January 4, 2023

John 1:35-42

So Mary Ann has banned me from ever trying to be March maker. When I see two single people my natural instinct is wanting to introduce them to each other but I get the look and a honey bless your heart, that would never work. The last time I tried she said, it won’t work the dude is gay. Well he hid not say he was…

Anyway the story of Jesus and John continues on and now St John is trying to find good matches for Jesus. He says to his disciples “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”. The two awkwardly follow Jesus and when in his presence they are dumbfounded and ask “where do you live bro” Our Lord responds “come and see.”

I have had a number of “come and sees” in my formation as a priest. Some places I went I lasted for three days only because the food was good but other places it felt God. The prayer life was right, the apostolate was right, the group was right. It felt like being home, being with people who would raise me right. Do you want to find a church where you feel connected to God in a unique way? Visit as many churches as you can, you will find one that is real for you. And it might work for a little while or a long while. Make sure you stop by Rabbouni as well. Come and see and bring a cousin, they might like us.

January 3, 2023

1 John 2: 29 - 3:9

Good morning. I pray that this day be filled with blessings as we send our children back to school. I don’t know about yours but our Grayson wanted a little bit more time off. Dude, it has been two weeks stop complaining and head back to life. Actually the other day he asked me about my new year’s resolution. I totally forgot about resolutions … see what happens to you when you become the police. Anyway my answer to him after he pressed me was “my resolution is to make a resolution every day.” He was not impressed.

What if I woke up every day with a resolution. Today I want to be the bringer of silliness. Be a little silly in this very serious world and see what happens eh. Anyway let us look at our scripture. The verse for my reflection today is “Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,

by letting us be called God’s children;

and that is what we are.” You and I have been lavished this great gift, we now belong to God. This past Sunday I talked about the talent show called The X Factor. They try to find something about the contestants that separates them from the others. Some people have an X Factor. Well, you have the X Factor too. Being a child of God. My prayer today is that you truly come to know this beautiful, powerful element in you. Filled with the spirit of the Father you can rise above anything. Bishop TJ Jakes “thank your haters, they have been placed in your life to make you great.” I don’t know how that works but I believe him.

Come on child of God, see yourself.

January 2, 2023

John 1:19-28

As you read these opening versus in the gospel of John a question arises. Why is St John going into overdrive stating over and over again that he was not the Christ but merely one coming before him. Looking at how many ways he says it and tries over and over again to point out who is the Christ gives us a window to look into the confusion in the early church especially among the Johanine community and the followers of Jesus. St John was the charismatic one, in some places his fame may have been greater than our Lord’s. But he emphasizes “I must decrease, he must increase.”

One of the principals to remember as priest or Christian is the 11th commandment. The unspoken commandment of the Jewish people. Remember O Lawman/Israel, there is but one God and you are not it. We have to know our place in the Kingdom. I think I will keep this reflection short and ask you throughout this day to say the unspoken commandment and insert your name. You are not God.

December 30, 2022

Matthew 2:13-15,19-23

Welcome to the last Friday of a big year 2022. Lawd what a year it has been. So many blessings and so many tears, so many getting it right and so many just not getting it, so many births and deaths. But my friend we are here on this last Friday, given yet another chance to deep discovery. By the way if you are able, please remember Rabbouni in your end of year giving. We will love you for it.

For our reflection we are given the feast of the Holy Family. It is my favorite homily to preach actually. The church puts before us the family of Joseph, Mary and Jesus so that we can have a model on which to build our families. I just wish the church did not do that. Here is why. We have Joseph, the man gets orders in his dreams. God tells him at every corner what to do. My dad did not have angelic dreams to tell him what to do! He had his buddies at the tavern/pub. Between drinking the local brew they solved the world’s problems. You should have heard my dad talking with his buddies. Mama would just shake her head and walk away muttering “oh men!” The mother in this holy family is the blessed Virgin Mary. Well I won’t get into it but mama is as far away from the Holy Blessed Mother of the Lord. She once threw a pot at me. She sent us to church so she can have a minute of silence. And the child in the story is the Son of God, Jesus. The most perfect person to have ever lived. Well I don’t have to tell you about myself, and I am the good one in the family . We are nothing like Jesus.

