My friends in Christ, today, holy mother Church dispenses with what normally would be the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time and instead commemorates one of several important Feasts of the Lord; today, what we celebrate is the Lord’s Presentation in the Temple. Forty days ago, Christ was born in Bethlehem; today, as per the most holy custom of the people Israel, Mother Mary and Saint Joseph her spouse present the Christ-Child to God the Father in the Temple in Jerusalem. And this Gospel scene given for us today from Saint Luke is one filled with high solemnity, with a most rich and beautiful liturgy – this entire scene totally immersed in sublime mystery of the presence of God. We notice the extraordinary reverence of each person in this scene. Joseph and Mary present their baby, Jesus, in the temple, and they “offer the sacrifice…in accordance with the dictate of the law of the Lord…to perform the custom of the law in regard to Him.” And that old man Simeon “came in the Spirit into the temple,” and he took the Christ-Child “into his arms and blessed God” and cried out in a gracious joy that could not possibly be contained one of the most beautiful canticles in all of Sacred Scripture. And then, “there was also a prophetess, Anna,” who, we are told, “was advanced in years” and “never left the temple, but worshiped night and day with fasting and prayer.” Such extraordinary reverence! Such high solemnity, a most rich and beautiful liturgy! And we definitely get a sense that the entire culture of Israel was blissfully and blessedly immersed in this spirit of reverence and piety that most certainly is God’s due and our duty…. But now, we shift gears, very abruptly, to our culture today. And even setting aside the gross mess that our secular culture is right now – consider just for a moment what a gross mess our Church culture is right now! I am sure that I hardly need to remind anyone of what a demonic crisis we are being made to suffer right now, the Church and all of her faithful. Part Two of the clergy sex-abuse crisis…former-cardinal Theodore McCarrick and in his inexplicable rise in power, despite the open secret of his homosexual predation of boys, seminarians, and young priests…and constant news of yet another bishop who was complicit in the cover-up or who themselves are just more carbon-copies of McCarrick – it is Boston 2002 all over again! The priests and bishops of the Church, once again, by and large, have proven to have failed the faithful. And people have wept over this; I know that I have! And Mother Mary, Saint Joseph her spouse, all of the angels and saints, and Jesus Himself all weep over this! And how many people have left the Church, and maybe even have abandoned God altogether – because it certainly seems as if the Lord and His Church have abandoned them! Bishop Daly on many occasions and in his utter humility as our bishop and as a cleric of the Catholic Church has called our present age now “the age of the laity,” and it is the laity who now are the strong ones, the laity who now must lead the charge for healing and renewal…. Well, this seems to be a pattern that comes and goes in waves, as any student of Church history would tell us: when the laity are lax and weak, the clergy and religious are called upon to be the strong ones…and when the clergy and religious are lax and weak, the laity are the strong ones. And so it goes…. Bishop Daly calls this present age “the age of the laity,” and I, as priest and as a cleric of the Catholic Church, could not agree with him more whole-heartedly. Thus, in my humiliated humility, I dare now to propose to you, the laity of Saint Mary Catholic Parish, what maybe you can do so as to lead the charge into the breach, dear friends; at the same time, I know that there are many things that I need to do so as to be part of solution and no longer part of the problem. What I am doing now and what I need to do…. One thing that I definitely know I need to do is this: to reaffirm and reembrace my vocation’s victimhood – not just my priesthood. As Christ is both Priest and Victim, so too must I be both priest and victim; and as Christ offered the Sacrifice of Self on the altar of the Cross and so served us as Priest, and as He suffered freely, willingly, joyfully, and gloriously and so served us as Victim…so too must I! The Venerable Fulton Sheen: “It is not possible to…esteem…the priesthood except through an admiration for the priest’s victimhood…. No mother brings a child into the world without labor.” Just so, “no priest begets a vocation or makes a convert or sanctifies a soul except under the shadow of the cross….” Pope Saint Pius X: “Mere duty is not sufficient for a true priest. He needs something higher: sanctity…. Of the priest, [Jesus Christ] asks a life of heroism. And, therefore, if Christian perfection is an ornament, a glory, and a halo for any member of the faithful, for the priest, it must be his normal way of life.” And so, I very much take to heart these words from these saintly priests and I have resolved how to answer this high, high calling. A renewed commitment to my daily Holy Hour – which is as important and crucial an appointment for me as any appointment with somebody who comes to me for spiritual direction, or a visit to our classrooms, or a meeting with our parish councils…. Also: a firm commitment to my daily Rosary (and in very truth I will make it a point to pray the full Rosary twice each day for all kinds of much-needed intentions that are asked of me)…. Also: more eagerly, and more boldly entering into your lives: inviting myself over for brunch or dinner (because hey, I could eat!), and attending the concerts, the school plays, the countless games of our endless sports seasons…. And also what I resolve to do: daring myself to speak more zealously about the muchneeded themes and topics that need preaching, no matter how awkward some people feel or how controversial the theme or topic might be. And all of this, why? Because I love Our Blessed Lord, and I love Our Lady, and I love the Church, and I love all of you; and I would be an utter disgrace in the company of the Heavenly Court and I would be doing a most grave disservice to you were I to cower from and neglect these very needful things…. And now…what I might dare to propose to you, the laity, and what maybe you can do now in this time of crisis, healing, and renewal…. One: a faithful, joyful, zealous return to and renewed embrace of the time-tested, time-honored devotionals, practices, and traditions, which once upon a time had been the very glue that kept our lives of faith strongly held together! For example: we all know that Pope Saint Paul VI relaxed the rule of abstaining from meat on all Fridays in the year, so that we are required now only to abstain on Fridays during Lent…but why not take up once again a bit of that penance, in commemoration of the Lord’s crucifixion, which by the way happened on a Friday? Why not refrain from meat on all Fridays – an embarrassingly small sacrifice and yet such a great way to participate in the suffering and sacrifice of Christ on the Cross? How about the daily Rosary? Yes, the daily Rosary. As in: each day. And the whole Rosary, mind you. Why not? Turn off the talk radio on your way to work (it only makes you mad anyway), and take up the Rosary instead. How about calling upon the constant intercession of our favorite saints? For example, our Confirmation saint? (How many of us even remember who our Confirmation saint is? Um, forget I asked! I do not want to embarrass anyone with a show of hands!) How about fostering a devotion to our Guardian Angel? Yes, they do exist! And yes, all of us do have a Guardian Angel! This is not some child’s-play here but a heavenly bodyguard, and we each have one! How about dressing up in our proverbial “Sunday best” for the Sunday Mass? Sometimes, people ask me about the cassock; I wear the cassock on Sundays because that is my Sunday best. I doubt that the Lord cares how we dress for Sunday Mass; but at the same time, I know that He does care about whether we are making any effort whatsoever to show our supreme love for Him in every way possible – including how we dress for Mass. How about prayer daily? Prayer for others, yes – but also with others? And yes, each day! How about Mass weekly, on Sundays? And no exceptions ever! Not even vacation! How about confession monthly, even if only for venial sins? And again, no exceptions ever! How about the family dinner together? And without television – gasp! And without gadgets, and tablets, and noise – oh my! And certainly with the family – yes, the whole family! Again, the Venerable Fulton Sheen: “Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops [act] like bishops, and your religious act like religious.” And now, to conclude: what all of us (clergy and laity alike) need to be doing in this time of crisis, healing, and renewal…. We need to dig down and ask ourselves: “Did I contribute somehow to this crisis?” And shamefaced and in humility, each of us needs to answer: “Yes.” We contributed to this hot mess when we chose to live as half-hearted Catholics…when we have not sacrificed enough for the Church (and get over it! I am not talking about money or tithing here! I am talking about personal self-sacrifice: praying; fasting; almsgiving; serving the poor – the good old-fashioned “offering it up” and bearing our sufferings with a prayerful, peaceful, and even joyful grace!) We contributed to this crisis whenever we rushed through the Rosary – or even skipped it altogether), whenever we slacked off during Lent, whenever we rolled our eyes and yawned during the homily at Mass (to name just a few ways how we have grown so utterly and embarrassingly lax)! A return to solemnity and reverence in the church is what we desperately need now – during Mass, yes; but also before and after Mass. Because, for example, greeting others and enjoying a bit of conversation are great and all, no doubt about it…out there in the Gathering Space (hence, why it is called the Gathering Space). But here? In the church proper? No conversations please, no catchingup, no running around…but silent prayer as we prepare for Mass. Read the Scripture texts for the Mass at hand to help yourselves prepare for Mass. Pray that daily Rosary I already mentioned. In whatever we do to prepare before Mass and reflect after Mass, please: we need the silence here inside the church proper. And even outside of Mass, seizing every opportunity for Eucharistic Adoration (and by the way, my hope and intention is to have this parish enjoy perpetual Adoration by the end of my final year as your pastor). And just overall, that which we desperately need right now in this time of crisis, healing, and renewal is this: a renewed commitment overall to personal holiness, and a constant striving to grow always in virtue and holiness of life, and a firm pledge also to self-denial and to more time spent with God in prayer, more time spent with God in the Blessed Sacrament, either in Eucharistic Adoration or in our prayer chapel (open 6 AM to 10 PM each and every single day)…. The Prophet Isaiah says to us: “Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord.” Yes, God! May it be so!