Homily – Palm Sunday – St. Oscar Romero

Luke 19:28-40

Isaiah 50:4-7

Philippians 2:6-11

Luke 22:14—23:56

____________________________________________________________

          Today we are witnesses to the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ,

The Greatest Story Ever Told. 

         Jesus knew what the future held.

          To get to the Resurrection he must endure betrayal, denial, torture, and crucifixion.

          Jesus knew there’s only one path to the Resurrection and it involves sacrifice, and suffering and death. It’s the same for us all.  None of us is getting out of here alive.

          Jesus knew his suffering would come from speaking truth to power, pointing out hypocrisy, and asking people to turn away from evil.

          In the 20^th century, the world experienced a man go through the same suffering, speak the same truth to corrupt power, point out the same hypocrisy, and ask people to turn away from evil.

           His name: Archbishop Oscar Romero.  Educated in Rome, Romero was seen by other priests in his home country as someone who would serve only the rich and powerful in El Salvador. He was seen as too conservative. There was much anger among the priests of El Salvador when he was named Archbishop.

          But just a few weeks after ascending to the position, one of his priests was gunned down by a government death squad. 

          Jesuit Fr. Rutilio Grande served one of the poorest parish communities, in the tiny towns of Aguilares and Paisnal, El Salvador. His preaching lifted up the people from their suffering and despair. By sharing a message of salvation to peasants, Grande angered the status quo and it marked him for execution.

         When Fr. Grande was shot dead on a deserted road between his two parishes, Archbishop Oscar Romero immediately drove to the site, and his life would be changed forever.

         He knew what was happening in El Salvador was wrong (the deaths, the massacres, the disappearances). He knew the rich would never stand for peasants rising up to take power away from the wealthy and privileged. He knew he must do something.

         He had to choose sides. He chose the poor and marginalized. He chose the oppressed, the families of the disappeared. He chose to follow Jesus to Jerusalem and to death.

         On Sunday, March 23^rd, 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero preached his own death sentence.

          In a homily broadcast nationwide, Romero implored the military with the following words, “Thou shalt not kill! No soldier is obliged to obey an order against the law of God … in the name of this suffering people, whose laments rise to heaven each day more tumultuous, I beg you, I beseech you, I order you in the name of God, stop the repression.”

          The next day while doing Mass at a Hospital chapel near his humble San Salvador home, a gunman took Oscar Romero’s life as he was preparing the altar after preaching his final homily.

         That was March 24^th, 1980. 

         Romero predicted his own death, saying, “If they kill me, I will arise in the Salvadoran people.”

          This year on March 24^th, we had the honor to be in El Salvador co-leading Maryknoll missionaries to celebrate the first official Feast Day of St. Oscar Romero, Bishop and Martyr.

          Last October, Oscar Romero was officially recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church. 

          Our group was blessed to march with thousands of Catholic El Salvadoran faithful through the streets of San Salvador to an open-air, evening Mass to mark the occasion. 

          St. Oscar Romero was criticized by many during his lifetime -- the rich and the powerful, some in the Church in Latin America, in Rome, and, yes, here in the United States.

            Now, he’s basking in the glow of heaven.

            Today our eyes are open to the consequences of speaking out in righteousness. Our eyes are open to the realities of scorn and persecution. Our eyes are open to the truth about the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.

           And through His Passion, the light of Christ now shines through the life, death and now sainthood of St. Oscar Romero.   

          This is the Good News we can all share with the world.

Homily – 1st Sunday of Lent – Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Deuteronomy 26:4-10

Romans 10:8-13

Luke 4:1-13

____________________________________________________________

Today Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit. And He’s being tempted by the devil in the desert, seduced by three temptations: pleasure, power and prestige.

Jesus is tested -- all the way to the Cross. And, as we know, He passes the tests.

The antidotes to the temptations of pleasure, power and prestige are the three pillars of our Lenten journey: fasting, prayer and almsgiving. These are the firstfruits of our relationship with God.     

Fasting helps us to conquer the sin of pleasure. Prayer to God helps us to conquer the sin of desiring power or control. Almsigiving (without anyone noticing) helps us to conquer the sin of prestige. Lent is a time to call us back to these disciplines and enter our own desert.

