• Fr. Jeffrey R. Keyes
    • Psalms
    • Catechism Quizes
    • The Roman Catholic Priesthood
  • Blog
  • CV
  • St. Gaspar Del Bufalo
Omnia Christus est Nobis

Laetare

3/30/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
This is a Sunday marked by the word "Laetare."  We rejoice in more than the mid-point of a forty day fast.  The joy of this day is that Jesus has reconciled sinners and invited them to the Eucharistic Feast. The first reading celebrates the joy of coming to the promised land. The Second reading celebrates the joy of becoming a new creation in Christ.  The Gospel tells the story of a large feast for a whole village marked for Joy.  Fatted calves are not for small family affairs; there would be too much wasted. Reconciliation is a public celebration.
 
The younger son:
 
  1. Wanted his father dead, wanted his inheritance now, wanted life away from family or home
  2. He exiled himself.  He traveled to a pagan land and associated with sinners.
  3. Unwanted Semite in our village; lets give him a job he cannot have; He does the job anyway.
  4. His deepest desire was for pig food.  
  5. He had sunk to the depths.  Jesus describes a sinner who was the epitome of unclean and had sinned so egregiously against his father that there was no possibility of return.
 
The older brother:
 
  1. Angry and judgmental, he hated his brother as well as hated his father.
  2. As older brother he was responsible for the family honor but was silent when the father divided the inheritance between them.
  3. At wedding feasts, the old brother stands outside the threshold barefoot as a sign that the Father is offering his best in service to the guests.  He refuses to go in.
  4. As overt a sinner as the younger brother was, this brother was covert about it; he wanted his father dead too.

 
The saints call us to reflect on the journey home marked by repentance and contrition.  This leads us directly to the Lord who showers us with the gifts of the heavenly feast to give us strength and life so that we might continue the journey.  The banquet bestowed on the prodigal has all the marks of this joyful Eucharistic feast.  He has prepared for us his choicest wines. This is the cup of the new and eternal covenant, poured out for all so that sins may be forgiven.
 
This is a father who delights in showing mercy.  Twice he leaves his house to bestow extravagant love to his children.  If he had stayed home, he would have had one dead child and one ungrateful servant.  Instead he wanted two sons. So, he does the unexpected.  He sees a sinful child still far off and he is filled with compassion.  Not waiting for the child to come to him, he goes first, to protect him from the judgment of those who condemn sinners, and second to bestow gifts of mercy, freedom and honor. For the second son he leaves the celebration to make clear that the invitation is to sinners, to those who because of pride remain distant, and to those on the outside who do not feel welcome at the feast.  It is Jesus who has left the house of heaven, and is outside with us, inviting us and all sinners to the life he came to give.  And to make clear that there is nothing that will separate us from the love of God.
           
​The saints want us to experience this immeasurable generosity of God, using words like "ineffable benefit," "august mystery," and "flaming outburst" to describe the inexpressible Love of God. They want us to experience the depths of this love that we might also learn to love without measure.
 
This is a father who delights in showing mercy.  The parable of a Father and two sons is a tool Jesus used to assure us that there is no one who has an unforgivable sin and that God is simply waiting to shower unspeakable joy on the worst of sinners, sinners who return to him.
 
This is a parish that is rich in opportunities for the Sacrament of Penance.  Come to that sacrament often if you are indeed working on your spiritual life.
 
It is Jesus who has left the house of heaven, and is outside with us, inviting us and all sinners to the life he came to give.  And to make clear that there is nothing that will separate us from the love of God.

 
0 Comments

So, there is this young woman

3/24/2019

0 Comments

 
So, there is this young woman in a far off place.  Not in the centers of power, certainly not in Rome. Insignificant, unknown; who knew her?  She was not known by anybody outside her village, but this is where God visited. She recognized the words, “Do not be afraid” –this is what God had said to Abraham, to Joshua, to Daniel.  She had heard the echo throughout the centuries: God was building a house.  She did not realize it was going to be her.  When we think of God building His own house, that God said to David, “I will build a house,” we are thinking of a huge temple even bigger than St. Peter’s; we are thinking of grandeur. But this is where God came –-- Mary.

