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His homilies from present and past, with his wonderful insight to the Gospel.
Archives are linked on the bottom of this page
Archives are linked on the bottom of this page
St. Boniface Church
1750 Chase Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45223
1750 Chase Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45223
Fr. Joe's Homily Archive
Click on any month to be inspired by his past sermons
Click on any month to be inspired by his past sermons
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Fr. Joe
Mary Mother of God - A Cycle January 1, 2012
I usually try to write a fresh homily every Sunday, one that's not yet been printed in any of my books, but as I looked back over homilies I have preached on this date, I found one that I thought was interesting enough to repeat. We celebrate New Year's Day today, and most countries in the world do, but not everyone. Many cultures have their own New Year's Day. For example, the Jewish new year begins on Rosh Hashanah which will begin this year at sunset on September 16, 2012, and lasts until nightfall on the 18th (two full days) (that would give you a good hangover). Back in 1990, I was in Israel on Rosh Hashanah at the Wailing Wall, the place where the Temple stood before the Romans destroyed it in 70 AD and I witnessed the rabbis blowing of rams' horns to start their New Year. The Chinese have their own New Year celebration, which will be on Jan. 23 of 2012. It will begin the year of the dragon. The Moslem New Year began on Nov. 26, 2011. Their next New Year will be Nov. 14, 2012. Their year is 11 to 12 days shorter than ours. We tend to think everyone in the world should think the way we do. There are many other cultures who celebrate their own new year at times and seasons different than we do. January 1 was chosen as the start of the New Year by the early Romans in 153 BC. Prior to that date, they celebrated the New Year in the spring which has a certain logic to it since winter is over and nature starts to come alive at that time. In 153 BC the Roman senate chose January 1 as the beginning of a new year because that was the day when the Roman consuls took office. (Maybe they used the start of the New Year to give themselves an increase in salary and they didn't have to wait three months until the beginning of spring to start their salary.) It is said they celebrated with "boisterous joy, superstitious practices and gross orgies." The early Christians made January 1 a day of penance as a reaction against the excesses of the pagans. Eventually Christians designated January 1 as the first feast in the Church calendar dedicated to Mary, Jesus' mother. Incidentally, many European countries didn't officially make January 1 the start of the new year until the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Now practically all big cities of the world celebrate on January 1 even if they have their own new year, like China.
The Church calendar begins a new liturgical year on the first Sunday of Advent. For the Church January 1 presents us with several themes. It is first of all the octave of Christmas. Christmas is too important a feast for just a one-day celebration, so the liturgy celebrates Christmas solemnly for eight days. After today, the liturgy continues to celebrate Christmas, but less solemnly, until the feast of the Baptism of our Lord which this year is on Monday, January 9th, the day after the feast of the Epiphany. Today also recalls the circumcision of Jesus, which traditionally took place for a Jewish boy on the eighth day after birth. It's also the day on which a child was officially named - although both Joseph and Mary were told ahead of time by an angel that his name would be Jesus - a name which means "God saves." On this day we might reflect for a moment how respectful we are of this name by which we are to be saved. For many years now the popes have designated this day as a day of prayer for peace, which is so badly needed in today's world.
There are a lot of reasons to gather in prayer today. A new year begins new opportunities to grow in God's grace and favor, new opportunities to learn, new opportunities to discover ways to treat the ills we suffer from, new ways to heal from what we have lost in the past, new ways, hopefully, to create a world in which the poor are fed and in which we can all live together in peace. I might mention that today is an anniversary for our own parish too. On December 29, 20 years ago, St. Boniface and St. Patrick's parishes merged. It is something the people of our two parishes can be proud of that the merger went so well. This new year gives us new opportunities to prosper and grow and serve the members of our parish and to share God's word with our neighbors in Northside. We also honor Mary, the Mother of God, in this, the most ancient feast of Mary in the Church calendar. We ask her to intercede for us that this may be a blessed year for all of us. Amen.
I usually try to write a fresh homily every Sunday, one that's not yet been printed in any of my books, but as I looked back over homilies I have preached on this date, I found one that I thought was interesting enough to repeat. We celebrate New Year's Day today, and most countries in the world do, but not everyone. Many cultures have their own New Year's Day. For example, the Jewish new year begins on Rosh Hashanah which will begin this year at sunset on September 16, 2012, and lasts until nightfall on the 18th (two full days) (that would give you a good hangover). Back in 1990, I was in Israel on Rosh Hashanah at the Wailing Wall, the place where the Temple stood before the Romans destroyed it in 70 AD and I witnessed the rabbis blowing of rams' horns to start their New Year. The Chinese have their own New Year celebration, which will be on Jan. 23 of 2012. It will begin the year of the dragon. The Moslem New Year began on Nov. 26, 2011. Their next New Year will be Nov. 14, 2012. Their year is 11 to 12 days shorter than ours. We tend to think everyone in the world should think the way we do. There are many other cultures who celebrate their own new year at times and seasons different than we do. January 1 was chosen as the start of the New Year by the early Romans in 153 BC. Prior to that date, they celebrated the New Year in the spring which has a certain logic to it since winter is over and nature starts to come alive at that time. In 153 BC the Roman senate chose January 1 as the beginning of a new year because that was the day when the Roman consuls took office. (Maybe they used the start of the New Year to give themselves an increase in salary and they didn't have to wait three months until the beginning of spring to start their salary.) It is said they celebrated with "boisterous joy, superstitious practices and gross orgies." The early Christians made January 1 a day of penance as a reaction against the excesses of the pagans. Eventually Christians designated January 1 as the first feast in the Church calendar dedicated to Mary, Jesus' mother. Incidentally, many European countries didn't officially make January 1 the start of the new year until the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Now practically all big cities of the world celebrate on January 1 even if they have their own new year, like China.
The Church calendar begins a new liturgical year on the first Sunday of Advent. For the Church January 1 presents us with several themes. It is first of all the octave of Christmas. Christmas is too important a feast for just a one-day celebration, so the liturgy celebrates Christmas solemnly for eight days. After today, the liturgy continues to celebrate Christmas, but less solemnly, until the feast of the Baptism of our Lord which this year is on Monday, January 9th, the day after the feast of the Epiphany. Today also recalls the circumcision of Jesus, which traditionally took place for a Jewish boy on the eighth day after birth. It's also the day on which a child was officially named - although both Joseph and Mary were told ahead of time by an angel that his name would be Jesus - a name which means "God saves." On this day we might reflect for a moment how respectful we are of this name by which we are to be saved. For many years now the popes have designated this day as a day of prayer for peace, which is so badly needed in today's world.
There are a lot of reasons to gather in prayer today. A new year begins new opportunities to grow in God's grace and favor, new opportunities to learn, new opportunities to discover ways to treat the ills we suffer from, new ways to heal from what we have lost in the past, new ways, hopefully, to create a world in which the poor are fed and in which we can all live together in peace. I might mention that today is an anniversary for our own parish too. On December 29, 20 years ago, St. Boniface and St. Patrick's parishes merged. It is something the people of our two parishes can be proud of that the merger went so well. This new year gives us new opportunities to prosper and grow and serve the members of our parish and to share God's word with our neighbors in Northside. We also honor Mary, the Mother of God, in this, the most ancient feast of Mary in the Church calendar. We ask her to intercede for us that this may be a blessed year for all of us. Amen.