ARCHIVES, MONSIGNOR BENJAMIN FRANZINELLI'S HOMILIES

March - May, 2006

HOMILY 6TH Sunday of Easter

May 21, 2006

The wonderful season of Easter is coming to a close, next Sunday we celebrate the Ascension of Our Lord to Heaven and the following Sunday is Pentecost. The FIRST ENCYCLICAL LETTER message received by Catholics and the world from our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, was called "God is Love", Deus est Caritas. That Encyclical reflects what our Gospel and readings this morning speaks and teaches us about true Christian love. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God. Remember, I have loved you first, keep my commandments and remain in My Love"." Love one another as I love you"

We who call ourselves Christians are called to love one another as Christ has loved us. Our natural inclination is to love those who love us, to treat others as we would want to be treated. As Christians we are called to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. By your Baptism, God, Our Lord Jesus Christ, has chosen you to be His Disciple, to go out and bear good fruit. By Jesus’ Sacrifice on the Cross and the gift of His life for us, for us who believe, He prepared the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and and Holy Communion, His Body and Blood. So in truth. He is in us and we in Him; REMAIN IN MY LOVE.

God calls us this morning to demonstrate true Christian love. How is it recognized? It is not self serving, condescending, permissive and certainly not sensual.

Today, the term "love" has become one of the most used and misused of words; a word to which we attach different meanings. Christ teaches us that true love seeks the good and salvation of others, especially the ones you love. That means sacrifice, long suffering and commitment. Among the many meanings of "LOVE", one in particular stands out: the love between a man and woman, joined in a life commitment of self sacrifice. Love for one another.

Allow me to give you some realistic and commonplace scenarios. Parents, spouses, and dear friends you may be victims of secular world attitudes and errors of our time. You claim to sincerely love your child, your spouse, your friend, and one another but in all reality your love lacks the reality of Christian Love. For whatever reason or circumstance you find yourself being permissive of wrongdoing. It could be your child, husband or wife, or dear friend, and you condone wrong behavior by allowing it to happen right in front of your eyes for you say little or nothing. You're being permissive. The sorry part of it is that those of you who find yourselves in that predicament do not realize that permissiveness is sinful, and demands God's forgiveness. In certain situations it can be mortally sinful, depending what is permitted. It is silently cooperating as well as condoning. Christ urged us to love the sinner but not the sin.

It does mean loving, fraternal correction. True love is hard, demands self sacrifice; it is not self serving, convenient and excusing. God want us to show our love for Him by the way we love one another, especially those who have been entrusted to our care to seek their salvation.

HOMILY 4TH Sunday

Easter 2006... The Good Shepherd

Though it is just three weeks since Easter Sunday we need to be reminded that we are still in the Easter Season. We cannot take lightly the messages from the Lord on these Sundays.

These are "Alleluia" times, grateful for our faith, our Baptism, grateful for the forgiveness of our sins, grateful for the Sacrifice of the Mass, for the Communion of the Eucharist - are not these gifts something to shout out loudly , ALLELUIA ..."

The hard truth is this community of faith acts like they have been drugged, speechless, and half dead and I am here to wake you up.

Do you really believe in the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead? In the testimonies of the Apostles and the martyrs who died for their faith, in the Resurrection and the Sacrifice of the Mass even to this day?

Do you believe that each of you are destined to be resurrected and be like the Resurrected Jesus and see Him as He is?

It may be very hard for us even to imagine our resurrection and life after death. Yet, we are His Children, His Lambs, the Sheepfold of the Faith. God Our Father and Our Risen Jesus are concerned for their sheep.

Our Risen Lord wants for us to know Him better. Not only has Jesus given Himself up for us, but the many who have heard of Him and believed have given up their lives. Their testimonies are in front of your eyes every day. In order for you to be fed with the Sacrifice of the Mass and receive Jesus in Communion, the Priest gives us his life, as have the Priests who served you yesterday, today and tomorrow. Among them your Pastor Father John Andrew, and among them is myself. Father John Andrew Sullivan 26 years, myself 54 years coming up May 31st. These are testimonials to the Resurrection, to the image of the Good Shepherd giving up his life to the sheepfold of the Lord.

Is there not reason for those who believe in the Resurrection not to be excited and shout out from the top of their lungs, Alleluia’s?

I wish I did not have to say what I have apparently observed anongst some of you. God hopes you are not coming to Mass thinking and acting as if you are doing Him a favor. Waiting for God to thank you for coming. If you truly believe you would have no problem for saying "Alleluia". Thank Him for His patience with you, thank Him for His Gift of Himself to you in Communion of the Holy Eucharist, and for carrying you back when you have strayed and loving you to the end.

DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

April 23, 2006 ; Homily: The Victory that conquers the world is our faith in the Divine Mercy of God!

THE VICTORY THAT CONQUERS THE WORLD IS OUR FAITH IN THE DIVINE MERCY OF GOD. Divine Mercy is at the heart of today’s Gospel, "...whose sins you forgive, are forgiven them ...". Divine Mercy can also be seen in the patience Jesus had with the incredulous Apostle Thomas. "Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."

