The Emmaus Pastorate’s Podcast

Homily from 6-15-24

Don't think you have enough?  Got a mustard seed's worth?!

Homily on 6-9-24

"Who told you that you were naked?"  That was God's question to Adam when Adam and Eve were found naked in the garden.  They realized they were naked after they had sinned, after separating themselves from God.  The same happens to us when we commit wrongs against each other.  Divisions and unrest enter our world.  But Christ says to us that anyone who does the will of the Father is his brother, sister, and mother.  If we want to fix the problems in today's world - and there are more than a few - all we need to do is recommit ourselves to the will of God.  And with Christ's help, we can get there!

Corpus Christi Homily 2024

On this most ancient feast, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (formerly called in Latin Corpus Christi), we are faced a few self-reflection questions.  The Eucharist - not just receiving Communion but the Eucharist itself - should be the very center of our lives, emphasis on should.  But is it?  Do we see what we are?  Do we become what we receive?  Do we make excuses for not coming to Mass and participating?  Do we allow the Eucharist to change us, or do we try to change the Eucharist to suit our own desires?  When we receive God in the Eucharist, we do become more like God?  

In this year of Eucharistic Revival, these are some additional reflections:

• Regularity: do we regularly come to Mass at a regular place or just fit it in sometime?
• One hour fast: do we keep it?
• Church clothes: does now I dress for Mass reflect the respect I have for God and the Eucharist?
• Scriptural preparation: do I read through the Sunday Gospel before Mass?
• Arriving early: do I allow myself time to prepare my heart and mind for worship or just make it in time for the opening song?
• Spiritual preparation: before Mass begins, do I call to mind things for which I'm grateful and things for which I need prayers?
• Full, conscious, and active participation: do I fully, consciously, and actively participate in Mass, am I praying my own private prayers, or am I a couch potato?

As we continue this year of Eucharistic Revival, consider making these actions habits:

• Genuflecting toward the tabernacle and making the Sign of the Cross when entering and leaving a church
• Bowing at Communion just before receiving Eucharist
• Making time to visit the Blessed Sacrament for private prayer, even if it's not exposed and displayed in the monstrance
• Celebrating weekday Mass
• Making the Sign of the Cross when passing by a Catholic church to acknowledge the presence of the Blessed Sacrament
• Making a holy hour
• Keeping respectful conversations and behaviors in daily life

Trinity Sunday Homily 2024

As we mark Trinity Sunday 2024, we also celebrate the 40th anniversary of Fr. John's ordination to the Priesthood of Christ.  We are reminded that without community, there is no church.  Without community, there is almost no purpose of the priesthood.  And it's within a unified community that we find a rich diversity of people!  Despite the perfect unity of the Holy Trinity, we still find three separate persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  So it goes with God's people and the five parishes of the Emmaus Pastorate: though we are called to be one Body of Christ, unity does not equal uniformity.

The staff and parishioners of The Emmaus Pastorate congratulate Fr. John on his 40 years of faithful ministry and praise God for the gift of his vocation!  Ad multos annos!

Pentecost Homily 2024

Got space?  Like the milk cartoons and billboard advertisements of yesteryear, we need to ask ourselves very seriously (more seriously than milk) whether we have space for the Holy Spirit in our lives.  If we don't, oh boy we're in trouble!  But if we do intentionally, consciously make space in our hearts from the Spirit to move in and speak to us, we can accomplish anything because she gives us the gifts against which there is no law or rule!

Confirmation Homily 2024 (Bonus #2)

This past weekend, the Emmaus Pastorate celebrated the Conferral of the Sacrament of Confirmation with Archbishop Thomas Zinkula.  Archbishop reminded us that as creations of God, we are inherently good!  But of course, we don't always act good!  To live lives full of grace and goodness then, we have been given 7 Sacraments, 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit to help us.  Using these, we can be actionable, visible disciples of Christ.  Congratulations to the sophomores of the Emmaus Pastorate on this milestone in their faith journeys!

Homily on 5-12-24 (Bonus #1)

Believe, and do.  As Jesus physically left earth, he instructed his disciples to do two things: believe all that he taught them, and do wondrous things in his name.  It's a lofty goal, but not an unreachable one.  This spring as we send congratulations and bid farewell to our graduating seniors, we challenge them likewise.  Believe in all they have learned concerning Christ Jesus, and go bear witness to him.  Hopefully as we all work toward that goal, we can see Jesus still among us!

Homily 5-11-24

Homily from 5-5-24

In our culture, especially in 2024, the world is all about our own right to choose.  From our breakfast, to our church, our school, our health care and life, to what we'll eat, choice abound for us.  But in truth, God made a choice too: US!  God has chosen us as a people set apart from the rest of the world for the betterment of the rest of the world.  Now that could easily lead to some pretty self-righteous followers, but not so fast!  In turn, we also have to make a choice.  And if we choose to love God in return, our lives must become a sacrifice, a living sacrifice made every day for other people.  Can you do that?

Homily on 4-28-24

Have you ever looked at a living grape vine?  It's a huge mess!  It's a tangled web of vines, branches, and fruit all wrapped around a pole, wire, log, or whatever it can find!  But that's us, isn't it?  Our lives are also a tangled mess, and that's OK.  Our relationships get a little distorted sometimes, and our connections to each other are rarely ever cut and dry.  But nonetheless, the branches stay attached to the vine, because without it they would die.  Such is also true of our own lives.  Christ illustrates us as branches in today's Gospel, branches that bear much fruit, but only when they stay attached to him, the vine.  How's your connection to the Vine this week?