Listen to him

Sisters and brothers in Christ, today is the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, when Peter, John, and James saw our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in his glory.

As Catholics, we are blessed to experience this during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, when heaven opens and the Holy Spirit descends and changes the bread and wine to the Body and Blood of Christ. Jesus is truly present with us at Mass and he dwells inside of us - physically - when we receive him at Holy Communion. And, after having received the Lord in the Eucharist and we return to the pews and pray, we can almost hear the Father whisper in our hearts: “This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”

The Father tells us to listen to His Son who He sent because our Lord Jesus Christ is the Way and the Truth and the Life. Christ invites us to come and follow him, to carry out his mission on earth, the mission of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. Therefore, after we have experience the glory of God in the Mass, we must go forth and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with others, in our words and how we live our lives as Christian witnesses in the world, to be "a lamp shining in a dark place." Our Lord and our God sent his Spirit to be with us "until day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."

. . .

Gospel of the Day

Jesus took Peter, John, and James
and went up a mountain to pray.
While he was praying his face changed in appearance
and his clothing became dazzling white.
And behold, two men were conversing with him, Moses and Elijah,
who appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus
that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem.
Peter and his companions had been overcome by sleep,
but becoming fully awake,
they saw his glory and the two men standing with him.
As they were about to part from him, Peter said to Jesus,
“Master, it is good that we are here;
let us make three tents,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
But he did not know what he was saying.
While he was still speaking,
a cloud came and cast a shadow over them,
and they became frightened when they entered the cloud.
Then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my chosen Son; listen to him.”
After the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone.
They fell silent and did not at that time
tell anyone what they had seen.

Losing our sense of the divine

Sisters and brothers in Christ, we have lost our sense of the divine when we cling on to things of this life, and of this temporal world, at the price of eternal life and the salvation of our souls. Jesus tells us this in today's Gospel, saying: "What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?" We owe everything to God - our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sanctifier - including our lives, and yet we our focus is not on Him but on the things of this world.

Jesus gives us a roadmap that is quite simple. First, we must deny ourselves worldly allurements that distracts us, leads us astray from God's path for our lives, and clouds our vision of heaven and eternal life. Second, we must take up our cross, bearing the burdens of this life with supernatural joy and peace that can only come from being united with God. We can do this by the grace of God but only when we keep our eyes fixed on Him and foster a relationship with Jesus by going to Mass, praying, and worthily receiving the Lord in the Eucharist. Finally, we must follow Christ. For us to follow him with all our heart, mind, and soul, we must be able to do steps 1 and 2, which are so often stumbling blocks for us all.

However, all journey begins with taking that initial step. Let that first step be towards our Lord and our God, and we will find that He is there to hold our hands and lead us on the path to salvation.

. . .

Gospel of the Day

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

Saint John Vianney, pray for us!

Today is the feast of Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of priests. May our Blessed Mother Mary wrap our priests - Fr. Charlie, Fr. Rito, and Fr. Michael - and all priests in her loving mantle.

Saint John Vianney, pray for us! 🙏🕊❤️

Get behind me, Satan!

Sisters and brothers in Christ, we are like Peter. One moment, we profess that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God" because God placed His law within us, and write it upon our hearts. At other moments, we live our lives as though we do not know God or, worst still, we reject God by rejecting His thoughts and His way. In those times when we ignore God or reject Him, our Lord wants us to know this: "I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more." But we must repent and return to our Lord and our God. When we do, the Holy Spirit gives us the grave to resist Satan.

Today is the feast of St. John Vianney. He epitomized holiness and was not afraid to say to the Evil One: "Get behind me, Satan!" St. John Vianney once said, "The man of impure speech is a person whose lips are but an opening and a supply pipe which hell uses to vomit its impurities upon the earth." He also teaches us to call upon our Blessed Mother Mary in our struggles against the forces of Satan, saying; "If you invoke the Blessed Virgin when you are tempted, she will come at once to your help, and Satan will leave you." With God and his angels and saints on our side, we have the strength to resist sin and temptations, to tell the Evil One: "Not today, Satan!"

. . .

Gospel of the Day

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi

and he asked his disciples,

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter said in reply,

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Then he strictly ordered his disciples

to tell no one that he was the Christ.

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples

that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly

from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised.

Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,

"God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you."

He turned and said to Peter,

"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.

You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Please, Lord!

Sisters and brothers in Christ, in today's Gospel, the woman with a daughter tormented by demons teaches us to persevere in faith and prayer. She seeks out Jesus and says, "have pity on me," but Christ does not respond. She pleads again, "Lord, help me," but he seeming ignores her plea. Again, she cries out to him, "Please, Lord!". This time, Christ answers and heals her daughter.

Many of us give up on God too easily and quickly. We petition God through prayer and when He does not respond right now, we convince ourselves that God does not love us, that He does care about us, and so we do not want to have to anything to do with Him. Nothing could be further from the truth. In those times of when our prayers seemingly go unheard by God, He is preparing our hearts to receive the outpouring of grace from His Sacred Heart for what is to come.

We have to trust Him, trust that He desires nothing but the best for us. It is hard, no doubt about it because we are anxious about many things and that robs us of the peace that God desires for us. Therefore, the next time that we pray a prayer of petition, start with prayer of adoration, then go to prayer of thanksgiving, then move to prayer of atonement, and, finally, prayer of petition. This will help us to open our hearts fully to receive His love, mercy, and will in our hearts, to trust Him completely.

. . .

Gospel of the Day

At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not say a word in answer to her. His disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did him homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

Take courage

Sisters and brothers in Christ, no joke, today's Gospel is how a  typical conversation between me and the Lord goes sometimes.

Jesus: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Me (following St. Peter's example): Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”

Jesus: "Come."

Me: "You mean, right now?" or a little later, "Lord, save me!”

Jesus: “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Yet, Jesus never stops calling me to trust him and follow him. And when I fall, he is right there, stretching out his hand to catch me. God is a loving, merciful Father who will not let us down and always keeps His promises.

. . .

Gospel of the Day

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”
After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.

Podcast Recording of Homily (7/30/2022)

Below is a link to the recording of my homily for the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, preached at the 5:00 Vigil Mass.

https://saintalbert.podbean.com/e/deacon-phuc-phan-500-pm-mass-homily-english-1659377663/