Censings

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER Saint Cecilia Catholic Community Palm Springs, California Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch Acts: 3:13-15;17-19 Psalm 4:2;7-10 1 John 2:1-5 Luke 14:35-48 + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.        We usually associate ghosts with Halloween. But believe it or not, sometimes Halloween and Easter get mixed up, like in today’s gospel, when the disciples thought they had seen a ghost when the risen Lord appeared to them. Today’s gospel is somewhat like the story of Thomas we heard last Sunday, where the disciples were scared of further persecution by the Jewish authorities. Here, however, they’re scared in a different way. That thought they’d seen a ghost! After all, Jesus had died, so the idea of someone coming back to life after death was a bit disconcerting to them.        But the actual word in the Greek text is not that for Ghost, but “pneuma”, or “...

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER – DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY April 12, 2015 Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch Saint Cecilia Catholic Community Acts 4:32-35 / Psalm 118:2-4;13-15;22-24 / 1 John 5:1-6 / John 20:19-31 + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.              {Sing, plainsong} “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”  I couldn’t have had a better set of scripture lessons on which to preach for our inaugural Mass today.  So many people have walked away from church, spirituality and religion overall because they don’t feel welcome.  Saint Cecilia Catholic Community is here to change that.  Here, all are welcome.         {Sing, plainsong} “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” What a wonderful text for Divine Mercy Sunday! Too much of conventional, classic Christianity, catholic or othe...

FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT February 22, 2015 Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity ECC, Long Beach CA Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch Genesis 9:8-15 Psalm 25:4-5,6-7,8-9 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:12-15 A SHORT HOMILY ADDRESSED TO CHILDREN ABOUT LENT + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.       Earlier this week, the Church observed Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time when we look at who we are and where we are going. The ashes we received on our foreheads remind us that we may not be on this earth forever, that we have to use our lives to make a difference, not only in our own lives, but those of others.        Lent is a season of preparation for Easter. It requires us to ask ourselves, "Why are we here?" The acts of discipline and self-denial associated with Lent, that is, fasting and the things we give up for Lent,  tell us to examine what is really important in our lives, and what is not.  In that ...

SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR B St. Thomas Independent Catholic Church Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch Leviticus 13:1-2;44-46  Psalm 32:1-2,5,11 I Corinthians 10:31-11:1 Mark 1:40-45 + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.        Humans are social beings.  That undisputed fact really comes home to us when we are sick. We look to other people to comfort and take care of us. Even terminal illnesses, which remind us that we might die, elicit comfort and support. When it comes to afflictions like cancer, friends and family rally to form networks to care for us. But among some so-called Christians, there seems to be one exception: AIDS, which is an acronym for “acquired immune deficiency syndrome.”  Their response seems to be to blame the victim, particularly if the victim was gay. Their underlying assumption is that somehow, sexual orientation was a choice that God should punish. Modern sc...

  FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF JESUS January 11, 2015 Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch Ecumenical Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity, Long Beach, CA Isaiah 55:1-11 Psalm 29:1-2;3-4;9-10 Acts 10:34-38 Mark 1:7-11 + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.         Many of you were baptized as infants and can’t remember a thing about it. Others of you were baptized when you were older, and remember it clearly as an important event in your life.  But no matter when you were baptized, your Baptism is something you share with Jesus Himself. Today’s gospel is about His Baptism. Baptism for Jesus was a bit different than it is for Christians. That’s because Jesus was not a Christian. Nor was John the Baptist. Both of them were Jews.  You may be surprised that baptism did not originate with Christianity, but was a Jewish custom. In first-century Judaism, Baptism had a different meaning than it d...

FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch January 04, 2015 All Saints American Catholic Church, Vista, CA Isaiah 60:1-6   Psalm 72:1-2;7-8;10-13 Ephesians 3:2-3;5-6  Matthew 2:1-12 + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.        It’s hard to talk about gifts at this time of year. All of us are, at this point in time, probably suffering from Christmas Fatigue. We’ve shopped until we dropped, in the stores and online. We’re sick of the crowds, the heavy traffic, the slow web pages, and stores out of stock on what we wanted to buy for our loved ones. Then most of us on Christmas morning exchanged gifts with our family and friends. And on the day after Christmas, many of us have gone back to the same stores to exchange what doesn’t fit, or we don’t like. We’re pretty much gifted-out by the time Epiphany, the twelfth day of Christmas, rolls around.  As you will recall from he...

FEAST OF THE HOLY FAMILY Rev. Dcn. David Justin Lynch St Matthews Ecumenical Catholic Church, Orange CA Genesis 15:1-6;21:1-3    Psalm 105:1-2;3-4;5-6;8-9 Colossians 3:12-17  Luke 2:22-40 + In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.        Those of you who are choral evensong fans will recognize that as part of the Magnificat, the canticle sung after the first lesson. You’ll recall it as part of the Song of Mary which Our Lady sang at her visit to cousin Elizabeth, as Mary reflected on Her role in our salvation history. As Bishop Peter told you many times, Jesus was not a Christian. He was a Jew . On today’s Feast of the Holy Family, we reflect on the customs of the Jewish family into which Jesus was born.     In Jewish families, male babies are customarily circumcised eight days after birth, and at that time, they are given their names. That is why for ma...