Father Mark Beard - Homily Archive

“Go the Extra Mile” - 4th Sunday of Lent (March 22, 2020)
Year A 2019-2020

{extra mile extra mile it's the 1970s his name is Allan and Allan is raised on the Virgin Islands he is um a he actually has a sister his mom is a musician she is a Dancer his dad is a musician of sorts Al will tell you he's a musician at his own bar and grill I greasy spoon but at the end of the day they do okay but if you were to asked Al about this life he would tell you it's tumultuous it's ups and it's Downs it's lefts and it's right it's rarely ever just kind of plateaued and as a result of it man by the age of two Alan's life is already upside down his parents are divorced he's got to move to Virgin Island he lives with his grandparents and then by the age of I guess maybe 10 or 12 Allan's World takes yet another turn all be it for the worst he moves to Miami to go to school stay with his dad his grandfather passes out he close to him and then if that's not bad enough his dad is killed in a robbery a home robbery man Allen's world upside down and all of a sudden he's in high school there's not enough peer pressure already as a result he's decided you know if I go into drama and the drama club and what have you the theater I can HDE I can be a great player I can be a great spokesperson I can be an oror I can be position I can hide my wounds because I'm playing the part he does so good at it that juli actually gives him a scholarship now he'll tell you I don't tell you that it was the greatest semester of his life when he remembers he didn't know he had to go to class he's expelled by the end of the first semester he's back on his heels and he's decided that man I just I've got to do something if I just go that extra step I go that extra mile he said his dad used to tell him that as SM too you just never saw it need need to play out so as a result of such he goes to Broadway does a couple bit place he does pretty good and as a result of it he gets a bit part in a show called Kennedy then he gets a bit part in show called back to humor and then he gets another show called I think was called The Hulk as a result of it people started to recognize it so get more popular got a little more money in his purse as a result man's decided that man this is okay and then man tragedy hits out it again man his his mom passes and then if it's not bad enough not long after his sister is murdered his dad remarriage and his half brother and half sister they get killed in a b acet the school by accident man he is upside down he doesn't know whether he should go active it's drugs it's alcohol it's wine women it's all and then he remembers what his mom and dad told him it's that extra m just go the extra step as a result he talks with someone who says you know maybe if you went to prison and listen to that guy's apology about your mom taking her life who give you a chance to start a Liv our brother and sister in Christ he turns his life around he becomes probably one of the best better actors of our day man Adam leaves from that and next thing you know his world is different he's been dry and sober now for quite some time as a result of it man he's in he's in movies like X-Men he's in The Expendables he actually did a comedy it was absolutely excellent It's called Down Periscope if you ever see it man I got to tell you it's very cute and then all of a sudden man he's in Toy Story he does the voice over for stinky Peete he's in The Simpsons he plays I think he plays one of the voiceovers for Bob but then all of a sudden he gets his big break he gets to be part of a show about a bar in Boston he gets a few cameo of course you know the big starts nor but man when he gets there he starts doing his thing pretty soon he's more of a regular he sits at the n Bar opposite from Norm he's a psychiatrist psychologist if you will then he gets his own show he's got a brother named n he lives with his dad you know him it's crazy oh because he took that extra step yeah you know it it's Kelsey gr my brother sister Christ it's all about the extra step that is exact that gospel is about the blind man is standing before our good Lord and he's told go the extra M take that extra step and go to the pool of salom and watch he walks he extra mile and he's pure you can now see now scop you're a first century Jew you know scripture like the back of your hand Brothers and Sisters in Christ you know automatically when you see the good Lord spit as if you and I were standing there you see him spitt to the ground you would think Genesis God created man from the ground ground Adam Adam meaning ground the good Lord spit into the ground and formed the man so now that he's spitting into the ground and you see him Tak it and making clay and putting in on his eyes remember what the good Lord said at the well with the lady did you remember that he said I'm to living water and anybody that drinks as me will have eternal life the same God that spit the ground batt the same that that just spit on the ground and cure the man that is blind my brothers and sisters in Christ you know what's amazing the pul ofon is it down the street it's at the southern part of Jerusalem it was started by King Hezekiah it's kind of like a a storage bent of water but it's it's it's quite large but to get to it it's no small task can you imagine a blind man walking down the street leading people who can see if you will so that they can now see spiritually that must have been something to behold my brothers and sisters in Christ when they get to the pool of salon and he washes and he sees because he was sent remember what the good Lord said I sent my son into the world in other words brother sister Christ man for a Jew this is all starting to come back into Play My Brothers and Sisters in Christ remember too that this is where the sacrament of baptism begins think about it for a second go and wash remember now the Jews told me you were born in sin original sin my brothers and sisters in Christ remember original sin is often times explained as a as a stain on our soul that's not a bad way of putting it but it also could be an absence in other words that the soul is not totally complete and by you and I getting baptized then all of a sudden that sin is removed in other words the soul is made complete you no longer are blind you now can see you've been made complete a foretelling of the sacrament to come not an acceptance of Jesus Christ as often times is promoted because back in matter day that's confirmation you confirm what your parents said that I do believe in holy mother church and I do believe that the Blessed Mother is ever virgin oh yes my brother and sister in Christ it's the removal of original sin now you and I live in the day we've watched this take place we also now live today 2,000 years later we've been given the benefit of being in both worlds secularly it's interesting to note did you know that the song Amazing Grace I was blind and now I see it's where it came from my brother sister in Christ you know they criticize the man because this was done on the Sabbath or more importantly they criticized Christ but here's the IR my brother and sister in Christ as a blind man on Sunday or Saturday if you will remember how hard everything is for him if you want to drink of water he's got to go find it and search for it what if it's out at the sister in the well how does he get there how does he get the bucket low how does he make sure he's po what if he wants something to eat what if he wants to go for a visit what if he just wants to go for a pleasant walk how does he know where to go what to be careful of but then now the fact that he can see he's been given rest on the Sabbath they get the glass of water so much easier going for a wall man how can I just I can't wait to do that my brother Christ he is free to enjoy the Sabbath my brother sister Christ and there's one more thing you and I need to realize in one hour more or less in one hour small steps the extra mile that that man walk from the minute that good Lord laid hands on him all the way to the pool Isam and all the way back to give thanks he goes from identifying Christ as a man to a prophet from God to The Great I Am oh how that extra mile was for all eternity now stop brother Christ now think go back in scripture all of our best players all of them man are those that go the extra mile just look just look at the crucifixion itself just the crucifixion there are four or five people involved but their names are now in The Book of Life there's Simon s there's Veronica Mary of magdala there's l g Joseph of Aria everyone of them did something extra they went that extra mile think about it you're sign to sirene you're there for the Passover one of three times when you have to go to Jerusalem you went all the way to Jerusalem with your two children Alexander and ruus and as a result of it you want to get your land bring it to the altar allow to be skewed in the form of crucifix and then you celebrate the Passover but here's the problem you come into town you see the the crowds you're up in and next thing you know you conscript welcome to the arm it could have been up to a day or several days for the Jews because that was the deal you could be conscripted that quickly as a result man he's brought into the freight put yourself in issues once blood of Christ gets on him he's done you going to be quarantined for least 7 days maybe up to 14 you'll never celebrate the Passover what about your two boys what are they going to crucify me too when I get to the top remember crucifixion was a common occurrence remember brother's Christ the passion the movie passion PID me the right way in that at the end of the day he realized that that Journey that he just took that extra mile which was exactly about what it was to bring Christ to go with his name is now in The Book of Life he may he may not have the blood of an Al Al he's got the blood of the land my brother Christ you're Veron you take the time to walk out and make sure that you stand in the way of the crucifixion as a woman you have absolutely no right and as a result you're not even stopping the crucifixion and because