Final Homily at Trinity Catholic High School and Holy Spirit Parish - Feb. 24, 2019

Final Homily – TCHS & Holy Spirit

February 22, 2019

Three Points to Ponder

            The priest who most impacted my vocation is Fr. Michael Sliney, LC. He used to lead retreats for high school boys in Maryland, where I grew up. I was always amazed at his love for soccer – he was so good at the sport and he played with a zealous passion. One day, all of us boys were out in the field, playing soccer. The competition was getting intense and we were having a great time. I saw Fr. Michael standing on the sidelines, a hungry look in his eyes – he wanted to join us so badly, I could tell. And he was far better than all of us!

            But then he did something surprising – he thought no one was looking, so he pulled out his Rosary and started to walk down the path away from us, praying the Rosary. I realized – “Here was a man who loved Jesus more than anything. I want to be like that man.”

            My friends, I love Jesus more than anything. And I hope you do too. Because I came here to preach Him and Him alone. I want my life to be only a signpost, pointing to Him. Look to Jesus, and you will find everything.

            I want to leave you with three messages this morning – for me, the most important truths that I wish for you to know.

            First, God loves you. Yes, we hear that all the time but I am confident that most of us do not accept it or understand it. Maybe it’s better to say, God is in love with you. When you are in love with someone, you think about them all the time, you pursue their heart, you delight in them. And that is how God feels about you – not because you deserve it, but because of who you are – His beloved son or daughter.

            We were talking in my office about examples of unconditional love this week, when one of our sophomores said, “I know an example of unconditional love – me and food.” I thought – actually, that’s quite true. Every day he walks into my office and eats whatever food is sitting on my table. Doesn’t matter what it is – could be weeks-old donuts or extra pizza or remains from someone’s leftover burrito from First Lunch Period, but Ivan loves it all equally. It’s not a matter of how great it is – it’s food, so he loves it.

            Same with God – He doesn’t love you because of how great you are, He loves you because you are. Never forget that He is constantly trying to find ways to show you His love.

            Second, holiness is possible. One of my favorite young saints-to-be is Servant of God Faustino Perez, who lived in Spain in the 1940s. Though he died at the age of 17, he achieved great holiness in his short years. This young man loved the good things of life – he was passionate about soccer, loved to camp and hike and hang out with friends, even snuck a few cigarettes (what they used to do before vaping!). But he had a deep love for God. In fifth grade he made a commitment to pray the Rosary daily, which he kept doing until the end of his life. He would often go on retreats and bring his friends along with him. It was just a natural thing to love Jesus and to be a normal kid. When he was fifteen, he was struck with Hodgkins’ disease (a type of cancer). He suffered tremendously but offered it all to the Lord, never complaining. When his hair fell out because of the chemotherapy, his mother asked if he minded being bald. He replied with a smile, “It’s not a big deal, God will give it back to me eventually!” (Maybe that’s why I like this guy!). He didn’t do anything tremendously extraordinary – he just sought perfection in everyday life. After his death, his parents were reading his journal and they came across a powerful goal he wrote down for himself: “Holiness is very difficult. But I will try, and who knows if I might achieve it?” For Faustino, holiness was not just for priests and nuns – it was for high school students and married people and everyone else. Mother Teresa said, “Holiness is not the luxury of the few, but the simple duty of you and I.” How true – all of us can become holy by yielding our life to God!

            Third, always get to Mass. To me, the Mass is everything. In my six years of priesthood, I have only missed two days of saying Mass (both for sickness that made it impossible). I love the Mass more than life itself, and all the riches of the world, all the glories, everything on this earth cannot compare to the joys of attending Mass and receiving Christ’s true Body and Blood.

            Statistics aren’t good about Mass attendance. According to a 2015 study, only 24% of Catholics attend Mass weekly. The news is worse for Millennials – only 14% of that age bracket attends Mass weekly. But if we knew the value of the Mass, we would hunger and thirst for it. As St. Padre Pio said, “The world could exist more easily without the sun than without the Mass.” It was St. John Vianney who said, “If we could truly understand the Mass, we would die of joy.” We look with our physical eyes and see this Church full of a couple hundred people, but we do not see the tens of thousands of angels who are gathered here to worship the God of the Universe, who will be present on the altar in a few minutes! We see only an altar, but we do not see the immense torrents of grace that are gushing from this altar. This river, this torrent, is flowing out – it encounters some hearts and causes a great fruitfulness, the fruit of holiness. It encounters other hearts and finds them closed, a wall built around the grace God wants to give you.

            But this Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our Faith. It is here that Heaven touches earth; it is here that we become one-Flesh with God. Never miss an opportunity to attend Mass, and certainly get there every Sunday!

