Archive for the ‘Christian Perfection’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Friday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time—Year I

September 12, 2009

Jesus says, “No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” And Saint Paul says, “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man…” So this raises the question, who was St. Paul’s teacher?

From the book of Acts we learn that Paul ‘was thoroughly trained in the law at the feet of the Master Teacher Gamaliel, a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin respected by all the people.’ (Acts 22:3, 5:34) In fact, some of Gamaliel’s wisdom even appears in Scripture.

In the early days of the Church, the apostles were arrested and interrogated by the Sanhedrin for the signs and wonders they were doing near the temple. When they spoke out boldly about Christ, some in the council wanted to put them to death, but Gamaliel ordered the apostles to be put outside for a short time.

“Fellow Israelites,” Gamaliel said to the council, “be careful what you are about to do to these men. …If this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.”  The Council was persuaded by him to spare the apostles’ lives. (Notice that Gamaliel’s wisdom was in admitting the possibility that a wooden beam might be lodged in the Sanhedrin’s eyes, obscuring their vision toward the new religious movement.)

By all accounts, both Jewish and Christian, Gamaliel was a good and wise man. Some legends even say that he went on to become a Christian and a saint. So how can it be that St. Paul was “a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man” if he was this good man’s disciple?     The answer must be that St. Paul had not yet been fully trained by Gamaliel, for every disciple when fully trained is like his teacher.

The same could be said for us as the disciples of Christ. How can it be that we commit the acts of arrogance, the offences, and the blasphemies we do if we are Christ’s disciples? The answer must be that we have not yet been fully trained by Christ, for every disciple when fully trained is like his teacher.

So take comfort in the fact that we have not yet exhausted the wisdom which Christ has to teach us. If we do not abandon his training, the Master Teacher Christ will ‘show us the path to life, the fullness of joys in His presence, and happiness at His right hand forever.’

Posted in Christian Perfection, Early Church, Homily, Jesus Christ, St. John the Baptist Parish, Weekday Homilies, Wisdom | Leave a Comment »

Thursday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time—Year I

September 11, 2009

If you are among those who hear, you heard Jesus giving a challenging message today.  But He is only asking us to do as He Himself has done.

Jesus gave to everyone who asked of Him. He loved His enemies and did good to them. For those who struck Him on one cheek, as He carried the cross, He did not unleash upon them the furious fire of God. Jesus offered them His other cheek as well, that they might be saved, not destroyed. Maybe they took His cloak from Him when they arrested Him in the garden, but He never asked for it back. When they arrived at Golgotha, He let them take His tunic as well. Jesus did good to those who hated Him, He blessed those who cursed Him, and prayed for those who mistreated Him. Dying on the cross He said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Jesus did unto others as he would have them do.

Jesus did as He would have you and me do. If we imitate Him we will receive a reward as great as His; a full measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing. But we must do as St. Paul tells us: “As the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.”

Posted in Chrisitian Virtues, Christian Perfection, Columbus Chapel, Forgiveness, Homily, Jesus Christ, Mercy, Passion, School Homilies, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Wednesday, 23rd Week in Ordinary Time—Year I

September 10, 2009

In the Gospel Jesus speaks of how great reversals are coming. The poor will become rich, and the rich will be poor. The hungry will be satisfied, and the stomachs of those now feasting will ache. The weeping will find joy, while those joyful will be sad. And those who are persecuted for Christ’s sake will have great rewards.

Does any of this apply to you? Yes, for example, life in the world out there will be very different from these years you’ve spent in school. If you feel like you are among the poor, the hungry, and the weeping at school, take encouragement, because great reversals are coming.

Blessed are you who are poor at sports,
for you perfect more-valuable talents.

Sports are fun, and they are good for building health and character, but ten years from now no one will remember who won at state last year. And it is extremely unlikely that anyone here has a future in professional sports ahead of them. Maybe nobody buys a ticket to come and watch and cheer you using your God-given talents, when you write a paper well, or solve a math problem efficiently. But in the world out there, there are people who will pay tens of thousands of dollars a year to people who have perfected skills like these.

Blessed are you who are poor at sports,
for you perfect more-valuable talents.

Blessed are you who hunger for romantic relationship, but who date little,
for God is preparing a spouse for you.

Realize that it is very unlikely that you ever marry any significant other whom you might have now. Young dating relationships begin and break all the time, but the sometimes wounds they can leave to one’s spirit and to one’s emotions often linger long. You may hunger for romantic relationship now, but if you feast on love before its time your stomach will ache painfully tomorrow. Somewhere out there, God has a future spouse in mind as a gift meant just for you. So preserve your purity and the unwounded integrity of your heart as a gift for your spouse, and you will feast on love together with great satisfaction.

Blessed are you who hunger for romantic relationships, but who date little,
for God is preparing a spouse for you.

Blessed are you who are unpopular,
for you discover how to be a true friend.

