Saint Thomas Huntsville

06/02/2026

June 02, 2026
From the Desk of Fr. Fred

The first reading at Mass [2 Peter 3:12-15, 17-18] was probably the last book written in the New Testament. Christians were surprised that Christ had not yet returned in glory as he had promised. With that question in the minds of many of Jesus’ disciples, the author wrote:

Wait for and hasten the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved in flames and the elements melted by fire.



In our current world, I think that we have the opposite problem from that of the Christians of the first and early second century. We have waited so long for Jesus’ return, at times we have forgotten that he will return in glory and judgement. We live our lives with the truth of Jesus’ return in the back of our minds, but we do not live as if he could return today. At the very next instant. Do we live the words at Mass heard after the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer:

As we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.



Regardless of when Jesus will return, our preparation for the day is always important. The gospel at Mass [Mark 12:13-17] reminds us of one way that we can prepare for Jesus’ return. In the gospel, the religious leaders want to trap Jesus, so they have a reason to condemn and execute him. The question is about the temple tax:

Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?”

If Jesus responds that they should pay the temple tax, he can be condemned for aligning himself with the Roman occupiers. If he says not to pay the tax, then he will be in trouble with the Roman authorities. Jesus cleverly avoids the trap with his answer:

Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.



Jesus’ answer reminds us to render to God what belongs to God. In whose image and likeness are we?? We are created in God’s image and likeness. We are redeemed and made children of God. So what do we render to God? The author of the first reading at Mass offers us some clues as to what we should render to God:

Therefore, beloved, since you await these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, at peace.
And consider the patience of our Lord as salvation



The first thing that we offer to God is our holiness of life:

be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him.

Scripture teaches us that we must be holy as God is holy. In the gospel, the religious leaders may be flattering Jesus with their initial words to him. But they certainly describe what a life of holiness is all about:

Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

We might interpret these words about holiness as:

· Truthfulness: say yes when you mean yes and no when you mean no

· Anyone’s opinion: worry more about God’s opinion of us rather than the opinion of others

· Regard a person’s status: see and respect the dignity and worth of each person



Sometimes Jesus’ answer to the religious authorities’ question is interpreted as the separation between church and state. That interpretation is wrong. The separation of church and state is a good thing. This separation allows the Church to follow what Jesus’ teaches and not what popular public opinion wants. We have witnessed the problems when this separation is not respected. For instance, recall how the state of California kept taking the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic religious order of women who care for the least among us, to court because they would not provide abortion coverage in their medical plan for their lay employees.



Unfortunately, the separation of church and state can become a separation of our faith from our daily lives. This separation forgets that we are ambassadors of Christ. Our mission is to build the kingdom of truth and life; holiness and grace; justice, love, and peace.



Secondly, the author of the first reading at Mass encourages us as we wait for Jesus return to:

grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.

If Jesus is the way to the Father [John 14:6], then this knowledge and grace is essential for us to attain our God-desired destiny. In addition, Jesus describes eternal life NOW as knowing the Father and the One that the Father has sent to us:

Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ. [John 17:3]

Knowledge of the Father and Jesus help us to experience the beginnings of heaven now. This foretaste of heaven helps us to run this earthly race with greater fervor.



Thirdly, as we await Jesus’ return, we should do so patiently and with perseverance:

According to his promise we await new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

In the gospel, the religious leaders show Jesus the coin called a denarius. This coin was the daily wage for a laborer. Each day we patiently persevere in the mission that Jesus has given us. Jesus describes the daily life of his disciples in Luke’s gospel:

If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. [Luke 9:23]

06/02/2026

Confessions will NOT be held today.

05/31/2026

From the Desk of Fr. Fred
May 31, 2026

We celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. The Catholic Catechism states that this solemnity is the central mystery of our faith. Faith deals with our relationship with God and the Trinity is a definition of who God is. God is three, distinct divine Persons but only one God. Not three.



In my homily this Sunday, my focus is the biblical truth that we are created in God’s image and likeness. While we cannot fully understand the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, we are called to live the mystery of God’s love, his community of 3 Persons, and the total giving of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in their divine union.



