I resolutely accept and embrace the apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions, liturgies and other practices of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I accept Sacred Scripture as the inspired word of God given to numerous authors in differing circumstances. I acknowledge that, while its many writings are of different characters and therefore of unequal pertinence, Sacred Scripture in the light of the message of Christ is normative for the conduct of our lives in accord with God’s will.

I also acknowledge that there are truly and properly seven Sacraments, instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and that they are necessary for the salvation of the human race, although it is not necessary for each individual to receive them all. I acknowledge that the seven Sacraments are: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Penance, Extreme Unction, Holy Orders, and Matrimony; and that they confer grace. I also accept and acknowledge the customary and approved rites of the Catholic Church in the solemn administration of these sacraments. I accept each and every article on original sin and justification declared and defined by the Catholic Church.

I likewise profess that in the Mass a true, proper and propitiatory sacrifice is offered to God on behalf of the living and the dead, and that the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ is truly, really, and substantially present in the most holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, and that there is a change of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and of the whole substance of the wine into blood; and this change the Catholic Church calls transubstantiation. I also profess that the whole and entire Christ and a true Sacrament is received under each separate species.

I firmly hold that there is a purgatory, and that the souls detained there are helped by the prayers of the faithful. I likewise hold that the saints reigning together with Christ should be honored and invoked, that they offer prayers to God on our behalf, and that their relics should be venerated. I firmly assert that images of Christ, of the Mother of God ever Virgin, and of the other saints should be owned and kept, and that due honor and veneration should be given to them.

–-ECE-ECC Profession of Faith Document

There’s a lot going on today. In reality, each of these paragraphs could’ve been broken down and given their own homily.

There are many ways to God in prayer. These ways can include writing, scriptures, and the sacraments: more specifically the Mass. I spoke today about the difficulties we have in a society that relies on the contributions of science, contributions that improve our lives and that when it comes to facing the altar on sometimes, it can be hard to accept that the bread and wine transform to become the Precious Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. And yet, time after time, I have stood at the altar and felt shaken, felt tears welling up. When I first started practicing the Mass towards my ordination, even though I acknowledged that this was not a consecration, I found myself sobbing, grateful and inexplicably moved by what I was doing. It transformed me.

I spoke today about how transubstantiation takes place at the time of consecration, but transformation also takes place when the Body and Blood touches our hands, our lips. We are transubstantiated, in a way. We become living tabernacles taking the Eucharist into the world. The more we do this, the more we are strengthened and transformed, and that is what will cause people around us to question. Our job is to allow them to question, to pull back the veil in their own time, and to gently acknowledge the transformations that we may see. They will happen when we least expect it, sometimes at the most inconvenient times, and yet it is crucial that we step up.

I also spoke today about the concept of original sin. I stand by the teaching I’ve taught in the past that sin is that which gets in the way of experiencing perfect love from the Divine, and being able to express that love, to pass that love on, in a Divine way to others. I spoke about how our choices often get in the way because they require us to sacrifice, to give up pleasure or what we perceive to be pleasure, for a greater good. These days, the best example I can come up with is drumsticks. It’s a delicious ice cream treat and I have a hard time stopping at one. But if I love myself, if I allow the Divine Expression of Love to be present, I will be aware of the discipline of saying “Maybe no drumstick today Pete…what about an apple?”

When it comes to Purgatory….

In the history of the tradition of the church, we have sometimes picked up ideas that fit the narrative of the Christian Faith, the Christian experience. Angels, for example, were not something active in our belief until later in the early church. While belief in angels may not be consistent with the timeline of Christianity, I know that exorcists who call on St. Michael know the results that occur. The narrative of angels, of guardian angels, proves by the test of experience. Likewise, purgatory could be argued to be a place that was described by Plato and picked up by earlier church fathers. And so on, and so on.

We can live our lives either wondering constantly what’s on the other side of the door, and be so focused on that we loose sight of those in purgatory before our eyes, in hell before our eyes in this life, right now. As Catholics, and as those of us who follow St. Francis, we often loose sight of those right before our eyes and the pain, the suffering they are experiencing right now. Many will use the opportunity to give aid as a door to proselytizing. Again, as Eucharistic Catholics our job isn’t to proselytize. It’s to give aid, to give comfort, to provide compassion, to allow the opportunity for inner questioning to take place, and to be there where the individual pulls back the veil and wants to step forward.

God will transform the soul. Christ will transform the soul. We simply love, listen, and watch.