            My dear friends, these are the words I wish to leave with you. God is in love with you; holiness is possible; the Mass is the best way to be holy. I pray that we meet again in this life, but if not, I pray that we will meet again in eternity, when together we can gather in the presence of God and sing His praises for eternity.

Homily for Ordinary Time 6

Homily for Ordinary Time 6

February 17, 2019

Grasping for Eternity

            They say that the easiest way to catch a raccoon is to put a shiny object, like a piece of aluminum foil, in a very small hole, just small enough for the raccoon to fit its paw through. The raccoon will grasp the tin foil but, with its hand in a fist, be unable to pull his hand out of the hole. He would rather grasp on to that shiny piece of foil than be free. If you ever read “Where the Red Fern Grows” you may remember this trap – apparently it works; I’ve read a number of testimonies of people on the internet who caught coons this way!

            And what a perfect analogy of us, too. We’d rather clutch and cling to the shiny things of this earth than let them go to pursue the joy of eternity with God in Heaven.

            Today’s Gospel is Luke’s version of the Beatitudes. Most people are only familiar with Matthew’s version, but Luke’s version adds an important part – after saying, “Blessed are you who are poor in spirit…who mourn…who are hungry…who are persecuted…” he then goes on to say “Woe to you who laugh…who are rich…who are comforted.” Luke is setting forth a stark contrast: where are you going to find your fulfillment? On this earth, or in eternity?

            Every choice we make, every single day, is an attempt to be happy. Why do we choose to exercise? Because good health makes us happy. Why do we eat chocolate? Because it tastes good and makes us happy. Even things that may not be the most pleasant, like going to school or taking medicine, we do them because we know they will lead to happiness down the road when we graduate or get healthy.

            But how many of our choices are only directed to the happiness of this world? Jesus tells us, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the Kingdom of God will be yours…” It isn’t yours now, but will be in eternity. “Blessed are you who mourn, for you will be comforted.” Not here, on this earth, but in our true home of Heaven.

            Growing up I had a friend a couple years younger than I, so I was in college when he was still in high school. One Friday night he called me and we chatted for a while, but I could tell he was sort of down and depressed. I asked him why he was calling on a Friday night – didn’t he have parties to go to, or friends to hang out with? He told me, “Yeah, all my friends are at a party. They invited me but I know they’re just going to get drunk and act stupid and do all sorts of bad things. So I didn’t go.” I was amazed and said, “Wow, that’s really heroic, I think you made the right choice.” But he responded, “Yeah, but it stinks. Now I’m lonely.”

            He made the right choice, the choice to follow the Lord amidst the temptations of his friends…and it left him lonely. It stunk. It was painful and difficult. But this is what Jesus meant when he said, “Blessed are you who mourn and are lonely…you will be comforted…in eternity.”

            In Ancient Rome, when a victorious general would return to the city of Rome leading a triumphant procession through the streets, he would always have a servant in his chariot doing two things. The servant would hold a gold crown above his head, a symbol of his victory, and the servant would periodically whisper in his ear, “Memento mori, sic gloria transit.” – “Remember you are mortal, and this glory passes.” A good reminder for us!

            We spend so much time pursuing happiness here and now, but how much time do we spend pursuing the happiness that will never end? We are so quick to leave Mass early so we can get a good seat at the Parkway Diner, instead of spending an extra five minutes with the God of the Universe whom you have just received. We can find the time to work out for an hour each day, but can’t find ten minutes to reconnect with the Lord in prayer. We are excited to see the newest movie, but reluctant to read a spiritual book. We find the money to take a nice vacation but not the money to give to the poor.

            In the end, everything that is not based in Christ will fade away. We will take with us only who we have become. How sad it would be to have clutched at the empty treasures of this world for now, and mourn and weep and regret our afterlife when all these treasures turn into dust! How joyful it would be to make the small sacrifices now, pursuing holiness and union with the Lord Jesus, and rejoice in Heaven with God our Beloved forever!

            Blessed are those who sacrifice and suffer now for holiness, for eternal joy will await them.

Homily for Ordinary Time 5

Homily for Ordinary Time 5

February 10, 2019

By God’s Grace, I Am

            Heroin, cocaine, marijuana, LSD, excessive alcohol…all of these had been consumed by Don Calloway before he turned 14. Nightly partying, sexual encounters with girls, and heavy metal music filled his emptiness. Basically Don did not want to have any limits – whatever he wanted, he got. His father, in the military, was stationed in Japan for a while, and Don got involved in Japanese gangs, eventually stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, which resulted in him being deported from the country.