To challenge your understanding of God as Trinity, let me share with you some authors’ writings about the Trinity.



Saint Athanasius:

It will not be out of place to consider the ancient tradition, teaching and faith of the Catholic Church, which was revealed by the Lord, proclaimed by the apostles and guarded by the fathers. For upon this faith the Church is built, and if anyone were to lapse from it, he would no longer be a Christian either in fact or in name.

We acknowledge the Trinity, holy and perfect, to consist of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. In this Trinity there is no intrusion of any alien element or of anything from outside, nor is the Trinity a blend of creative and created being. It is a wholly creative and energising reality, self-consistent and undivided in its active power, for the Father makes all things through the Word and in the Holy Spirit, and in this way the unity of the holy Trinity is preserved. Accordingly, in the Church, one God is preached, one God who is above all things and through all things and in all things. God is above all things as Father, for he is principle and source; he is through all things through the Word; and he is in all things in the Holy Spirit.

Writing to the Corinthians about spiritual matters, Paul traces all reality back to one God, the Father, saying: Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service but the same Lord; and there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in everyone.

Even the gifts that the Spirit dispenses to individuals are given by the Father through the Word. For all that belongs to the Father belongs also to the Son, and so the graces given by the Son in the Spirit are true gifts of the Father. Similarly, when the Spirit dwells in us, the Word who bestows the Spirit is in us too, and the Father is present in the Word. This is the meaning of the text: My Father and I will come to him and make our home with him. For where the light is, there also is the radiance; and where the radiance is, there too are its power and its resplendent grace.

This is also Paul’s teaching in his second letter to the Corinthians: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. For grace and the gift of the Trinity are given by the Father through the Son in the Holy Spirit. Just as grace is given from the Father through the Son, so there could be no communication of the gift to us except in the Holy Spirit. But when we share in the Spirit, we possess the love of the Father, the grace of the Son and the fellowship of the Spirit himself.



Saint Ephrem – Hymn to the Holy Trinity:

“One only God, one only Lord, in the Trinity of their persons and unity of their nature” (Preface)

Refrain: Blessed be the One who sends you!

Take as your symbols: the sun for the Father,
light for the Son,
heat for the Holy Spirit.

Though he is only one in being
we see him in trinity.
Who, indeed, can grasp the inexplicable?

He who is unique is also multiple: one is formed of three
and three of one –
What great mystery! What manifest wonder!

The sun is distinct from its shining
even while adhering to it,
for its ray is also sun.

Yet no one speaks of two suns
even though, here below,
the sun's ray is also sun.

No more do we say there would be two Gods.
Our Lord himself, is he not God?
He is also raised above all creatures.

Who can show how or where
the sun's ray and its heat are joined,
free as they are?

Neither separated nor confused,
united and yet distinct,
free but bound: O wonder!

Who, by studying them, can master them?
Yet do they not seem
so simple, so uncomplicated?...

Whereas the sun remains whole above,
its brilliance and heat are a clear symbol
for those of us below.

Indeed, its shining has come down to earth
and remains in our sight
as though clothing our flesh.

When our eyes close like those of the dead
at the time of sleeping, it leaves them
who will later awake.

But how light penetrates the eye
no one knows.
Even so was it with our Lord in the womb...

Even so, our Saviour
put on a human body in all its weakness
that he might come to sanctify the world.

Yet, when the sun's ray returns to its source,
it has still not been separated
from the one who gave it birth.

It leaves its heat to those below
as our Lord left the Holy Spirit
to the disciples.

Consider these images within the created world;
as for the Three, allow yourself no doubt
lest you be lost!

I have clarified for you what was obscure:
how Three form but One,
A Trinity composing one single essence!

05/29/2026

May 29, 2026

The readings remind us about the goal of our worship. In the gospel at Mass [Mark 11:11-26], Jesus curses a fig tree that has not produced any fruit. We might object, because it is not the season for figs. Better to see the fig tree as a symbol. The Jewish worship that is occurring in the temple has not yet produced the fruit that God has intended.