you Brave your Veil and you go that extra mile to this day we have the veil in Rome my brother Christ you can actually see we actually have a part of that in our Relic which you can see it at Rome usually on Easter Sunday she goes that extra mind what about L di I mean here you Centurion you probably got your orders earlier that week and again that morning there'll be three criminals you'll make sure they go through town you'll have a town CER in front make sure you have at least 100 soldiers around them and you make sure the procession handles and remember by 3:00 in saath they've got to come down I like to wonder what was going through L's thoughts at the very start okay three crimin three murderers let us together let's get through this we got to get somewhere along the way he realizes well I know two are murderers because I spent most of my life chasing distance in guest house but I'm not sure about this third guy within several hours you've gone from thinking that he's one of the murderers to I'm not sure do you make the words truly that man was the son of God that extra mile do you know according to tradition small T he actually brings the spirit tip to the Blessed Mother we have it this day he becomes Saint all gu but brother Christ chose gives up this to I mean talk about going extra mile it's not like you can go do one FR by tomorrow he's saying you can just bury me anyway as long as the good Lord has a to what if you marry magd on Easter Sunday when everybody else is sleeping you decided that you know what I'd rather be next to quote a dead savior than live people because she knows that extra M I don't care if there's a boulder I can't move I don't care that there's soldiers in the way took advantage more ways than I know I don't care how much harassment I get I am going to the do and because she goes the extra mile she's the first to see the Risen Christ so much so that in grief she actually grabs him and she won't let go this why Christ says to such an extent you must let me know for I get to return home my brother sister in Christ you know according to tradition small te Peter asked why is it you showed to Mary Magdalene and not to me I mean I'm your Vicor I'm Peter I'm protos I'm Don and he says you know Peter I look for you and I didn't see my brother and sister in Christ she's the first to see the RIS in Christ because she goes the extra mile and I tell you this and I know we pick on Peter all too much and I understand that but at the end of the day I would love to meet the Peter the day it started and 33 years later I bet you that man would go through anything to bring people closer to Christ remember he's the only one that have his name changed remember he's the first off the sacri he's the first my brothers to Christ every time they list the Apostle Judas is always last remember brother sister in Christ he is our first Vicor he's the first one to fight the Pharisees and Sadducees he's the first to baptize several thousand people he is the one that is decided who will do what and when it will happen he is one that decided all times one my brothers Christ here you and I said or maybe at home 2,000 years later will you go the extra M will you do what is necessary especially in a time in day like today as chaotic as it is as we search for a new normal will you and I go the extra mile to make sure our family and our friends are all taken care of our parents and our grandparents when they call you and that phone bring in and you see that number you know all too well you will be on it for at least an hour you know that you're going to start in the spot and you can end up in the exact same spot you probably won't solve one problem but they need to hear your voice voice they need to know there's calm in the world they need to know that something is true and that it is still true and there is some normal by talking to you will you stop watching television walk away from you know listening to the Stars you don't have to worry about football therefore you should have plent of time my brother and sister in Christ when you make sure that when people ask you to run an a that you will go the extra mile because just the way the world is sp when you're at work and they ask you to do more because there's just so much chaos when you do extra work without saying it's my job it's the description it's the money behold you I warn you that whenever you move the decimal point I a doing this because it's not my job scripture I need more money once your name is tied to money are we any better than jeice or pieces of silver my brother sister Christ or you go the extra mile while you have the time to pray with your families and sit down and pray erosion to read scripture to read the Breather to pray together as a unit will you wake up in the morning and make sure that you pray for yourself and for your family before you ever get started will you make sure at the end of night that you take the time to pray that you go to the extra mile when somebody call you together with family and friends they said let us begin with a prayer before we eat will you make the sign of the cross clearly and distinctly or will you give me one of these my brother and sister in Christ I pray with a friend I asked him the same thing what was that he said that was the sign of the cross I said I didn't know if you were giving me a sign to lay down a bun or still second I'm telling you brother of chist stop apologizing for being cath at the end of the day you either Jewish or you were a Catholic Christian my brother Christ for 1600 years for the most part that's the only two faiths in the game when you give the courage to walk the extra mile to pray to Hell Marica when you walk the extra mile people why we do as we do as a cathic when you sit together as one another and make sure you pray and help one another my brotherus Christ remember this you and I are never neutral you can't be every email every text message every drive by every time you go to the store every time you have communication the words you use the actions you applo the thoughts you have will they endear you to Christ or will they push you away as a result of such you are never neutral so therefore in everything you do is going to be tied back ultimately to him so therefore control the words you use make sure you don't get so angry that you go you lose control or you sending your wrong email or text mess or Facebook what I'm asking you to do is go to the extra M pray for them pray for the courage to remain silent that you don't have to win every fight you don't have to have the last word that somebody's keeping score oh there way you score it's not who you and I want to it's him my brother and sister in Christ you can't can't be neutral to him and all the things that we do if you go the extra mile and do the prayers with your family and friends and you begin to read scripture and pray the bre and read pray the RO Ros I promise you'll win to day my brother sister Christ I leave you with this and it's simple but it's quite profound walk the extra mile I promise there are absolutely no crowds amen amen in the name of the father and the son and of the holy spirit amen}

“Past” - 5th Sunday of Lent (March 29, 2020)
Year A 2019-2020

{past the past it's the 1970s his name is Allan Allan lives in a place called I think it's Blue Island Illinois he will tell you Allan will that his dad is uh kind of does a little bit with movies does a little production a little editing does okay his mom is a quintessential mom she can do and does do now if you and I were to ask Alan tell me tell me about high school he would say well if it hadn't been for my band I'd have never got through High School here's the irony if you ask his mom she would tell you I don't know how he made it through high school thanks to his band my brother Christ but they I'll tell you one thing his mom and him will agree that the drama club is what set the table the Drama teacher that got him so engaged man Allan got so good at it that as soon as he graduated allbe it 18 he starts his own company called steppen Wolf Theaters in the bottom of a Catholic church he does his first production called I think it was called true West it actually got out got some publicity people start to recognize him give him little extra jobs put him on uh shows on plays a little bit on Broadway he does another show called orphans and that really gets him some recognition he meets his wife at Stephan Wolf Theaters to this day they are still married and doing well I got to tell you brother and sister in Christ it's the lure of Hollywood right so he goes out to LA thinking that he's going to make his his passion as a result he gets on the show Frasier he gets a little bit part and then all of a sudden the world kind of opens up for him he's in movies Allan is called of Bice and Men he's in uh the movie Ransom he was in the movie reindeer games and just when things started to open up he will tell you that living in Hollywood and working as an actor is like living on a rocket ship you just never know when this thing's going to to take off so you better keep giving it the gas he said man he just thought his past was catching up with him the insecurities the challenges the mistakes he made and then all of a sudden through prayer and he'll tell you through the church he says I meet Tom H he said the world began to change for him he said in the movie with Tom Hanks he was in The Green Mile Allan prayed the prosecuting attorney that prosecuted the gentleman coffee who was on death row and then all of a sudden he was in Apollo 13 with Tom Hanks he was he was the astronaut who didn't who didn't make the trip and then his big splash of which everybody knows him from he's in a movie with Tom Hanks that takes place in Vietnam it actually takes place in the middle of a battle scene they're out and there's this massive field with rice patties and I'm telling you it is all about the war it is bombs coming in planes are dropping na pom's going off smok's going bullets are firing this is going people are screaming and yelling you can't see 10t in front of your face and all of a sudden Allan who's the lieutenant