Truth

Homily for the Feast of Christ the King
Given at St. Patrick's Church
By Rev. Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd

Friends, its important to remember that God is essentially unknowable. To remember, that He who created all things and keeps all things in existence is Himself without origin, and uncreated a being unlike any we have ever experienced, and so while we can know by faith that He exists and we can say some things about Him, because He has told us about Himself. Whenever we say something about God we are grasping as something we truly can't comprehend.

When we call Him Father, we must understand that He is a perfect father unlike all us fallible imitations on earth. When we call Him good, we must realize He is pure goodness unlike anything we have ever experienced. When we say God is Love, only the love of Christ on the Cross begins to capture what we mean by Love, and still we can't understand or imagine the depths of His Love. And so today when we call Him King, we must realize that He is a King unlike any King the world has known.

As American's we often have a hang up with the idea of Kings. Sure we like the quaint relic of monarchy, but when we talk about a King who actually rules, American sensibilities are quickly offended! Maybe this is why people have such a hard time with the idea of hierarchy in the Church, a monarchy based on God's monarchy, though certainly not as good!

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King, and on this feast day it is important to realize how much different Christ's kingship is. Most worldly rulers rule by force, although occasionally they rule by personal popularity, and its the same whether our ruler is one person, as in a monarchy, or many, as in a Republic like ours. Christ our King, in contrast rules not by the sword or popularity but by the strength of truth.

And again truth is not the truth we think of but the x-ray like truth of God which reveals the deepest darkest secrets of our heart. It was this sword of truth that cause our first parents Adam and Eve to be ashamed, they were ashamed of their nakedness, but not only of their body but of their soul before the eyes of God. And it was the sword of truth that barred them from paradise! God's truth is a weapon more powerful than any sword and more merciful—because although it cuts to the core of who we are it also heals those who trust in God!

God's truth reveals our sins, and reveals our shame, by first revealing who we are meant to be, and then revealing all of our failures. It reveals that we are God's children, who God loves so much, and in the light this Truth our sins look grotesquely horrible. God's truth harms us, because we are rightfully shamed by how ungrateful we are to God.

When we realize that all goodness and happiness comes from Him we realize how stupid we are when we go against His plan, and how wretched we are when we fail to give Him thanks. And yet, when we trust in God, through the Sacraments of Baptism and Reconcilliation His Truth also heals us, showing that God is able to Love and forgive us even when we commit the most horrible sins.

In these sacraments He forgives our sins and restores us to the dignity of the person that He created us to be.

The Mass is all about truth, because at the Mass, while still in this world, we experience a glimpse of our destiny in Heaven were we are meant to enjoy God's presence and give Him thanks and praise for His Goodness. And when we abide in truth the Truth sets us Free to be God's Children, to obey God's Law, to be Happy, and Holy. When we live as Children of the Truth we choose to be God's subject's and His Children. We choose to call our brother Jesus Christ our King. When we live in the Truth, God's kingdom exists inside of us, and begins to break into this world through us.

Every Sunday we pray as Jesus taught us Thy Kingdom Come on Earth as it is in Heaven. But its only by living in the truth, by avoiding sin, which is a lie, and by doing good, which is an act of truth, that our prayer can become a reality. Because when we live in the truth we realize who we are, what we were created for,

We realize that all people are our brothers and sisters made to help us grow in holiness, even when they themselves fail in this task, even when they sin against God and against us! When we live in truth we realize that there is no gain in murder, stealing, and lying, we realize that abusing our bodies hurts not just ourselves but the whole world. We realize that all sin is a lie, which separates us from the Truth, God, and from the children of truth, our neighbors.

Today Jesus invites us to be Children of the Truth to take to heart the Truth and Live it, who will we claim as our king?

Marriage: The Wedding Feast of Cana

In November I finally witnessed my first Marriage. Below is the Homily given at St. Patrick's Church.

Marriage has been around for a long time
since the day that Man first saw woman
and saw that she was very good, a fitting match for him.

And long before Jesus gave us the Sacrament of Marriage
the ancient Greeks declared marriage
to be the building block of civilization.

Natural marriage, calms us down, teaching them responsibility
it gives men and women an outlet
for their emotional and physical needs,
it provides the world with a future
in the form of the gift of children,
who are not just created
but also raised and educated by the family.