Glance back to the scene of Good Friday: Christ Crucified dies on the Cross, a Soldier Pierces His Side with a Lance and from the wound gushed out Blood and Water. We, who believe in Good Friday, the price JESUS PAID to redeem us of our sins, also believe in His Victory, His Resurrection. Try to understand a little bit the love of God for all mankind; recognize and acknowledge the Divine Mercy Of Christ.

A little known devout polish nun in the 1930's received apparitions and revelations concerning the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ. In Sister Faustina Kowalski’s Diary account of her apparitions and revelations, she was asked to recommend special devotions and prayers to the Divine Mercy and a specially designed icon or painting of the Resurrected Jesus with the invocation, "Jesus I Trust in You". The Icon or painting is an image of the Resurrected Christ with rays of red and white flowing from His Heart. The rays symbolizing Christ’s Blood and Water Gushing from His Sacred Heart.

Divine Mercy Sunday is the result of St. Faustina’s experience of apparitions and revelations and the conviction of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II in the truth of her revelations and her deep devotion to the Christ’s Resurrection and His Divine Mercy. She became Our Lord’s messenger for our time. Look upon the Image of Our Risen Christ’s Divine Mercy - decide to trust God and His plan for your lives. God respects your free will so much that He allows us to make the decisions which design the kind of life we will lead here, yet, He asks us to be partners with Him in bringing His Mercy, His Peace, to the world around us.

We should venerate the Image of Divine Mercy, express our trust in Him (Jesus, I trust in You!) and perform some work of mercy. The work of mercy can be your compassion - just one word of kindness, a deed, or at least a prayer for someone else.

I share with you my own personal conviction and devotion to the Image of Divine Mercy. Reflect with me the trust of the Virgin Mary at the incarnation, her trust in God. With all your plans for today and your tomorrows, "Jesus, I trust in you" say it, repeat it. O’ Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fountain of Mercy(Love) for us. I trust in you.

The Church, through a decree of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, offers us a Plenary Indulgence under the usual conditions (Confession, Communion, Prayers for the Holy Father) and participation in this Divine Mercy devotion. This devotion can be prayed in Church or done privately. One has only to fulfill the usual conditions and express one's trust in the Merciful Lord (Jesus, I trust in You!)

This briefly is how to say the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Using your ordinary rosary beads, begin by saying the Our Father, Hail Mary and the Apostles Creed. On the large bead before each decade we say, Eternal Father, I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and the sins of the whole world.

On the 10 smaller beads, you say "For the sake of His Sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world"

At the very end of the five decades, we say, three times: "Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One - have mercy on us and on the whole world".

EASTER SUNDAY (SOLEMNITY)

April 16, 2006 : Homily, "New Again, New Again!"

Easter is the celebration of Resurrection, a day of Renewal of Our Faith in the belief that Jesus Christ was born into this world by the obedience of the Virgin Mary. He came into this world as the Incarnate Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary. In obedience to His Father, He revealed to the world the love of God : by His Testimony, His Works and Wonders. He taught a way of life contrary to the ways of the world; namely, not merely to repent of your sins but also to love one another, forgive and be forgiven and in compassion to reach out to the poor. The Son of God, Jesus, showed us the Love of God in the Works He performed: healing, forgiving and generous compassion. Finally Jesus, in obedience to the Father offered for the reconciliation of the world, Himself, as the sacrificial Lamb. He did suffer and die an ignominious death by crucifixion on a Cross at calvary. HE WAS BURIED BUT ON THE THIRD DAY He rose from the Dead as He promised and gathers up to Himself those who believe in Him and His Resurrection. His disciples had a hard time understanding what He promised. They went to the tomb, saw and believed. So many of us today have a hard time.

In truth many of us today may have a hard time understanding. We may have a shallow faith always looking for signs. We hear and believe for a moment and then let it go in one ear and out the other. Allow this day to make a difference in your lives. Don’t allow the world and its attractions and confusing messages to dampen the affect of the Holy Spirit for a life of renewal.

Realize today that the Renewal of your Baptismal vows is a preparation for Resurrection. Our faith in Resurrection should be renewed with the renewal of our Baptismal promises.

Our pasts are merely prologue for the future. When we reject sin, a new springtime gives us hope the we can as St. Paul said this morning, "clear out the old" so that you may be refreshed, and renewed. Roses are bursting out their fragrances; trees are budding and fruiting. It is a new Beginning. Lift up your heavy hearts and burdened consciences. This is a moment for a new look at your personal life, to see for yourselves the evidence of His Resurrection in our personal lives. Your sins, forgiven, you can come alive again.

Your Baptismal Promises provides you this morning the opportunity to reject the habits and behavior that tempts you to sin.

Reject the glamour of money and power, sins of avarice; don’t let money rule your lives. Don’t let the world around you destroy your peace of mind and heart. And don’t let the temptations of the flesh overwhelm your eyes and senses; avoid the darkness of immorality.

Believe in yourself, in your power to be good and do good as the goal of your lives. Believe in Resurrection.