yells out Forest have you found Jesus Christ in Forest yells back Lieutenant Dan I didn't know we were looking for him yeah you know Allan you know him as Lieutenant Dan you know him as Gary s you know what's amazing if you were talk to Gary s today he would tell you that through all the trials and tribulations of his journey moreover his past there was no better place to find peace than the Catholic Church My Brother and Sisters in Christ it's all about our past that's the gospel that is exactly what Christ was speaking about my brother sister Christ Lazarus come out four days have passed four days have passed and Lazarus comes out now stop you and I need to make sure we understand this you and I are there we are there with Martha and Barry and all the Jews in from Judea you need to understand things in the light of a Jew you and I do know scripture like the back of our hand we know who Hebrew scripture like that first thing you and I need to know that the Jews believe that after 3 days in the Tomb you cannot be resuscitated that's why Christ Waits a fourth day they believe that after the third day you can no longer identify the body for legal purposes because they don't they don't embal they they just protect the outer coving which eventually gives way so after 4 days there would be no identification as a matter of fact what they would do is leave it in the Tomb let it decompose you would go in and gather up the bones according to the mishna and then what they do is they put it in what they call a box of the bones that way you could have everybody together in other words you would have the complete body hence go back to the prophet Ezekiel where he'll put Flesh on the bones and breathe fresh excuse me breathe air into the flesh which goes to the bones now my brother and sister in Christ he's purposely waited four days you also need to know who are the Jews here the Jews are the Jews of Judea these are the ones in southern Jerusalem that do not like Christ this is why you notice that Christ gets a little perturbed you know why he's perturbed because the Jews in southern Judea not only do not believe him to be who he is but they also have professional criers at at these burial services these aren't people that care they're just paid to cry this is why he's perturbed not only do you not believe me but you're really not caring whether you cry or not you're just getting paid my brother and sister in Christ you also need to understand about about Lazarus himself remember he's been in the Tomb four days notice what the good Lord does when he finally gets to the tomb he gets to the tomb my brothers and and Sisters in Christ he makes them take him to the tomb he's been to lazarus's house he knows exactly where it is but like at the wedding of Canan he doesn't want to touch anything that's why he stands in front of the Boulder and says now remove it and even though Martha and Mary say what they will at the end of the day they remove the thing and then he yells Lazarus come out if Jesus says only come out the problem is everybody rises from the graves this is the second coming remember when Christ he called him by name names are significant go all the way back to the Garden of Eden in the Garden of Eden the names of the couple in there is not Adam and Eve Adam adaman means ground he doesn't get that name if you will until he's after the moniker until after they sin Eve doesn't get her name till after she's kicked out the garden names are significant so therefore when you see a name in scripture it's not parabolic the name of Noah Jonah Lazarus they're all all real my brothers of Christ do you know what he says come out my brothers of Christ did you listen did you listen carefully he was bound hand and foot this is where they get the term swaddling clothes in a Manger so the baby doesn't scratch himself or doesn't hurt himself that the legs are somewhat bound and the hands are bound so they can't hurt themselves he can't walk out that's the miracle behind the miracle Christ always has it seems another miracle in the behind the scenes the blind man and the deaf who's blind and deaf yet when he gives him the ability to see and speak he already knows the language he can already make identification marks and yet here's a guy that comes out but yet he can't walk his hands are bound did you notice Brothers of Christ is a Jew that the mask that he would have had on his face that they had to remove it for him go back to the tomb of Christ where was the one that was placed on the face of Christ it was several steps away Christ is driving home the point I'm the only one that can remove death as he gets up walks off of where he was laid and places it in another part of the Tomb Lazarus doesn't have the ability to do that my brothers and sisters in Christ think about how powerful this must have been for Martha and Mary and remember this too when Martha comes out she does something very unique She lays prostrate before Christ my brother Christ everybody who believed Christ to be the Messiah either bows lay Pro St nelt or ginu Flex this is why you and I before we receive communion during the consecration we're kneeling and if you can rece receive him by kneeling to do so why because everybody who recognized Christ as the Messiah in scripture did one or four things My Brother and Sisters in Christ go back in scripture my brothers in Christ all of our best players are people that had a checkered pass think about it Mary Magdalene here she sits Mary Magdalene she has all seven demons Pride anger gluttony lust aers sloth and envy but yet she's the first to go see the Risen Christ think about where she's at if she had worried about her past you're telling me she's going to get up on Easter Sunday morning when everybody else is not going to the tomb she is going to go walk out there by herself for a woman who has no rights in so in Jewish Society she's going to have to walk through the guards that took well advantage of her in her prior life you got to move a St that's way too big and break the seal that pilot is sealed with wax all to be next to a dead savior but because she'd rather be next to a dead savior than alive people she's willing to forgo her past what Mary Magdalene understood it's not where I came from it's where I go from here she's the first to see the Risen Christ because she said no matter what my past is it's irrelevant and immaterial it only matters where I go from here my brother and sister in Christ what if you're the good thief dismus you spent your life pillaging and plundering raping you made your dad look like a Boy Scout that's no small undertaking and here you are at the crucifixion about to have your shins broke so that you can suffocate just minutes before I guess it's time for the Passover and yet you make a public Proclamation you could care less about the number of people you killed you could it's irrelevant the only thing that matters is I must tell the Messiah remember me he is so sorrowful he can't even get the words out he just wants to be remembered and because he makes that public Proclamation for going whatever the past may be the good Lord says this day you'll be with me in Paradise my brother and sister in Christ what about Peter what if Peter had said Lord from the very beginning man I was always a problem I I I doubted whether we were going to catch fish then I decided I could walk on water and if that wasn't bad enough I tried to get you ton not saying my flesh is True Food and my blood is true drink and you say Satan get behind me and if that's not bad enough I'm not even there for your crucifixion if that's not bad enough I cut off a guy's ear while I was in the garden and if somehow another you can get past that I denied you not once not twice I did it three times what if Peter says enough I'm done nobody can get past this I quit do we have Apostles do we have a church Upon This Rock I will build do we have a name change protos do we have a baptism of some 5,000 people do we have the first miracle of the [ __ ] My Brother and Sisters in Christ what if you're Joseph of arthea what if you have decided that you know really didn't defend the good Lord like I was supposed to in that public hearing so I gave up my tomb but man if I could ever relive that past I'd surely stand up for him more now today than ever before don't you see my brother and sister in Christ all of our best players Mary Magdalene the good thief Peter himself not to mention Joseph of arthea my brother in Christ the question for you and I is 2,000 years later how bad does the past haunt you how much of today is spent on yesterday the day before the month before the year before my brother and sister in Christ how much of your day spent with the would or could or should have deemon if I would have done that or could have done that or should have done that how much time do you spend saying man if I would have just done this right our relationship would have made it our marriage would have done better if I would have just spoken prudently maybe I wouldn't have gotten fired maybe the relationship my children would still be there if I had just walked away from the alcohol or the drugs or the pornography my brother in Christ don't you see the evil one wants you to live in the past let me make sure you understand this he hates you and the Very air that you breathe you've been made in the image of Jesus Christ and as a result of it he hates you and everybody that's tied to you Lucifer is a liar and a chief he wants you to believe he's got a string on you he wants you to believe that he can tie you back to those drugs he wants you to believe that alcohol and pornography cannot be beat he wants you to believe that your anger is so bad and so deep seated there there is nothing that can be done about it my brothers in Christ he wants you the evil one to walk through life backwards hitting everything in your path you'll never hear Christ call your name and by the time you turn it'll be way too late my brother Christ I am begging you cut it loose and let it go it does not matter where you come from it only matters where you go from here don't you see everything else is a lie Brothers of