_the_skype_highlighting, or call your Representative’s local office.
• Additional contact info can be found on Representatives’ web sites at: www.house.gov.

MESSAGE FOR HOUSE: “During floor consideration, please vote for the Protect Life Act, H.R. 358, and oppose any hostile weakening amendments. This bill will amend the health care reform law to preserve longstanding federal policies on abortion and conscience rights.”

WHEN: It is anticipated that the House will take up H.R. 358 during the week of October 11. Please act today! Thanks!
Updated 10/6/11

It's getting worse

President Barak Obama seems intent on keeping pro-abortion politicians in his administration. He will soon annouce his appointment of the governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius, as the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Rocco Palmo reminds us of Governor Sebelius' pro-abortion politics and the admonition given her by her own Bishop, Joseph Naumann, adding these words:

Having vetoed a bill that would've restricted late-term abortions in Jayhawk Country last April -- which move earned her Naumann's "pastoral action" -- on Sebelius' plate in Washington (pending the requisite Senate confirmation) will be two conflicting items of high note vis a vis abortion policy: the administration's agenda for a "pragmatic" approach to abortion reduction, and the freshly-announced rollback of the Bush administration's conscience protection norms for healthcare providers, the retention of which was a central focus of the January letter to the then President-elect from the USCCB president Cardinal Francis George.