Believe in the power of prayer and trust in Christ, risen from the dead. Believe in His forgiveness of your sins. The renewal of our Baptismal promises prepares you for a new life. Receive the Holy Eucharist worthily...

A new birth in the Spirit raises us up to shout out: New Again, New Again, Alleluia, alleluia

Fourth Sunday Lent 2006, March 26, Homily

We rejoice today in anticipation of Easter Sunday, Resurrection Sunday. Midway through our Lenten preparations of penance, have we anticipated Easter, a renewal of our spiritual and way of life? A renewed faith and hope in God?

Have we during this season of Lent prepared ourselves for the unexpected. Which means have we paid attention to the signs of our times? If so, when was the last time you went to confession, made a good confession? And those of you who claim you have no sins, let me remind you of the sins you have committed by omission. They are sins as serious as the sins you committed. The things you could have done and didn’t do, and things you should have done but did not because it was inconvenient, out of laziness, selfishness and self imposed ignorance. Are you and I any different than those of whom the first reading talks about? We are indeed unfaithful servants, the children of our times, obsessed with materialism, worldly attractions. Nevertheless, our Merciful God continues to spare and guide us through His Church: the warnings from Our Holy Father, Bishops, priests and the living Scriptures and Gospels. God’s warnings are to every generation, especially ours. Because, because Our generation needs many purifications.

God is merciful and continues to love us despite our lukewarm faith and practice, and our sinfulness. God knows our nature better than we. SPARE THE ROD AND SPOIL THE CHILD. God wants to save us, WAKE us up, bring us back to life through the Christian Catholic presence and teachings of His Incarnate Son, Jesus Christ.

Many graces can be received in this Holy Season of Lent because of our faith, our prayers, humility and sincerity and generous good works, and the penances you and I accept in our daily lives, they are sources of Grace. As St Paul says, “For by grace you shall be saved” Believe in the promises of your Baptism, in the Holy Mass you attend, in the Holy Communion you receive, in the forgiveness of your sins in Confession.

The Gospel this morning God reminds us that He did not send His Son to mankind to condemn it, but rather to show us the light, with His teachings, warnings and a renewed promise for new beginnings and Resurrection.

On the other side of the coin there are the signs of our times, just as in ages long before as well as in recent experience. Because of His peoples unfaithfulness, and they ignored His warnings, but in His Love for them, He allowed a purification. Will God not do the same for us in our times? Have you been in the dark> Blind with disobedience and self imposed ignorance? Can you not see the signs in our time: not only 9/11, Katrina, mud slides, unexpected weather, and whatever, and add fear - that the economy can be the loss of our comforts of the present.

Third Sunday Lent March 19, 2006 Homily

(Jer 31:7-9; Heb 5: 1-6; Mk 10:46-52)

In the first reading this morning God spoke to us reminding us of His ten commandments. Not so much as oppressive rules but as a guide for our human behavior. Each commandment has a wider meaning than,“thou shalt not...”. The ten commandments remain a Judeo-Christian instruction for the survival of modern mankind in every generation especially our own.

Let me point out to you how the Holy Scripture emphasizes what is important in the 1st three Commandments which pertain to God Himself, “ You shall not have any other gods but Me”, keep reverent my Name and keep Holy for Me the seventh day. It is most important and necessary to believe that God exists. Not a god you and the secular world have created for yourselves but the real God of History, the God of Abraham, Moses and Jesus, the Christ, whose works and deeds are proof. There is no other. We need during this Lent to reaffirm our faith in the existence of God, His Works and Deeds and the entire history of God revealing Himself to mankind. Lent calls us to seek Him out in the Scriptures, in our prayers, to seek and find the truth, that God is truly real. God wants His Creation to acknowledge Him and recognize His Divine Plan to save us and restore mankind to Himself.

During these weeks of Lent we call upon God for His merciful forgiveness for the times we doubted Him, ignored His Presence, and His Saving Commandments. We beg, especially for our present generation caught up in the denial of the necessity and importance of religion and rules for life. Our sad modern generation wants to continue closing our eyes to our self imposed ignorance of God and His Laws, our denial of sin. Admit that the filth of immorality and the stench of the culture of death and our "over indulgence" surrounds our environment. Need to clean it up! Despite our modern sophistication in the sciences, electronic media, and our affluence in the material world, our over indulgences are causing us more sadness every day.

Why is that?

Our godless western world and secular Christian society has twisted and stretched the meaning of god ‘s commandments to accommodate their own personal and national pride, their own self interest, greed and political power. Satan has deluded Christians to compromise their faith especially under the guise of humanitarianism, economically serving society and freedom of democracy. In our own country we would deny God’s place in our lives and the life of our nation motivated by a fear of offending a non believer. Unfortunately that imaginary fear is a fear of religion, of God interfering in their godlessness, and secular anti-religion licentious way of life.

I feel certain that Jesus Christ, in his displeasure with the gifts He has Given us will use a cat &"nine tails" whip to straighten us out. The whip will be God’s established laws of nature in His Created World and our human nature for the good of mankind. It is not hard to believe that the violation of God’s Law would and could merit allowing merciful chastisement.