Christ everything that the devil brings up everything about your past that has der derailed you you and I are carrying it like it's a life sentence remember Christ listen to me never ever be a prisoner to your past it's only a life lesson learn learned it is not a life sentence it is not a death sentence it's just a lesson learned what I'm asking you to do is to start a new it's where you and I go from this day forward my brothers said Christ I want you to cut it loose and Let It Go whether it's the job it was the contract it was the relationship it was the person it was this it was the family it was about the money it was about the prestige it was about the car it was about the camp it doesn't matter you and I have one job and one job only and that job is to get to heaven I do not care what your profession is how much money you have in the bank the closeth you wear the club you belong to the camp the boat the fishing gear the hunting I don't care the only thing that matters is that you make it to Heaven my brother and sister in Christ cut it loose and let it go and I'll leave you with this if Mother Teresa could come back today and tell you one thing I bet you it would be the poem she wrote called anyway it goes like this people are illogical unreasonable and self-centered forgive them anyway if you are happy people will be jealous be happy anyway if you are successful you'll win false friends and true enemies you succeed anyway if you are honest people will cheat you you be honest anyway if you spend a life time building something they will destroy it overnight you build it anyway because at the end of the day it was never never between you and them it was only between you and him anyway go forward amen amen in the name of the father and the son and of the Holy Spirit}

“Complaining” - Palm Sunday (April 5, 2020)
Year A 2019-2020

{complaining complaining it's the 1950s his name is Anthony Anthony lives in Syracuse New York and Anthony would tell you that his life was tumultuous Hills and Valleys just always seemed to be that way he loved his parents and his parents were immensely talented they seemed anony would tell you they seem to to love what they did just regrettably not with one another they were both sculptors they were both artists uh his mom was even a poet but early and on they separated he lived with his mom and he'll tell you man grammar school Wellness uneventful high school man he said it was more hit and miss according to Mom it was far more misses than hits he barely gets out of high school and then he'll tell you two things changed his life he'll say at the age of 10 he did a play at the age of 10 he did a play Wizard of Oz he played Anthony plays the Cowardly Lion knowing when you find out who he is there is no way that he could have ever been that part for real it just doesn't fit his demeanor but tells you what great actor that he ultimately became the fact of the matter is he said playing that role at the age of 10 and being in a gang changed his life he'll say he'll tell you he was an Italian gang they called in Bobby milk and it was because of his fair complexion and he also had a birth mark and as a result he'll say early on it it added to more chaos but later in life he was so thankful he got out of it he goes to his mom because life is up and down he's complaining about this and that and that he's nowhere to go and he's working for money and he this that and the other his mom finally sat him down and said stop enough with the complaining it's getting you nowhere I have put some money aside and you're going to get one chance of this I don't want you to complain that you didn't get your shot and I don't want you to complain that you didn't make it I'm going to give you the chance to do whatever you want I only have limited funds he said I'd like to go to New York and be in a play I like to be in the movies I want to act she sends him and he's in different movies different plays the first one that he was in was bedrooms in Manhattan it didn't go too well as a matter of fact you'll probably tell you it wasn't one of his better movies and then he gets in another one called bloody mama he said he only thought the bedrooms in Manhattan was a bad movie until he did this one he said surely it can't get any worse than he does the Executioner boy he has hit rock bottom he is at wit's end he's going back to his mom he's about to complain and she said oh no you run this all the way out no need to stop to complain now he gets one more chance a talent agent calls him and says look I want you to put 25 pictures together of uh you know face shots and etc etc and then we're going to put this together in front of some studio Executives instead of getting the same picture or different views if you will he gets in 25 different costumes and different characters they loved it man and my brother and sister in Christ to this day he will tell you that when he does a part he is all in he will do whatever it takes to study the part no use complaining about the time and the essence it's what he loves to do he'll tell you that when he decided to to portray a boxer he did it in a movie called Rag and bull he gained 100b just to do the ACT then he got involved in another movie where he was uh was going to be a taxi cab driver he said he spent two months driving a cab and then all of a sudden he needed to be on Broadway but they said you need to play a musical instrument he learned to play the saxophone man Anthony AKA Bobby milk becomes one of the greatest actors of our day and he does so because he throws himself totally into the role you'll rarely seem complain about the hours and the time and all the the price that he had to pay to get there and what's amazing is of the top 100 movies are the top 100 movie quotes Anthony has like 10 of them it's amazing my brother and sister in Christ in one of the movies he was um he played Al Capone in the movie The Untouchables and in the movie movie he makes the statement you know I grew up in a tough neighborhood a kind word would go a good ways a gun would get you all the way through he was in another movie where he was uh he played a gangster he was with Billy Crystal in a movie called Analyze This Billy Crystal is a counselor trying to help a Crime Boss to stop being a Crime Boss and in the movie they both walk around to Billy Crystal's truck to get something out and of course Anthony steps back and says man that that's a nice trunk I bet you could fit three people in there he's in another movie my brother it's Christ where he is uh called Midnight Run where he is a bail bondsman and he gets so mad at the guy that he's chasing he tells them that if you don't be quiet I'm going to introduce you to fifth Villa man my brothers and sisters in Christ the movies that this guy has been in even in the movie like Good Fellas where he makes the quote there's two things you need to understand don't write on your friends and keep your mouth shut he's in movie like The Godfather but brother and sister in Christ he was in Meet the Parents he was in the movie The Heist my brother and sister in Christ his name is Robert dairo and one thing he said is what his mom told him is forever true there's no need to complain about it it won't get you anywhere that is exactly the point of the Gospel nowhere in scripture did you hear Christ complain about what was about to happen to him you didn't hear him bemoan and belittle you did not hear him scream and call out you didn't hear him curse or in any way get close to sin my brothers and sisters in Christ I need you to remember this according to the Saints St Bridget St Katherine Emer blessed Mary of AGA the good Lord carried a cross 12T tall 8 foot wide he carried it one mile my brother and sister Christ from the minute in the Garden of Gethsemane till the minute he says it is finished he is beaten according to the three Saints over 6,000 times and yet he never complains when the anxiety is so great in the Garden of Gethsemane and he begins to perspire blood he doesn't complain my brothers and sisters in Christ do you know they offered over 1,000 insults against Christ from the minute in the Garden of Gethsemane to the minute he says it is finished he received over 1,000 insults you know what's amazing you and I get insulted in one day get a bad email bad text message somebody say one thing negative we could have a hundred positive things said something somebody says one thing negative and for the rest of the day if not until the next day next week we are still mad about it we are still losing our patience we are still complaining we will still complaining about it years and months later my brothers Christ according to the Saints do you know that they spit in his face over 100 times they spit into your face or my face one time I can tell you where we're going to be for the next 24 to 36 hours surely in the local prison my brother Christ they said they beat him on the head over 100 times they kicked him in the stomach over 100 times they said the crown of thorns alone the crown of thorns alone gave him 100 Pricks to the Head 20 were legitimate holes three of them are mortal so whether we beat him or not or crucify him he will die by the crown of thorns alone but he never says one word you know according to the Saints and according to tradition the only time that he let out even one scream was when they laid him on the cross and they put the first nail on the first first hit of the first nail into his palm he let out a scream he heard his mother scream and he never said nothing until the end until the words that he needed to Proclaim my brother and sister in Christ throughout scripture complaining has never brought anything to anyone except sin go back in scripture think for a second everybody who's complained James and John at the Last Supper Lord we would like to be on your right and left the good Lord says say stop James John I love y'all you do not need to be on my right and my left can you drink of the Chalice that I'm about to drink well yeah sure yeah Lord yes we can well maybe so but the writing left is not for you it has been given to somebody else my brother and sister Christ can