This is why I think it is unrealistic to ask us to model our families on this perfect family. UNLESS all this holycization (I made up that word) is bologna. Maybe Joseph had no angelic dreams but he was, with the help of God and friends, very connected to what was happening around him. Maybe all he wanted was safety for his family. Think of a young family in Ukrain that is fleeing violence. Are they getting angelic dreams? No!! Think of a man breaking himself in half to provide for his family. We just read the world around us. Come to think of it, dad’s drinking buddies were angels. Pretty happy angels at that. Mom and the blessed mother have so much in common. They both did not have all the answers to all the world’s problems. They both had to figure things out. I can go on and on.

Here is the deal, this family is HOLY because it understands itself as belonging to God. Holiness has to do with how you understand yourself. I am Holy to the extent that I see myself as separate for the Lord. Did you hear me? The nation of Israel is holy because it belongs to YAHWEH. So with all our dramas... we are HOLY too.

December 29, 2022

Luke 2:22-35

There is no magic, you will have to put in the work. One thing that strikes me as I read today’s gospel is the work that the parents of Jesus put in. How much they invested in him, making sure that he grows up to be a good practicing Jewish man. Today they make the long journey to Jerusalem to present their first born son in the temple. They will do everything for him to set him up for life.

As we celebrate this Christmas octave, turn to your parents and say thank you. Life is not perfect, your parents may have made some mistakes here and there. But they gave you the best days of their lives. Non of us are born with a ”how to perfectly raise me” guide. Our parents figure things out as they figure themselves out.

As parents I know I don’t have to tell us this but pray for your children. Bring them everyday before the Lord as Joseph and Mary brought Jesus. Love you.

December 28, 2022

Matthew 2:13-18

I am sure by now you have noticed that we only have two accounts of the birthday of our Lord. The Greek version from St Luke and the Jewish version from St. Mathew. They are very different stories but our minds make them into one cohesive story. In the Mathew version the main character is Joseph. St Mathew goes to great length to map out the genealogy of Jesus which we heard on Christmas Eve. Mary is but a bystander there. It is Joseph who is connected to Jesus, it is Joseph who received the dream about the child, Joseph is told to name the child, Joseph has a dream to move to Egypt for the safety of the child. No mention of angels here, the dreamer leads.

St Luke however writes a complete different story. Mary receives the news, an Angel Gabriel visits her and gives her the child’s name. It is the blessed mother who named the child. No wise men here. The gospel of Mark and John don’t even touch the birth narratives. We can talk about it later.

Anyway today we read about a very sad event that happened in the life of Jesus. The massacre of the innocents. See we don’t read and understand these narratives as subversive documents but they are. By his very birth Jesus makes Herold and all the powerful tremble. There is a new power that will take over. You carry Devine power and presence in you and naturally make some people uncomfortable. Find a way to Tap into your power base. It could be some embarrassing part of your story. Don’t let that devil use it to crush your dreams. Maybe when Jesus was later told about this event, it fired him up to go to Jerusalem.

You know, many a building, many a life have fallen besides you but he has found a way to hold you up. There is something about you that is unfinished. One more person to hug, one more diaper to change.

December 27, 2022

John 20:2-8

The Christmas decorations are still up and I really still want to talk about God’s greatest intervention in the history of the world, in the trajectory of my life. Things have changed now. I remember saying after Grayson was born that “having a kid changes everything”

Well the church wants us to pivot quickly from these birth narratives not that they are less important but there is an urgency of time. So yesterday we here about the death of St Stephen and today it’s the feast of St John the Apostle. The one Jesus loved. There are lots of people who were devastated when things did not turn out as they had thought with Jesus. Mary Magdalene was in disbelief, Peter doubted, Thomas doubted but St John, he saw and believed.

I want you to have deep seeing eyes. See what others see but go beyond. Not in a supernatural, churchy way but maybe through life experience be the one who says “it feels like the end, looks like a disappointing end but God is not done here. You will rise.” Someone has to hold the faith. can that be you? We were thousand of Dollars down at Rabbouni a few weeks ago. Someone said “God will provide, have faith father..”

Believe!!!!!

December 26, 2022

Acts 6:8-10,7:54-59

A very Merry Christmas to you. I am sorry that for some of us we could not make Mass because of the nasty icy roads. I do believe however that something special happened in your household. For those who made it, what a magical Christmas Mass we had. My prayers is that our musicians come back next Christmas and we have that 4 pm Mass. Our reflection at Mass was centered around the psalm “Today is born a savior, Christ the Lord.” The question is who is pregnant, who births the Messiah today. Could it be you? Could you be the one to birth, deliver hope, deliver peace, bring forth understanding. We are all pregnant with the word and we birth Gods intervention in our worlds.

