1. Lec # 13- The Nativity of the Lord- Dec 25th, 2016- Fr. Bresowar

    Brothers and sisters,

    Merry Christmas!

    It is with great joy that we gather here this evening to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ in this holy mass. Roughly two-thousand years ago, the world changed forever when God decided to fulfill his promise to save us by sending His only son into the world.

    We don’t quite understand how marvelous this is yet, but we will one day very soon in God’s kingdom.

    The joy of the world, pronounced by Angels in the shepherd fields that faithful night in Bethlehem, “I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Christ and Lord.”

    This proclamation from the Angels to the shepherds makes me wonder what reaction they had? Could those poor shepherd possibly have understood the implications of this most wonderful news? No others proclamation would ever effect humanity as this one, and yet the message wasn’t given to the emperor of Rome, who at that moment was the most powerful man in the world, but rather was given to those who tend to the flock. Many of them were poor themselves, perhaps they didn’t even own the animals they were tending to. And yet, the Lord sent his messengers to them. How curious is this?

    To be lowly, to be humble, this is how we receive Jesus and this good news. The shepherds were nothing in the eyes of the world, they were simple men, that worked very hard. They did not live comfortably, they were lowly. They led and were responsible for the flock of animals in the field, making sure they were tended to and not lost. They kept watch during the night.  Think about it, they spent all their nights under the stars, they probably prayed the psalms regularly. Therefore, they were the perfect choice to receive this great message from the Angels. Our Lord, who is the good shepherd, has come to tend his flock, and to lead us to safety, to his Kingdom.

    “Behold, a savior is born to you.”

    Maybe anyone else would have ignored this message, but the shepherds did not, they went to see the child Jesus. And of course this was no ordinary child they found lying in a manger, although by appearance, you might not have noticed anything abnormal, but by faith, the shepherds arrived and paid homage and did adoration, just like we do when we adore the lord in the blessed sacrament. By appearance, it looks like bread, but by faith, we see much differently, and we kneel and prostrate before the Lord of Lords in adoration, just as the shepherds did 2000 years ago.

    The condition to receive this good news and to understand it is lowliness and humility. Pride is an obstacle to faith, an obstacle to understanding. Our Lord gives us so many opportunities to be humbled so that we might too receive the good news. He saves us from wealth and the pursuit of power, and graces us with the inspiration to come here on Christmas so that we might too adore Him. Faith allows us to recognize the messiah, the savior of the world, wrapped and swaddled in the arms of his blessed mother and lying in the animal trough.

    As we venerate Jesus Christ, come to the world to save us from our sins, let us look upon him in adoration, as the lowly shepherds did and let us adore him. May God bless you, keep you lowly and humble, increase your faith, and shepherd you to His kingdom. May the greatest news in this history of the world take place in your hearts, and may you know His love and forgiveness today and always.

    Jesus has come to save us, he has arrived, come, let us adore him now and until the end of time. Merry Christmas!

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  2. Lec # 10- 4th Sun of Advent- Dec 18, 2016- Fr. Bresowar

    Brothers and Sisters,

    Christmas is almost here. As we have journeyed through this season of Advent we have been preparing for the birth of Jesus. I have prayed for each of you and I hope you have had the opportunity to prepare a place in your soul for the coming of Christ. We have one week remaining, now is a great time to complete your spiritual preparation. Repent and prepare a path. This is the message received from John the Baptist as we reflected on him during the Gospel readings of Advent.

    For those of you who still would like to go to confession but have not found the opportunity, I will make myself available before and after every mass. Also this week, on Thursday and Friday evening, I will be in the confessional starting at 6 pm for those who would like to go. On Thursday, we will have Mass at 7 pm, so I will stop for that, but then will continue after with confessions. In addition, next Saturday at 10 in the morning, I will hear confessions.

    The Church teaches that we must confess our sins no less than one time a year and of course Advent and Lent are the best times to fulfil this obligation.

    The number one desire of Jesus is that we come to him and receive his forgiveness. Nothing makes his heart rejoice more than a sinner who repents, and he gives us a special sacrament just for this. If you want to give Jesus a Christmas gift, go to confession, and in return he will give you his greatest gift, his divine mercy.

    Also, during Advent we have spent time reflecting on Mary, the mother of Jesus. We’ve reflected on the message she received from the Angel Gabriel and how through her immaculate conception she was full of grace. She had such faith that her soul glorified the Lord, and asked that his Will be accomplished in her. Because of her faithfulness, we have received Jesus Christ our salvation. Mary, the mother of Christ, is with us always, appearing in Mexico as our Lady of Guadalupe, and in many other places to encourage us and draw us close to her son. Another way we prepare is through prayer, and particularly the rosary. Let us keep this great devotion as a regular practice in our lives, for through it, we have the greatest advocate in our mother Mary.