Jesus is fasting and praying as he walks in the desert, facing the devil’s temptations, and all the while discerning a new ministry: a total focus on serving (giving alms) to the poor, the outcast, the despised, the disposed. 

In Luke’s Gospel we see a bunch of scenes of Satan trying to regain control of the world by taking away the word of God from people’s hearts.

Luke’s Gospel ties nicely to today’s first reading from Deuteronomy. Each of His temptations was faced by the Hebrew people during their 40-year Exodus in the desert.  They were tempted to believe that God had abandoned them or that they were being punished by God. 

Do we feel that way sometimes as we wander through our own personal deserts?  A closeness to Jesus helps us to conquer this feeling of despair. 

How is the devil tempting us today?  

Truth is some people are uncomfortable talking about the devil.  The concept smacks of ancient superstition for many.  But whether or not you believe in the devil, we can all agree evil is real. 

So, what evil is tempting us today?

Perhaps we need some perspective to see the temptations before us more clearly. 

You’ve heard that if you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, the frog would jump out immediately and live.

But put a frog into cold water, slowly turn up the heat to boiling and the frog will die.

Isn’t it a little like living in today’s culture?

St. Pope John Paul the Second declared our culture was in a battle between the culture of life and the culture of death.  The challenge for all of us is to choose wisely between good and evil. 

I’m reminded of something I heard on the radio many times over the years.

In my days in broadcast journalism, I was a huge fan of Paul Harvey, both his daily News and Comment, and The Rest of the Story.

One of the greatest honors was meeting and spending time with Paul Harvey on his visit to the KOMO newsroom 30 years ago this year. What a great guy!

He was in town for a special “Salute to America” event at the Fifth Avenue Theater benefitting KOMO.

There’s a picture of our meeting where I look like I’m about 12. It may surprise you, but I had a baby face and bright red hair in my late 20s. Paul Harvey told me he was also a ginger in his youth, too. 

There’s one Paul Harvey broadcast that always stuck with me.

His “If I Were The Devil” broadcast first aired in the mid-1960s, and was updated in the mid-90s.

Here’s what Paul Harvey wrote and broadcast then:

          “If I were the devil … If I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness.

          And I’d have a third of its real estate, and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree — Thee (You and me).

          So I’d set about however necessary to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first — I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: ‘Do as you please.’

          To the young, I would whisper that ‘The Bible is a myth.’ I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what’s bad is good, and what’s good is ‘square.’ And the old, I would teach to pray, after me, ‘Our Father, which art in Washington…’

          And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting, so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d threaten TV with dirtier movies and vice versa. I’d pedal narcotics to whomever I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.

          If I were the devil I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves; until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.

          If I were the devil I would encourage schools to refine young intellects, but neglect to discipline emotions — just let those run wild, until before you knew it, you’d have to have drug sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door.

          Within a decade I’d have prisons overflowing, I’d have judges promoting pornography — soon I could evict God from the courthouse, then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress.

          And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion, and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls, and church money.

          If I were the devil I’d make the symbols of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.

          If I were the devil I’d take from those who have, and give to those who wanted until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And what do you bet? I could get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich?

          I would caution against extremes and hard work, in Patriotism, in moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on the TV is the way to be.

          In other words, if I were the devil I’d just keep right on doing what he’s doing.

          Paul Harvey, good day.”

Feeling a little like that frog in the boiling water?
          Powerful, prophetic words from one of the greatest broadcasters of the 20^th Century. They first aired over 50 years ago in 1964.  
          Isn’t it amazing how much of what he said has come true. If Paul Harvey were still alive today, what would he add to the list of his “If I Were The Devil” commentary. Excellent food for reflection this Lent.

As we walk through the desert on our own 40 day Lenten journey, what temptations are we facing? What temptations already consume us? What temptations do we say “yes” to instead of “no?”

Temptation always offers an alternative to the perfect love that only comes from God.

It supplants God with worship of idols of our own making. It lulls us into thinking what’s bad is good and what’s good is bad. It warps our souls and brings about death and destruction.

Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg calls, “Lent … a very important time when we are invited to spend these forty days in prayer with Jesus so that we can recognize and reject the presence of evil (in our lives).”

