We dwell in Him the same way He dwells in us - by making a sacrificial offering of ourselves. How do we do that? The readings tell us very clearly: by following God's commandments. That alone is the sacrifice we need to make. Though, that's not easy. But what will happen if He remains in us and we remain in Him? Like this vine and branches, we will bear much fruit....
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Father Miller‘s Sunday and Holy Day Homilies from Saint Dorothy‘s Catholic Church
Episodes
Sunday Jun 27, 2021
Sunday Jun 27, 2021
What is this "richness" of which Saint Paul speaks? That's where the Gospel comes in. Here we have Jesus, in His human poverty, walking among the people, teaching them. ... He opens their minds to Truth, to a greater wealth of knowledge than they could have had otherwise. He reveals to them, through His humanity, the face of God. Through that same humanity, He can even bestow His divine power on those who are sick and suffering. We've got the woman with hemorrhages who just touches his clothes and Jesus feels power go out of Him. Now, as a human man, He doesn't have power to heal anything. ... So where did that power come from? It came from His divinity, from his divine nature. But notice how it flowed through His body and through His clothing out to this woman with faith. It was precisely because of the poverty of His humanity that the richness of His divine nature was able to be transferred to her and bring her healing....
It is through the poverty, the humanity of Christ, that the richness of God comes to us. That is the very nature of sacramental theology. People think: "Oh you don't need sacraments to receive grace." Really? You needed the Body of Jesus to receive grace. Why would you think it's any different now? Grace only flows to us through the poverty of nature. And in particular, the nature of Jesus Christ, the human nature of the Lord, that poverty. And that's what Saint Paul is trying to teach us.
In becoming poor (Jesus) made us wealthy - spiritually wealthy. We have the Truth, we have the grace of salvation. We have eternal life. There is no greater good.
Saint Paul is saying that Jesus has clearly done this for us, and given us a great example, that we, like Christ, should be willing to impoverish ourselves for the good of those in need around us.... That's how the grace of God flows. When one impoverishes his or herself for love of the other, then the grace of God flows through that. ...
Paul continues, "Not that others should have relief while you are burdened.... but that as a matter of equality, your abundance at the present time should supply their need."
What does this mean and how do we apply it in our lives? What one important rule need we always remember?
Wis 1:13-15, 2:23-24; Ps 30:2, 4-6, 11-13; 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15; Mk 5:21-43
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 19:22
Sunday Jun 20, 2021
Sunday Jun 20, 2021
Now, we know that Jesus is the Lord. This is fundamental to our belief as Christians. And yet, how often are you and I still terrified by the storms in the world? And I don't just mean physical storms. Certainly that could scare any one of us. A great tornado or hurricane comes up and we'd all cower in fear and terror. Cry out, "God, where are you? Are you sleeping?! Wake up! Save me."
But there are also many types of metaphorical storms in our life. Political storms. Social storms. Economic storms. Even mental storms. This is the one we struggle with the most, actually. It's the one that produces the actual fear that we feel. When our mind is not at rest. That inner turmoil that makes us afraid and leads to anxiety, depression. These inner storms rage and they terrify us.
What do we do? We cry out: "Lord! Wake up! I know you can fix this! I know You have the power to calm all storms! Why don't you calm the storm in my mind?"
"Why don't You give me peace?"
I prayed this prayer for years and it took me so many years to hear the Lord. He was rebuking me, just as He rebuked the disciples in the boat.
"Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" ....
"Lord, but I'm afraid."
"Yes, but I'm God."
Jb 38:1, 8-11; Ps 107:23-26, 28-31; 2 Cor 5:14-17; Mk 4:35-41
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 17:30
Sunday Jun 13, 2021
Sunday Jun 13, 2021
As Christians, our hearts, like that of Our Lady, are supposed to be one with our Lord. That's really what we strive for in our Christian life - day by day, little by little we struggle to unit our hearts more perfectly to His. And it's a process. It's not something we can do on our own, certainly. It's something we have to allow the Lord to do in us. ...