It’s true that after high school graduation, you won’t see most of these classmates very much anymore. You might keep in close touch with one or two of them, but most of them will move away from here, or you will move away from them. Don’t mourn thinking that you have too few friends. Christ wills that you would learn how to be a great friend, someone like Himself, rather than someone with great popularity who never knows true friendship. A person with few friends realizes the importance of always showing kindness, respect, and genuineness towards everyone, the popular and the unpopular alike.

Blessed are you who are unpopular,
for you discover how to be a true friend.

 And finally, take consolation in this…

 Blessed are you when peers dislike you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce you as un-cool or lame
on account of your faithfulness to Christ
for Christ’s opinion is the only one that really matters
and he will reward your faithfulness with happiness.

Posted in Chastity, Christian Perfection, Homily, Our Lady of Peace Parish, School Homilies, Sports, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

September 8 – Nativity of Mary

September 9, 2009

I once heard a man express why he believed that of all the causes for celebration, birthdays were among the stupidest. I don’t remember his arguments word for word, but they went along these lines…

“Why celebrate a birthday? I mean it’s not as if you’ve done anything to reach that ‘special day,’ besides living for another 365 days and riding the earth another lap around the sun. Your mom was the one who actually did something on the day you were born. All you did was show up. How does merely showing up for another year merit a party?”

He had an interesting argument, but he was entirely missing the point when it comes to why we celebrate birthdays.  It’s not that the person has done any one, big, special thing that makes us celebrate that day.  It is for the countless little things, for all the things which make them who they are for us, this is why we rejoice over them just being around for another year of life. The reason we celebrate birthdays is to celebrate the very fact of a person’s existence, to celebrate who they are, in their own unique and unrepeatable goodness, to celebrate the gift of their presence in our lives.

Today, we celebrate Mary’s birthday. We celebrate the fact that God created her and has given her to us. We celebrate who she is, in her own unique and unrepeatable goodness. We celebrate the gift of her presence in our lives. Today we rejoice over Mary, our mother, our sister, and our close friend, and we wish her a very happy birthday, just for being who she is.

Posted in Blessed Virgin Mary, Christian Perfection, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Human Dignity, Nativity of Mary, St. John the Baptist Parish, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time—Year B

September 6, 2009

Remember what it was like before the dot-com bubble burst? Maybe you heard about tiny internet start-ups having total stock values in the billions and you just knew that that wouldn’t last. Remember the time before the recent housing bubble popped? I remember watching a show on TV called “Flip this House” in which a couple bought a building, put two weeks of work and a few thousand dollars into cleaning it up, and then quickly sold it for several tens of thousands of dollars more than what they bought it. I remember saying to myself then, “This just can’t go on. This isn’t sustainable.”

The thing about economic bubbles is that while you can often read the signs of the times and see that the bubble’s there, you’re never quite sure when it will pop.

For years now, our country has been riding on a similar bubble with the unsustainable spending and borrowing by the federal government. We’re not quite sure when it will finally pop, but you can see that the bubble’s there.  Most of us here will witness firsthand the consequences of its bursting.

The Congressional Budget Office is a non-partisan, independent government agency that provides economic data to Congress. And for years, regardless of whether the Democrats or Republicans were in power, the CBO has consistently reported the unfortunate facts and grim forecasts of our present course. This summer, the CBO published its “Long-Term Budget Outlook.” And they tell us, quote…

“Under current law, the federal budget is on an unsustainable path—meaning that federal debt will continue to grow much faster than the economy over the long run.

Although great uncertainty surrounds longterm fiscal projections, rising costs for health care and the aging of the U.S. population will cause federal spending to increase rapidly under any plausible scenario for current law. […]

Keeping deficits and debt from reaching levels that would cause substantial harm to the economy would require increasing revenues significantly…, decreasing projected spending sharply, or some combination of the two.”

Some or all of the following things will inevitably happen: an increased federal retirement age, decreased retirement benefits from Social Security, decreased health benefits from Medicare and/or Medicaid, increased federal taxes, or (and this seems the most likely) a dramatically increased national debt.

Now understand that an endlessly ballooning national debt is no solution.  It has economic consequences for us. What happens when foreign countries finally decide they are no longer interested in holding any more of our debt (in the form of low-interest yielding U.S. government bonds?) One result will be hyper-inflation, which will negatively impact anyone who uses U.S. Dollars. Unpleasant changes are coming. And they will have real consequences our lives. We will feel their effects.

Maybe hearing me speak about these grim realities feels as if I’ve just spit on your tongue.  It’s unpleasant and a bit repulsive. But my hope and prayer is that you will “be opened” by it, that you will be motivated to prepare yourself for what is coming, to begin living now as we should have already been living as Chrisitians all along.

In the past we have lived beyond our means, just like crowd, just like the government made in our own image. We spent more than we had and we often spent wastefully. But we are called to live differently, to live out Christian stewardship, Christian poverty, or simplicity of life in our own lives. Let’s not wait to hit economic rock bottom before we begin living as we ought to.