Ahaz thought he knew better than God.  We all have expectations.
​
God will take the smallest place. The smallest crumb, the place in the universe that no one expects. 
0 Comments

Third Sunday of Lent

3/24/2019

0 Comments

 
Sermon, Third Sunday of Lent, 2019, Cathedral of St. Eugene, EF, Diocese of Santa Rosa
Luke 11:14-28
At that time, Jesus was casting out a devil, and the same was dumb; and when He had cast out the devil, the dumb man spoke. And the crowds marveled. But some of them said, By Beelzebub, the prince of devils, He casts out devils. And others, to test Him, demanded from Him a sign from heaven. But He, seeing their thoughts, said to them: Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and house will fall upon house. If, then, Satan also is divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because you say that I cast out devils by Beelzebub. Now, if I cast out devils by Beelzebub, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When the strong man, fully armed, guards his courtyard, his property is undisturbed. But if a stronger than he attacks and overcomes him, he will take away all his weapons that he relied upon, and will divide his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters. When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he roams through waterless places in search of rest; and finding none, he says, ‘I will return to my house which I left.’ And when he has come to it, he finds the place swept. Then he goes and takes seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse that the first. Now it came to pass as He was saying these things, that a certain woman from the crowd lifted up her voice and said to Him, Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that nursed You. But He said, Rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.
0 Comments

The Story of St. Gaspar del Bufalo

3/20/2019

0 Comments

 
New file uploaded to St. Gaspar page
the_story_of_st_gaspar.pdf
File Size: 124 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

Happy Feast of St. Joseph

3/19/2019

0 Comments

 
St. Joseph was a just man.  He was faithful to the laws and customs, the ways of Israel. And yet he was also faithful to dreams, hopes and a vision of what God desires.  More than being the patron of the Church, he is the patron of the hidden doing of God's will. In the silence of his sleep, we hear and see nothing. In his dreams he sees everything.
 
Imagine what his anxious moments must have been like. He desired to do what was right and just, but he also desired to do what was fair for Mary.  The saints would have us look at our own anxious moments and know that just as Joseph was in the hands of God, so are we.  saints would encourage us to seek God's will with the same energy and devotion as Joseph. Excessive fear causes agitation too, as one can readily imagine.  Why become anxious as long as we are in the hands of God? Is he not a most loving Father? Does he not take care of us? Does he not dispose all things for our own good?  He used Moses to humiliate Pharaoh and, in general, God chose the weak…to shame the strong. (1 Cor 1:27) When we use the 24 hours of the day for God, in the heart of his will, we have done everything. This does not deny, however, the necessity of prayer and faith in God."
 
Joseph challenges us to love the will of God and to trust the will of God with the same tangible faith.  This faith would get us up from our sleep to follow a dream of God's way without fear or anxiousness.
0 Comments

Second Sunday of Lent (EF)

3/17/2019

0 Comments

 
Sermon on the Second Sunday of Lent, Cathedral of St. Eugene, Diocese of Santa Rosa in California, March 17, 2019, 1:30pm Mass
0 Comments

The sign of Jonah

3/13/2019

0 Comments

 
The book of Jonah is an amazing story. Since no sign except the Sign of Jonah will be given this generation, it is important to read and understand this whole story. There is a great deal more to this prophet than just three days in the belly of a whale.  Jonah was an irreverent and disobedient Hebrew prophet.  The pagan sailors had a greater respect for life and reverence for God.  God desired repentance.  Jonah preached destruction.  Still God  accomplishes his purpose through the prophet Jonah.  God’s instructions to Jonah were very clear and even at the end of the story Jonah does not get it.  Still God is compassionate and so at the end is gently respecting Jonah’s feelings while quietly reminding Jonah of the truth.
 