In overturning the money changers tables when Jesus enters the temple, Jesus is objecting to the focus on buying and selling and forgetting that the heart of worship is God, the Father. When this focus of worship is lost, then people do not bear the fruit of God’s grace.



There is a contemporary Christian song about coming back to the heart of worship and it is all about God:

I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You, Jesus. [Matt Redman]

While this statement is true, we can certainly lose this focus when we come to Mass. Unfortunately, as humans we can be distracted during worship. Instead of beating ourselves up over our humanness, it is better to just refocus when we get distracted at Mass and remember why we are here. It is all about worshipping the Father through Jesus. It is thanksgiving for all that the Father has done for us.



Oblation. During the Eucharistic prayer, we make Jesus’ sacrifice present, the sacrifice which unites us with the Father:

Therefore, O Lord, as we celebrate the memorial of the saving Passion of your Son, his wondrous Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven, and as we look forward to his second coming, we offer you in thanksgiving this holy and living sacrifice.

I like to pause at the word living to remember that we are not doing some dead ritual of long ago. Rather, Jesus’ eternal sacrifice of reconciliation is being made present during the Mass.



An important part of the “heart of worship” happens next. We make of ourselves a total oblation of love, as Jesus does, to the Father:

Look we pray, upon the OBLATION of your Church and, recognizing the sacrificial Victim by whose death you willed to reconcile us to yourself…

Our full, active, and conscious participation at Mass is critical at this point of the Eucharistic prayer. It is hard to give of ourselves to the Father as Jesus did on the cross when we are planning what we need to buy at the store after Mass or what we are going to do with the rest of our day when Mass is finished.



The purpose of our OBLATION is to change us. We have united ourselves to Christ in our mutual oblation of love to the Father. Connected to Christ and in union with Him, we are to bear fruit. Recall that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. Our union with Jesus through our oblation is a fruitful one. Recall Jesus’ words in John’s gospel:

I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. [John 15:5-6]



Our reception of the “fruit” of the Mass – the Body and Blood of Christ – is intended to change us. The Vatican II document about the church states that we become signs and instruments of communion with God and with one another. At the beginning of the document, Lumen Gentium (which means that the Church is the light of the world) the authors wrote:

Since the Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race, it desires now to unfold more fully to the faithful of the Church and to the whole world its own inner nature and universal mission. [Lumen gentium, 1]



The first reading at Mass [1 Peter 4:7-13] reminds us that we must be stewards of the gifts that God has given to us if we are going to be signs and instruments of communion with God and union with one another. The author mentions several gifts of the Holy Spirit. Those with these gifts are to use them for the Kingdom of God:

As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace. Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God; whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.



Mercy and forgiveness are two gifts that God gives to us at Mass. For instance:

· Forgiveness: the sacrifice of the Mass is for the forgiveness of our sins

· Mercy: the Penitential Rite at Mass, we ask for God’s mercy and celebrate the fact that God is merciful.

Are we good stewards of God’s mercy and forgiveness? The gospel reading supposedly includes Mark 11:26. But the verse is omitted. This verse [Mark 11:26] is not included in some of the older manuscripts of Mark’s gospel. But the verse continues Jesus’ teaching about forgiveness. The omitted verse states:

If you do not forgive neither will the Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.



If the Eucharist is truly changing us into Christ’s ambassadors as it should be doing, then we should be growing in our ability to act like Jesus on the cross. As he was looking at his persecutors and blasphemers, he said:

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and the criminals there, one on his right, the other on his left. [Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."] [Luke 23:33-34



Are we good stewards of the gifts of mercy and forgiveness that we receive every time that we celebrate the Eucharist? When we celebrate the sacrament of reconciliation?