    Finally, as we draw close to the Nativity, the Church gives us on this last Sunday of Advent, one more character to reflect on and this is Saint Joseph.

    Joseph was chosen from all eternity to be the foster father of Jesus Christ. He plays a special role in the history of salvation. He was a righteous man who was chosen to safeguard Mary and Jesus. He led them to Jerusalem for the census, to Bethlehem for his birth, to Egypt to escape the murderous plans of Herod, and back to Nazareth to raise and provide for Mary and Jesus.

    The last way we prepare for Christmas is through works of charity. Doing good for others, and putting them before ourselves.

    Joseph is a great advocate for us in this. He, like all of us, had his own plans, his were for a quiet life in Nazareth with Mary, and he desired to raise a family and live a normal life like all of us. And yet, as God so often does, he revealed to Joseph a different plan. Joseph struggled at first trying to understand, and maybe he thought he wasn’t worthy or capable of accomplishing what God placed before Him. But God reassures Joseph through the Angel Gabriel in a dream and thus, Joseph then sets out to accomplish what God desired of Him, which is to help raise, along with Mary, the Messiah, the King of the World.

    That is not a small task. Yet Joseph does it faithfully.

    I always like to mention that Joseph doesn’t have any words recorded in the bible. He does not have one line. He shows his faithfulness by his actions. He doesn’t have to speak; he just does what he is supposed to do. He is not selfish, he is not looking out for himself, his willingness is not contingent on how others treat him. The plan comes from God. But he is a man of integrity. He doesn’t cheat on his spouse. He doesn’t treat his family with disrespect, he just does what he is supposed to do even when it is very difficult. He doesn’t quit, he keeps going. For this, Joseph is a great example especially for men. So often our ego gets in our way, and instead of being men of integrity, we revert back to behaving like children.

    Through the example and intercession of Joseph, patron of all fathers, may we too follow his example and lead with our actions and be men and women of integrity. When we fall in our weakness, may we heed the message of John the Baptist, and confess our sins so that we might receive the Christ Child. And when the Christ child arrives may we love Him as Mary loved Him, and return to this love, especially in our dark and difficult moments.

    Jesus is coming! Salvation is on the way! Prepare your hearts and souls, and may you have blessed and joyful Christmas.



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  3. Lec # 7- 3rd Sunday of Advent- Dec 7, 2016- Fr. Bresowar

    Dear Brothers and Sisters,

    This weekend is a special weekend in the calendar of the Church. It is referred to as “Guadate” Sunday, which means a Sunday to rejoice! But why rejoice when there is so much sadness in the world, and so many reasons to be upset. Why should we rejoice?

    Because, as the prophet Isaiah reminds us to the first reading today, this desert and parched land that we live in is going to exult. The weeping and difficultly which we experience will change to a joyful song, and flowers will bloom, and the suffering that we experience will not last forever. So rejoice!

    The Church uses the color rose to remind us that our time of penance, fasting, and suffering is not going to last forever. Normally, during Advent and Lent, Christians are called to fast and prepare, to keep watch, and to be reminded that salvation is on the way. During the middle of Advent and Lent the Church gives us a special Sunday to be reminded of this great joy.

    Of course, joy often times is a hope, and not a reality in our lives. We are told to rejoice today, but so often, we find rejoicing in the midst of difficulty very challenging. How can I rejoice when my husband or wife is unfaithful?
    How can I rejoice when my children have abandoned me or abandoned the faith? How can I rejoice when I’m raising many children and I have very little help?

    How can I rejoice when I can barely make enough money to keep food on the table? How can I rejoice when I work all the time? How can I rejoice when my life is so hard?

    These and many other realities in our lives often times act against this great admonishment to rejoice. And when we lose sight of Christmas, or Easter, while we are journeying here on earth, rejoicing can become impossible.

    We do not rejoice because life is hard. We do not rejoice because we have problems. We do not rejoice because once one problem is solved another opens. No, we rejoice because Jesus is coming. And if Jesus comes, he has promised to turn our sadness into joy, our darkness into light, and if we remain in Him as He is in us, then the death and the destruction that surround us will have an end, and we won’t be part of that end.

    In the Gospel today, John the Baptist, who was the great prophet, the greatest prophet, was sitting in prison. Isn’t it funny how God treats His greatest saints while they live? So often they suffer the most.  We know that John came before Jesus to announce his public ministry. He wore camel hair, he ate locusts, and lived in the desert. He taught repentance of sin and he wasn’t afraid to tell the leaders they were living in sin and needed to change. And because of this, he got thrown into prison and eventually executed. You might believe that he lost his hope, but he didn’t. He had great faith in Jesus even though he died before he really ever saw his works.