The Sign of Jonah is not some mystical vision or magical locution.  We don't trust in magic or long for grand occurrences.  The Sign of Jonah is the presence of God in unlikely places.  God is found in foreign lands and among foreign people.  He is found among the stranger, the pagan, the enemy.  He is found in our struggles, our difficulties and in our sorrows.  He is found in the crucified one.  God reveals himself in second chances, remaining faithful to his word yet accomplishing his work even through the disobedient. The intensity of God's love is for all people, as well as plants, and the cattle.  For St. Gaspar, reading the book of the cross was a place to find the sign of Jonah. In Jonah God accomplishes his work through the weakest of servants and on the Cross God is revealed in the presence of a beaten, broken, condemned criminal.  The cross was the unlikely place to find God. It is there we find mercy in his blood.
 
  • Where in my weakness and disobedience might I find the presence and action of God?
  • Where do I need the greatest change?
  • How might I allow God to use me for the great work of his glory?
0 Comments

When a saint teaches you to pray...

3/11/2019

0 Comments

 
Here, then, is the method which I would like to have you adopt:
       1. After the noon meal, no application of the mind. Rather, a visit to the church, a bit of a walk into the countryside at a scheduled time, and a few soft, ejaculatory prayers will be sufficient, or, a brief glance into your relationship with God as seen through all things. It will be useful for you to sing the praises of the things of God, as found, for example, in the Psalms etc.; but also, a bit of the customary repose, since you are obliged likewise to preserve your health.
       2. Meditations made from books are no longer your thing, but, rather, at an opportune time in the morning to place yourself in a state of silence. Do nothing, but only listen to the voice of God.  You might say: "Lord, here I am at your beck and call." Allow your heart to speak with God, uttering its deep affection; do not get into reflective thoughts, except those that God himself arouses; rather, say: Lord speak to your servant ... oh would that I had always loved you."  Then, look with tender glances at the crucifix and be filled with sentiments of confidence and trust in the Lord.
       3. Offer only a few vocal prayers.  Maintain a continuous realization of the presence of God; utter continual stream of aspirations as an incessant plea in the presence of God.
       4. However, be occupied also in external works ... the Oratory ... the sick.  All of this, of course, depending on your strength. Try this method for a bit, and you will begin to see the effects.[1]


[1]  St. Gaspar del Bufalo in a letter to Mr. Giovanni Francesco Palmucci, June 28, 1826, letter 1451)

0 Comments

​Camel through the eye of a needle

3/4/2019

0 Comments

 
Forget the Camel, take the needle.
The needle: strong, unbending, consistent, straight.
Pierces: sharper than a two edged sword.
The needle is Christ, the Word of God, the Cross.
Knitting together: heaven and earth, spirit and flesh, divinity and humanity.
Why did we ever think we could get to heaven on our own, that it was about what we had or did, that it was about our goodness?
Forget the Camel; take the needle.


0 Comments

February 28, Monthmind

3/1/2019

0 Comments

 
30 days after the death of my beloved Sister, the people of St. Eugene Cathedral got together to celebrate an Extraordinary Form Requiem for her.  Thanks to the Generosity of Jay Balza we have pictures which give a glimpse into the  beauty of the Evening. 
0 Comments

    Omnia Christus Est Nobis

    Christ is everything for us!

    Picture

    Archives

    October 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012

    Categories

    All
    Daily Homily
    Holy Matrimony
    Priesthood
    St. Gaspar
    The Liturgy
    Travel

    RSS Feed

    Incoming Missal
    Explanation Coat of Arms
    Dinner with Fr. Keyes 2015
    The Women Speak
    An American Priest in Ireland
    Bringing the "Catholic" back.
    Burying the Alleluia
    Sacristy Art I
    ​
    Sacristy Art II
    ​
    Sacristy Art III
    Sacristy Art IV
    Sacristy Art V
    Sacristy Art VI

    Years in Review
    2015
    2016
    2017
    2018
    2019
    ​
    Decade in review
    ​2020

    Author

    I am a Roman Catholic Priest from California. I spent 13 wonderful years years as a member of the Province of the Pacific in the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. The outline of my life can be traced here. 

    Friend's Blogs

    Melissa and Andrew Steele
    ​
    Fr. John Hogan OCD
    Joan from Rome​
    Fr. Joseph Illo