05/28/2026

From the Desk of Fr. Fred
May 28, 2026

In today’s gospel at Mass [Mark 10:46-52], Jesus concludes his journey to Jerusalem where he will offer his life for us. The journey began with Jesus having trouble curing a man born blind:

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. Putting spittle on his eyes he laid his hands on him and asked, "Do you see anything?" Looking up he replied, "I see people looking like trees and walking." Then he laid hands on his eyes a second time and he saw clearly; his sight was restored and he could see everything distinctly. [Mark 8:23-25]



Like the beginning of this journey, Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem ends by him curing another man, Bartimaeus, born blind. But this time, Jesus has no problem curing him:

Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.



Unfortunately, physical blindness exists. But the more serious form of blindness is spiritual blindness. As Jesus concludes his journey to Jerusalem, the apostles and disciples following him have physical sight but have they gained spiritual insight into Jesus’ identity? Bartimaeus, while having no physical sight initially, definitely has spiritual insight into Jesus’ true identity:

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”

Bartimaeus sees Jesus as the long-awaited king of Israel, or Son of DAvid. We would say the Messiah, or the Christ. In addition, by calling out have pity on me, Bartimaeus is say kyrie eleison – Lord, have mercy; Christ, have mercy.



Recognizing his sinful condition and the fact that he needs a savior, he calls out to Jesus for salvation. As Jesus states in the gospel:

Go your way; your faith has saved you.

Bartimaeus does not go AWAY. Instead, his saving faith makes him a disciple who follows Jesus:

Immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way.



Pope Benedict wrote that being a Christian is having an encounter with the Son of David as did Bartimaeus. Then, this encounter with Jesus radically transforms the direction of our lives. Like Bartimaeus, we follow Christ as his disciples. As Pope Benedict wrote in his encyclical about God’s love:

Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. Saint John's Gospel describes that event in these words: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should ... have eternal life” (3:16). In acknowledging the centrality of love, Christian faith has retained the core of Israel's faith, while at the same time giving it new depth and breadth. [God Is Love, 1]



Being a Christian means that we had an intimate counter with Jesus and now have a personal relationship with him. It is sad when Catholics don’t understand that every time they receive Holy Communion that they have this personal encounter with Jesus. Furthermore, with this encounter, they grow in their relationship with Him. Scripture reveals this truth to us. In John’s gospel:

Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. [John 6:56-57]



Th first reading at Mass today [1 Peter 2:2-5, 9-12] reminds us that despite our age we are still children who need the nourishment – or MILK as Paul will say at times – of God’s word:

Like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.



The milk that we need and we receive is God’s Word. Not only the Person of Jesus, who is the Word of God, but also his teachings. As Saint Peter stated when questioned by Jesus if the apostles wanted to leave as others were because Jesus’ words were too much for them, we must have the same attitude:

As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." [John 6:66-69]



Bartimaeus refers to Jesus as Master, which means Rabbi or Teacher. Jesus teaches us the way to follow him.

05/27/2026

From the Desk of Fr. Fred
May 27, 2026

How much does it cost to be baptized at St. Thomas? The answer depends on to whom the question is addressed. Both readings at Mass describe the cost to Jesus. After all, baptism requires to participated in Jesus’ death and resurrection. For instance, in the reading from 1 Peter at Mass [1:18-25], the author describes the cost to ransom us from our futile, sinful way of life:

you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious Blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished Lamb.



In the gospel at Mass [Mark 10:32-45], Jesus and the disciples are about to enter Jerusalem. For the third time, Jesus instructs the disciples the cost to him for this final entry into Jerusalem. In addition, Jesus describes the cost to him for our baptism:

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise.