you imagine John's face when he walks up the hill with Mary Magdalene Blessed Mother and sees two thieves on his right and left also being crucified I'm bet you his first thoughts thank God for unanswered prayers why bother complain about it my brother and sisters in Christ what is it about Martha and Mary Lord if You' been here my brother wouldn't have died complaining because Lord if you just come when I called you which was two days ago now 4 days ago my brother would be alive Martha Mary man I'm the life I'm the truth I'm the way my brothers and sisters in Christ Martha and Mary you seen the blind sea the lame walk the dead rise why now do you question me why now do you [Music] complain man can you imagine their thoughts when Lazarus come out what could have been going through their head my brother and sister in Christ according to tradition small T Peter meets with our good Lord prior to Pentecost when he ascends into heaven and asked him Lord why did you appear to Mary Magdalene complaining that you've appeared to her first before you appear to me am I not your Vicor am I not your first pope is my name always first on the list and Judas is all be it always last am I not the one that will convene the councils am I not the one that baptized several thousand people then I not do the miracle was I the one that you change the name for and then the Lord looks at him standing face to face and says Peter when I was on the cross I looked for you and where were you I can't even imagine what must have gone through Peter's head man I should have never complained his response probably hit him to the very marrow of his bones and for the rest of his life what about the Pharisees my brothers and sisters in Christ who complain because a blind man was cured on the Sabbath I mean he can city as a result of being blind would not the Sabbath be even easier for him to walk around to eat to even get a drink of water to go to the well to find family or friends I mean all he did was give him sight he gave him Everlasting sight as well my brother and sister in Christ here you and I said 2,000 years later how much time do you and I spend in complaining my brothers and sister in Christ I'm almost convinced it's an inable right we have the right to life liberty and the right to complain my brother and sister in Christ how often do you and I complain you know there's a survey done that says that the average person complains every 15 minutes that's got to be an old survey we've got that down to a science my brother and sister Christ We complain about anything and everything we feel it's our right to inform others as if they had asked for our opinion we complain brother to Christ and we're in south Louisiana We complain about the temperature the weather look we have two seasons humid and less humid that's all we've ever had my brother and sister in Christ man We complain when it rains and then it sunshine We complain of whether or not the day is cloudy or it's not We complain that we had to go to work because man we just there's other things I want to do but us Christ We complain about anything and everything including our country our president We complain about the virus thank God that you and I are in this country fighting that virus you and I ought to drop to our needs and thank God every day that we live in the greatest country in the world with the greatest resources that we have a roof over our head and closing our back and food in our stomachs but we pass judgment and we condemned we talk about gossip and we email and text message and talk about people behind their back as if we know all there is to know about them We complain about them so incessantly that we are the judge we actually tell the good Lord get out of those shoes I'm stepping in them because I know people and I know where they come from and where they're going I know all there is to know and therefore my judgment is final and I promise you the words will not stop echoing out of your mouth before your judgment will be before the Christ my brother Christ you and I need to stop complaining about anything and everything do you complain more than you say thank you do you complain more than you say I'm sorry do you complain more than you say you're welcome do you complain more than you compliment do you complain about the traffic the house the school my spouse the children the work I do the work I don't do how I should get paid how I didn't get paid my brother it's almost contagious adino is right you complain so much it's contagious and then everybody's that way my brother Christ don't you understand complaining gets to a point where it becomes imprudent and imprudent is a sin it's the wrong thing the wrong way at some point you and I realize that Lincoln was absolutely spot on and his answer was it was better to be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt my brothers in Christ I am begging you the next time that we decide to open our mouths to stop and ask yourselves will this judgment come back on me will this complaint resonate with our Lord my brothers and sisters in Christ I leave you with the words he's an anonymous Prophet I guess if you will but he made a great statement he's a very holy man he made the statement that people enjoy complaining people enjoy complaining almost as much as doing nothing about it my brother and sister in Christ I'm asking you I don't care if you got to peel it and eat it like a grape stop complaining start praying they need it we need it and he needs to hear amen amen in the name of the father and the son and of the holy spirit amen}

“Distractions” - Holy Thursday (April 9, 2020)
Year A 2019-2020

{distractions distractions it's the year 33 I live in the city of Jerusalem like most people we do a little bit of everything anything I work the fields I harvest crops I take care of distribution I take care of gardens I even help people construct their homes do repairs you know even as a community in Jerusalem we take turn Shepherd make sure that we all take turns to help one another you know actually actually I live in the southern part of Jerusalem I live right next to the pool of salong I live right across the street it's a beautiful place it's actually a very Jewish town I'm probably the only Gentile little in that section you may remember that fool remember that story as a blind man walking with mud on his face if you will on his eyes he's being followed I remember it must have been 30 or 40 people imagine a blind man leading people who can see what they said was everlasting life they walk him all the way to the pool and when he gets to the steps I was standing there I'm KN him from his birth he was blind I know that he literally walks down the steps and when the war begins to rise as he steps into the pool he literally just submerges and then he comes up and begins to wipe his eyes he was blind but now he can see you should have seen the commotion the rockus The Scream I couldn't even get close enough to him it was it was pandemonium and then I heard someone say that was the work of the the Messiah I never forget that day gr I'll actually never forget this particular day I've been living in Jerusalem most of my adult life and I live in a little 10 by 10 well you you call it a house it's made of rock and I actually fill the openings with moss and Clay the roof is made of Das it may not be much but it's mine I'm again I'm the only Gentile living in the city of juice and I admit when it rains it gets a little damp in there I mean I don't make a whole lot and sometimes the forest made of dust and it gets a little damp you know I got a little table not much bigger than that I had two chairs a candle I actually have a window right next to the door I put some cloth in it I have a few shells on the four wall I have no knickknacks I live off the essentials utensils bowls fabric right below it it's just it's just my B made a p but you know it was such a beautiful night I can remember the night because I sometimes would go and I would lay up on the roof in the back now remember looking up and saying that has got to be the most clear sky I've ever seen everything was so clear I remember looking at the stars you can almost name different Stars I remember thinking man they're so distinct they they seem to illuminate the whole ground you didn't even need a torch to walk the sky was almost like a bluish black now that cloud for miles it's not even a b Breeze and I remember thinking wow this is so beautiful and I remember thinking maybe it's a calm for the storm I came down it's about eight it's getting late I decided that man is time to call it a night I go to my house and I prepare a little bit to get ready and then he knock to the door and I remember thinking man it's awfully late and the doors back in the day are not those that attached on hinges like you and I know it's it's much different but it does its purpose I open the door well there's John John if there's anybody in all Jerusalem that everybody loves it's John he is pure love he wouldn't hurt a fly he wouldn't even think of hurting a fly I bet you if you went door to door and ask every couple getting married who their best man know us it would be John he radiates us off he comes and says will you will you come with me to a meal tonight and I started to laugh and John I'm the only Gentile in the city we live next to the ases that's very Jews matter of fact John CL SL the Don the Baptist way back in the day well he was in the the very strict he said I want you to go to a Passover meal with me and I'm thinking well I'll go with you John he was so excited he was like a young boy just like he was just amazing the energy at we walked down the road I bet it's not 10t wide it's just dirt and then we look at a different houses some had candles lit in the window somewhere in darkness some of the fames that were able to build them a little fence to hold their sheep you look out into the fields you see the Shepherds man in it and the road would run directly into this twostory white house and it's almost as if the stones were whitewashed they had a big oval shaped door if you will a beautiful door had maging Windows two downstairs