    St. John of the Cross, who was a Carmelite priest, who lived in the 13th century, said that sometimes God does things that confuse us but they are never without a reason. John of the Cross was thrown into prison by his own brothers because they didn’t like the direction he was taking his community. They thought it was too difficult and they didn’t want to change. So they threw him into prison. He said to one of his spiritual daughters, don’t worry, it is God who allowed me to be thrown in here, not men. God has reasons for why he allows us to suffer and even if we do not understand why, it is never lost to Him. We may not understand now, but we will later. Faith is believing even when we cannot see. With faith, we can rejoice, without faith, rejoicing is very difficult.

    Jesus is coming, and the old suffering order is going to pass away. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the mute will speak, and the dead will rise. Everything that we think is unjust will be made just. No defeat in God’s name will remain a defeat. And no victory in the name of the devil, or the world, will remain a victory. If we suffer injustice for His sake, we will be rewarded. If we remain faithful even in our difficulties, he will remain faithful. If we sin, and we confess our sin, he will forgive us. His mercy endures forever. Nothing is lost to him except those who choose to remain lost.

    When the Lord test us by challenging our ways of doing things, like He has done for so many of his beloved saints, then let us accept it. No one chooses the path laid before them, it is assigned to us. We make it harder by rejecting it, or by living outside of God’s commands, but if we would surrender, we will find it much easier to rejoice and have hope.

    Christ is coming, let us repent of our sins, go to confession, and believe the good news. Salvation is on the way, the end is not far from here. Keep the faith, follow the commands, change your life, allow God to change you, and find your joy that never ends.


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  4. As I stated at the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, Easter will mean so much more to us when and if we recognize how desperately we need a savior.

    Sin destroys us; terrible are its effects. When we humbly admit we are sinners, when we feel the shame and guilt of our faults against God and against our neighbors, then we start to recognize what a savior we have in Jesus who comes to heal us, forgive us, and bring us to Himself.
    In the Gospel today, we heard of the woman caught in adultery. In the Jewish law, there were three sins that carried an automatic death sentence. They were idolatry, or worshiping false gods, murder, and adultery.
    So when the scribes and the Pharisees caught this woman in the act of adultery, they knew they had to stone her to death because she had broken the law.
    In order to test Jesus, they decided to bring her to Him. They wanted to see if he was going to follow the law, and if not, they could accuse him of being an unfaithful Jew, and then he would be discredited.
    Let’s take a look at this narrative now from the perspective of each character involved.
    First you have the woman who commits the crime. She is guilty of breaking the sixth commandment, her sin is on full public display, she is surrounded by a group of men holding rocks, accusing her, ready to kill her. What do you suppose she felt in that moment? Certainly she felt fear for she was about to die. But also, she must have felt shame. Everyone knew what she did. Very likely she was not wearing clothes, she was naked, accused, afraid, shameful, and feeling intense guilt. The effects of sin were fully manifest in this adulterous woman. Clearly she deserved to die for her sins, after all this is the law of Moses and adultery is a terrible offense against God and the spouse. Clearly she felt broken and useless, full of shame. This is what sin does to us.
    Then of course you have the accusers, the scribes and the Pharisees. They were full of self-righteousness. They knew their duty; they knew they had to kill this woman. Each of them was looking upon her with eyes of judgment and condemnation. “We must kill this whore of a woman.” Anger, contempt, pride, ready to cast the first stone, eager to carry out the sentence.
    Then of course you have Jesus, the Son of God, and God Himself. He is going to manifest the Truth for every character in this narrative and for us as well.
    There are two types of sinners in front of Him. First, the self-righteous, prideful scribes and Pharisees, and then also, the adulterous shameful, weak, and broken woman.
    We are all sinners, which of these two types describes you? Are you like the self-righteous and prideful scribes and Pharisees? Do you hardly recognize that you have sinned or that anything is wrong with you? Is everything bad that occurs in your life the fault of someone else? Or are you like the broken and shameful woman, feeling guilt for the things you have done wrong, fearful that you might be condemned in your sinfulness?
    Our Lord has an answer for both, and what he does is in the Gospel is something new. While not falling for the trap of the scribes and Pharisees to be able to accuse him of being unfaithful to the law, he is going to in fact, shame them for their self-righteousness while at the same time save the life of the woman who is already shamed because of her guilt.
    First he bends down to write on the ground, and then stands and states to the ones who are prideful and self-righteous, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” That is to say to those of us who believe that we are always correct, that we are not the sinners but that others are, “go ahead, throw the first stone!” Now, you can imagine if Jesus had said this to one of the scribes and Pharisees when they were alone, it might be easy to throw that stone because no one is watching. But in a group of people who are self-righteous, who are very aware of the faults of others, including their fellow scribes and Pharisees, who are use to judging everyone, it would have been difficult to throw that stone. Thus in this, Jesus is able to shame the prideful. What is best for those who like to judge everyone is for them to drop their stones, and recognize the sin in their own lives first before they condemn others for their faults.
    Then after he shames them for their pride, he turns his attention to the woman who feels the full effects of her shame. And instead of accusing her, he asks her, “Woman, who is accusing you?” She looks up and only sees Jesus; everyone else has gone away, so she says, “No one Sir.” And Jesus says, “Neither do I, now go and sin no more.” The only man left is Jesus and he is not an accuser.
    To the ones who feel guilt and shame for their sins and stand before Jesus, he will forgive them, and to those who believe they need no forgiveness, he will shame them.
    The Jews understood justice but they did not understand mercy. God wants them to understand that He IS mercy, and that self-righteous pride blinds us to this truth. St. Paul in the second reading tells us that in order to experience the Resurrection, we cannot rely on our own righteousness, but on the righteousness of God, following his example of humility. In this we move from being people who are quick to condemn to being people who are quick to forgive.
    Except for the Blessed Mother, The Saints in Heaven were sinners while here on this journey. The same can be said true of the damned souls in Hell. The difference between the two is that the Saints recognized, in humility, their sinfulness, and then asked God for mercy while at the same time they tried to be obedient to His commandments. The damned in Hell felt they had no need of God, his mercy, or His commandments, they were self-righteous, and therefore they chose to reject God and the grace He offers through His Church. That’s why they are in Hell cursing God, not praising Him. God won’t forgive those who do not believe they have sinned or refuse to repent and change.
    My brothers and sisters, let us humble before the Lord, recognize our sinfulness, and seek his forgiveness. He will heal us, he will forgive us; it is His greatest desire. We have two weeks until Easter, now is the time confess our sins and to return to Him with our whole hearts.