Like the example the Lord gives in the Gospel today: the Kingdom of Heaven grows like a seed. It grows not only in the Church... Christ doesn't just reside in HIs Church, He wants to reside inside each one of us as a temple, as a church. That means we grow into this temple as any seed would grow.
The difficulty for us is - and Jesus points this out in the Gospel - that even though we witness the growth, we don't know how it happens. ...Still so many mysteries in the regard, and that mystery remains spiritually in our growth.
Our Lady is unique among Christians in that she did not need to grow into unity with Christ. From the first moment of her conception, she was given a special privilege. She was kept free from any stain of sin, so she's Immaculate; and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. That means during the entirety of her life, she was always the temple of God. That's why she's our model.
She was given these graces and these privileges so she could assist us in becoming temples ourselves. In growing in holiness day by day.
Our Lord expects us to turn to His Mother and seek her intercession.
The Fathers teach us that devotion to the Blessed Mother is essential in the Christian life. It's not an option, and it's one of the signs of salvific grace in the soul of a Christian....
If you truly loved our Lord and followed Him, you would love His Mother. It's not possible to love Him without loving His Mother since it was she who brought Jesus to us by the power of God in her, she is the instrument of our salvation. ....
Great things begin with just a small seed. If every time you come to Mass or hear me preach and you hear me say that Hail Mary and you pray it with me, it plants a seed in your mind. "Why is Father doing this? There must be something special about it. I wonder if I should be praying a Hail Mary before I do stuff too?"
That little seed over time can grow, and encourage your devotion to the Blessed Mother which is something our Lord wants for us.
Start with one Hail Mary a day...
Ez 17:22-24; Ps 92:2-3, 13-16; 2 Cor 5:6-10; Mk 4:26-3
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 15:23
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
Sunday Jun 06, 2021
There is no salvation apart from a covenant relationship with God. There is no covenant apart from the shedding of blood. And no blood is as precious as the Blood of Jesus Christ the true Lamb of God. We, the covenant people, are privileged to partake in this very Body and Blood. We who become one with not only Christ, but with one another in this Holy Eucharist, have a great moral obligation. A two-fold obligation.
First and foremost: to always remain united with Christ in His Church. We do this by a worthy reception of Holy Communion. And I say that again: a worthy reception. Many souls can be damned to hell for all eternity precisely because they receive the Lord unworthily. They were not in the state of grace, they were in mortal sin. It's simple to figure out if you are in mortal sin or not. Are you following the commands of Christ and His Catholic Church? If not, have you gone to confession and been forgiven of those offenses? If you don't fall into those categories, you can't receive communion. It's that simple. Saint Paul warns us "Do not eat the Body or drink the Blood of the Lord to your own condemnation." This greatest of gifts bestowed upon us, followers of Christ that we are, can also be the sign of our condemnation if we do not worthily receive Him. And He can make us worthy. That's what confession is for. ...
Secondly, it's unity with each other. This is one of the great tragedies of Christian life is that - not only among Christian communities are we not united... there are so many "versions of Christianity and discipleship" - obviously they can't all be right. This disunity is a scandal to the world. The Body of Christ is one in the Catholic Church, but we have to strive to bring about the unity of all believers. It's bad enough that our Protestant brothers and sisters are not united with us. It's even worse when we as Catholics are not united with each other. That's where we have such an obligation to be men and women of peace. Christ is the Prince of Peace. How does he bring about peace? By sacrificing Himself. If we are truly united with Christ inHis Body and Blood, then we would seek to imitate Him. To bring about unity by self-sacrifice. By the shedding of our actual blood if necessary for the sake of the unity of not only the Catholics in the Church, but even Christians at-large. What greater sign of the truth of the Gospel would that be to the world?
How can the Church of Christ be a witness to the Truth if we are not united?
Ex 24:3-8; Ps 116:12-13, 15-18; Heb 9:11-15; Mk 14:12-16, 22-26
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 25:34
Sunday May 30, 2021
Sunday May 30, 2021
Thomas Aquinas says there is one thing yet to do. You get down on your knees, you bow your head to the floor, and you humble yourself before the mystery. ... We should never presume that understanding of the mysteries is ours by right.... We seek understanding. We want to know Him better. But at times we must merely bow before Him in homage and in humility. And in worship.