            It got to the point that he was living in a crack house, unemployed, with an arrest sheet…and he got so desperate he wanted to end his life. One night he was at his parents’ house, bored and lonely and hoping his life would end, when he happened to find a book about Medjugorje. Medjugorje is a town in Bosnia where six people have been having visions of the Blessed Mother since the 1980s.

            In these visions, Mary told the youth that peace would only reign in the world if people repented of their sins, abandoned their errors, and turned back to God. She urged prayer and penance, to make reparation for the sins of mankind. Although the Church has not definitively declared if these apparitions are true or not, I personally believe them to be true and I know many people who have experienced miracles at Medjugorje.

            When the young Don Calloway read this book, he was floored. God loves us enough to send His Mother, Mary, to earth to call men back to Him? The only way to peace is through conversion and turning to the Lord? These were radical new ideas for him, and he was struck to the heart. Tears of repentance flowed down his face as he began to turn his life over to the Lord.

            The next day, he went to Mass for the first time. He had never been baptized Catholic, so he soon converted…and discerned a call to the priesthood. He applied to a religious community from Massachusetts, the Marians of the Immaculate Conception (they run the Divine Mercy Shrine). When he applied, the vocations director was shocked by his life story. The priest told him, “You’ve had a past and a half!” He urged him to wait, to see if the conversion was going to “stick”. And stick it did – he is now a priest, Fr. Don Calloway.

            You see, God’s calling has never been about our worthiness. God’s love is a free gift; it’s not given because we are “good people”. Fr. Calloway said that one line in the book which touched him deeply was Mary saying, “You do not have to change to love me – by loving me, I will change you.” Mary isn’t giving us permission to go on sinning; no, she is saying that God’s mercy is present to heal us of our sin.

            All three readings speak of sinful people whom God is calling to a great task. Isaiah, Paul, Peter – all three are weak sinners whom God used powerfully. But notice the common theme in their spiritual journeys. First, God calls them in the midst of their sin. For Isaiah, it was to prophesy to the people of Israel; for Paul it was to be an Apostle to the Gentiles; for Peter it was to serve as the first Pope. Second, they recognize and confess their sinfulness and unworthiness – this task is too much for a sinner like themselves! Third, they receive cleansing and forgiveness from God – Isaiah has his lips purified, Peter receives Jesus’ encouragement that he will be “fishing for men.”

            So, let’s apply this to our own life. First, we have to understand that we are profoundly, passionately loved by God. If you doubt God’s love or struggle to receive it, you can do two things: first, look at the Cross. There, we see just how precious you are to God, for He died, not just for humanity in general, but for you in particular. He thought you were worth it – because you ARE! Not because of anything you have done or earned, but simply because you are His beloved son or daughter. Second, consider all the good things God has given you. Yes, everyone’s life has challenges, but we – especially here in America – are blessed beyond measure. As Scripture states, “Every good and perfect gift comes from above” – so our blessings are signs to us of His love.

            Once we understand how loved we are, then we must acknowledge our sin. He loves us; and we have failed to love Him. We may say, “Oh, well I’m a good person.” But the greatest saints recognized how they have failed to love our infinite and perfect God. St. John Vianney – the patron saint of parish priests who fasted daily, eating nothing but a single potato per day, prayed for hours on end, and spent twelve hours per day hearing Confessions – was once approached by a woman who said, “You are such a good priest to go to Confession to!” The saint responded, “If I am a good confessor, it is because I am a great sinner!” He recognized that even he, as a saint, stood in the need of God’s mercy. As St. Bernard said, “Who is free from defects? A person lacks everything if he thinks he lacks nothing.”

            This is why frequent Confession is so vital to a person advancing in holiness. Consider: sometimes when we have a window in our home, it looks pretty clean, but once the sun shines on it, we see the spots and the streaks, and we realize it’s not as clean as we thought it was. Likewise, a soul that stays in the darkness and never really examines their life usually thinks they’re probably doing pretty well. But when we shine the light of God’s grace and the Church’s teachings on our soul, we see that we, too, stand in need of God’s mercy! I am willing to make a bold claim – if you do not get to Confession at least once every two months, you are not serious about growth in holiness. Confess frequently!

            Finally, once we have understood God’s love and repented of the times we have failed to return His love, then, like Isaiah and Paul and Peter, we follow Jesus. Some of us may be called to serve Him completely as a priest or nun, or others may be called to seek holiness as a married person or a single person. But in our own specific vocations, we must follow Jesus and His teachings wholeheartedly.

            Accept His love, repent of our lack of love, follow Him unreservedly. The Scriptures mark out the clear and unmistakable path to holiness.