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  5. Lec # 75- 5th Sun of OT- Feb 7, 2016- Fr. Bresowar

    My brothers and sisters in Christ,

    It is good to be here with you today to celebrate this fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

    As many of you are aware, the main goal of this life is not to be happy here, but to be happy in Heaven with God forever. I have spoken many times, and so has Father Jim, about this truth. In fact, that is my main purpose for being here as a priest, to lead everyone here to Heaven. I do this by preaching the Truth, administering the sacraments which make us holy, and by trying to govern this small Church in a way which puts God first and is obedient to His Church.

    That’s my vocation as a priest. That’s my desire, to go to Heaven, and because that desire is so alive and inflamed in my priestly soul, I rightly choose, by the gifts given to me by the Holy Spirit, to serve in such a way that we are all facing the same direction and walking towards Eternal Life and not away from it.

    Simply put, I’m here to lead you to Heaven.

    In my own assessment, I’m not exactly sure why God chose me to do this, but nevertheless, I’m happy he did. It is a honor which I’m not worthy, and it certainly comes with a heavy cross, but it really is my only true desire.  

    In the Gospel today, we hear of Jesus’ first encounter with Simon, who would later become Peter.

    Think of your first encounter with our Lord, reflect on it as you listen to this homily. Of the time when perhaps you were skeptical of the message of Jesus Christ or the Church, the Bible, and then think of where you are now. Have you grown closer to God? Are you still far away? Ponder where you still have left to journey. Maybe some of you are still waiting to hear the voice of the Lord in your life. Maybe some of you are still skeptical.

    Simon-Peter didn’t know Jesus when he first encountered him. He didn’t love Jesus at first; to him, Jesus was just another holy man proclaiming yet another religious message. He knew this type of people, this religious fanatics like Jesus and his judgment was they were lunatics who were wasting his time. Jesus was in his mind, but was in no way in his heart. It was Andrew, his brother, who brought Jesus to Simon-Peter and implored him to hear what he had to say.

    Pay attention, once again, to the words of Simon-Peter to Jesus’ request that they put their nets back in the water to go fishing. Simon says, “Master, we have worked all night and have caught nothing.” At this point, Simon-Peter could have just dismissed Jesus and refused his request. But this is not what happened because Simon-Peter instead, decided for some reason, maybe desperation at not being able to catch any fish, maybe because he didn’t want to embarrass his brother, to heed the request of Jesus. So he continues, “but at your command I will lower the nets.”