We are called to live simply and within our means, free from debt-slavery. We are called to be both frugal and generous, generous and frugal. If we are frugal without generosity, we’re simply being misers. If we are generous without frugality, we are being irresponsible. But if you are both frugal and generous won’t God, who (as the psalmist says) keeps faith forever, who secures justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry, who supports the fatherless and the widow, won’t He provide you with what you need? On the other hand, if we are not frugal and generous, if we do not lovingly support our poor neighbors, those in our parish, throughout the diocese, and abroad, then how can we ask God to support us?

To quote St. James, “Act on this word.  If all you do is listen to it, you are deceiving yourselves.” “Fear not, be strong.” “Be not afraid,” but prepare yourself. Prepare for the days when our accounts will come due.  For a day coming soon in our country, and for the Last Day, when we shall all appear before God.

Posted in Christ the King Parish, Culture, Homily, Internet, Last Judgment, Politics, Providence, Social Justice, Stewardship, Sunday Homilies, Television | 1 Comment »

Thursday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time—Year I

September 3, 2009

Peter has worked hard all night and has nothing to show for it. He’s frustrated and tired. Then Jesus comes along. The two men had met before. Peter met Jesus through his brother. Apparently, Peter had been impressed by this man whom Andrew insisted was the messiah; for when Jesus asks Peter to take the boat from the shore, to give some space for speaking to the crowds, Peter obliges.

How long do you think Jesus spoke out there, sitting in the boat? It probably wasn’t a short while. And when Jesus finishes talking, he turns again to Peter and wants him to go out further, to cast his nets into the deeper waters. Peter thinks it’s pointless, and he says so, but He continues showing a willingness to oblige Jesus.

Peter casts the nets and brings in his biggest catch ever. And here, seeing himself richly blessed, by a great and holy man, Peter hits the limit of his capacity to serve. It’s not that Peter’s too tired or hungry, too busy or lazy. It’s his shame for his sins. Peter’s shame would prevent him from serving Jesus any farther.

Peter turns to Jesus and says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” It’s the opposite from what we should ask of Jesus when we acknowledge our sinfulness. Jesus tells him, “Do not be afraid. (I will do great things with you.)”

We are not worthy to receive Him, but we are called to His supper and to serve Him all the same. And even with recovering sinners like us, He can do great things.

Posted in Homily, Jesus Christ, Repentance, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Peter, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Wednesday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time—Year I

September 2, 2009

Notice in today’s Gospel how Jesus does not let the demons speak.

[D]emons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.” But [Jesus] rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.

Jesus does not allow them to speak, even about the truth of his being the messiah, because demons mix lies within truth.

In the garden, the serpent asked the Eve, “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” No, God hadn’t told them that, but God had told them not to eat from one particular tree, or they would die. The serpent insisted, “You certainly will not die!” and it is true that when they ate of the tree Adam and Eve did not keel over dead right then and there, but the divine life within them did die to be followed by natural deaths many years later.

The book of Acts records how St. Paul once encountered a slave girl who carried a demon. The slave girl used to bring profits to her owners through her fortune-telling. For many days she followed Paul, shouting out, “These people are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.” Finally, Paul became annoyed, turned, and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her,” and at that moment it left her. Did you catch the lie amidst the truth in what the slave girl’s demon said? “These people are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you ‘a’ way of salvation.”

Demons smuggle lies into the truth. If a man accepts and carries a compass that is just off just a few degrees, he may not notice that anything’s wrong with it until he’s horribly lost. If there are angels helping us throughout our daily lives, encouraging us and prompting us to do good, then there are also demons trying to do the opposite.

Don’t have conversations with demons. They are spirits far more clever than us and they can confuse or discourage us greatly. However, as Christians, we should not be afraid of them. If and when you feel their oppression, make the sign of the cross (for this is an exorcistic gesture) or say, “In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, depart from me and go where you can hurt no one.” Such is our authority in Christ, that we too can command spirits. Holy water is helpful, too; it’s power can sometimes make a palpable difference.

And here’s a final tip for discerning whether a spirit be good or bad, of God or not: From time to time our friends in heaven my correct us or challenge us in our lives as disciples of Christ. But, if you ever feel discouraged or weakened, as if by an accusation or a rebuke, that is not from them. Such condemnation is either coming from of your own, lingering, internal brokenness or from an external oppressor. When one of our heavenly friends corrects or challenges us, they leave us feeling their love and with increased strength to do what is good. Recognizing this difference will help you in receiving grace and peace from God our Father.

Posted in Angels, Homily, Spiritual Warfare, St. John the Baptist Parish, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Tuesday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time—Year I

September 1, 2009

According to my very accurate clock, it’s [7:08] in the morning… and you’re here at Church. If you wanted, maybe you could still be sleeping in bed, but you’re here instead. You could be sitting at home, watching the morning shows, or reading something over coffee if you wanted, but instead you’re here. You could be already at work, or on your way there if you wanted, getting an early start to earn an early release, but you’re here at Mass instead. Nobody’s paying you to come here. Nobody’s forcing you to be here. So do you realize why you’re here?

