C - Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Recently I have been recalling memories of my childhood. Little things from 55 or more years ago emerge from my memory banks. I recall the feeling that Sunday had, which was quite different from the rest of the week. The shops were closed; there was little to no traffic – it was quiet and calm, though we lived on a very busy street. I remember that on occasion the Salvation Army would march down the middle of the road with the brass band playing, cymbals crashing, and drums beating, while cars slowly followed behind. I recall the beer delivery to the pub opposite to where we lived. I loved watching the men roll beer barrels down a ramp into an open hatchway in the sidewalk. I also recall that on occasion, when we walked to town, there was a man with a large sign donned like a vest. On one side it read, “repent” and the other side was written, “for the wages of sin is death”. The older I become, the clearer the truth of these messages resonates.

In our first reading we hear about the impending judgement that is to befall Sodom for its sin. For the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah was so grave and serious that God would send two angels to see if what was said of Sodom would justify its destruction. Knowing what these two angels would see and confirm, Abraham made his intercessory prayers to dissuade God from his just judgement. We learn a lot about Abraham in this short passage, about his leadership role, his compassion, his sense of fairness and justice, his love for his family – for Lot his nephew lived in Sodom, and about his relationship with God. You can say that Abraham, fearlessly, and with determination pressed God to be merciful. And this he was able to do because of his faithful, though not faultless, relationship with the Lord.

The power of baptism brings us into the same relationship with God, and it gives us similar Abrahamic powers. And these powers Jesus himself affirms and encourages us to exercise. For God is not a power out there to which we are subject, as if to the wiles and whims of an impersonal force. Jesus tells us we can call God as He does, as Father. For that which separates man from an all-powerful God, is brought into an intimate relationship by way of the cross and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, as we read in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

The consequence of sin is death; the extinguishing of life, yet with faith in the power of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, this just sentence is obliterated. As Paul writes, the legal claim opposed to our life is removed from our midst and nailed to the cross.

For us here and today, we are subject, not to a death sentence but to the love and mercy of a Father who wants to give good things to those who love him. Not a snake, nor a scorpion, but profound graces and holy gifts. But what is it that we ask for; what are the requests we make to our heavenly Father? In the days I was watching the Salvation Army march down our street, and the beer barrels rolling down the ramp, I remember asking God for many things, but one of them was a bicycle. It took a while asking but finally, I did get one. And for this I gave him thanks. We can together laugh at that request since it was childish, yet sometimes, we all ask for childish things. Yet we are clearly told what it is we are to ask for, for what it is we are to seek, and for what it is we are to knock for. Buried in the gospel reading today is this line, “how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?" 

The Holy Spirit is what you and I should be asking for. And it is by way of the Holy Spirit, that we can ask for truly big things, just as Abraham did – remember he wanted to save two cities filled with men, woman and children. My friends ask for the big things, the profound things in life. Ask for the Holy Spirit for he brings with him, spiritual gifts such as wisdom, knowledge, faith; he brings to us gifts of conviction, of fearlessness, and comfort in times of need. He brings us transformation and healing. He brings us intimacy with God, which is real, deep, extremely personal, profound, and revealing. As we read in the gospel, we are to ask for the right things and to ask them with persistence. We can and must approach God our Father frequently and with persistence for our spiritual welfare and development, because by this all things are won and nothing of true value is lost. But this activity is not just a spectator sport, for the Spirit reveals and empowers but does not replace our responsibility to make the effort, to ask, seek and knock. We must take the steps of the journey to reach the gates of heaven. This journey is neither easy, pain free, nor without many challenges. But we are promised victory if we persevere in faith. As you make this once in a lifetime journey with its tribulations, difficulties, pain, challenges, and yes, its hopes, joys, and visions, be encouraged by the words of Psalm 37, “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand (Ps 37:23-24). Bicycles are fun, hearing the marching band is grand, reliving old memories is happily nostalgic, but life in the Spirit is everything, so ask, seek, and knock for your father is listening and waiting to give you good gifts. These good things may be epic in size and importance, or small and of no clear importance to anyone but you. But to God our Father, He delights in every detail of our lives.

Deacon Peter Bujwid
St. Agnes Church, Arlington, Massachusetts
Sunday 27th July 2025

C - The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Today is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi. In designating today as a Solemnity, the church wants us to know this is a feast day of the highest order – one which points to a foundational truth of our faith. 

As regular church goers we know and acknowledge that Jesus is present in the Eucharist. Though for a time we do not see him face to face, we believe he has not left us alone but rather remains close to each of those who love him. St. Thomas Aquinas would write that, "It is the law of friendship that friends should live together. Christ has not left us without his bodily presence in this our pilgrimage, but he joins us to himself in this sacrament in the reality of his body and blood". So, by his body and blood you and I are joined to Jesus. But how often do we consider his soul and his divinity, which he also shares with us? For after all we do acknowledge, that he is present, body, blood, but also soul and divinity. His soul and his divinity are not to be separated from his body and blood.