Natural marriage is a good thing,
and anyone who thinks logically about it
can see that it is praiseworthy, and should be cherished, protected, and encouraged.

But we are not here for just a natural marriage today,
today we are here for a sacrament.

A living reality and outward sign
of God's inward action in our life.

And like all Sacrament's the Sacrament of Marriage
was given to us by Christ for our salvation.

In fact, marriage is the first sacrament alluded to in the Gospels.
In the Gospel of John, as we heard today
Jesus' first miracle happens at a wedding feast.

Jesus is attending the wedding feast of some friends
and, as sometimes happens, the wine runs out.

But, the wine is not simply wine, it's also a symbol
of celebration and the fullness of life.

God gives us our life to be a celebration of creation,
and there is nothing He created that is not good
when used in accord with His plan.

God made us to celebrate and drink in all creation,
and this celebration is meant to culminate
in love of our neighbors, and of God Himself.

Sin ruined this plan, leaving us confused
about our place in creation
and unbalancing the delicate equilibrium of goodness
that God created.

The wine at the wedding feast
is a symbol of the fullness of married life,
an important part of God's original plan,

and so it's running out is what happens so often as a result of sin
when the spark in our relationships are extinguished
by selfishness, jealousy, lust, anger, or pride.

Into the midst, of this tragedy,
the tragedy of our separation from God
which ultimately leads to our separation from each other
walks Jesus, who at the request of His Mother,
enters into this faltering marriage feast.

Jesus orders six stone jars filled with water,
but it's important to see that these weren't just any old jars,
these were the water jars used for ceremonial washing.

The washing that was required by the old Jewish law,
and thus these jars themselves are a symbol of the law,
a symbol of the order that we humans try to establish
to make life tolerable after the rejection of God's plan.

This is emphasized by the # 6, which symbolizes imperfection.

Jesus orders the jars filled with water,
and then instructs the waiters to draw some water out of them

What they discover is that not only has Jesus
changed the water into wine but it is really good wine,
much better than the wine that came before!

It is so important to remember the symbolic element
when reading Scripture--because almost everything in the Bible
has many levels of meaning.

The meaning of the Gospel today is that marriage,
a good thing that God created from the beginning
to help men and women learn to love,
in the sacrament of marriage is transformed
into a new thing, better than the old.

And more importantly
whereas so often the old wine of marriage ran out
so long as we depend on Jesus, the wine of celebration
will never run out.

Today Ashley and Ryan are embarking
on the adventure of life together,

after much though and prayer they believe
that God made each of them especially for each other,
to help each other learn to love and thereby to grow in holiness.

This journey will be difficult, sadly married life,
in this world of sin is not one long honeymoon,
at times it will seem like the wine of celebration has run out.

But have faith, that if you place Jesus at the center of your life
and do as the BVM instructs: Do whatever He tells you!

The good wine of Jesus Christ will always fill up your marriage
and your family, and help you perservere
in the midst of all life's challenges with a spirit of celebration

Ashley and Ryan build your marriage and your family
on the foundation of Christ--and I promise you
that you will be happy and holy in this life,
and that you will help each other and your children
to attain eternal happiness in the world to come.

The End of Days

Homily for the Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
Given at St. Patrick's Church
By: Rev. Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd.


The idea of the end of days
of a calamity that will wipe clean the face of the earth
has always fascinated man

who is at the same time horrified by the possibility of death
and intrigued by the promise of radical change.

In this way the Apocalypse is an analogy for a more common reality that we prefer not to think about too often
the reality of death, that we all approach each day.

However for the true Christian, the prospect of the end of days,
or simply of the end of our days, our life on Earth,
though still clouded in mystery and uncertainty
no longer causes dread, in those who have received
and believed in the promise of Christ.

You see, from all the great calamities
recounted in the Old Testament
whether the flood, or Israel's slavery in Eygpt,
or the exile of the Jewish people from Israel,
God worked an awesome good in spite of a grave evil.

The waters of the Flood, for example,
killed many and ended almost all life on Earth,
but it also brought an end to a period of horrible
man-made misery, the result of sin,
and gave us the promise of a renewed covenant with God.

Indeed all calamity and disaster is meaningful and good for us
if only it calls us back to that central reality
that we are made for God,
that He is the source of all life and without Him we are nothing,
and that we must never place created things before God.