Humility is a spiritual cost to Jesus for his passion and death. The Son of God will allow himself to be abused and put to death. When they taunt him on the cross to prove that he is the Son of God by coming down from the cross, Jesus will remain suspended above the earth. His obedience to the Father keeps him there. Saint Paul uses the great Christian hymn in his letter to the Philippians to describe Jesus’ humility:

Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name [Philippians 2:6-9]



For us, there is a cost for our baptism. Humility on our part might be the first cost. We have to recognize that there is something wrong in our lives when we are not united with Christ. We have to recognize the essential need for a savior. The reading from 1 Peter refers to our futile conduct:

you were ransomed from your futile conduct

Saint Paul wrote about his experience of this futile conduct in his letter to the Romans. Before he was baptized into Jesus’ death and resurrection, he would do the things that he wanted to avoid and he would avoid the things that he wanted to do and should do:

What I do, I do not understand. For I do not do what I want, but I do what I hate. [Romans 7:15]

At the end of the chapter, Paul praises God for the solution to his problem:

Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. [v. 24-25]



Servant leadership is another cost that we must be willing to accept if we want to be baptized. Mark 10:45 is a verse that we must memorize:

For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many

Becoming brothers and sisters of Christ in baptism requires us to adopt Jesus’ lifestyle of service. We are reminded of this fact at every Mass. Recall Jesus’ actions at the last supper in John’s gospel. Every Holy Thursday, we read about Jesus’ humble service as he washes the disciples’ feet (and ours!). Then instructs the baptized members of his body:

Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. [John 13:12-15]



In today’s gospel at Mass, James and John, as well as the other apostles, will have a steep learning curve in the area of servant leadership. James and John want the power and prestige of leadership:

James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" They answered him, "Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.

But they want this power and prestige for their own egos and not for the kingdom of God. The other apostles have the same attitude as the gospel account states:

When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John.



As servant leaders, those who are baptized have to use their power and authority as Jesus did. One author described Jesus’ power and authority as:

Jesus’ power and authority are rooted in the kingdom of heaven: the authority of mercy unbounded; the authority of love, even love unto death; the authority of service and humility; the authority that heals and gives hope; the authority of self-sacrifice and sharing even with extreme generosity; the authority of nonviolence; the authority of truth-telling, peace-making, and seeking justice by being a voice on behalf of others in need; the authority of witness and martyrdom by laying down one’s life on a daily basis in the proclamation of truth but also by giving one’s own life as the last word and testimony. These are some of the powers and authorities of the Spirit, all of which provide the source of Jesus’ prayer, words, deeds, and very presence.



Jesus tells James and John when they drink from his cup, they will exercise their servant leadership in the way that is required of those who are baptized:

Can you drink the chalice that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" They said to him, "We can." Jesus said to them, "The chalice that I drink, you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;



Do we understand and appreciate the cost of baptism?

05/26/2026

https://www.heritageoakfh.com/obituary/nancy-winkler

Nancy Ann Winkler, born in Giddings, Texas on September 6, 1949, entered eternal rest on May 24, 2026. Nancy was a devoted wife, loving mom, proud Mimi, and cherished friend to many. For 56 years, she faithfully stood beside the love of her life her husband Harvey, building a life

05/26/2026

Share Memories and Support the Family.

05/26/2026

From the Desk of Fr. Fred
May 26, 2026

When I was first ordained as a priest and people discovered that I had been a chemist with a very good career, they would make some comment as to how much I had to give up in order to become a priest. True, I had to give up some things, but so do, for instance, anyone who feels called to the sacrament of matrimony. I remember one long-term employee at Texaco telling me that he could always distinguish between those who were the new employees versus those who were the employees who had worked a number of years. The difference was the cars that they drove. Often new employees just out of college would buy a new car while the married, older employees drove older cars. Marriage had required them to make sacrifices for their families, so new cars were not an option. More importantly, new cars were, hopefully, not that important to them.



My response to those commenting about my giving up things to become a priest was how much more I would be giving up if I did not become a priest. Jesus wants to offer us abundantly life, but we must be willing to follow him. And that is the context of today’s gospel at Mass [Mark 10:28-31]. Just prior to today’s gospel, a young man had asked Jesus about eternal life. Jesus ultimately told him to sell all that he had and follow him. But the young could not:

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. [Mark 10:21-22]



In today’s gospel, Peter is worried. The apostles have given up everything to follow Jesus, so what will be in it for them. Jesus promises many things but also some challenges:

Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.