My prayer for us all is that we will open our eyes to these evils that surround us in our culture, and do as Jesus did: respond with a firm “no.”

We can show our adoration of Jesus through fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. These Lenten practices are the path to salvation, and antidotes to the temptations of pleasure, power and prestige.

Christ shows us today how to effectively rebuke the devil and turn away from his evil ways.

Jesus shows us the way. It’s up to us to follow His example.

Homily – 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Call of the Deacon

Isaiah 6:1-2a, 3-8

1^st Corinthians 15:1-11

Luke 5:1-11

____________________________________________________________

Today we are witnesses to a series of powerful call stories.

           In the first reading, we hear Isaiah’s call story, when the Lord asks, “Whom shall I send?”  The self-avowed sinful Isaiah responds, “Here I am… send me.”

In our second reading, we hear St. Paul briefly share his call by Jesus to serve (not persecute) God’s people.

In today’s Gospel reading, we witness fisherman Simon Peter’s amazing call story. We hear Simon Peter say to Jesus after the miracle with the fish, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  Jesus says to Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you’ll be catching men.”

Jesus knows Peter doesn’t feel worthy to come follow him because of his past. But Jesus wants all of us to focus on the future with him, not on the many voices of fear that come from our past.

How many of us feel this way when we hear God’s call to serve His Church and His people?  

Yet, God still turns to self-avowed sinful people to help build His Church -- even handing Peter (and his successors) the keys to the Church.

This is one of the great mysteries of our faith, and shows how God can turn our weaknesses into strengths through the power of humble service, and how being open to God’s call can transform our lives, and conform us better to Christ.

One of the most inspirational characters in all of Christianity is St. Stephen, one of the first seven deacons and the very first Christian martyr.

As some may recall, St. Stephen went to his death, asking the Lord to forgive his executioners. He was sent to his death for proclaiming the power of the Risen Christ to his angry countrymen, dying with an angelic smile on his face as he gazed on a vision of Jesus in heaven.

The word “martyr” actually translates to “witness.”

St. Stephen’s powerful witness still has an impact on people today. Most deacons claim him as one of their patron saints.

Benedictine College theology professor Andrew Swafford says, “When a teacher teaches with conviction as Stephen did, it makes an impact. It may lead to persecution, but other eyes are watching.”

St. Stephen’s witness changed the life of one eye-witness to his death in a dramatic way.  A young Saul of Tarsus held the coats of the men who stoned St. Stephen to death.

Saul was one of the most ferocious persecutors of the Christian faith, putting scores of men, women and children to death for believing in Jesus.

Saul became St. Paul, and his conversion and dramatic call story changed the Christian world forever. St. Paul would become one of the greatest witnesses and evangelists of our Christian faith. His experience with a deacon changed his life.

Recently, the Catholic Church celebrated the 50^th anniversary of the restoration of the permanent diaconate.

Popular Church commentator Rocco Palmo calls the restored diaconate one of the greatest success stories of Vatican II.

Deacons are the only religious vocation that is actually growing today. Nearly 50-thousand permanent deacons serve the world Church in 2019. 18-thousand deacons are now serving in U.S. alone.

The permanent diaconate started as a conversation in Cell Block 26 at Nazi death camp Dachau. This was the place set aside for clergy. During the Nazi reign of terror, over 24-hundred priests were kept there. Most were put to death.

Many priests in the prison camps lamented the lack of Catholic clergy with both a foot in the Church and a foot in public life. These priests felt the presence of permanent deacons could have helped prevent what happened in Nazi Germany.

A number of these priests survived the death camps and years later led the effort to restore the permanent diaconate during Vatican II. 

Many people ask, what is a deacon? 

Deacons are ordained clergy. Most are married.

And, no, deacons are not mini-priests or grownup altar servers! Quite the opposite.

Deacon is not a title as much as it is a representation of what they are called to do. The word deacon actually comes from the Greek word “diakonia,” meaning service or servant.

Deacons can baptize, perform weddings, lead funerals, preach and teach. The deacon’s role is to help make the priest’s job easier.

But equally as important, deacons are asked to be the eyes and ears of the Bishop.