All suffering, all pain, all lose, and all death
can have good repercussions--because
they bring us closer to God
and the reality of life beyond this mortal world.

That's not to say pain and suffering and death
are good in themselves, but rather that like dieting and exercise
these things can be good if we desire health,
spirtual health, and eternal life, that is.

On the Cross, Jesus accepted death gratefully
from the Father showing us how to live and how to die.

As St. Paul writes so eloquently: If I live it I live for the Lord
and if I die I die for the so that I may be the Lord's in all things

Jesus teaches us to accept God's plan,
even if we don't understand it,
even when we don't like it,
even when it hurts
And more than accepting it, He teaches us to be thankful for it
because God works all things for good for those who love Him.

Jesus, perfect man, and perfect God, died doing the Father's will
revealing the promise of new life,
waiting beyond death for all who love God.
This is the promise we gained in our baptism.
In Baptism we died with Christ so that
when we die we might live with Him.

This is the promise to all the faithful

This is the faith given to us by our parents
who were given it by their parents and their parent's parents
who came before them.

This is the faith that was originally given to the World
by Christ and through His Apostles and the early Church.

This is the faith we have received,
and it is a great gift, because it fills us with hope
and takes away all our fears,
save only the fear of sin, of displeasing God and damnation.

As Christian we should fear neither death,
nor sickness, nor suffering,

We should laugh at death
and look forward hopefully to the worlds end
because we know that death brings with it
the promise of life with Christ.

The darkness of the end of the year is shattered
by the birth of light
and so as we remember the last things
we are not afraid but rather we joyfully pray:
Come Lord Jesus


"In those days after that tribulation
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.

"At that time there shall arise
Michael, the great prince,
guardian of your people;
it shall be a time unsurpassed in distress
since nations began until that time.

At that time your people shall escape,
everyone who is found written in the book.
“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake;
some shall live forever,
others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace.

God's Accounting

Homily for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Given at St. Patrick's Church
By: Rev. Fr. Ronnie P. Floyd

Many of you know that before entering seminary
I worked for the US Senate Budget committee.

You can imagine that one of the most frustrating things
about my old job was looking the US Government's Budget.

It was difficult not just because of the sheer amount of our money
that Washington was spending daily.

But most of all because of the way
they accounted for our money in the budget.

Most of us make a weekly, monthly, or yearly budget
by figuring out how much money we have
in income, savings, and investments
and then figuring out how much we need to spend
making priorities and sacrificing items that just don't fit the budget.

In Washington, in contrast, the budget is calculated
based on how much was spent last year
regardless of whether or not there was enough money
to pay for last years expenses.

Budgeting zero dollars for a particular item in Washington
doesn't mean that you are going to spend zero dollars
but simply that you aren't going to spend more than last year.

And I knew it was time for me to leave Washington,
when a high level economist friend told me
that it was impossible for the US Government
to ever have too much debt. > talk about drinking the coolaid.
In the Gospel today Jesus shows us
another method of accounting
that is in stark contrast to Washington's method.

The widow in the Gospel today
put only a few cents in the collection plate,

and yet in Jesus' estimation she gave more than the rich
who gave large sums.

For the widow without income of her own
she must depend on the generosity
of her friends and family for income.
To the widow a few cents is a major portion of her livelihood.
And yet in her poverty she gives generously.

To God the widow's few cents are greater
than all the money in the federal budget,
because they are given out of love.

The rich, in contrast, who give large sums, give out of a surplus
out of monies they really don't need,
and so there is no sacrifice involved in giving these donations.

And whats more, Jesus reveals the true intentions
behind many of the large gifts of the rich.

These acts of charity, Jesus judges, are done more to be seen,
for the sake of human respect and honor, than out of simple love.


The fact of the matter is that it is easy to give, to love,
when it doesn't hurt, when it doesn't cost us anything,
and when our gift is rewarded by joy, respect, or honor,

just as it is easy for Washington to be generous
when they are spending other peoples money
and getting honor and praise for it.

True love in contrast is tested and proved
when we get nothing for our gift of love.

When our love is unnoticed, unappreciated, and even unwanted.

Any parent knows this—sure its great to have a baby
when they are clean and cute and giggling,
the object of affection for all who see them.