How can we be so intimate with our God through the holy Sacraments, and yet He still be so mysterious to us? ... What a profound revelation - that God would let us know His own divine nature. What right do we creatures have to such knowledge of our God? None. And yet He wants us to know about Him, to know Him not just intellectually, but intimately. ...
We can naturally struggle appreciating sacredness. Holiness. Reverence. For so long in recent times in our Church it's been lost in our liturgies. That is a great tragedy for us as believers, because if the sacred and the holy are not lived and manifested in our prayer - in our prayer of Christ in the Church, the Holy Mass - the how are the people ever going to learn it?
There's a simple and basic teaching that the Church has always followed: Lex orandi. Lex credendi. Lex vivendi. Memorize this if you can: Lex orandi. Lex credendi. Lex vivendi. It is translated this way: "As we pray, so we believe, so we live." It's one of the fundamental teachings of the Fathers.
Our prayers are an expression of our belief. Our prayer forms our belief. If I am being raised in a Church where the prayer of the Church is holy and reverent and sacred and true, then I will believe in those things. And if I believe them, I will live them.
"As I pray, so I believe, and so I live." ... We pray for the grace to return to recognizing the holiness of our God, so that as we recognize these great mysteries - yes seeking to understand them to the best of our ability - we would always like Thomas recommended, bow before them in humility and worship.
Dt 4:32-34, 39-40, Ps 33:4-6, 9, 18-20, 22; Rom 8:14-17; Mt 28:16-20
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 19:48
Sunday May 23, 2021
Sunday May 23, 2021
But who does (Saint Paul) say specifically are our enemies? Is it our spouse? Our children? Co-workers? Bosses? Politicians? Those people that won't get out of the left hand lane on the highway when they're driving too slow? Are they our enemies?
It may feel like it at times, and I think when we fail to love these individuals, in our mind we actually believe they are our enemy. That's our mistake.
Saint Paul tells us who our enemies are: they are the devil and the evil spirits. ... He doesn't mean the human rulers, he's talking about the demonic ones.
Saint Paul is letting us know that to follow the Spirit, to learn to speak that universal language of love - which is ultimately the perfect way to preach the Gospel - you must do battle. ... It's never against another human per se, that's just an instrument. It's always against the evil spirits....
So the Armor of God is meant to help us fight evil spirits. It's one of the great lies of the devil and his demons that they try to convince the world they don't even exist. Because then you won't fight them! You will just blame your neighbor for why you're not loving.
It's the common thing we all do right? "I would be a much more patient and loving person if they had not" Or "if they would just" and you fill in the blank of whatever situation you find yourself in.
It's so common for us to blame others for our lack of love. And it's never their fault. It's never anyone else's fault. Why? Because Jesus loved even in the midst of very bad people who did nothing but reject Him, and torture Him, and kill Him. ...
Do you think we have an excuse when we die and go before the judgement seat of God? ... We will be judged accordingly. There will be no excuses at our judgement before the Throne of God. Don't fall into the mistake of thinking there will be.
Know who you are battling.
So when you are driving on the highway and that person just won't move over - even when they can! - instead of getting angry at them, realize in the moment the demon tempting you to judgement and hatred. That's the one you must battle. And you do that with the Armor of God.
In Ephesians chapter 6, Saint Paul points out to us the tools we need to use to help us in this spiritual battle. (Father explains each piece in detail)
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. - Eph 6:10-18
Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104:1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34; 1 Cor 12:3b-7, 12-13; Jn 20:19-23
You may watch the mass in its entirety on our Youtube channel. Homily begins at 20:14
Sunday May 16, 2021
Sunday May 16, 2021
This practice of celebrating Mass - technically not with my back to you, we're all facing the same direction - celebrating Mass ad orietum, or "toward the East" comes from this day, from this Feast.
When our Lord ascended into Heaven, all of the apostles and disciples were facing East. And that's where our Lord ascended, toward the East.
We know that they stood there after He was gone and watched for a little while, and what happened? Two men dressed in white, we know they're angels, appeared to them and said, "Men of Galilee, what are you looking at?"
