Fr. Bresowar's Homilies: November 2013

Lec # 162- Sol of Christ the King- Nov 24, 2013- Fr. Bresowar

My brothers and sisters in Christ. The temptation of Satan is to fight against God.

For all of human history, the devil has been in a fight against God, against that which is holy and good. It has been his constant attempt to tempt men and women to place their trust against God and thus fall into hatred and despair.

From his first temptation to Adam and Eve against God in the garden of Eden, to Cain murdering his brother Abel, to Job, to Judas the betrayer, to Hitler, to the spirit of Secularism which invades our culture today; Satan has tempted and continues to tempt us to turn our hearts and minds from God and commit evil acts which profane the very good for which we were created.

This is the basis for today’s Solemnity, called Christ the King. Pope Pius XI, in recognizing how far the secular culture had infiltrated the minds and hearts of men and women, decided to remind the faithful of who the true King of creation is.

We see a clear reference to the kingship of Christ in the Gospel today. Knowing that he would be rejected by the world, Christ submitted himself to a cruel execution, allowed himself to be mocked and beaten, but that he might show the world his infinite desire for mercy, he even pardoned the criminal executed on the cross next to him.

“Remember me,” the criminal said, “when you come into your kingdom.” To which Jesus responded, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

If we are honest, we can place ourselves at the side of Christ while we hang on our own cross next to him. He deserved no execution, for he had no sin. We, on the other hand, we have sinned. And because we have sinned, we deserve the same fate as the criminals that were to the left and right of Jesus.

The question then for each of us has to be, which criminal are we going represent in our own lives? Are we going to be the sinner who begs for God’s mercy, or are we going to be the one who persist in our rejection of his kingship?

In today’s culture, it is so easy to become like the criminal who refused to believe in Jesus. In today’s culture, so many people refuse to reform their lives, refuse to change, and continue to insist on being their own king, their own master.

Any King has a particular set of rules for his subjects to follow while they live in his kingdom. He is their king, and they are his subjects. And Jesus is no different except that his kingdom has no end. While earthly kings rise and fall, the kingdom of God where Christ is king reigns into eternity.

And just like any earthly king, if the subjects refuse to follow the rules of the king, they are cast out and subjected to the punishment therein.

While this has temporal consequences in earthly kingdoms, our refusal to follow the commands of Christ the King, has eternal consequences.

And yet our enemy, the devil, already knows this. He rejected God from the beginning, and lives in Hell. He shows us what is the path that awaits those who reject God’s beautiful plan for his subjects. And just as God desires our eternal happiness in the Kingdom of Heaven, he also desires our temporal happiness while we live here on earth.

He has shown us the way, and has laid out his perfect plan through the Holy Spirit, through His Church. And if we, as his subjects, choose to follow this path, then not only are we destined for eternal life, but we also are able to traverse this journey with peace of mind and heart, even when hardships occur.

So many people, however, choose to reject Christ the King and his Church, because of the tempting of the devil, and the noise of the culture, and thus they become miserable, often times unsure of why they are so unhappy and seek to blame others instead of themselves.

Marriage has become a crisis; people are no longer willing to follow Jesus in his law of marriage revealed through the Church. They refuse to marry in the Church, they refuse God’s grace. Our sexuality has been distorted, confused, and redefined by our modern culture, and because of this, many people live in misery. They reject the path the Church has laid out, a path which leads to reasonable happiness in this life, a path which directs our minds, hearts and bodies to God, a path which leads to eternal life. Husbands are no longer faithful; wives no longer marry for true love.

And yet, Jesus shows us, to the very end, that he desires to forgive if we would just ask for it and reform our lives.

Which sinner hanging on the cross next to Jesus are we going to be? Will we cry for mercy to Christ our King? Or will we persist in our misery, and reject his way to the end.

In the end, Jesus sits on his throne, judging the living and the dead. This is the Truth. Those who believe it, and live it, understand that there is no other reality. If there is any common sense in us, we will respond to invitation to reject sin, and take up our cross and follow him, so that where he is, we may also be.

Life is too short to make any other choice. Let us choose to follow Christ our King!

Viva Christo Rey!

Lec # 159- 33^rd Sun of OT- Nov 17, 2013- Fr. Bresowar

One of the questions that we hear in today’s Gospel from the Apostles is “Teacher, When will this happen?” The apostles like many others were concerned about the end of the world.

It is human fascination, the future, what will it be like when all of this (around us) comes to an end. Many people have made guesses; and each of us has wondered what the end would be like. The apostles were no different.