Homily for Ordinary Time 4

Homily for Ordinary Time 4

February 3, 2019

Charity in Preserving Others’ Reputations

            Many of you remember, a couple weeks ago, the Covington Catholic media fiasco. For those who are unfamiliar with it, there was an incident that occurred at this year’s March for Life in Washington, DC. A viral one-minute video made its rounds on the internet which showed a group of high school boys from Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky surrounding a Native American elder who was beating his drum. The boys appeared to be hostile and threatening to him, and one was smirking at him.

            Immediately, the media went into overdrive. Everyone from the Bishop to politicians to actors to media personalities condemned these boys’ seeming disrespect. Everyone was so quick to judge these boys and say that they were wrong for how they treated this poor, peaceful, elderly Native American. The media were quick to jump onto the “virtue signaling” bandwagon – showing the world how virtuous they are by condemning the sins of others. It got to the point that some of the boys in the video received the threat of expulsion from their school, and even death threats from anonymous sources.

            And then, the full video was released. It showed a completely different story. It showed that this Native American fellow had actually approached the boys, who were minding their own business, and gotten into their face and was hostile to them. Wow, how the story changed! Immediately everyone began their apologies. Within four days, the narrative went from “those evil, privileged, rich white kids” to “oh wow, they were the actual victims here”. Amazing how quickly things can change!

            Just like in today’s Gospel. At the beginning of the Gospel, everyone is praising Jesus. He is speaking eloquently, He’s beginning to do miracles, and everyone loves Him and is proud of Him…and then, He says something they don’t like. Immediately they turn on Him, and, much like the media outrage mob, try to destroy Him…literally this time, by trying to throw Him off a cliff.

            In today’s modern society, we can so quickly go from praise to criticism. Reputations are destroyed on a daily basis through the media – including social media – and it’s often good for us to reflect upon how we might be contributing to the destruction of people’s opinions through our comments, social media posts, and everyday conversations.

            There are three specific sins that we can commit in our words about others. First, there is detraction, which is revealing someone’s hidden faults without a good reason. Yes, perhaps Johnny got in a fight because he got drunk the other night, but does anyone else need to know that? If we know someone’s hidden faults, and it is not necessary to share them. Secondly, there is calumny, which is telling harmful lies about others. Sometimes we exaggerate the negative qualities of others – “Oh, she always does that, he’s such a jerk, I’d bet she’s got this fault or that fault” – and sometimes it’s a blatant lie about another’s qualities. Finally, there is libel, which is writing harmful things about others – and this includes social media and emails! In the high school, we call this “cyber bullying” – but it happens with adults, too!

            Our second reading speaks about love, and gives a very practical instruction about what makes an action “loving”. Let’s apply that to our words as well. When we write or say something about others, we should ask, “Is it patient? Is it kind? Is it rude? Does it put on airs? Is it envious? Does it rejoice in the wrong, or rejoice in the truth?”

            There are three areas I feel like we should be especially careful. First, with the people in our everyday life – coworkers, family, neighbors. How easy it is, when talking with others, to bring up their bad points or share how they’ve disappointed us! A lot of times we think we’re just sharing news, but does our mom really need to know about how our spouse has disappointed us? Does our coworker really need to know how the boss let us down? Sometimes they do need to know – but a lot of times, they don’t.

Second, when talking about political figures or celebrities. We tend to think that these people won’t ever see our comments or the articles we post on our Facebook wall…but do we forget that we’re talking about real people with real souls here? This was the problem with the Covington Catholic situation – pundits thought they could make all sorts of comments about these high school boys, assuming their motivations are bad and racist and hateful, forgetting that they are real high school boys who will read these comments. They forgot that only God knows their motivations. If we spent a minute praying for these celebrities or politicians or famous people, how would the world be completely different? I bet very few people pray, really pray, for Kanye West or Oprah, or even Donald Trump. We read all about their failures, we criticize them publically, but do we really need to? Our civil discourse needs to stop with the ad hominem attacks – especially from Christians!

Finally, we need to be careful in talking about members of the Church, especially clergy. Yes, there have been real scandals, but do we really need to read about them all the time? This past year, I fear there has been far more ink spilled about the negative things in the Church than all the good work the Church has been doing to lead souls to Christ, feed the hungry, educate the youth, and all the other works of the Church. We just need to check our motives for sharing bad news, which always spreads much faster than good news!

Jesus Himself experienced how quickly public opinion changes. He went from being loved to being despised within the course of one Gospel reading! But we are often responsible for how others are viewed, because of our words. Let us make sure all of our words are loving – both the words said with our lips, and the words we write on social media and elsewhere.