Now, they're angels. Obviously they knew what the men were looking at. They weren't seeing Jesus anymore, He was gone. The angels tell them basically: don't worry, He's going to come again in the same way that He is gone from your sight.
These angels, these messengers form God, were the ones instructed to inform the apostles that when Jesus comes in glory, He will come from the East on the clouds of Heaven. From the East.
Ad orientum. Toward the East.
So even though they didn't know when Jesus was going to come, every time they gathered together in prayer to offer the Holy sacrifice of the Mass, all of them - including the presider - would face East, just in case Jesus would come.
For two thousand years in the Church that has been the tradition. Every liturgy. Always. The presider - whether it's the Pope, Bishops or Priests - and the people would face the same direction just in case the Lord would come, so that they were ready to see Him.
That's where this tradition came from, and that's why we've maintained it for two thousand years.
....
Once I was ordained, I began to appreciate, as the celebrant, how important this is.
"Seeing"in any type of temporal vision is not necessary because our eyes are not fixed on time and space, but on Heaven. On eternity. We are waiting for the return of the Lord.
This is the beauty of ad orietum. It daily reminds us to look towards the heavens and to contemplate the return of our Lord.
Acts: 1:1-11; Ps 47:2-3, 6-9; Eph 1:17-23; Mk 16:15-20
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our Youtube Channel. Homily begins at 19:42.
Sunday May 09, 2021
Sunday May 09, 2021
When you love in this way - when you are willing to be expiation for the failings, weaknesses, and faults of another - it's going to leave you empty. If you empty yourself for them, de facto, you have nothing left for yourself.
This is where our Lord promises us that if we do it for Him, for His sake, imitating His example, offering it back to Him in union with His cross, then He promises to fill us with His presence. That's what He means when He says "As I remain in You."
So it's conditional. Our Lord's love is conditional on the fact that He will remain in us, He will fill us with Himself if we fill those around us with the same offering.
When you're struggling in your life, when you realize "I feel like the Lord isn't really working. I feel like my relationship with the Lord is weak," ask the Him for an opportunity to sacrifice for somebody else. That may seem like the last thing you want to do because you're struggling. But that's the perfect thing to do. But that very sacrifice requires our Lord to then fulfill His end of the bargain. ...
You need to practice this in your family. When you find yourself struggling, especially with "that" sibling - every child who has brothers and sisters, usually there's that one at least that they struggle with the most - say a prayer. Ask the Blessed Mother, ask the Lord, "Give me an opportunity to show them some sacrifice of love." Spouses, you need to do this regularly with each other, especially when you're not getting along. Find an opportunity. Ask for one. And it will be given you.
You'll find in that moment when you sacrifice yourself, when you make a gift of yourself in whatever way, then the Lord steps in and fills you. With His presence. With His love. And everything becomes easy after that.
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48; Ps 98:1-4; 1 Jn 4:7-10; Jn 15:9-17
Audio homily is from the Vigil Mass with Father Miller. Video is from Sunday Mass with Father Sheridan substituting for Father. You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Fr Sheridan's homily begins at 15:30
Sunday May 02, 2021
Sunday May 02, 2021
He's talking about spiritual fruit. It's the same as physical fruit in the sense that it provides nourishment to the people around you. That's the fruit that we produce in Christ. Our family, our friends, our coworkers, society itself, they begin to nourish themselves on the fruit that we produce.
And when you see society starving spiritually, whose fault is that? It's our fault.
More than anyone, it's the bishops and the priests because we are the leaders, those with the authority and the power of the Sacraments. But after us? It's the lay Catholics fault.
Only you, who have the fullness of the faith and the Sacraments, can truly bear all of the fruit necessary for society.
What would this fruit look like if it was being provided? ...
Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control.
Do you have what it takes to bear this fruit? (hint: if you're Confirmed, the answer is Yes.)
Acts 9:26-31; Ps 2:26-27, 28, 30, 31-32; 1 Jn 3:18-24; Jn 15:1-8
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 23:22
Sunday Apr 25, 2021
Sunday Apr 25, 2021
This passage that Jesus gives to us is not just for His sheep, that you would be reminded of His great love for you, but this is actually, more importantly for the shepherds. For the ones he was going to put in charge of His flock. For the men that He was going to choose as popes and bishops and priests....
