Christ at the Center

August 15, 2021 - The Faith Which Conquers Death

“[Elizabeth said to Mary,] ‘Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled’” (Luke 1:45). While the Blessed Virgin Mary received a singular grace from God in view of her unique vocation, her being assumed by God into heaven (body and soul), is a sign of hope for us. Cooperating with God's grace, we can have an enduring faith that the Word of God will be fulfilled in our lives. Even at the hour of our death. The characteristics of this enduring faith are:  (1) holding to the conviction that God is worthy of love and trust, and (2) practicing this faith courageously during every circumstance.

August 8, 2021 -Offer to God the Sacrifice of Praise

This is part 3 of the series, "How Holy Mass Forms a Holy People." Connecting the celebration of the sacred liturgy with the conduct of our sacred lives is integral to growing as disciples of Christ. Jesus said, “‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world’" (John 6:51). Christ is talking about the oblation of His life for our salvation. An oblation is a sacrificial offering to God. The Catholic Church has never taught that Jesus is sacrificed again whenever Holy Mass is offered. The Eucharistic sacrifice is a participation in the one and eternal sacrifice of Christ who has risen from the dead. What is eternally present to God the Father is made present in this time and space. As our reflection on the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins, consider some of the practical ways of offering ourselves to God in union with Christ,

August 1, 2021 - Reverently Receiving the Word of God

[Audio issues are being addressed.] This is part 2 of the series, "How Holy Mass Forms a Holy People." Connecting the celebration of the sacred liturgy with the conduct of our sacred lives is integral to growing as disciples of Christ. God reveals Himself to us because God invites us to live in union with Him. After His miracle of feeding the multitude, Jesus told them that there is a deeper hunger that only an intentional relationship with God will satisfy. Trusting in the love and mercy of God, our communication with Him is important. During the Liturgy of the Word, we listen to the Word of God intently, learn its meaning intimately, and strive to live according to it with integrity. 

July 25, 2021 - Worship Jesus With the Right Expectations

[Audio problems are being addressed, but you can hear every word of the homily.] Some Catholics say, “I don’t get anything out of Mass.” We can lovingly inquire about their expectations. If we think that worshipping Jesus is about ourselves first, then our expectations are unreasonable. The Lord said that we are to do this in memory of Him. Therefore, we should come with an expectation to meet the Lord as He chooses to present Himself. For the next five Sundays, the Gospel reading is taken from the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to Saint John. Many members of the multitude wanted Jesus to perform for them. They were not interested in encountering Him as a Person. As a result, many would reject Jesus because He did not meet their expectations. It cannot be that way with us. We have come to participate in the one eternal sacrifice of praise to our Lord God and Savior. We can never thank Him enough! If someone asks you what happed during Holy Mass today, tell them, “I met Jesus.”

The is the first of the homily series, “Mass Movements: How Holy Mass Forms a Holy People.” For the Christian disciple, there must be a vital connection between the celebration of the sacred liturgy and the conduct of our sacred lives.

July 18, 2021 - No Vacation from Our Vocation in Christ

“The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught” (Mark 6:30), One aspect of the apostolic character of the Church is that each disciple is called to engage in her mission by virtue of being baptized. We proclaim the Gospel of Christ, build His Church by making disciples, and impact our communities for good. The Lord summoned and sent His Apostles to sanctify through ministries of reconciliation, liberation, and healing (cf. Mark 6:7-13). Now they return to Jesus with a report of their ministry. It had remarkable results! In context, a “vast crowd” of tens of thousands of people had followed the Apostles back to Jesus (cf. Mark 6:31. 34, 44). As we engage in the work of the Lord, we must take time for necessary rest so that we do not get burned out. However, there is never a vacation from our vocation in Christ. There is never a holiday from our becoming holy and helping others to do so.

July 11, 2021 -Summoned and Sent by the Lord to Sanctify

"Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two..." (Mark 6:7). We profess that we believe in "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church" (Nicene Creed). The Church is apostolic because she was founded by the Lord Jesus, who entrusted His message and mission to His Apostles. The Apostles, along with their successors, the bishops, are responsible for ensuring that the Church is faithful to what Jesus handed on. The Church is also apostolic because the Sacrament of Baptism empowers every member of the Church to be witnesses to the Gospel. We are summoned and sent by the Lord to sanctify. What does this mean in the concrete circumstances of our lives?

June 27, 2021- The Road to Recovery

Holy Family Parish is observing our 145^th anniversary. We have been striving to be faithful to our mission to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and build His Church in our part of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. This includes the challenging experience of this pandemic. Time allows us to reflect on the healing of a woman who had been afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. After hearing about Jesus and learning that He was near her, she courageously engaged in practicing her faith. She worked through the crowd, encountered the Lord, experienced healing, and left with the confident expectation that her recovery would be complete. Holy Family Parish had experienced growth in the last five years. Then the pandemic came. With the Lord Jesus Christ remaining at the center of parish life, we can confidently expect that we are on the road to recovery.

June13, 2021 - Growing in Faith Takes Patience

It takes time for plants or crops to grow. Our Lord Jesus Christ uses two parables to encourage His disciples to trust in God's timing. The Kingdom of God has grown from a declaration by the Lord (cf. Mark 1:15), to the proclamation of the Gospel, the building of the Church by making of disciples of every nation who are professing and practicing the faith. The same growth in faith can happen in our individual circumstances. However. it takes trust in God and patience as the process unfolds.

May 9, 2021 - The Will to Love as Christ Loves

After extending Mother’s Day greetings, Father Harris begins part 5 of his Easter season homily series, “Arise: Experiencing Life in Christ.” Love can refer to the bonds between friends, family members, and romantic couples. However, the love in which Christ speaks about in the Gospel reading is a sacrificial love which promotes the good of the other for the sake of the other as God defines what is good. This is the love that God shows us. It influences how we are to love in every respect, including those who set themselves in opposition to us. To act in love is an act of the will. Holy Baptism identifies us with Christ and how He is saving us. Therefore, to love as Christ loves includes helping people to die to sin and to live to glorify God in their lives.

May 2, 2021 -The Fulfillment of A Fruitful Christian Life

Part 4 of Father Harris' Easter season homily series, “Arise: Experiencing Life in Christ.” The context of the Gospel reading is “The Last Supper” (cf. John 15:1-8). The Lord Jesus is about to suffer His passion and death. However, He would rise again on the third day. The first Christian generation did not understand what resurrection meant. After they encountered the Risen Lord, they remembered what He said before with a new perspective. To arise with hope in Christ is to trust in the fulfillment of His promises in light of His resurrection. If the Lord Jesus fulfilled His promise to rise from the dead, He will fulfill every promise, which includes experiencing the fulfillment of a fruitful Christian life.