and two up and you a Stairway going up the left John was telling me that it's a Passover meal and I remember tell John you know I wasn't invited and he said oh please come come come as my guess so we go up into the room the room is about 30 ft by about 15 ft and inside the room is the shape of a table in a you they got one main chalice Chalice of a carpenter you see all the couches on the outside and the inside of the you there's a tape there's a there's a bch I bet it's not much longer than this so John and I go in and he begins to explain to me that if you should sit on the bench make sure you lay with your feet off the back make sure you lean on your left hand and only eat with your right and as a result only eat when something is passed so you to do something to something is just Dr as we're waiting the apostles begin to enter first is his brother James man you can tell their brothers you can see it you would swear they hadn't seen each other in years that Embrace is only that of a brother it was John's Pure Heart Andrew is a little more at distant but you can tell the commitment now I'm not saying that if you will that James wasn't good to me he was very kind he shaved my hand you can tell it was that fish you can tell that his clothes that may not have been much may not had an abundance but they were clean but he wasn't as open as John but he welcomed me to the table and then I realized he'll die in a few years about a decade more he'll be beheaded and then no sooner than James can come in and then comes and keep his brother man he's nothing like Peter Peter's very gregarious very outgoing very outspoken very direct Andrew's just the opposite he's the cons introvert he's the one who just need to keep things to himself but him and John was Spirits because they embraced as if they had known each other their entire lives probably had fish together but just like James before him clothes were simple you can tell he used his own fishing line to repair he was very pragmatic but I'll tell you this he gave me very respectful bow and thank me for coming to pray with he comes in and he goes to take his seat then comes in James the lesson you know I heard about James they said he's the one that if you ever ask somebody to pray for him James is the one you want I got to tell you I try not to be conspicuous but it's kind of hard not to want to notice they said his knees were like campel skin that when he would go to to to pray he would he would whether it was the the middle of the street the middle of the day the middle of the night in the middle of the marketplace if you said would you pray for me James the Lasser would have dropped and praying immediately and man you can tell he's all about prayer man my brother sister in Christ he's very cordial you can tell he's got a keen intellect with him him and John spoke about some things big man is very cautious very GED but also very welcoming no sooner than he come goes to his chair and John and I began to talk again and then comes in this one man he's I got to tell you compared to the rest he's well dressed he's the consequent intellectual him and John start speaking in different languages Greek arama they even do some in Hebrew man you can tell he's a little bit better dressed no doubt it's Matthew man he's a consonant he understands money in the world they even talked about different people when he looked at me you can tell he was a little guarded about what's he doing here he didn't know me but by the same token he was every minut cry to me he shook my hand and he proceeded in and then not long after that in cameth and then came philli man Philip he's a big man you can tell he's pretty robust you can tell he's also fish you can see his skin is somewhat leathered when he shook your hand he had that old man strength that he shook your hand he knew your hand had been shaken he was very much guarded he may have embraced John but that wasn't going to happen with me but by the same token orthy they're both a little bit up and age but both of them have to tell you they seem to have known each other almost in a prior life they acknowledged me but they didn't give me a whole lot of do they can see they were wrapped up in their own conversation tradition hops that they were married it's what I'm talking with families and as a result of such man they started becoming one time after another Here Comes dadus dadus is a gu's guy he's a little taller than the rest and you could to say he's just it and he doesn't care he came in he embraced John but not like the rest of them and he just noded to me there would be no handshakes he was guarded but by the same token he walked away from a lot as well I remember later in life he would be spirited to he was nice to me but more more than that and then he goes to take his seat a brother and sister Christ and then one comes in he's got the greatest disposition of he's just got a sense of humor about it that just seems to radiate everybody liked him as a matter of fact they were calling as he walked in it was Thomas he had a disposition that everybody wanted to be everybody wants to be with Thomas outside of maybe John man him and John HED off great he even gave me a hug as he walked in he lived up to his reputation he doesn't know a stranger he know sooner gets in and begins to John and I begin to talk again and then I realize it's probably time to can see it and then all of a sudden my brother and sister in Christ I can see it's almost like everybody Stood Still it's almost like everything in the room changed it got cold I didn't know where to sit so I turned to tell John and the guy that woke in man he he he looked like like somebody like the world was on his shoulders he looked overwhelmed his clothes were tatted and Tor he looked dis shoved he looked nervous then he was sweating he was perspiring and matter of fact every no one even acknowled outside of John even John really didn't hug him he called me over but I didn't know if he called me over to introduce me to choice or just to make sure I was closer to him when I tell you that man looked at me his eyes were pitched black and I'm not just talking about the iris itself talking about the ey pitch black he said a shiver down my spine and I'll never forget I remember even taking a step back as if somehow another man May touch he walks by me and he goes to sit on the inside of bench I don't think much of it at the time and then as John says well I think it's time to take our seats I begin to walk and then I noticed John says as he leans over and Whispers you need to sit on the bench and I remember Ving of all people I look at John as if to say I'm even supposed to be here but I don't want to S than to him I wish I had the courage to say it but it just didn't as I he began to walk me around the table to see me man all of a sudden the door opens up make no mistake about it everybody got up from their table when Peter walked in you can say he's not the rock you can say he's not the lead Apostle you can say he's not protos you can say what you want but at the end of the day everybody recognized Peter Peter did not go to them they went to Peter he actually embrac each and every one of them held them by their shoulders ask them how they were and everyone gave their due Judas never moved John brought me along and I got to tell you Peter gave me the look to make no mistake about it your fault my fault nobody's fault there better be nothing that goes wrong here because you are here but you're welome he was in arms distance he shook my hand and I got to tell you that is one big man he is thck he drove us he is determined he is resilient his grip made Phillips and them look like man they didn't even know how to shake a hand you can tell he been on the water his skin was almost like a Le you can see his eyes and prases it looks like he' been through the ring he was gracious enough to say wellcome any friend of John is a friend of his and then he said please have a seat he just looked at Judas that would have been enough to buckle a man's knes I go to sit next to Judas I said on this much of thech I don't want to touch it I don't want to be near I have so lost my focus I am so distracted because of where I sit I didn't even see walk into the room I am staring at judas's side I can tell you the description of his ear I can tell you his nose I can tell you his jawline I can tell you his hair I can tell you his clothes I'm staring at him saying so you're you're the one and I hear John say Mark I've almost like in a days I look up the Messiah the one I heard about at the pool of Sal he's got eyes that are so blue he he knew me you can't tell me he didn't know my name you can't tell me he didn't know my name in my mother's room he he knew everything about me I was so embarrassed because I knew that he knew I also knew he would not say nothing every one of them got up to embrace him Peter is the one he spent the time with when he came to me John introduced me he took everything I had just to stand in front of him part of me just wanted to drop to the ground and say forgive me Lord I do not what I do depart from me Lord I'm a sinful man when I tell you he Embraces love that permeates the very B of your bones I'm not even sure how was standing as much as it was he was holding I remember thanking my Lord my God why have I forsaken you he gave me a look of above he walked off and I was still stand as a matter of fact they were all seeting table John had to get me was pulled me back to my seat I said again next to Jews I actually moved over so that I wouldn't touch you I actually couldn't help to keep looking at it the Messiah of the world is across the table and I am so distracted at who this guy is my focus should have been when I am what came all the times Bo Martha and Mary and Lazar the blind SE the lame walk the dead R the the blind man the Sabbath the lepers Lazarus himself the Miracles that came in his fingertips know some Judas I want to shake you I want to say man can you just can you just not not do it just and then I hear the good Lord say to wound by and hand I watch Peter talk to John I watched John lay his head on the savior's chest I can't