Our job through Holy Ordination is to be conformed to Christ, not just sacramentally so that when we say the words of institution it's really Jesus, or when we say the words of absolution you're really forgiven - yes, that's why were' ordained, but even in our mode of shepherding we're supposed to imitate Christ.
And we don't always do this. Oftentimes priests and bishops, and even throughout the centuries even popes, have acted more as hired workers, in it for the pay. Not imitating the Lord. Not loving His sheep as he loves them. This is a great tragedy.
If you remember the words of Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of diocesan priests, he said that:
"If a pastor - a shepherd - is a saint, his people will be holy.
If a pastor is holy, his people will be good.
If a pastor is good, his people will be mediocre.
If a pastor is mediocre, his people will be bad.
And if a pastor is bad, God save his people."
...Jesus teaches very clearly from the prophet Isaiah, that God gives to the people the leaders they deserve. He's not speaking just of Church leaders - He is certainly - but he's speaking about every type of leader. It could be your boss at work, your Governor, your President, your pastor, the Bishop, the Pope, doesn't matter: God gives to His people the shepherd they deserve.
... How do we know how we deserve a certain type of leader? It's whether we're striving to conform our lives to the commands of God. Are we seeking after the Lord? Seeking to obey His commandments? To put Him first in our life?
As long as you are seeking to conform your life to Christ, our Lord promises to send you holy leaders.
Acts: 4:2-12; Ps 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 29; 1 Jn 3:1-2; Jn 10:11-18
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 20:20
Sunday Apr 18, 2021
Sunday Apr 18, 2021
Everything Jesus does, everything He reveals is teaching them. When He appears to them He allows them to touch Him and eats in front of them. He proves to them that His body is real flesh and bone, that He's not a ghost.
The resurrected body of Jesus can look like anything He wants. To Mary Magdalene He looked like the gardener. The disciples in the beginning of today's Gospel spent an entire day with Him and didn't recognize Him. And these are His followers! He can deceive our senses.
We also know that this Resurrected body is not limited by space and time. While He was spending a whole day with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, the Gospel also tells us He was meeting with Peter. At the same time.
Imagine the apostles reflecting on these accounts and being amazed! "How can He do this? The resurrected Body of Jesus is so different than what we knew before!" But it's still His Body, it's still the Body of Christ. It's the same Body of Christ. It's now been glorified. And it is no longer limited by nature, by the limits of the physical world.
And Jesus reveals this to them and to us essentially to teach us one extremely important and necessary lesson: how He is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.... The Lord is trying to teach us - His people - the the Eucharist is in fact His resurrected flesh. All of the properties of the Resurrected Body of the Lord are true about the Eucharist.
Acts 3:13-15, 17-19; 1 Jn 2:1-5a; Lk 24:35-48
You may watch the mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 19:39
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
Sunday Apr 11, 2021
I chose this particular image to hang on our confessional because it is the original Divine Mercy image. The "Vilnius image", it was the one Saint Faustina herself had painted.
Jesus would often appear to her. And at one point, He appeared to her under this form. He said to her, "Faustina, I'd like you to have an image of me painted like this."
So Faustina and Mother Superior go to Vilnius and commission a local artist to paint this. Faustina describes to him the vision. He does his sketches and then works up the first draft of the painting.
Over the next year or two, regularly Faustina and Mother would go to him and check on the progress of the work.
Faustina always had corrections. "No, no, the eyes are wrong." "No, it needs to be more blue here." She was always correcting the artist, and it was never good enough. The artist was getting a little flustered. Mother Superior was getting a little flustered. And Faustina was just frustrated that it wasn't perfect.
One day in her cell, Jesus appeared to her and said, "Faustina, the image is never going to be perfect, but it's good enough." So Faustina accepted it,
and the next time she saw the image she said, "Jesus approves." And this is the image we have.
There's something unique and special about this one that I want to share with you, and I learned this during my time with the Marians of the Immaculate Conception.