The first day after Christmas is a bloody one. I wish the church would have put the massacre of St Stephen later on in the liturgical calendar. But no, right after Christmas we meet the first disciple to die, look closely though, this death gave birth to St Paul. This young zealot saw how Stephen died and his conversion began. Through your life’s journey you are constantly birthing. Go plant goodness today.

December 23, 2022

Malachi 3:1-4,23-24

There is something about snow that calms me and simply feels good. I am grateful for a warm house and hot cup of coffee. My work on the police force gives me an opportunity and a blessing to work with people who may be less fortunate, people who don’t have a warm, peaceful house. I pray for the repose of any who may have not survived this storm.

What is in a moment? What do you bring to this moment of your life? What if this moment wherever you are were the crescendo. Everything was leading up to this, preparing you to embrace the moment. How many people then did the creator God send into your life to prepare you for the now? How many experiences have you had to bring you to the stage you are?

Frankly there have been some happy memories and sad memories. There have been a million plus people who have been placed in my life so that I can be the priest I am today. The scripture says “I am sending a messenger ahead of you to prepare your way”. My friend, you are light!! The world has been prepared that you might shine. I want to thank my parents, family, friends, you for bringing me to this crescendo of my life. Think of it, today, this season, this experience has been decades in the making. I love you more than you will ever know.

December 22, 2022

Do you remember the story of Hannah. She is the woman who was thought of as mad because she would not leave the temple or the priest until she was granted her prayer. She wanted a child and she prayed for this gift like a mad woman. Well God answered her prayer and she named the child SAMUEL. In today’s reading, she goes back to the temple with good news. Yahweh answered my prayer. I want to keep our reflection very short today. Tell me, what did you pray for that has been answered a hundred times over? We call this in the charismatic renewal, giving testimony. GIving testimony builds the faith of others. It is not gloating but saying to someone who is praying so hard for something that God answers prayers. So today we put aside what we are praying for and we mention what has been granted. I prayed for a church family that spoke to my soul and God out of nothing gave me Rabbouni. I prayed for a family and God grew my territory and not only gave me a family but a beautiful family. I prayed for a job, and God granted. What did you cry for night and day to God?

Not to spoil this reflection but every Thursday I ask for your financial support for Rabbouni. Thank you for loving us into existence.

December 21, 2022

Luke 1:39-45

Today we celebrate the visitation. As a child I would pray the rosary every day. I remember the joyful mysteries and mediating on the journey of Mary to her Cousin Elizabeth. We have drawings of the two women meeting with joy on their faces. Look at how these two women believed in the promises made to them by God. All this may be true. Let me read it from the Zambian experience.

It is not uncommon in the Zambian culture that when we have a teenage pregnancy, that child is sent to the village. Sent away so to say in shame to a place nobody knows her. After the child is born, the young lady returns with a baby but the baby is never claimed as her own. No no, she went to the village to bring to the city a poor child from another relative. So the child grows up calling his or her mother by her name. Everyone knows what is going on but no one says it. That teenager who is sent away … let us think of her. She is sent away from her ‘boyfriend’ the one person who might console her. At a moment when the young lady needs her mama, she finds herself alone. Sometimes these young ladies leave their children in the village and come back to finish up school. There is no joy but fear!

I like to make the life of our blessed mother as practical as I can so that I can relate. She knows a truth that she cannot explain, she finds herself totally alone in a strange land. Lord have mercy. And yet through it all she seeks signs of Gods abiding presence. Sometimes we may need to work extra hard to find God’s presence. The child in Elizabeth’s womb lept for joy. Well babies kick all the time, but if you have a difficult pregnancy, every kick is a gentle reminder of the blessing you have received. My prayer today is when you find yourself all alone in a land and place you never expected to be, work a little harder to see God.

December 20, 2022

Luke 1:26-38

Mary said to the angel, ‘But how can this come about, since I am a virgin?’ ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow. Mary then said”piece of cake, if it is going to be that easy, sign me up baby.” Well she did not actually say that but one would think this will be the easiest of journeys. But life does not usually work out like that. I love these birth narratives and I get what they are trying to portray but trust me, our blessed mother did not have a text book on how to raise this child. She and her family had to figure it out. I want to think that sometimes they got it right and sometimes they got it wrong. Remember when people went to her and told her that she should come and get Jesus because he was mad? She gathered her family and support system, went up to get him. That is when he said “my mother and brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it…” something like that. Tell you what, if you all go to Zambia and ask mama to come take me home then things have gone really bad.

