Final Homily at St. Mary's/St. Benedict's Parish, Stamford

Last Homily at St. Mary’s/St. Benedict’s

August 13 & 20, 2017

 

            Carnegie Mellon University has a unique tradition: every year they invite one of their professors to give what they call the “Last Lecture”. If this was the last lecture this professor was ever to give, what would he or she say? Well, this is my “last homily” here at this church. So I have to ask myself – what would I impart to you as I depart from this community?

            I want to leave you with three points. In some way, they’re a summary of everything I’ve tried to preach and live for the past three years here on the East Side of Stamford. First, strive for holiness. Second, stay close to the Eucharist. Third, life is short so do not put off loving God and our neighbor.

            First, strive for holiness and become a saint. To a lot of people, this sounds impossible. We often think of saints as plaster statues, with their hands folded and their eyes looking toward Heaven, instead of seeing them as flesh-and-blood human beings. But to be a saint is simple. We must love God more than anything else on this earth, and love our neighbor to the point of sacrifice. Simple, but not easy – and we do not do this on our own, but through Christ who lives in us through grace.

            I have been very inspired by reading the lives of the saints, who show us that holiness is possible for all of us. One in particular who inspires me is a young man by the name of Venerable Faustino Perez. This young man from Spain died at the age of 17, but had already achieved great holiness. After going on a life-changing retreat at the age of thirteen, he made it his life’s goal to be like Christ. He began to pray the Rosary daily, and to unite all of his daily sufferings to the Lord. He didn’t become some cloistered monk – he still played soccer, enjoyed hanging out with friends and camping, and even smoked cigarettes a little (which was legal for teenagers in Spain in the 1950s). When he came down with cancer, he continued to suffer well, without complaining, remembering the Lord’s sufferings on the Cross. He eventually died of his cancer, but before his death he said, “Holiness is very hard. But I will try, and who knows if I might achieve it?” Here was an ordinary young man whose life revolved around God – and who became a saint because of it!

            It is precisely that union with God that allowed him to be holy, and the best way to be united to Him is in the Holy Eucharist. My second point is to stay always close to Jesus in the Eucharist. I am willing to give up everything, even my life, for the Eucharist, because to receive the Eucharist is to be united to the very Body and Blood of God. Never pass up an opportunity to attend Mass! Make sure that it isn’t just one more thing to fit into your week, but truly the cornerstone of your week! The Mass is an infinite value – every time we come to the Mass, we come to the Cross, and we allow the merits of His death and resurrection to be applied to our souls. If we had to choose between having a long life, great riches, superior talents, constant pleasure, being adored by everyone, or receiving the Eucharist once, we ought to choose the Eucharist. What good are riches, honors, pleasures without God? And when we have the Eucharist, we have God.

            Finally, we ought to consider that life is very short, and eternity is very long. Most days we spend our entire day thinking about things that won’t matter at all in a year, let alone for eternity. If our eternity is going to be about loving and praising God, then we must begin here on earth. What if you were given two options: to be a billionaire for one hour, then spend the rest of your life penniless and in pain; or to suffer and be poor for one hour and spend the rest of your life as a billionaire? Of course, any rational person would choose the second. And yet so often we live this brief life as if it were the only thing that matters, when on the other side of death we can be princes and princesses in God’s Heavenly Kingdom – if only here we learn to live with Him as our King. I can remember when I was probably ten years old, I was sitting outside on a giant rock that was on my family’s property, looking at the leaves changing color in the fall and thinking, “Man, it seemed like summer was just beginning, and now it’s over…life goes by too quickly!” And the older I get, the quicker it goes! So let us live for something eternal – which means living in the love of God and seeking His Kingdom first.

            My friends, I love you and pray for you. Let us pray for each other, that we may meet again in eternity in Heaven with God. Seek holiness – stay close to the Eucharist – and live for God.