It seems obvious to me that you’re here because you want to dwell in the house of the Lord, all the days of your life. You’re here to gaze, on the loveliness of the Lord and to contemplate in his temple. Though your repeated sins may discourage you, you have the longings of a saint, or at least, a saint under-construction. So be encouraged before Christ, for you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness. It’s [7:09] in the morning, and you are children of the light and children of the day.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Love, Mass, Saintly People, St. John the Baptist Parish, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time—Year B

August 30, 2009

For your entire life, you’ve been the beneficiary of a mysterious patron. You’ve never seen your wise and wealthy benefactor, but he has subtly helped you throughout your whole life.

For instance, when you were just a little baby, you were born with a serious and deadly illness. On their own, your parents couldn’t provide a doctor or medicine to treat your condition. But your benefactor learned of your plight. He had pity for you. He sent his own doctor to you, who healed you at his own cost.

Maybe your parents were too proud to tell you, but their hard-work alone was never enough to keep your family happy and healthy, with food, clothing, and a roof over your heads. But your family was never destitute, because your family received over the years all sorts of needed gifts through your benefactor.

Even into adulthood, your generous patron continued to give you good things. He was even behind the scenes orchestrating the meeting of you and your future spouse. Your benefactor was convinced that the two of you would be good for each other. 

This generous patron continues to help you in countless and subtle ways, even to this day. And now, I’ll reveal this benefactor to you:

“All good giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…”

God the Father is our great benefactor. Every good thing comes from Him. He is the source of the Son and the Spirit, of the angels and the universe, of our lives and of every good thing in them. God the Father deserves our thanks and praise.

From what congenital illness did the Father heal you? Original sin, the deadly condition of rebellion against God. The Father had pity on you, and sent His Son, the divine physician, to treat you. You’re healed through the power of Christ’s sacrifice which is comes to us through His sacraments.

How has the Father provided for you and your family? Although we work hard for the good things we need, we never achieve anything good “all by ourselves.” very good thing we have, and every good thing we do, comes through cooperation with God. We do indeed work hard in the fields of life, but God grows the crops for us, and gives us the power to harvest them. That is why when we sit down to eat, we thank God the Father for ‘the gifts we are about to receive, from His bounty, through Christ our Lord, Amen.’

Did the Father arrange for you to meet you spouse?  Yes. Your relatives, your friends, your spouse, your children, all came to you from Him. He orchestrated this through wise and loving designs which do not steamroll our freedom and freewill. Every person in your life is placed there by the Father for a reason.

All good things come from the Father, through the Son, and in union with the Holy Spirit. And every good deed and prayer from us goes to the Father by the same means. Whether we worship here at Mass or out in the world the pathway of our worship is always the same. Our deeds and prayers worship God the Father, through the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

All good things come from the Father. That is why it is good and right, always and everywhere, for us to give Him thanks. So, at this Mass, lift up your hearts to the Father. Praise and thank your great and loving benefactor. Offer Him today an all-encompassing thanksgiving. Offer Him a deeper gratitude than you have ever had before.

Posted in Gratitude, Homily, Mass, Providence, St. John the Baptist Parish, Sunday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

August 27 – St. Monica

August 27, 2009

Today I would like to tell you a true story, the story of a Catholic woman in a very difficult marriage to a non-Christian husband. Her husband was a man with a hot temper and hostility towards Christianity. He was unfaithful in their marriage, but she remained faithful to him—not out of weakness, but out of an inner-strength.

She bore his faults with patience and persistently sought after his conversion. The daily example of her gentleness and kindness finally had its victory. Her husband became a Christian one year before his death. However, the year after that, she had to face a new burden alone.

The oldest of her three children joined an anti-Catholic religious cult. It started him down a path of sinful pride and many sensual sins. It broke her heart. Then one night, she had a dream.

She was standing on top of a wooden ruler, and she saw a young man coming towards her, surrounded by a glorious halo. Although she felt sad and full of grief, the young man smiled at her joyfully. He asked her for the reason for her sadness and daily tears. (This wasn’t because he didn’t know, but because he had something to tell her—this is the way things happen in visions.) When she answered that her tears were for the lost soul of her son he told her to take heart for, if she looked carefully, she would see that where she was, there also was he. And when she looked, she saw her son standing beside her on the same ruler. Reassured by this dream she continued, for years to come, praying tearful prayers for his conversion.

She even asked the bishop to intervene in winning over her son. He counseled her to be patient, saying, “God’s time will come.” When she persisted in asking, the bishop (perhaps busy with many other things) famously reassured her: “Go now, I beg you; it is impossible that the son of so many tears should perish.”

That son, as you may have guessed by now, was the great St. Augustine. And his mother is St. Monica. May her story encourage us to pray and strive for the conversion of our loved ones to the Catholic faith. Remember and take hope: God loves us with a human heart and He cares about your loved ones even more than you do.

Posted in Chrisitian Virtues, Christian Perfection, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Hope, Love, Marriage and Family, Motherhood, Prayer, Saintly People, St. Augustine, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Monica, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Wednesday, 21st Week in Ordinary Time—Year I

August 27, 2009

Today the psalmist reflects on the truth that you just can’t get away from the Spirit of God.  Psalm 139 is good to remember whenever God feels absent.