There was a group of lay people working with the Marians, traveling around and trying to spread devotion to three particular images: Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Divine Mercy image, and the Shroud of Turin. They had large copies of each of these images and used them during their talks.
Once day - I won't say by accident, but by providence, they discovered something very fascinating....
The image of the Shroud of Turin and the Divine Mercy had been laid one atop the other. When the light shone through them, the people were shocked to discover that the faces matched perfectly. The face that Saint Faustina had painted, and the face on the Shroud of Turin when sized correctly, match up flawlessly.
For all intents and purposes, the image that we have, the Vilnius image, is actually a photograph. It's what Jesus looked like two thousand years ago.
If you think about this image, this is how Jesus appeared to the Apostles today in the Gospel. You can imagine Him there....
He appears to Thomas - and this is what He looked like, still with the wounds in His hands, feet and side, in a white tunic, radiating light - and He says to Thomas: "Come. Touch My hands. And My feet. Here, put your hand into the wound in My side." That's the Divine Mercy image. ...
Without mercy we are lost. Without mercy every soul is damned for eternity. But because of this mercy, because of the suffering, death, and resurrection that we behold in the image of Divine Mercy, we have hope and consolation. And we should often make the words written under the image our own: "Jesus I trust in You."
Acts 4:32-35; Ps 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-2; 1 Jn 5:1-6; Jn 20:19-31
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 28:43
Sunday Apr 04, 2021
Sunday Apr 04, 2021
In the history of the Church, the people of God figure something out about Jesus quicker than the hierarchy does. They get there sooner.
Why?
Because of their great love and devotion for Jesus. They run faster….
We see that lived out even in this Gospel today. The Beloveds of the Lord run faster than the hierarchy. But, what do we notice from the example John gives us?
He never presupposes or presumes to act on his belief until the authority does.
So though you might get to something before I do, or Bishop Jugis, or the Holy Father, you wait outside until we catch up. And only after we have entered, do you then follow.
...
But there’s a far more personal interpretation that each one of us can take. It’s that Peter and John both represent each one of us. They represent, yes the Church as head and members, but they also represent each individual member of the body of Christ as the head and the heart. …
Christ will often place something on your heart before you will be able to understand it, and embrace it. In the end, the heart must always follow the head, even if the heart sometimes gets there first. ... This is why people who are drawn to the faith, drawn to Jesus, they can’t always explain at first why it is.
That’s this Gospel story come to life in them. This is Jesus bringing their hearts, but they don’t know what to do, they don’t know the next step. And that’s fine, it’s perfectly fine - they have to wait until their head catches up with them.
This is an important reflection, not just in this time of Easter and the new life of grace that has been bestowed upon us in Christ, but also each day. Each day we go through our struggles and our difficulties. Remember that more often than not, your heart is going to get somewhere first. But you must be patient. Be like John, and wait upon the head.
Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Col 3:1-4; Jn 20:1-9
There is no video of this Mass. Click here for audio of the Mass in its entirety.
Sunday Apr 04, 2021
Sunday Apr 04, 2021
We apologize there was no live stream video on Easter Sunday morning. The Mass in its entirety can here heard here.
Saturday Apr 03, 2021
Saturday Apr 03, 2021
Of all the liturgies of the Church, the Holy Triduum is of course the most sacred, the most solemn, and the most glorious. It's in these days in which we recall in a most unique way the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. This is the heart of the mystery of our faith.
In my experience, the number one problem in the world is fear. Pretty much everyone has something of which they are afraid. Some of it's imaginary. Some of it is just hypothetical. Some of it's real. But in the end, if we are truly convinced of the mystery of the Resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, we should be able to overcome all fear.
I often meditate on this one point: with the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the salvation of the world is won. But to obtain that salvation, and resurrection, He first had to be tortured, and killed, and buried in a tomb.
And yet, He was innocent. And not only that, He was holy. And not only that, He was God.
What happened to Jesus Christ was the worst evil that could have ever been done by man. No sin could compare to this act. All of the sins of all of humanity combined, compared to the crucifixion of the Son of God, would not even measure up. Among evils, it is the worst.
And yet it is the sign of our salvation. It's our very hope.