They were coming to the end of Jesus’ public ministry when they asked Jesus this question. The Gospel reading of today takes place during Holy Week. Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem for the last week of his public mission, and at the end of that week he was going to be handed over and crucified. Today’s Gospel took place on a hill looking down at the Temple a few days before his crucifixion. So naturally, Jesus is focusing on the end and what is to happen after he is gone.

The apostles must have been concerned about what he was saying.

They had just heard Jesus say that the day was coming when everything that they saw in front of them would not be left they way they see it.

Now Jesus had been doing and saying many amazing things, and these men had grown to love him, and believe in Him. So you can only imaging what was going through their mind when he told them that everything was going to change.

We humans do not like change, we are not very good at it. We like certainty, because with certainty there is less anxiety. If we know what is going to happen and when, then we can be better prepared.

If you notice though, Jesus doesn’t answer their question concerning when this will happen. Instead, he explains the pattern of events that will be repeated in every period during the final stage of human history - the age of the Church.

In so doing, he points out the three most critical facts about the future:

• He will return from his Father's house to bring to completion the eternal Kingdom that he founded through the Church;

• In the meantime, he is sending his disciples - the Apostles and the Christians of all ages - to invite all people into that Kingdom.

Although this mission will be challenged by suffering, humiliation, and opposition of all kinds, he will continue to work in and through his faithful followers by the power of the Holy Spirit.

And so Jesus doesn’t say, “this will happen when…” Rather he tells them exactly what they need to know.

In doing so, Jesus is giving his followers privileged knowledge. He didn’t have to tell them anything, but he wanted them to know that certain things would take place before he came back, before then end and final judgment.

Remember we like certainty. We want to be as prepared as possible. And so Jesus says, if you are my follower, go ahead and expect that you will have to suffer trials and persecutions.

So when we suffer trials and persecutions, should we be so surprised?

He also says that many people will try to deceive you and draw you away from the Truth? How often are we guilty of turning away from Jesus because someone else says its okay? Or someone else is living their life in a particular way, maybe someone really close to you; it’s not exactly what the Catholic Church says is right, but because they are doing it, it’s okay.

Jesus says this would happen to us, and he warns us not be deceived.

Then he reminds us that nations will rise against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms. There will be wars and famines.

All these things have happened and continue to happen. Should we be surprised? Of course not; Jesus said they would happen.

So what is our reaction to all of this?

Do we care? Is it important to us?

My brothers and sisters, Jesus has not returned yet for one reason, and I don’t know what it is. But whatever it is, it is perfect. Only the Father knows when he will come back.

I like to think that he is giving us time to get our act together. We are stubborn sometimes in persisting in sin. And yet God is patient. He is waiting for us to come back to him with our whole heart.

Is it easy to do the right thing, as St. Paul tells us we must do, even when those around us are not? No, it is not easy.

To be Catholic is not easy, but it prepares us for death. It prepares for the day when Jesus will come and take us to Heaven.

We must be prepared. For once that day comes, there will be no more excuses.

As a priest, it is my job first to be prepared in my own life, and then help others be prepared. It is my vocation to be a good leader and preach the Truth, even if the Truth causes anxiety because it means we need to change. We always need to change. We always need to be better. We need not worry about others, we must first worry about ourselves.

The Church is God’s light to guide us to Jesus. When she speaks on a matter of faith and morals it is as if Jesus himself is speaking through her.

Many people ignore the Church, even Catholics. They like some things she says but they don’t’ like others. That’s like saying I like some things Jesus did, but I don’t like others.

One example I can think, in today’s age, is how many people ignore the Church’s teaching on marriage and they decide for themselves how they are going to live this sacrament. Many don’t get married in the Church, even when the Church says they must. They don’t understand that the Church doesn’t do this for herself, it does it because that is how it understands God’s plan for marriage.

And yet, because so many people are doing it one way, it is easy to make excuses as to why the Church is wrong.

Jesus spoke about being deceived, remember!

In the end, God desires Mercy, and because of this, he is giving us time to reorder our lives back to him. If we knew what the Kingdom of God was like, we would have no problem with the sacraments, not problem with the Saints, no problem with the Church and her direction. But for now, we must decide for ourselves where we are going to put our trust.

So let each make that choice, and choose to do it God’s way, as he has revealed through his Church and take advantage of the grace, which he gives us through the sacraments. The way we do this is to dispose ourselves to the Grace by living in accord with God’s commands. When we do this, we grow in wisdom, and we prepare ourselves for the day when the Lord will come and take us to his Kingdom.

Fr. Bresowar's Homilies

Who is your King?

Catholic to the End!