Anyway back to the reading of the day. The power of the most high will cover you. Do you know why and how you have been able to endure so much? You is covered!!! Do you know why and how you always find a way? You is covered. Do you know why and how you will live through whatever crisis you are going through? You is covered. Yes sometimes it is hard to see and feel the hand of God laid upon us. But may you feel that sacred hand in the hand of your family, friends and your favorite priest . You are not alone!!!

December 19, 2022

Judges 13:2-7,24-25

Luke 1:5-25

On this Monday the church puts before readings that tell us of miraculous births. The first reading we have the story surrounding the birth of Samson the Nazirite and the gospel has stories around the birth of John the Baptist. You know, I have never really asked my mother about stories surrounding my birth. But I am sure there is a story there. These stories are not meant only for the major players. There is a story around you and I, the pawns and the kings. I can tell you stories around the birth of our son. I can tell you how a touch and go pregnancy it was and how I prayed to God that he stays in the womb for 20 weeks. The doctors said his chances of survival were greater if he got to week twenty. It was pure miracle that he went full term. The thing is, God has spoken all of us into existence. So listen, you are not just another being, you have been breathed into existence at this time in history for a reason. Find it!!

As we begin this final week towards Christmas, I want to offer you a gift. Yes I wish I could wrap it up and put a nice bowl on it but this is all I have. I want to pray for you if you could use a prayer. I want to move you through prayer into a space that would enable you to see you.

December 16, 2022

Isaiah 56:1-3,6-8

A very happy Friday to you. There are things that we take for granted in church. Things like the diversity that we find in our churches. I have been watching the World Cup with great interest and it has amazed me how the players bring their cultures to this great event. Did you know that Brazil once got in trouble for celebrating too much after scoring. Yes some Europeans thought celebrating like that dishonored the games. Well we don’t expect a Brazilian to celebrate like an English man right!!! We bring our cultures. Let’s get back to the scriptures. The Lord says “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.”

It sounds simple but this little statement almost broke the early church. God was a Jewish God and the non Jews well they were just not welcome. Then came St. Paul and the Greeks. St. Paul argued that people do not have to be Jewish to be followers of Christ. In fact the first council of Jerusalem which was presided by the brother of our Lord, St. James the just, settled the question of eating pork. The Greeks loved Pork chops and for the Jews it was unclean. And the circumcision question was tackled at this council too. Anyway bring yourself and all that you are. For in the house of the Lord it is about prayer not politics. All are welcome.

December 15, 2022

Luke 7:24-30

The suicide death of Twitch that happened yesterday has caught all of us by surprise. Our prayers go out to his family and all those who knew him. Life is hard and there are a thousand people out there just living on the age. I don’t know if you can read this little note that I will post but some lady wrote on a napkin over a decade ago and gave it to me. Those days priests were avoiding wearing the Roman collar but for some reason I decided to wear one as I went into this restaurant in Bardstown Ky. With tears in her eyes this stranger dropped this note on my table and walked away. It reads “You do not know me but I am stepping out to you in faith. I am a Christian but have turned away from God. My life and family are a mess. I ask you as a man of faith to please pray for my family and myself. Thank you. At the end of my rope. Just one minute of peace would be nice.”

You know, this note gets me every time. I laminated it for my records but also to remind myself that we have no idea how God is going to use us by what we say or how we dress, or who we are. Life is tough friends, don’t fight the silly fights instead offer some Grace. Offer each other some grace.

December 14, 2022

Luke 7:19-23

A very happy Wednesday to you. Listen to this very first verse of today’s passage “John, summoning two of his disciples, sent them to the Lord to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or must we wait for someone else?”

We spoke about this at length this past Sunday. Actually on Sunday we read St. Matthew’s version of it. So two gospel writers repeat the same question verbatim. This tells us that there was some confusion in the early church between the followers of Jesus and the followers of St John. Remember, some of John’s disciples became Jesus’s disciples but certainly not all of them. What is the confusion? Jesus is clearly not acting like the Messiah John had foretold. He is keeping company with Tax collectors, prostitutes, he is eating and drinking a little too much and not as strict or conservative as he ought to be. This is a major disappointment. He is even friends with divorced people and among his disciples are people with a sailors mouth—— the fisherman.