The official title of a deacon in the Catholic Church is Reverend Mister (in the Orthodox Church deacons are called Father Deacon). But you can just call me Dennis. No title needed.

I always tell young people who think being a deacon is a big deal this analogy. If the Church were a circus, the Bishop would be the Ring Master. The priest would be the lion tamer. And the deacon would be the guy following around the elephant cleaning up the mess.

Deacons are unpaid servants of the Church.

That’s right. Deacons don’t get paid for their service.  

A small number of deacons are paid to lead parishes without a pastor, or serve as pastoral assistants at parishes, or work for the Archdiocese, but the vast majority of deacons do what they do with no financial gain.

You’ve heard of building up treasure in heaven?

Deacons do what they do because they love the Church and they love the people of God, and because they’re answering God’s call to greater service, especially to those on the margins of society.

The deacon has a three-fold ministry: Word, Liturgy and Service.

Most deacons today give homilies, assist the priest and bishop at Mass, and serve in prison, hospital and hospice ministry, work with those experiencing homelessness, assist migrants and refugees, feed the hungry, and serve the poor and oppressed in our society today (the same people we heard Jesus talk about a few weeks ago when he read from the scroll of Isaiah in his hometown synagogue).  This is the call of the deacon. 

Deacons are ordained to the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

One theologian calls the deacon the living sacrament of service in the Church today.

           In our own parish community, we have two men in deacon formation, answering God’s call to deeper service.

With God’s providence, and the Bishop’s official call forward, these two men will be ordained in December of 2020.

Duane Schireman heard the call to deeper service years ago as a boy, but really felt the call start to resonate while accompanying his son and a delegation of young people from the parish to World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain in August 2011.  Witnessing a sea of a million young people deepening their faith sparked his resolve to say “yes” to God. The trip also included stops in Rome and Assisi.

There are many who encouraged him along the way from family and friends, priest and deacon friends, to one inmate at Monroe State Reformatory. God speaks best through the people around us.

A few years ago, Duane retired from a long career as an HR executive with Boeing, doing so shortly after beginning deacon formation. He even felt God’s hand in that decision and how things worked out in leaving Boeing early. Duane credits the Virgin Mary for clearing the way for him to become a deacon. 

Chris Shambro’s call story also began as a young boy. For him it came while cleaning the Church with grandmother.

He was also encouraged by his best friend J.D. The two would regularly go to O-L-P-H to pray for God to give them a vocation, praying especially to Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Chris contemplated the priesthood with his buddy J.D. That was until he met the woman of his dreams, now his wife, Ann.

His friend J.D. did go on to become a priest. You know him as Fr. Jack Shrum, one of Chris’ dearest friends and confidants.

Chris first thought about the diaconate in 2007, but he and Ann decided the kids were too young. He again felt called when a class was forming in 2014-2015 and said, “yes” to God.

Chris serves as IT manager for the Snohomish County Court system. He also serves as a Scout leader, and is active in numerous ministries at O-L-P-H.

Perhaps the greatest witness in our parish community today is Deacon Matt Zuanich and his 40-years of service as a deacon, most of them right here in our parish community.

He’s one of three surviving members of a class of 25 ordained in 1978. We call him the Arch-Deacon of IC and OLPH.

Today, Matt’s main ministry is taking care of his wife Kay.

Matt decided a few years back (at age 85!) to go to Senior Status as a deacon, meaning he’s not required to do all the things ordained deacons are asked to do (like continuing education, attending deacon retreats and gatherings, or actively serving as deacon) -- although you’ll still see Matt serving at the altar from time-to-time.

Matt credits his close friend Fr. Raymond Heffernan with encouraging him to say “yes” to God’s call to the diaconate.

Matt loves today’s Gospel story about Jesus’ request to Simon Peter to drop his nets and become a “fisher of men.” He even had that story printed on his ordination prayer cards and deacon business cards.

Matt has crocheted hundreds of these stoles for deacon and priest friends using skills learned as a commercial fisherman in his youth.

These are just a few examples of how we are all called by God to serve His Church and His people.

Jesus wants us to all to be focused on our future with him. Not keep looking over our shoulders at our pasts and come up with excuses to not follow Him deeper into His ministry.

So, my sisters and brothers, I ask you: how is God calling you to deeper service?