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall guide me…

Have you ever come to Mass with serious doubts that you would get anything worthwhile out of the homily? Maybe you saw this priest or that priest come out, and said to yourself, “oh, him again.” However, we should always approach the homily, and the entire Mass, with a hopeful receptivity to the work of the Spirit.

Is it really possible that the Holy Spirit, who is everywhere, could be completely absent from the priest’s homily? Regardless of whether the priest preaches long or short, with refined style or with bare simplicity, in his first language or not, we should trust that the Holy Spirit will speak something to us through his words as long as we are spiritually open to listening.

Posted in Christian Perfection, Homily, Hope, Mass, St. John the Baptist Parish, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

Tuesday, 21st Week in Ordinary Time—Year I

August 25, 2009

Jesus said,

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You pay tithes of mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier things of the law: judgment and mercy and fidelity. (But) these you should have done, without neglecting the others.”

The Mosaic Law commanded that one tenth of the produce of the land, of the new animals and the harvest, to be given (or tithed) to the priests and the temple. The scribal tradition had apparently extended this law to even the smallest herbs.

Jesus is not criticizing tithing, but rather the focusing on little externals for others to see, rather than on the important things. He is criticizing the practice religion with more interest in appearing holy than in actually and thoroughly being holy.

Have you ever been quietly praying, realized that someone might be seeing you, and then toned down your outward signs of piety? Maybe you wished that you could be invisible, so that nobody could see you, so that you could keep praying as before. We try not to look too holy. It’s good to be humble, and to not be a distraction to another’s prayer, and not to be after the empty praise of men, but how much of our experience, of subduing our outward signs of devotion, is actually really due to fear?

The Pharisees were concerned about other people seeing their acts of devotion so that others would think better of them. But I think our problem is different; we don’t want people to see our devotion, so they won’t think worse of us.

In Jesus’ setting, religious dedication was likely to be admired. Seeing the Pharisees carefully measure out their gifts at the temple an observer might say, “Wow, he even tithes his herbs and spices!  What a righteous son of Abraham!” But in our culture, the opposite of admiration, or contempt, often comes from Christian devotion.  “I heard that he and his wife give 10% to their church every year! Talk about brainwashed, religious kooks!”

If Jesus’ time was disposed to the fault of showy religiosity, ours seems inclined to religious timidity, or cowardice. Consider, how often does the name of Jesus, or the mention of God, leave our lips when we’re outside of Church? Do we pray at home before meals? Good! But what about when we go out to eat at restaurants?

I don’t think that most of us here are in danger of the Pharisees’ sin, of flaunting our piety before others, so much as we are in danger of being ashamed of Christ before men. As Jesus says, “Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

We should pray when we eat out at restaurants, just like we do at home. And we would all benefit from more frequent, thoughtful conversations about God and Jesus in our lives. And perhaps, instead of wishing that no one else would see you when you pray, maybe next time we should pray as if we didn’t know that there were people around us at all.

These are just little things, little acts of fidelity, but fidelity is one of the weightier things of the Law.

Posted in Chrisitian Virtues, Christian Perfection, Courage, Culture, Homily, Jesus Christ, Last Judgment, Prayer, St. John the Baptist Parish, Weekday Homilies | Leave a Comment »

5th Sunday of Easter—Year B

August 23, 2009

This Sunday our country celebrates our mothers—and rightly so.  For the care and love which our mothers have given us cannot be measured or given a price.  Of course, our earthly parents are not perfect. Sometimes they’re quite far from perfect.  But any love we’ve known from them is a likeness of the love God has for us. A religious icon is made of mere wood and paint, but it can be a window to heavenly realities. In the same way, we can see through our parents’ love a glimpse to God himself.

Most of us have more memories about our mothers than we could possibly count, but today I would like to go with you back to a time and place about which you have no clear memories—to the time in your mother’s womb. Just as the Hebrews were 40 years in the desert; just as Jesus prepared 40 days in the wilderness; and just as Christ rested 40 hours until his resurrection from the tomb; so you remained 40 weeks, more or less, within your mother’s womb, being prepared for a new life.

Through your mother’s vine you grew into the mature fruit of her womb. You were nourished and grew within her. You were never far from her heart or mind. You existed in within her, connected to her at the center of your being.      She fed you with her very self. She provided for all your needs. Apart from her, you could do nothing. You remained in her and found rest in her.

At the early stages of our life in the womb, our minds did not comprehend very much, but what if you could have understood everything that your mom was doing for you at the time? Certainly you would have directed your thoughts to her often.  And certainly, from time to time, you would have turned to her with the eyes of your heart to bask in her love for you.

And imagine further what if you could have talked with your mom from the womb? Would you not have taken the opportunity to speak with her every day? Would you not have thanked her daily out of a deep gratitude? Would you not have let her know each day how much you love her? Whoever would refuse or neglect to do so would continue to live, at least functionally or biologically, but the person would not be fully alive without this relationship .