Our Lord did not fit in the Messiah box at all. He was all over the place. And Holy Mother Church has been trying for thousands of years to put him back in the box. Sometimes he gets in and sometimes he shows who is boss. Did I ever share with you the greatest regret of the dying? It is this “I wish I lived a life true to myself and not the life others wished for me.” Jesus finds a way to give sight to the blind, to free the oppressed, to bring good news to the depressed but he does it in his own way. Are you looking for the Lord? Try going outside church. My novice master Fr. Julian Black found Jesus in the lives of the Bushmen in Botswana. The Basarwa (bushmen) taught him more about God than the writings of St. Augustine. I better stop before I get in too much trouble. But seriously, John was so disappointed with Jesus. Yet the kingdom came. “Blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

December 13, 2022

Matthew 21:28-32

Entitled!!! The Chief priests and elders of the people thought that they were entitled to having a place in the kingdom of God because why not? They were priests after all. Some thought they were entitled to the kingdom because they belonged to the tribe of Judah. Our Lord says to them and to us that none of that matters. In fact no one can lay claim to the kingdom based only on some exaggerated sense of self. He says I tell you solemnly, tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you. He says this because our Lord has found more hospitality among those who were judged as not worthy than among the judges. I have said before, I have found more love and understanding from the people of God than from the professional religious.

Today we are challenged by our Lord. It is not enough to say Lord, Lord. It is not enough to say I am baptized or I belong to this or that church. The question is ARE YOU KIND?

December 12, 2022

Matthew 21:23-27

A very happy Monday to you my friend. How much energy do you have? How much time do you have? Not enough! That is my answer and I bet the answer of most people. This is why today’s scripture passage is so important and I invite you to read it. In a nutshell, the Pharisees come up to Jesus and ask him under whose authority he teaches or does his ministry. They see themselves as the custodians of Gods ministry and Jesus did not ask them for permission to engage in the works of the Kingdom. Jesus responds and says to them “don’t waste my time by asking silly questions, I am not telling you.” Well I improvised there

But seriously again I say to you, do not waste your energy on people who have already made up their minds about you. Just go on doing and planting the kingdom in your own unique way. Your works will speak louder than anything. The truth is that some people are miserable and they cannot stand your success. I tell you what, it drives the haters crazy when you don’t engage them. Jesus shuts down the Pharisees and continues on with a smile. You know if you don’t know your worth, you will be explaining yourself to everyone. Don’t do that.

December 9, 2022

Matthew 11:16-19

Have you ever wondered how he just kept going? We sometimes think that Jesus had it good except for the last week of his life. But a closer look at his life as it comes to us through scripture, we find someone who is attacked from every angle. In today’s gospel he says “The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”

I wonder if it ever got to him. I wonder if he had to go away sometimes to a place he could simply be. Heck he did not even have a house. Remember when he said “Birds of the air have nests, foxes have dens but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” Anyway I don’t mean to preach a downer here but Our Lord kept going. He could not let the nay sayers win.

I know that you too have kept going. You who sometimes can barely make it, you have picked the pieces up and put on your big boy pants. I think the message this Friday is to you my friend. Never grow tired of living out your mission. There will be plenty of people who will have a lot of negatives to say but there are plenty more cheering you on. We are wired to hear the negative voices but maybe this advent we rewire ourselves to hear the angels who cheer us on. By the way, the Lord has put on my heart to speak to one person in particular who appears successful and is indeed successful. But there is a hidden sadness in you. All will be answered some day just practice patience. Love you

December 8, 2022

Luke 1:26-38

The blessed mother has a special place in the hearts of Catholics. One of the first prayer I learned was the Hail Mary. It is a prayer that to this day brings me much comfort. The actually holds the key for all of us who want to bring Christ into the world. There is the key friends, this is what you pray for every day “The Holy Spirit will come upon you’ the angel answered ‘and the power of the Most High will cover you with its shadow”. Say it loud in the first person, the power of the Lord is upon me. Not someday in the future when I stop sinning and become a saint. No, now when I am shaking and unsure, now when there are so many uncertainties

God is working overtime.

Talking about that, please remember Rabbouni with your end of year giving. That is one way we know that we are watched over. I love our ministry and your donations is literally keeping us open.