If God can take the worst of human evils and use it to bring about the greatest of divine goods, what can he do with our own failings? Our own sins? And even those things of which we are afraid?
If God can bring such a good from such an evil, then if I put myself in His hands, then He can bring good from anything in my life.
(1) Gn 1:1-2:2 (2) Gn 22:1-18 (3) Ex 14:15--15:1 (4) Is 54:5-14 (5) Is 5:1-11 (6) Bar 3:9-15, 32--4:4 (7) Ez 36:16-17a, 18-28 (8) Rom 6:3-11. (9) Mk 16:1-7
Friday Apr 02, 2021
Friday Apr 02, 2021
It is necessary that we, in our own lives, strive to provide a similar offering, a similar meal, to our Lord Himself.
How do we do this?
We do it as Jesus often reminded His disciples, by bearing our crosses after Him patiently. As He bore ours patiently.
Many people struggle with this because there is an essential aspect to bearing a cross; you have to actually be innocent of the consequences that you're suffering. Meaning, if you're just being punished because you deserve it, well, you deserved it. ... Remember that Jesus was innocent when He suffered for our sins.
The only true offering we can make to Him is when we suffer unjustly - when we are innocent and we're suffering at the hands of sinners.
That naturally should lead us to some trepidation because when we look at the sufferings in our lives we think: well, pretty much everything I am suffering is my own fault, so there's very little I can offer our Lord.
This is where you're wrong.
This is where you fail to understand the mystical reality in which you participate as Catholics.
You see, being a member of the body of Christ, and living in the grace of the Sacraments, means that even if you were to commit a sin, and then subsequently suffer the consequences of that sin - if you would go to confession and that sin would be forgiven, guess what? You're now innocent. Jesus has made you innocent. Now the suffering you're enduring, even though technically you brought it about, you are no longer at fault for. You can in turn offer that as a cross back to God.
That's the beauty of the Church, the beauty of the Sacraments and how Jesus has designed the Christian life in such a way that there is no wasted suffering. As long as we live in Him.
People are tempted to ask, "Why am I suffering this? Why is this happening to me?" Most of the time it's because we're sinners and we deserve it - but even if its not - it's merely because you are Christian. God is providing you an opportunity to return in kind to the Lord an offering. Certainly not to the same degree or perfection as His in the Holy Eucharist. But at least in some small way that you can love the Lord, that you can walk in His Passion, that you can suffer His Cross.
Ex 12:1-8, 11-14; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Jn 13:1-15
The liturgy may be watched in its entirety on our Youtube channel. Homily begins at 31:35
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
It was at the Last Supper that Jesus consecrated them priests and bishops. It was at the Last Supper that He gave them the power to transubstantiate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. That power has been handed down - bishop to priest - for two thousand years, that's what we celebrate tonight.
Because of this great power and authority bestowed upon them, He knew, as with all of us, the temptation is to grow in pride. In arrogance. So when giving them this great gift, and setting them in this great role, He gave them the best sign He could of humility. He washes their feet. ...
In this, we see the great humility of Christ. He truly has come as a servant.
And that's got to be the heart of a priest. If the heart of a priest is not a servant's heart, then he will not be a good priest - he cannot imitate Christ.
We refer back to Jesus' cry from the Cross: "My God my God, why have You forsaken Me?" As we know from our previous homily, Jesus was quoting Psalm 22. It's a long psalm. And I would say it speaks of His priestly heart. He's crying out in agony and expressing to His Father the suffering and death that He is enduring, while simultaneously giving praise to God and defending the holiness of the Lord.
That's what a priest is supposed to do. That's the heart of the priest really.
Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9; Rv 1:5-8; Lk 4:16-21
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 23:47
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
Sunday Mar 28, 2021
Father Miller finishes his series of reflections on the Seven Last Words of Christ.
Notice that the text says: He breathed His last. The word in Hebrew, "ruah", for breath is the same word for spirit. So He spirited His last. He gave up His spirit. That's when He died. Again, if we stop there, merely on a simple interpretation, we're going to miss so much of what our Lord is trying to communicate to us, even now.