How do we know that his soul is present to us? We can know that his soul is present because Jesus is alive and living. And to be alive means to be ensouled – for to be without a soul is to be dead. So, in receiving the Eucharist we also receive Christ’s soul. And since this is the soul of the one who broke the chains of death, in rising from the dead, we are wedded to the source of life that is itself freed from death. In this we can be confident.

We also receive His divinity. Christ is the Godman – he is God made man. And this too is shared with us, for his divinity is likewise present in the Eucharist because of the hypo-static union, which makes one his humanity and his divinity in his person-hood. Body, blood, soul and divinity are given to us unreservedly and with generous abundance.

When I was a little boy, we had only two TV channels. TV programs were in black and white and when not broadcasting you would see what was called a trade card transmission – this was a picture containing various shapes and patterns, at the center of which was a girl playing a game with a toy clown. Then between scheduled programming we would have a short film of a potter making a pot; forming it out of clay as it spun on the potter's wheel. It was never quite finished but was formed and reformed as the potter's wheel continued to spin. Frequently we ask for God to assist us, to help us, to form us, to heal us, to transform us, to remake us, and this he does by way of the sacraments and the Holy Spirit. It is his divine and soulful presence within each of us that works for healing, formation and transformation, like the potters' hands on the clay. Yet, ironically, we resist the change we pray for because, though we ask for it, we seldom want to really change. We are comfortable, and prefer what we know, so we pray, "Lord change me, but please don't let me have to make any changes”. There is therefore a spiritual tension formed between, who we are, what we were made to be, and what God is doing within us and for us. But by means of the Eucharist and by our willing and imperfect participation, we are gently sanctified and made holy.

On this Solemnity consider not just the body and blood which Jesus gives to nourish and to sustain us. For Jesus gives not only his body and blood but also his soul and divinity. This divine and soulful presence finds a place within each of us who believe and welcome him, and by means of this we grow in holiness, in the love of God, and in the service of his plan of salvation.

We pray for the courage, not just to ask for change, but to also make the changes we know we need to make, accepting that this may not always be easy. We draw consolation in this life task since we are not left to do this by ourselves, for Jesus is present to us, body, blood, soul and divinity.

Deacon Peter Bujwid
St. Agnes Church, Arlington, Massachusetts
Sunday 22nd June 2025

C - Fourth Sunday of Easter

Video of Homily

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me.” In our catholic mystical tradition, we have many instances when someone hears Jesus speaking to them. Two weeks ago, we celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday. Sister Faustina would hear Jesus speaking to her in visions. Because she listened, the world was given the image of Divine Mercy and a more complete understanding of the mercy of God. Mother Theresa of Calcutta would hear Jesus ask her to serve the poor and the orphaned. " For them I long, them I love. Wilt thou refuse?” Mother Theresa would hear these words and go on to establish the Missionaries of Charity in over 130 countries. We also have the words of Jesus recorded for us by Saint Francis as he prayed in the dilapidated Church of Saint Damiano. “Francis, go and rebuild my church which, as you see, is falling down.” Listening to our Lord he would start to rebuild the walls of the fallen church, but in time he realized the call was far deeper. Francis would go on to establish the Franciscan order.

Few of us, but perhaps some of us, have heard Jesus speaking in the same way he did to Sister Faustina, Mother Theresa, or St. Francis. Yet we know we are his because we hear his voice. Simply by attending Mass, in receiving communion, in confessing our sins, in having our children baptized and showing them the way in which to go – in these things, we hear his voice and follow him. In spending time reading our sometimes-dusty bibles, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the lives of the saints – again we are hearing his voice. In prayer too, we prepare ourselves, give ourselves and then actively listen for his voice. We hear his voice by living the good life revealed to us, and in sharing our faith, our understanding with others. By way of evangelization, we not only join Christ in his mission but in the process become ourselves transformed, as by his word.

Most of us lead ordinary lives, yet from the ordinary comes the extraordinary. The time will come when we will be in that multitude that St John describes in his vision. This is the vision of the redeemed, the communion of saints, of those who heard, followed, persevered in faith, despite many and varied challenges. Here we will see people of every nation, tongue, and tribe. Here will be the culmination of all the threads of salvation, carefully woven together by a God, who desires us and all his children to be one. Here we are led to the springs of life-giving water which is eternal life. We have every reason to rejoice in being ordinary. We may not share the mystical experiences of some but, by way of a simple faith life, one which is open to hearing our Lord's voice, we will neither perish nor be lost, for we are held in God’s loving hand as Jesus clearly tells us.

We have a new pope. An American pope born in Chicago. The Holy Spirit is always profoundly present to us but perhaps in this week he is present in a special and deep way. We pray for Pope Leo and join him in praying for Christ’s church and for the whole world. May the good news of unity, mercy, forgiveness, and love, which has been entrusted to Pope Leo and to you and me, flow out to all corners of the earth. May this message, be our message too. The Pope, I do not doubt, will do extraordinary things, and we, well we will do the ordinary, but together we will all hear His voice, and follow him.

Deacon Peter Bujwid
St. Agnes Church, Arlington, Massachusetts
Sunday 11th May 2025