hear the whole conversation but it sure doesn't sound good I watch him give and it's almost Z on C he gives and he reaches out and shoes his hand imately goes out and I'm thinking oh my God I almost going to stand up and say stop do you not know what you're about to do you're two words away from being sels I'm sorry I remember just watching I remember watching him get up to walk out in the I am to see right there I never PID attention I remember I don't even want to get up for my my own my own PE and then I hear the IM moral words my flesh is True Food my blood is true drink if I'm not in you you are not in me you will not have eternal life I'll watch them raise the bread I watch them raise that CH Judas leaves before he partakes I'm so distracted I'm almost watching the door as if I waiting for Jud to come back and say me a CO the ma they said told you I'm going to the Garden but I can't go with part the 12 all because I got distracted he' been in our city over 3 years never took the time to go Mee study talk to him to listen all the distracts of the world Brothers and Sisters in Christ nothing changed in 2,000 years we are distracted people if there was ever any time in your life that you and I been focus on one thing and one thing only it's Jesus Christ you have one job and only one job is to make it to Heaven your profession is irrelevant your job is to get you and your family to Heaven every time you get distracted because of what somebody said what somebody did what somebody wrote on an email the internet or Facebook what somebody did in the parking lot what somebody said that somebody gossip sland or belittled or condemned remember you are never neutral to Jesus Christ in everything that you do you're either walking towards him or you're walking away from him do not allow yourself to get distracted because there will come a day when you will stand before him naked and alone there will be no arbitration there'll be no mediation there'll be know nothing there will only be judg you and I will hear only one of two statements what could hold my son my daughter oh how I have waited for you well done my child come come to me or say depart from me I don't know you I never knew all those distractions they took you from me my brother and sisters in Christ I leave you the words of Winston Churchill and un paraphrase you will never reach your goal you will never reach your goal if you stop with throw rocks at every barking dog be on guard of those distractions that come from the evil one your soul is instead amen amen the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit amen}

“Choice” - Holy Saturday (April 11, 2020)
Year A 2019-2020

{choice choice as in you have a choice you have free will it's the 1930s and his name is Isaac Isaac is a New York boy he is a Brooklyn New York boy through and through moreover he is a Jewish boy of New York with that being said he is one of four in his family his uh mom is the quintessential mom she can and does do pretty much anything and everything that needs to be his dad well his dad was a bus driver now Isaac will tell you that his life was well uneventful in high school maybe even in grammar school he said things Chang but the world changed he said as a devout Jew and very loyal not only to my faith to my country when World War II comes he said man the Germans are taking over the world and man the way they're just they're just they're just killing so many Jews as a result of such man he joins the war effort when he comes back he goes to Syracuse University he's got a choice to make he can decide to go and maybe do something else but he's decided his parents man you've you've got to get educated no matter what happens in the world you got to make the right choice at least have an education he goes to Syracuse he gets out and he's met you know his high school sweetheart is still with with him he will tell you to this day he would tell you that she was the ideal girl for him she had the best Outlook he loved being with her very attracted to her they shared so much and similarities they could talk about nothing till the ends of the day as a result man they get married and he said he'll tell you it was a great choice he said then it was decided for me well I got to start making a living he had that personality so he started doing the little things with television and next thing you know he started doing a little bit of standup and next thing you know man before it's all said and done even though it's the 1960s he's more popular in the year 2000 than he was way back then and it's because of the choices that Isaac made as a matter of fact my brothers and sisters in Christ it gets to a point where he's decided that he's going to go to Los Angeles he said he's going to make a name for himself his wife says look you got to make a choice you I can either stay here and make sure we earn some income and you go all come with you he said look just come with me if we don't make it we don't make it he goes there and he gets in a couple of movies first one was a Highway to Hell which didn't do too well he's in another one called hairspray then he was in another one called just I think it was called habit or something along those lines and then he was in Zoolander one and then Zoolander 2 and then his wife said look you're you're making good money but you're not the lead so you're only going to make so much but if you ever got onto a series he goes she goes do you think you could make the choice to jump to doing a series instead of doing movies he said you know if I do this you can't just jump back it doesn't work that way they pray about it and he'll tell you she's a devout Catholic he's a devout Jew they make the Jump Man next thing you know brother CHR he's in one of the most popular series of all time he praised um the father of George castanza and Seinfeld man my brother sister Christ Mr stanza if you will and then from there he's in the uh King of Queens where he is a father-in-law to the couple that that that lives there and as a result man his popularity grows Leaps and Bounds yeah my brother and sister in Christ you know Isaac you know him is Isaac Jerry Stiller my brothers Christ what you don't know about him is an interview that he gave late in life and they asked him they said you know Mr Stiller you've got a very popular son and been and he's done a lot of movies you've done movies you've done this but what is the greatest decision you ever made the greatest choice you ever made he said without question marrying my wife best decision I ever made best choice I could have ever made whether I made it or not man that's how the world begins for me right there as a result he said well when when did you know she was the right one and he said well it was at dinner he said we just we kind of started reconnecting again and man I came from a very poor family so I wanted to really whine and dine her so I take her to this most expensive place in all of Brooklyn he said man it is some expensive but I saved I crimped I borrowed I did what I could I wanted to make sure it was the best meal and he says when she sat down she looked at the prices on the menu and ordered a cup of coffee man the reporter jumped up right then and said so that's when you made your choice that she was the right one he said no it's when she got up and stole the silverware and put it in a purse he said said that's when I knew she was the right one my brothers Christ it's all about choices that is exactly the gospel it's time to get up it's early morning and nobody's Arisen the Savior quote is dead end quote and I'm going to a tomb which I know there will be soldiers in a boulder I cannot move but the choice is mine and boy oh boy does Mary Magdalene make the right choice my brothers and Sisters in Christ because she does get up on Easter Sunday she's the first to see the Risen Christ she even Converses with an angel my brother and sister Christ I want you to stop for a second there's some things that you and I need to know as a first century Jew you and I live in that day tombs are not something that you and I would have free access to as a matter of fact if we were considered a Christian we may not even get our name on a tomb maybe just a number so the fact that they got to found a tomb and Joseph of arthea gave up his that was no small token of appreciation Joseph of arthea is now not going to go heun another cave and build himself one for his departure chances are he's going to be buried like the rest of us you also need to understand that when the when when Mary Magdalene gets there please remember my brother and sister Christ that she speaks and Converses with an angel that has absolutely so little of an impact on her that unlike the other soldiers who were pretending to be dead she is standing there conversing because she's more concerned about the choice of where her savior is than what this Angel has to do or not to do that's courage my brother and sister in Christ when the apostles finally get there did you notice that in another reading another gospel that John gets there right before but he only looks in he doesn't enter the tomb he waits for Peter the choice was John's to enter or not and his choice was that Peter is proos Peter is always listed first Peter's the only one having his name changed Peter's the only one where God the Father spoke and said this is my son who I'm well pleased he is the only one that has the conversation that says you're the son of the Living God he's the only one that is cured he's the only one that has fought the fight he's the only one that is baptized he has made a choice to give reverence to Peter and when he walks in the Tomb I want you to make sure you understand when he walks in the Tomb and he's you notice that the face mask the burial cloth of the face is on one part of the Tomb and the Shroud is on the other this is important for you and I as Jews because we know from Lazarus that when they when when he said Lazarus come out remember the way they would bury him would be is that they would bury and they would tie your hands and feet so that you could not move what did they tell Lazarus untie him is what the good