As we return to Ordinary Time after concluding our Easter Season, the gospel reminds us of the priorities in our lives. Is Jesus and God priority NUMBER 1? God has made us for himself and our hearts will be restless until they rest in him, as Saint Augustine said. If God is priority number 1, then holiness is our essential first priority. As stated in the first reading at Mass today [1 Peter 1:10-16]:

Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.



Holiness will be the work of grace inside of us. Prayer is essential to our growth in holiness. We celebrate Saint Peter Neri, a 16th century saint who led a life of asceticism in contrast to the decadence and lack of holiness in the people of his time. He wrote about the importance of prayer if we seek to be holy:

There is nothing the devil fears so much, or so much tries to hinder, as prayer.



Holiness. Holiness means that we live in, through, and with Christ. We seek the Holy Spirit’s presence to help us grow in holiness. I have always liked the following story illustrating what holiness requires:

A master told his disciples that the spiritual and moral life was like a sieve. Although most of the disciples could not understand this teaching and dismissed it, one disciple sought deeper insight. The master invited the woman for a walk. When they got to the edge of the ocean, he gave her a cup and a sieve and asked her to fill the sieve with the cup. The woman tried, but the water immediately ran out. The master told her when a person stands on the sand of one’s own knowledge and consciousness and experience, one cannot grow or fill anything up. The woman pleaded with the master to explain how she could fill up the sieve. The master began to laugh and threw the sieve far out into the sea. The sieve immediately filled up with water and sank. The master said, “You must be immersed. You, your ego, must disappear into the divine. I command you to belong only to God, to be holy as God is holy.



Living in holiness is the daily challenge for us. Like Saint Philip Neri, we also live in a decadent culture. He resisted and rejected that lifestyle and instead lead a life of austerity. For instance, he was studying for the priesthood:

when he suddenly quit in order to spiritually serve the people of Rome. At that time, indifference, luxury, and corruption were widespread characteristics of the Roman clergy. Churches were neglected, flocks were abandoned, and the loss of faith was widespread. St. Philip Neri, with his commitment to a life of asceticism, was a contradiction to all of this malaise. With his characteristic good-naturedness, he lead many to a life of virtue and love for God as he traveled through the streets of Rome. He began an oratory for laymen to gather together and practice greater spiritual discipline, which grew and became famous.



To follow Christ, we will have to make sacrifices as Jesus told the apostles in today’s gospel. But all people will have to make some sacrifices during their earthly journey. Love requires sacrifice and everyone seems to want to love and be loved. But there will be a great difference between the sacrifices that Jesus’ followers make versus those who don’t seek to be holy as God is holy. Our sacrifices will be made with God. Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us.



There is an interesting story about St. Philip Neri that I share with you. The story reminds us of the importance of the Holy Spirit as we seek to server the Lord:

Philip Neri had the custom of rising late at night or in the first hours of morning, making his way through the sleeping city of Rome, outside the city walls, to the Basilica of Saint Sebastian. There he would descend beneath the church, to the ancient catacombs, where the first Christians of Rome met for Mass, where so many martyrs slept. In that sacred place he would spend time in prayer.

On one such occasion, the Apostle of Rome went to those catacombs on the vigil of Pentecost. As he prayed, the Holy Spirit appeared to him as a globe of fire that entered his mouth and settled in his heart. He felt his heart expand. From that moment on, as people would later testify, there came from his heart a mysterious but perceptible warmth, indeed a heat. After his death an autopsy revealed that two ribs had broken to form an arch, to accommodate the enlarged heart.



If we are seeking to grow in holiness and obedience to God, then our hearts must be opened so the Spirit can fully occupy our hearts. At the same time, our hearts should become more open to the needs of others. Loving others as God loves demands that. Mother Teresa would pray that God would open her heart so much that the whole world fall in. In other words, we would not live our spiritual lives with the attitude of what is in it for me as Peter seems to be doing in the gospel:

Peter began to say to Jesus, "We have given up everything and followed you."



Instead of Peter’s seemingly self-centered question of Jesus, listen to what Saint Paul wrote:

I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. [Romans 12:1-2]