14th Sunday in Ordinary Time - July 6, 2014

Homily for July 6, 2014

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Spirit Versus World

 

            St. Paul tells us something odd in the second reading – he starts off by saying, “You are not in the flesh.” Uh, okay Paul, but I have a body and sometimes this body needs sleep and pizza. So what does he mean by this?

            Well, let’s look at the next line. “You are in the spirit instead, IF you have the Spirit of God dwelling in you.” What does that mean? It means – what are you living for? This world or the next?

            This world isn’t bad, and St. Paul isn’t saying that. There’s lots of good things in this world like soccer and music and mom’s home cooking. But everything here is incomplete – it shouldn’t be the end goal of our lives. We were made for much more – we were made for eternity.

            There was once a young man named Francis who had everything the world could offer. He was a successful decorated soldier, he was wealthy, and kind of a playboy. Girls would throw themselves at him. He had everything that money could buy. But there was a deep unhappiness beneath his life. This restlessness drove him to the chapel one day, when Jesus on the Crucifix began to speak to him. The Lord said, “Francis, rebuild my church.” Immediately he took the words literally and began to physically rebuild the chapel, which was falling into ruins. But upon further prayer, he realized that God was calling him much deeper – to rebuild the universal Church by becoming a saint. He immediately gave away his money, and became a beggar. He immediately stopped going to parties and instead slept on the ground and focused on Christ alone. He gave up his prestigious career, abandoned the honors he had won, and became known as “the Little Poor One.” We know him now as St. Francis of Assisi, someone who knew what it meant to live for God alone.

            The stuff that we think we really want in life – the money, the pleasure, the honors, the popularity – this stuff will never truly satisfy us. We will always be left empty if we make these things the goal of our lives. Instead, we have an ache that’s deeper – a hunger that can only be satisfied by God alone.

            And the Gospel today gives us the clues about how to fill that hunger. We must know the Lord to find that deep satisfaction that He alone offers. But knowing God isn’t just knowing ABOUT God, it’s about having a personal friendship with Him.

            If someone came to you and said, “Do you know the President?,” you might respond, “Sure, I have seen him on TV, I know his life story, I know all about him.” But they would say, “Okay, but do you know HIM?” And you’d have to admit, “No, I don’t really know him.”

            Many of us here know lots of things about God. Perhaps we went to Catholic school, maybe we watch EWTN, the Catholic TV station. But do we KNOW God personally, do we have a friendship with Him, do we know Him as the closest friend to our soul? We can have that kind of relationship with Him – in fact, we NEED to have that kind of relationship with Him.

            How do we develop that kind of relationship? Pray from the heart. I don’t mean reciting words. That’s not real prayer. Prayer is having a conversation with the Lord. Maybe you already speak to the Lord on a daily basis. If not, today, make a resolution to begin this. Simply speak to God in the silence of your heart – He longs to speak to yours.

You’ve got the hunger. He alone satisfies.