As you and your mother would continue to talk as the days and months of pregnancy passed, she would eventually present you with a most-frightening prospect: She might say, “My child, soon, in a little while, you are going to begin an new stage of life. You will be departing from the life you know, and then you’ll experience a world of people and things you have never known before.” But you would say, “I’m scared, I don’t want to go, not now, not ever!” But she would say, “I realize this concept is scary for you, but trust me when I say that it is better that you go. In fact, someday soon you’ll look back and think it a silly thought to be again as you are now. This transition is going to hurt a little bit… trust me, I know… but when the appointed time comes, I’ll be right here with you. Do not be afraid.”

This morning we reflect on this time in the womb because our life in our mothers is like our life in Christ. As it was with our mothers, so it is, in this life, with Christ. You are nourished and grow within Him. You are never far from His heart or mind. You exist in within Him, connected to Him at the center of your being. He feeds you with His very self. He provides for all your needs. Apart from Him, you can do nothing. You remain in Him and find rest in Him.

Knowing and believing this, shouldn’t we direct our thoughts to Him often? Shouldn’t we, from time to time, turn to Him with the eyes of our hearts to bask in His love for us.

We have the ability to talk with Jesus Christ. Who would not take the opportunity to speak with Him every day? Who would not thank Him daily out of deepest gratitude? And who would not let Him know each day how much we love Him? Whoever would refuse or neglect to talk with Him, that is to pray, would continue to live, at least functionally or biologically, but the person would not be fully alive without this relationship with Jesus Christ. We need to pray every day if we want to remain in Him and to bear much fruit.

None of us want to die and that’s perfectly natural. But Jesus says to us, “Soon, in a little while, you are going to begin a new stage of life. You will be departing from the life you know, and then you’ll experience a world of people and things you have never known before. I realize this concept is scary for you, but trust me when I say that it is better that you go. In fact, someday soon you’ll look back and think it a silly thought to be as you are now again. This transition is going to hurt a little bit… trust me, I know… but when the appointed time comes, I’ll be right there with you. Be not afraid.”

Today, let us thank God for the gift of our mothers and the gift of Jesus Christ.  God bless our mothers, and praised be Jesus Christ.

Posted in Chrisitian Virtues, Courage, Exodus, Faith, Heaven, Homily, Jesus Christ, Last Things, Love, Motherhood, Prayer, Resurrection, Sunday Homilies, Trust | 1 Comment »

2nd Sunday of Easter—Year B

August 23, 2009

Jesus said to “Doubting” Thomas, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and believed.”

This gospel passage has a very fond and special place in my heart, because when I was younger it used to really tick me off. If I had had my choice between either seeing and believing, or not seeing and being blessed, I’d have picked the seeing option every time. But now looking back, I realize  that if Jesus had actually appeared to me in a vision that would have just raised more doubts and questions in me. I once shared my various frustrations about faith and doubt with a priest.  After he had patiently listened, He suggested that perhaps I was going through these kinds of trials so that I could help others through similar trials someday.  At the time, that also ticked me off… but he was right. I hope that six lessons I’ve learned in the years since will be of help for you today. Today the Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday, but on account of Doubting Thomas one might also call it Doubter’s Sunday. I feel a lot of mercy for the doubters out there, and Jesus does too.

Lesson One:  Jesus does not condemn the honest doubter, the sincere questioner, the genuine seeker.

When Jesus appears to doubting Thomas notice that he is not angry with him.  He says, “Peace be with you!”  Then he says, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving but believe.” The Gospel does not say whether Thomas actually took Jesus up on touching his wounds, but Jesus was not patronizing him when he made the offer—it was an sincere invitation that met Thomas where he was at.

Still today, Jesus is not angered by our honest questions.  In fact, it is a compliment to him to ask tough questions of our faith because it shows that we believe there are good answers out there to be found. Honest questions make our faith stronger, not weaker. However, our questioning must be sincere. We must not build a comfortable home upon our doubts, doing nothing to answer or resolve them. This sort of questioning is not sincere, but often self-serving.  Jesus wants to give to those who ask, to reveal to those who seek, to open for those who knock, so that they will not be unbelieving, but believe.  But, when we refuse to ask, or to seek, or  to knock, we frustrate the Lord.  Jesus is pleased, however, by the genuine seeker because the genuine seeker will find him.

Lesson Two:  Having beliefs is unavoidable and our faith is reasonable.

Some people object to faith saying that “reason” or “science” is certain while “belief” is doubtful.  But in reality, all of our knowledge depends upon trusted beliefs. We cannot live, or even reason, without accepting beliefs. Before the scientist calmly walks across the street he assumes a thousand things without certain proof of them. We can learn many valuable things from science, but science itself cannot prove all of its own assumptions. There are even questions that science cannot answer, such as the transcendent goodness, worth, or purpose of things. Our faith answers such questions and our faith is not unreasonable. Our true faith is no more in conflict with reason than the truth could contradict the truth. Not everyone shares our faith, but you cannot live as fully alive without it.

Lesson Three:  If you ever worry about whether you really believe in God, you shouldn’t be worried.

Some people experience real spiritual anxiety when they ask themselves, “Do I really believe in God?” Realize this: people who don’t believe in God, don’t spend time worrying about whether they believe in God. Only a believer would do that. So if you ever worry about your belief in God, you shouldn’t be worried; you’re actually a believer and your mind should be at ease.

