St. Rose of Lima Church Homilies

After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, 
he said to Simon Peter,“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” 
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; 
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”

The peace of the Lord be with you. Today in our Gospel reading we have this very tender moment between Jesus and Peter. If you recall Peter denied Jesus three times on the night before his passion.Today Jesus affords him an opportunity for reconciliation for the denials that he made.The word that Jesus uses as he talks about love is unconditional love but Simon cannot seem to grasp the nature of this unconditional love and so Jesus accepts that the type of love Peter can give as filial love.This is a form of conditional love that parents have for their children which is very deep but not as a deep as the love God has for us.From this interaction we get a glimpse into how Jesus advocates for us, how he offers reconciliation and accepts the limitations of where we are right now with the hope that we will join him in a higher more fully giving form of love and surrender. In the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Readings for Friday, May 21, 2021

Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said,

Father, the hour has come.
Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you,
just as you gave him authority over all people,
so that your son may give eternal life to all you gave him.
Now this is eternal life,
that they should know you, the only true God,
and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.
I glorified you on earth
by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do.
Now glorify me, Father, with you,
with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world.
They belonged to you, and you gave them to me,
and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything you gave me is from you,
because the words you gave to me I have given to them,
and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you,
and they have believed that you sent me.
I pray for them.
I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me,
because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours
and everything of yours is mine,
and I have been glorified in them.
And now I will no longer be in the world,
but they are in the world, while I am coming to you.

The peace of the Lord be with you.

Today we have this very earnest and sincere prayer of Jesus praying for our protection and that we might have eternal life. Jesus defines eternal life as knowing the only true God. If we know the true God and make His friendship a priority, then everything else in our lives will be properly ordered. Living a properly ordered life is a life which seeks to glorify God in all that ones does and speaks.

As we begin this new day may seek those things and circumstances that will aide us to seek that which is eternal. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Readings for Tuesday, May 18, 2021

The disciples said to Jesus,

Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech.
Now we realize that you know everything
and that you do not need to have anyone question you.
Because of this we believe that you came from God.”
Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now?
Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived
when each of you will be scattered to his own home
and you will leave me alone.
But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me.
In the world you will have trouble,
but take courage, I have conquered the world.

The peace of the Lord be with you.

We can never be fully clear that we are doing God’s will. I was comforted by the fact that Thomas Merton once said something very similar, but he also included that it pleases God that we are trying — that we have a desire to please and serve God.

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus’s disciples, the apostles are struggling to really understand what Jesus is trying to describe. He is trying to lay out for them that they are going to experience his passion — and through his passion, resurrection and ascension. Through these acts; through this perfect sacrifice — the world will be saved. Thankfully, because of this sacrifice, we do not have to rely on our own resources to get us through the times that lay ahead.

In the reading from Acts, we see that we will be guided and assisted through the teachings that have been handed down by the apostles. We will be guided and directed through the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the encounters with God through the Sacraments. Through these gifts of the church, including this meal we’re about to share, may our minds and our spirits be quieted so that we may hear the voice of God and confidently do his work.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Readings for Monday, May 17, 2021

Jesus said to his disciples:

Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.
Until now you have not asked anything in my name;
ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.

I have told you this in figures of speech.
The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures
but I will tell you clearly about the Father.
On that day you will ask in my name,
and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.
For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me
and have come to believe that I came from God.
I came from the Father and have come into the world.
Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.

The peace of the Lord be with you.

Growing is a process. When we were children our parents and other teachers had to explain things in more simple terms for us to be able to understand. As we continue to develop and grow in maturity the facts could be presented in a more straightforward way. Jesus is using a similar model as he talks about growing in faith. He says he has tried to introduce his followers to a basic understanding of who he is and the ways of God but that soon he will be talking to them about more sophisticated things.

We are very fortunate that in the time we live in to have access to so many great tools for Christian education. Having factual information and a deeper understanding, may each of us to be able to answer questions that may come our way by those who are being touched by the Spirit of God and are trying to form their basic understanding. May we be inspired today to read, ponder, and use these tools for the betterment to advance the kingdom of God.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Readings for Saturday, May 15, 2021

Jesus said to his disciples:

As the Father loves me, so I also love you.
Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

I have told you this so that my joy might be in you
and your joy might be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.
No one has greater love than this,
to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I no longer call you slaves,
because a slave does not know what his master is doing.
I have called you friends,
because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.
It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you
and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,
so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.
This I command you: love one another.

— John 15:9-17

The peace of the Lord be with you.

On this feast of Saint Matthias, there is a theme of being chosen running through our readings. There is always something pleasant about being chosen or recognized. For most of us, it may date back to our earliest moments in life, probably to some of our earliest friendships. Being chosen by someone outside our family to be part of something that links us to another person or another group of people.

Today, the Son of all creation says he chooses us as friend. Let that sink in for a moment. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of all creation wants to be our friend. He is inviting us to His house, wants us to share a meal, and stay after the meal to catch up on what has been happening in our lives. We have been chosen. Today, independent of how we may feel about ourselves, our strengths and weaknesses — let us accept this invitation to true friendship.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Readings for Friday, May 14, 2021

Jesus said to his disciples:

Go into the whole world
and proclaim the gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.

So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.

— Mark 16:15-20

Most gracious and loving God today you command us to carry your word to all peoples that they may believe in you and also become messengers of your great hope. Help us to be gentle and humble teachers who teach about you through our service to others. Help us to be loving toward each other as we remember your divine spark lives in each person we encounter. Through these graces Lord may the world be transformed and all souls saved.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Readings for Thursday, May 13, 2021

The peace of the Lord be with you.

At the time of the early Christian community much like today there were many religions with competing views about God and leading a holy life. Like those gathered around Paul in our reading, many of these people had sincere questions and a desire to find God.

Our reading today gives both a brief but very accurate explanation of God and God’s nature. Paul also addresses how he sees people searching for and how natural it is that we have a desire to go back to our source. We not only seek this of out our desire for God, but God’s desire for us. God wants us to have relationship with him and enjoy all that he has created to make our lives free and fulfilling.

Today, I invite you to take a moment to appreciate what and how God provides for you, your family, and those you love. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Readings for Wednesday, May 12, 2021