Reflecting on the Gospels, there is one thing Jesus makes clear: no one can take His life from Him. Jesus says: I lay it down freely.
When we look at His Passion at this moment, we can never think, "They took His life." No. He laid it down freely, by choice.
Why is this important?
Because Jesus, being God, and also being in the flesh, is revealing to us what perfect love looks like. Theologically, perfect love is often explained as "the gift of self". Where you give of yourself to another. And to the extent which you make yourself a gift... is the extent to which you have loved.
Jesus - revealing the love of God - gives everything to us. Everything. Every drop of His blood. Every agony. His very physical life. And after He has given everything in love to us for our salvation, the only thing left is His spirit.
But notice He doesn't keep that to Himself at the end of His life- He even gives that away.
Father into Your hands, I commend My spirit.
He was totally empty. Nothing belonged to Him, not even His spirit.
This is the perfect example of love. Of self-sacrifice. Of making of yourself a gift to the beloved.
Mk 11:1-10 (Procession) Is 50:4-7; Phil 2:6-11; Mk 14:--15:47
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our Youtube channel. Homily begins at 36:01.
Thursday Mar 25, 2021
Thursday Mar 25, 2021
Even greater than the mystery of God's nature as a Trinity, is this simple fact: He became a man.
At the moment of her "yes" - her "Fiat" - that is when the Holy Spirit came upon her and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. ...
The entire Godhead is involved in this moment of the Incarnation. It's not just Jesus. And it's not just the Holy Spirit and Jesus. It is the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, all involved; simultaneously present and active in this moment.
We know the role of the Son. He is the One being conceived.
Who is the father of the son? I know that sounds like a funny question. It's the Father, right? Jesus's father is His Father.... By whose command, or by whose will is He conceived in the womb of Mary? By the Father's will. Therefore, who is the father of the son? The same One Who is eternally the Father of the Son.
Who is the Father of the Son in the incarnation? God the Father. No one else can be.
If the Holy Spirit were to act in that role at this moment, that would be heresy! You'd be telling me that the Holy Spirit is the Father of the Son in the incarnation. That's not possible. Only the Father can be the Father of the Son. In heaven and on earth.
So Who is the Holy Spirit? ....
Basically the relationship between Mary and the Holy Spirit is one of absolute identity. ... His role in the Incarnation is to empower Mary to do in time what He is eternally.
Is 7:10-14, 8:10; Heb 10:4-10; Lk 1:26-38
You may watch the mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 14:12.
Sunday Mar 21, 2021
Sunday Mar 21, 2021
Father Miller will offer a reflection on the Seven Last Words of Christ throughout Lent.
What is "finished"? If it's not just His life, what is finished? ...
"My food is to do the will of the One Who sent me and to finish his work."
Jesus is telling us that at this moment, on the Cross, right before His death, He has now accomplished the work of His Father - to save us from our sins. It's the work of salvation, salvation is accomplished.
That alone is profound, that at this moment we recognize from the words of our Savior, the completion of the act of redemption.
But if you look at the words just in their English translation, you're going to miss something even more profound about this statement.
In Latin, Jesus actually said on the cross: "Consummatum est." ... We use this word, "consummate," for the love between a husband and a wife. It's nuptial language.
When a couple comes here before the Lord and exchanges their vows, that's when they enter into the Sacrament of matrimony. However, until that matrimonial commitment is consummated, the marriage is actually not valid. Until the love that they expressed in words is then completed in action, it's not valid.
Here is Jesus Who has lived His life, especially in His public ministry, preaching His words of love and Truth. In a sense, expressing His vows to His Bride the Church. He's saying "This is how I love you", but He's also telling His bride how she should love Him too - He speaks her vows too. So there's this exchange of vows, but the marriage is not consummated yet. Not until the Cross.
On the Cross Jesus finally gives Himself; body, blood, soul, and divinity, to His bride. He has held nothing back. He has offered her everything. And once everything has been offered, He cries out, "Consummatum est."
It's a mystery of nuptial love between god and His holy people.
Jer 31:31-34; Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 14-15; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33
You may watch the Mass in its entirety on our YouTube channel. Homily begins at 15:43.