But a parent's true love is tested and proved
when they spend the whole night with a puking child.
Or when their teenage child rejects their loving concern.

The same is true with all human relationships,
love is for better or for worse, as we say in marriage vows,
and its only in the midst of the worse that our love is proven true.

Jesus shows us on the cross that the purpose of this life
is to learn this sacrificial love.

To learn to love God and our neighbor
even when we don't want to, when it hurts,
when we feel unloved and abandoned.
On the Cross Jesus gains us the grace needed to love,
not just superficial but selflessly and passionately!

As we hear in the Letter to the Hebrews
we have one life to learn this lesson,
to learn to love, and to choose to love.

And we will be judged on how well we learn it.

God judges not by appearances but realities.
God Judges the heart.

And the scary thing about God's judgment
is that who we are is determined by each of our actions,
every time we fail to love, when we act selfishly
we turn away from God—and choose not be be God's children.

God's judgment is simply the revealing of the truth
about who we have chosen to become.

Thankfully through the power of the cross of Jesus Christ,
even the most hardened sinner,
can have the slate wiped clean,
and can be given a second chance.

Last night I was at the Barnstable county jail hearing confessions
and over and over again I heard the same question
asked in different ways—Do you think I can change.

I always answer the question the same way:

The grace of Baptism and the Sacrament of Pennence
gives us the ability to change.

But it doesn't take away all the bad habits
that our former lives of sin have formed.

Change is possible, for all of us who sin so often
but like love itself, it isn't easy! It takes constant vigilance!

We must always be aware of what we are doing
and why we are doing it!

We must always keep Love of God in our mind
so that our motives always remain pure.

And focus on doing all the little things in our life well
so that when it comes time to love sacrificially
when it comes time for those big and difficult things
when it comes time for our cross
we can pray as Jesus taught us: your will be done.

Each time we make a choice
we are making a gift to God,
and when those choices are both good and difficult
our pennies start to add up.

Lets ask the Lord for the grace to live and love sacrificially.
Like the humble widow in the Gospel today.

Purgatory

All Souls Day
Homily given at St. Patrick's
By: Rev. Ronnie P. Floyd

What joyous words spoken by our Lord today in the Gospel: I will not reject anyone who comes to me.

Today as we remember all those who have died who are dear to us, > this is the reason for our hope. As Jesus says: this is the will of the One who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what He gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day.

We believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

We believe that in the mystery of the incarnation God became and experienced everything that is truly human and becoming like us in all things but sin gained for us, for our humanity, a place in heaven. We are here today because of that hope!

We believe that God who is Love, will gather all those who live in Jesus into the perfection of the Kingdom of heaven even though we are not perfect even though we so often fail to love.

However, even though we gain the promise of eternal life, for sinful man it is still necessary to be purified from our sins, by the fires of the Holy Spirit after death.

We know and believe that God who is good and just requires this purification, as a punishment for the sins we commit in this life but more importantly, as a preparation for a fuller share in the life of heaven.

Our current life is a school of love, where God gives us the opportunity to learn what it truly means to love so that in heaven we can enjoy His Love. All that matters in this life is the sacrificial and Eucharistic love that Jesus demonstrates on the cross. When we suffer in this life, that love is tested and deepened, and our attachments to all that is not God are weakened. But what we do not learn and suffer in this life, God allows those who die in the Lord to learn after death.

And just like preparing for a race, this preparation is rightfully called painful, and just as the difficulty of this training is increased by the bad habits we have--our sins--must punished, and overcome, if we are to share in that perfect love of Heaven

The Catholic doctrine of Purgatory, is the doctrine of a second chance, a second opportunity to learn to love, given to those already chosen by the Lord. And while those who die in the Lord are destined for heaven.

We believe that we can help them in their preparation for life with God.

And that they can help us, by their prayers for us to God the Father.
And so on this All Souls day we are filled with hope that our loved ones who have died, died in the Lord and are even now in the hands of God.

And we offer up our memories of these beloved dead as a prayer of thanksgiving to God for their lives while at the same time we ask Him to purify our loved ones quickly so that they may be admitted into the Kingdom where we will experience the radiant embrace of God's Love and see His face, and know true happiness.

Eternal Rest Grant unto them O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon them may they rest in peace. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed by the mercy of God rest in peace.