Lord said why because Lazarus could not do it himself and remove the burial napkin no one can remove the burial napkin except him that's why it was placed so many steps away to show people that I literally got up walked and I placed death over here I'm the one that untied and rolled it like it was supposed to be it took a conscious effort work had to be done I'm showing you that so that nobody could say it was just coincidental it was just happen stance that's just how things are my brother and sister Christ as a first century Jew once you and I heard that then we would have known that nobody could have done that it couldn't have been thieves stealing the body you would have taken the body and the garments nobody would have separated and put the death mask or death napkin over there and left the other garments here the only thing worth anything is the Garment my brother and sister in Christ go back in scripture all of our best players are people that have made the great choices by the same token all those that have made poor choices are the ones whose names are no longer even in the Book of Life my brother and sister in Christ pilate had a CH Choice he could simply give them barabus or he could say man my wife is worried about this she is concerned she's had a dream I'm sorry but we're not going to kill him I may beat him I may Scourge him but that's it but he had a choice and he made it as cowardly as it was when he asked Christ what is the truth this is what what he doesn't understand he being pilate is that's the point it's the truth is standing before you this is your moment of truth pilate and you chosen poorly my brothers and sisters in Christ if you're King Herod the Great you had a choice to either go worship the newborn king or to do what you've chosen to hunt him down and kill him you subsequently died just a few years later a tumultuous death my brother and sister in Christ do you find it ironic coincidental happen stance that all four people that judged Christ took their own own life their own choices Judas what's the last sentence Christ says about Judas been better you never been born pilate ends up taking his own life because of the people that he's arguing with about killing Christ are arguing over the issue of water you got also Herod the great grandson who takes his own life and Herod the Great took his own life as well my brothers and sisters in Christ for everyone that makes a diabolical decision or a poor choice they had to live with the consequences more importantly there's people in the in Scripture that made a great choice his will be done at 14 years of age she's the mother of the Messiah at 14 she made a decision that forever impacts the world his will be done St Joseph makes the decision that I can't in no way divorce her and cast a shadow upon her I'm just going to walk away I'll be seen as a dead beat dad but what difference it make what other people think of me is none of my business what a great choice so that no dispersions fall upon her do you know in Peter's Last Words according to tradition small T he tells his wife who was probably persecuted on that same day go with God say what you want about Peter and all the mistakes they made he called him Satan he denied Our Savior three times he tried to walk on water he tried to argue with good Lord I want to wash my whole body and not just my feet at the end of the day when PRI comes to Ser the man was crucified upside down and for three hours proclaimed the gospel and his last words go with God well done well said Kaya Peter dominant the rock the boulder my brother and sister in Christ throughout scripture great people make great choices and the reason they make great choices is that they put their hands together before they try to make the decision well now here you and I sit 20 th000 years later some of of us are not often times are are not making the right decision we're not making the right choices my brother and sister in Christ how many times do I hear people say father I just curse a lot that's just it's just how it is there are 40,000 words in the English language 40,000 and you get stuck on three or four of them two of which the f bomb in GD or Mortal you can't find any other words what a poor choice that is well father you don't understand I I I'm I'm not an angry person but you know that's how God made me no he didn't no he didn't you just heard the Book of Genesis six straight days all things were made good he made you good you have chosen you have had the choice to be angry and you spill it over into everybody everything you go to work angry you come home Angry you're at home Angry you're at work angry you're with your boss your wife your children you're angry and it's constant and it's incessant and the problem is is it's contagious and it's destroying your family and the problem is at the end of the day you do control you do control your attitude you do have a choice and it's a poor excuse to bring the good Lord to say well I'm just angry well look what's happened to me this has happened this has happened this has happened look you want to have a pity party have one great you finished now grow up clean yourself off and get back in the game because at the end of the day it's not between you and them it's between you and him and being angry about it doesn't solve the issue the problem isn't the problem the problem is your attitude about the problem that is the problem and at the end of the day it's a poor choice on your on your decision my brother and sister in Christ how many people go through life and are always negative the glass is always half empty man it could be a beautiful day it could be sunshin and and man we're complaining that it's just too human we can win the lotto and we'll complain about taxes man you could be on the beach enjoy man you could be enjoying just the most beautiful of days the sun could be setting you're under the umbrella there's no one out on the beach there's a slight breeze man you just feel good you got you a big old glass of holy water and then all of a sudden something happens and you snap you start thinking about yesterday you start about worrying about this somebody brings up somebody else's name next thing you're so angry you're so mad you you done Ru the whole day you had a choice and you chosen poorly because you have allowed the evil one to get into your thoughts and roam up there that is expensive real estate do you not understand that in your thoughts three people can put a thought in your head he can he can and you and I can when that thought brings negativity causes you to get angry causes you to be cursing can I ask you to stop for just a second just a second and ask yourself where is this coming from why now and why to me my brother and sister in Christ every day on this Earth you either walking towards him or you were walking away from him you are never neutral to him you got to control that anger you got to control that language you got to stop with the negativity man you could stuck the life out of Mother Teresa and the problem is it's contagious and infects everybody else you got to stop thinking well man the glass is half empty well get another glass or if that's the case then pick it up suck it up and get in the game because 90% of the people don't want to hear the problem and 10% of the problem people are glad it's your problem and not theirs and the problem is it spreads it's like it's like gossip and slander it's the greatest sin of our day and it's out of Lucifer's own mouth my brother in Christ when I hear people start to gossip and to slander and they're on Facebook and their emails well I'm just saying you know what I heard well it's true as if somehow another bearing false witness is exonerated because it's you're telling the truth bearing false witness means you're not a true witness to Jesus Christ more importantly you're breaking the Commandment love of neighbor what you're saying is is because it's true I've got the right to judge no you don't nobody condemn nobody around you can and it's pretty sad and Despicable that you believe that you can pass judgment on the fly as if you know their sins you know their crosses my brother Christ you want to talk about a poor choice if somebody's name on your lips is so insecure and unsafe that the mere mention of their name causes you to to mortal sin you're disordered the problem is yours because you made the choice you have Free Will My Brother and Sisters in Christ there's one thing in our lives that you and I need to stop doing and there's one thing in our lives that you and I need to start doing that's right we got Free Will and the choice is yours but so are the consequences not only do you have the right to choose freely but the consequences that come because of your choice is equally free my brother's Christ what I'm asking you to do in the words of Abraham Lincoln it's better to be thought a fo then open your mouth and remove all doubt you may be slow in making a decision but you never walk backwards what I'm asking you to do is make the right choice that sometimes the decision to say something is not to say something even though you know you got the great answer and the answer is true and they need to hear it sometime the answer is I just better pray for them them but no you don't understand father I need to correct this my per these people are not helping me my family's not helping me my loved ones they always want something it's always about the money they never get along I got problem with my children stop stop all things come through Jesus Christ and if he brought you to it he will bring you through it but I will tell you this you better get up and dust yourself off and get in the game you want to have that pity Bo and go have it but for the love of God get in it and finish what you started the choice is yours it's your soul at stake it's your soul at stake the choice is yours amen amen in the name of the father and the son and of the holy spirit amen}

“Choice” - Easter Sunday (April 12, 2020)
Year A 2019-2020

“Solve” - Divine Mercy Sunday (April 19, 2020)

“Born Again” - 3rd Sunday of Easter (April 26, 2020)
Year A 2019-2020

Year A 2019-2020