Lesson Four:  You already have enough faith to do what Jesus asks of you today.

Some people say, “I believe in Jesus Christ, but I just don’t have enough faith to do what he wants me to do.” These people experience a spiritual paralysis: they’re waiting for faith to show up, before they’ll take the next step in living the Gospel, whatever that might be. They’re actually psyching themselves out. They are like the apostles who once begged the Lord, “Increase our faith!” Jesus told them if they had faith the size of a mustard seed they could uproot trees or mountains with a word and plant them in the sea. At first this might seem like a word of discouragement, but it is actually a word of hope. Your tiny, microscopic speck of faith is already enough for you to accomplish everything Christ asks of you today. Your faith right now may be only a pinhole-sized trust in him, but the God who can fit a camel through the eye of a needle can pour a river through your pinhole-sized faith. You already have enough faith to do what Jesus asks of you today.

Lesson Five:  Faith grows through being exercised.

We often keep very low expectations of God.  Maybe we think that if we don’t expect too much from him he won’t expect too much from us. Or maybe we think we won’t be disappointed by him, if we never get our hopes up. In this way our faith stays small. Our faith, which is our openness to the Gospel and our trust in Jesus Christ, remains small and weak because our faith is so rarely exercised. Do we really want to come to the end of our lives and have to look back and wonder what our lives could have been if we had committed ourselves more completely to Jesus Christ and his Gospel?

Consider this question:  If you had all the faith in the world, how would you pray, what would you pray for, and what would you do? If you want to see you faith grow, if you want to see the power of Jesus Christ active in your life, then try doing these things today.

Now sometimes Christ comes out of nowhere and powerfully reveals himself to those who have never really striven for him, or even looked for him, but it is more often the case with Christ that the more we give him the more we get. Imagine you hold in your hand seeds which symbolize your life; your time, your talents, and your treasure. You received all these seeds from Christ as pure gift. As long as we cling to the seeds in our hand, they will never bear fruit. But once we begin letting Christ plant these seeds, and we see the good fruit they produce, we will eagerly give him more and more. In this way, our faith grows through being exercised.

And finally, the sixth lesson:  Faith is about trusting in Jesus Christ.

Faith is not so much about generating a certain feeling, or a feeling of certainty, about particular facts.  The demons know that Jesus is Lord—and shudder. Faith is more about trust, trusting in a person who is worthy of our trust, Jesus Christ. Living-out such trust requires a personal relationship of knowledge and love with him.

What might be holding us back in the life of faith could be that we have unresolved sins, past and present, impeding our relationship with Christ. This Divine Mercy Sunday we celebrate the infinite mercy God shows toward all those who ask for it. Through the sacrament of reconciliation, we can receive a fresh start, a clean slate, an infusion of grace, a healing of the heart and mind, a full restoration of personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Whenever I go to confession, I encounter Christ through the priest, like Thomas encountered Jesus in the upper room. Jesus enters into the locked inner room of my heart, where I would otherwise hide out of fear on account of my sins. I see his wounds, I admit the ways that I helped to put them there, and I tell him I’m sorry. And his response is always the same: mercy. “Peace be with you. Your sins are forgiven.” Confession gives us pardon and peace, it increases our trust and love for Jesus Christ, and strengthens our faith in him.

This Divine Mercy Sunday, let us pray the prayer that he has given us for our uncertain times: “Jesus, I trust in you.”

Posted in Chrisitian Virtues, Confession, Faith, Feast Day Homilies, Homily, Jesus Christ, Mercy, Peace, Prayer, Resurrection, Science, St. Thomas the Apostle, Sunday Homilies, Trust | Leave a Comment »

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time—Year A

August 23, 2009

[Given before the 2008 presidential election]

I think it is by God’s providence that this Gospel about money, politics, and religious faith, is being read today in Catholic Churches throughout our country, and especially here in Ohio. We are now experiencing what people are calling a financial crisis, and we are on the verge of a pivotal election. First I would like to speak to you about the Gospel, then our financial fears, and then about this election.

In today’s Gospel, we see the Pharisees engaging in the politics of personal destruction against Jesus. They don’t like Jesus so they have launched a negative campaign to trap him in a damaging sound bite. The Pharisees’ dirty tricks squad comes to Jesus to set him up.  They begin with some flattery and then they ask Jesus about the religious lawfulness of paying the census tax. Notice that they don’t ask about the rightness or wrongness of paying taxes to the occupying Romans in general. They focus on one particular tax, the census tax, because census-taking was condemned in the Law of Moses.

God told Moses that the future leaders of His people should not make a count of the whole people. Knowing these figures, a king would know how to maximize his tax revenues. He would also know the size of the pool of men available to him to draft for his conquests. But with the king clearly knowing these things, knowing the great wealth and power at his disposal, he would be tempted to hubris. The king would be likely to fall to ambition and pride, to be forgetful of God and indifferent to God’s will. This would lead him, and all the people, towards disaster. The Law of Moses forbid the census-taking of the people, because a census-taking king is inclined to think that the people and everything belong to him, to do with as he wishes. But in truth, God’s people and everything else really belongs to God.

