Homily for Fourth Sunday of Lent - March 11, 2018

Homily for Fourth Sunday of Lent

March 11, 2018

Grace Is Enough

            Many people find it difficult to go to Confession. A common complaint I hear is, “Father, I just feel like I commit the same sins all the time!” To which I respond, “Well, it sure is good you aren’t coming up with new ones!” But truly, it can be discouraging to see very little progress in the spiritual life. We try to stop gossiping, but we find we always slide back into it. We seek purity, but lust ensnares us once again. We try to be patient, but it’s just so difficult with our difficult family!

            Israel faced a similar struggle. It is called the “Cycle of Sin” – they would commit grave sin (usually idolatry, worshipping the gods of the surrounding nations), and God would chastise them by letting them be oppressed. So Israel would repent of their sin, cry out to God for mercy, and God would rescue them…only to have the cycle begin all over again. Sin, consequence, repentance and mercy, rescue…and then sin again. This is the lament in the First Reading today – is there anyone who can possibly break the cycle of sin?

            Yes, there is – both for Israel, and for us. It is the Savior, Jesus Christ.

            One reason why we get stuck in a rut, spiritually speaking, is because we’re trying to do it on our own. We’re trying to be good people by our own efforts. My friends, that never works. We need Someone greater living in us – Jesus Christ. It is He Who transforms us with His grace.

            I can testify that if you knew me as a teenager, you would probably say, “This guy will never become a priest!” Not that I was horrible, but I had the typical teenage sins, and when I look back on who I was, I’m not proud of a lot of my decisions, words, and attitudes. But that’s only a testament to God’s grace living and working in me, that He could take someone as crazy and mixed-up as me and fill me with faith and joy and hope – that is grace!

            I pray that you can say the same thing about your own life. When you look back at all God has brought you through, when you consider how many flaws He has given you the grace to overcome, you realize that He IS at work in your life.

            So how do we accept that transforming grace and break the cycle of sin? Paul gives the answer – faith. It is by our faith in Him that He comes into our life. And faith is expressed in prayer – persevering, trusting prayer.

            I heard a story recently that Mother Teresa once told. There was a woman who lived at the top of a very tall mountain. The woman had to climb down the mountain every day to get food and water, and walk all the way back up. She was elderly and exhausted from her daily ritual, and as she was praying one night, she read the words of Scripture, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will be able to move mountains.” The woman thought, great! I have a mountain to move – I’ll ask the Lord to move it! That night she prayed, “God, move this mountain so I no longer have to climb up and down it.” The next morning she awoke – and the mountain was still there – so she said, “See Lord, I knew it wouldn’t work!”

            In other words, she prayed as if prayer is ineffective!

            We have to understand prayer properly. As Mother Teresa said, “I used to believe that prayer changes things – now I understand that prayer changes us.” God’s desire for you is a totally changed life. Not a bigger bank account, or a better car, or an easier job – but a life of holiness, transformed by grace. If we pray with faith, believing that God can and will transform our souls so that freedom and holiness can be ours, then we will be free.

            But praying with faith involves perseverance. There is a wonderful story of St. Moses the Black, who joined a monastery after a life of great sin. He had been a monk for many years but still found himself struggling with anger and lust. He had resolved to leave the monastery out of discouragement, but the abbot one morning brought him up to the roof where he could see the sun peeking its head over the horizon. The abbot said, “You are frustrated that you are still so sinful, but see how the sky lights up – not all at once, but gradually as the sun rises. Likewise your soul will be filled with light – not all at once, but gradually.” And Moses stayed a monk, and became a saint. If we want to be holy, if we want to be like Jesus, we must persevere. Fighting the battle, as long as it may take, is part of the path to holiness and freedom!

            So do you find yourself stuck in a rut, in a cycle of sin, feeling frustrated that you still struggle with the same flaws? Pray with faith – unceasingly and perseveringly – and God, Who is faithful, will free you.