    It appears that Simon-Peter was extremely skeptical of Jesus. Does that resonate with any of you? Is Jesus wasting your time? Would you rather be anywhere else but here? Are your parents forcing you to be at Mass?

    Perhaps to go ahead show that Jesus just another fraud, he decides to play along and he lowers the nets.

    What happens next changes Simon-Peter forever. Upon lowering the nets they caught such a great number of fish that their nets were tearing.

    Notice Simon-Peter’s reaction. He just witnessed an incredible miracle. To him it must have seemed like the fish appeared out of nowhere, after all, they had been fishing all night and caught nothing. So what does he do? He doesn’t get excited because all these fish were going to bring him a great profit. No, instead, he asks Jesus to go away because he realizes how sinful he is.

    This is grace working in the soul of Simon-Peter, this is his conversion moment. This is when he realizes that Jesus is not just another religious lunatic. And this frightens Simon-Peter, rightly so, because he understands how unworthy he is to be in the presence of the Living God. He sees his own selfishness in light of the love of Jesus, and he wants Jesus to depart.

    Simon-Peter has the correct reaction to Jesus. When the miracle happens, it humbles Him. Jesus, for his part, reassures him, and tells him not to be afraid, that from that moment on, he would be catching men for Christ.

    Simon-Peter receives his vocation from God, and we know at that moment, he begins to follow Jesus and to learn from Him. From this living experience and increased knowledge, what begins as a powerful moment of conversion becomes in time a burning love in his heart for Eternal Life. But it didn’t happen overnight for Simon-Peter, it took time as it does for us.

    When we first meet Simon, who would later become Peter, we see him argue with our Lord over putting nets in the water. Simon will argue with the Lord continually along the way of his journey, just as we do once we start finally talking to Him. He had to learn to trust, just like we do.

    For example, When Jesus tells him that the Son of Man must be crucified, die, be buried and then rise on the third day, Peter tries to stop him. Jesus rebukes Peter and tells him to quit thinking like the people of the world who do not understand that the goal of life is not worldly comfort.

    After Jesus is arrested, Peter denies that he even knows him three times. This leads him to feel great guilt, which then leads him to repentance. After the Resurrection of our Lord, in the last conversation that Peter and Jesus had before his Ascension into Heaven, Peter professes three times his love for Jesus. Three times he had denied him, and now three times he states his love for him. The knowledge of Jesus in his mind had moved to the love of Him in his heart. Peter loved Jesus for everything He is, not just for what he had done. He loved every aspect of our Lord.

    Finally, Jesus tells him the cost of this love by explaining to him that he no longer belongs to the world, that the world will reject Him, that he will die for Christ and the Truth, but that he should not be afraid.

    Jesus has overcome the world, he is contrary to the world, he told us we would have problems here, and that we should seek the Kingdom of God. That Heaven must be our motivation, not the world.

    Simon-Peter didn’t know Jesus at first, he had to learn about him, and then he had to fall in love with Him. Peter loved Jesus with all of his heart and soul, and would bear witness to that love by being crucified up side down in Rome in the year 68 AD. Why up side down? Because he didn’t feel worthy to be crucified the same way Jesus was.

    Now, please remember the first reaction of Simon-Peter to our Lord and compare it to the last conversation they had.

    If Jesus asked Simon-Peter if he loved Him and would be willing to be crucified for him when they first met, Simon would have said no way, I do not ever know you. But three years later, even though he made his share of mistakes along the way, he was madly in love with our Lord and willing to die for Him.

    This makes no sense unless Jesus is God. And the fact that millions have fallen madly in love with Him and given their lives for Him means that He must be who he says he is. No other human has come even close to capturing the hearts and minds of so many. 

    God doesn’t abandon us, even when we are selfish and don’t want anything to do with him, but, in time, with patience, he does ask us to move away from our dependence on this world and into a relationship of true love. This happens through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the soul of the Church, and a cooperation of grace using our free will.

    Peter had to learn to let go of everything and in doing so he found his greatest desire was to be with Jesus forever in Heaven.

    It has to be the same with us.

    Until then, we will be aiming for worldly ambitions and comfort, which are nothing, absolutely nothing in comparison to that which awaits those who love God.

    The Church knows the goal of the spiritual life is union with God, which is why she gives us among other things, the season of Lent. Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday this very week, is a time of penance, prayer and detachment. A time to learn, through the desert of suffering, silence, stillness, how to abandon ourselves completely to the will of God. It’s a time to work on our relationship with Him. To move from knowledge to love.



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I am a Catholic Priest in the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama. This blog is where I post my homilies from time to time. May God bless you always!
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