But isn’t this a lot like us? When we become overconfident in our position and wealth and power, when we live beyond our needs and live beyond our means, when our passions and pride are leading us, we are forgetful of God and indifferent to God’s will, and this leads us towards disaster. From time to time we should ask ourselves: is it in coins we trust, or is it in God we trust?

Now Back to Jesus, the Pharisees, and the Herodians. The disciples of the Pharisees hope that Jesus will answer this way: “The census tax is unlawful and no faithful Jew should pay it.” Because when he does that, the Herodians will step in and have Jesus arrested. You see the Herodians are the supporters of King Herod, the Roman-backed puppet king of Galilee. If the Herodians hear Jesus say that it is wrong to pay the Roman tax, they’ll have Jesus arrested for sedition, for preaching rebellion. Now you understand something of the difficult and dangerous spot in which the Pharisees and the Herodians have placed Jesus.

But Jesus answers with a phrase you already know well, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  This answer amazes Jesus’ hearers. All they can do is walk away. But what does this statement mean? I believe he is saying this to us: “Coins are of little consequence. Whose image and inscription is on this coin? Caesar’s? Then they belong to Caesar, let him have them. But as for you, whose image and inscription do you bear? The image and the likeness and the name that you bear is God’s.  So you belong to God. Give yourself to Him.”

[The fears raised by this financial crisis]

Jesus said, time and again, perhaps more than anything else, “Don’t be afraid.” So do not be afraid. It’s going to be ok. Worry is worthless, concern is enough. If you are doing the little that is in your power, be at peace with that.  Pray, and leave the rest to God. Because it’s going to be ok. Why? Because as much as Caesar loves his money, God loves you a thousand times more.  How great of a compliment is it to God when we choose not to worry, because this is an act of faith and trust in His goodness and His love for us.

Now please don’t dismiss me when I say “it’s going to be ok” because you think I’m Pollyannish, or that I’m youthful and overly optimistic about life. I say it because this is the good news our faith. The worst scenario that you can imagine happening in the future is very unlikely to occur, but let’s imagine for a moment that this financial crisis results in the very worst for you.  What if you’re stripped naked, left in complete poverty and humiliation? What if you experience pain like the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet nailed to beams of wood? What if you become so powerless that you can’t even wipe away blood and tears from your eyes? Even if this happens to you, even then, it’s going to be ok. Even if everyone else abandons you, you will not be alone. God our loving Father, who might seem distant, will never abandon you. He will be helping you. Mary our Mother, who always loves us, will never be far. She will be interceding for you. In your suffering, you will be with Christ, and you will rise again and be glorified with Him. So don’t be afraid, because no matter what, even if this happens to you, it’s going to be ok.

[What to consider in this pivotal election]

What makes America great? Is it our wealth and our military strength? I don’t think so, at least not in themselves, for a miser is wealthy, but he is hardly a great man. And a violent criminal may be very strong, but he is hardly a great man. If you judge greatness according to wealth and military strength, then Caesar was a great man and Jesus wasn’t. I believe America is great because it is founded upon human dignity.

“We hold certain truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by God, their Creator, with certain rights that cannot be taken away, and that among these are the right to pursue happiness, the right to liberty, and the right to life.” We recognize that people do not have value or rights merely because the government says so, but because we are valued by God and invested with just rights by Him.

The greatest and proudest moments in American history have been when we defended human dignity. The WWII generation, which is called the Greatest Generation, defended the world from Nazism and liberated the concentration camps. In our time, we have given hundreds of millions of dollars in tsunami relief for people in Southeast Asia. We have never meet these people and will likely never meet them in this life, but when we saw them on TV we knew they were human beings just like us and we had to do something. I also believe we have good reason in our day to be proud of our armed forces because they are protecting the innocent from the kind of people who execute women in soccer stadiums and who strap bombs to the young and send them into market places. In as much as our troops are defending human dignity abroad, I believe that’s something to be very, very proud of.

On the other hand, the saddest and most regrettable moments in our history have been where we failed to defend human dignity. Such as the oppression of the Native Americans, the institution of slavery, or our history of racial prejudice. Remember learning about history when you were a kid?  Perhaps you remember saying things like this: “If I had lived in the South in those days, I wouldn’t have owned slaves,” or, “If I had lived in Nazi Germany, I wouldn’t have been silent.” But the truth is that when you are living in a particular time it can be frighteningly easy to accept things as just the way things are. In one hundred years, when American school children look back at our times, about what will they say, “How could they have been so blinded, so indifferent, to what was going on in their midst? Why didn’t they do more to defend human dignity from conception to natural death?”

In short, everything I have said today, about the Gospel, our financial fears and this pivotal election can be summed up in this: We belong to God, we bear His image and He values us, so give yourself to Him.

Posted in Blessed Virgin Mary, Homily, Hope, Human Dignity, Jesus Christ, Sunday Homilies, Trust | Leave a Comment »

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »