All Saints Day Homily - November 1, 2020

 

Homily for November 1, 2020

All Saints Day

One Thing Necessary

                You’ve probably seen “clickbait” everywhere on the Internet. For the uninitiated, “clickbait” refers to a headline that is purposely sensational, so that you click on it. “Five Secrets to Weight Loss” or “Never-Before Revealed Photos of Your Favorite Movie Stars!” Even the Catholic world gets into it, when I see headlines such as “Five Secrets to the Rosary” or “Ten Pro-Tips on How to Go to Confession” or “This Popular Devotion Will Change Your Life!”

                Usually when I click on clickbait, it’s a letdown. Five secrets to the Rosary? Well, yes it’s a powerful prayer, but that’s not a secret! Pro-tips on going to Confession? You mean “examining your conscience” is now a pro-tip? Clickbait usually leads to disappointment!

                But what if there was “one secret to becoming a saint?” That would be worth clicking on! Is it possible that all the saints had one thing in common?

                Yes, I believe they did. They desired to love God more than everything.

                That is the secret to holiness, the secret to becoming a saint. Love God more than everything. No saints loved God half-heartedly; no saints put anything above their love for God. Everything else the saints did: their joy, their works of charity, their great writings and miracles and missionary efforts – all of this flowed from their love of God. That is how you become a saint!

                Consider a few saintly examples:

                St. Dominic Savio, the young schoolboy saint who died at the age of 15 in Turin, Italy, would fall so in love with God that he would lose track of time. One day after Mass, the rest of the boys in his school went to breakfast after Mass, then classes, then recreation. Hours passed, but the headmaster of the school (St. John Bosco) had no idea where he was. He finally went back into the chapel around two in the afternoon and found young Dominic standing stock-still, gazing at the Tabernacle with great love. When Fr. Bosco gently shook him to get his attention, Dominic seemed to wake up and ask, “Is the Mass over?” The Mass had been over for hours, but Dominic was so lost in love for God that he became unaware of his surroundings! As he later told St. John Bosco, “I become distracted, and losing the thread of my prayers, I behold such beautiful and entrancing sights that hours seem to go in a moment.”

                St. Igantius of Antioch was a bishop in the very early church, who was arrested during one of the persecutions and marched from Antioch (in modern-day Turkey) to Rome. On the way there, he wrote seven letters to the churches he would meet on the way – and the letters begged the churches not to interfere with his impending martyrdom! Rather than pleading for his life, he was pleading to lose his life so that he could find it only in Christ. Listen to his powerful words: “No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. My love of this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather, within me is the living water which says deep inside me: ‘Come to the Father’” Wow! What deep love for God!

                Finally, one more saintly example. All of us are familiar with Mother Teresa – but do you know how she started serving the poorest of the poor? Initially, Mother Teresa joined an order of teaching nuns who ran a school for wealthy girls in Calcutta. When she entered the convent, she selected as her motto the quote from St. Therese of Lisieux: “I will love Jesus as He has never been loved before.” That burning love of Jesus in the heart of young Sister Teresa is what prompted her, in 1942, to make a private vow “never to refuse Jesus anything.” Four years later, Sr. Teresa was on a train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling, heading on her annual retreat, when she heard Jesus speak to her: “Will you serve Me in the poorest of the poor?” She had no idea what this would entail – but her love for Jesus and her vow to say “Yes” to Him in everything made her agree to this request from Our Lord. As they say, the rest is history – Mother Teresa became a household name and synonymous with charitable works – but only because she was filled with a burning love for Christ.

                The saints loved God more than anything – that’s what made them saints. You and I can love God more than anything, as well. Not half-heartedly, not putting our worldly concerns and pleasures and entertainment on-par with Him. No, to become a saint is to burn with a desire to know and love Him with our entire heart, soul, mind, our very life. Focus on that, and He will take care of making you a saint!

Homily for Ordinary Time 30 - October 25, 2020

 

Homily for October 25, 2020

Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Solidarity

 

            For the most part I enjoy living in Stamford, but there is one thing that drives me crazy: the way in which pedestrians cross the street in this city. You’ve seen it too – people cross whenever, wherever, totally unconcerned about the fact that they just caused a four-car pileup on Washington Boulevard. It’s not like this in any other city I’ve ever been in – I’d be driving along, minding my own business, and from out of nowhere some guy just waltzes into traffic, and I’m forced to slam on the brakes and lay on the horn, usually with a shout of, “Yo! Dude! What do you think you’re doing?!? You can’t cross here!” And then they just look at you with an apathetic shrug and continue on their merry way.

            I suppose the reason why pedestrians crossing at the wrong time or in the wrong place drives me so insane is that it’s a perfect example of individualism.

            Individualism – the belief that the three most important people in the world are me, myself, and I – is very much a characteristic of our modern culture. People are told, “Look out for Number One.” We tell kids from the time they’re young that “You’re special” – which often makes them believe it! We often believe that laws and rules apply to everyone except ourselves; sometimes we think the world revolves around our needs, our issues, our desires.

            But individualism goes against an important principle of Catholic Social Teaching called Solidarity. The Church has always taught that we ARE our brother’s keeper. We are not supposed to keep to ourselves, look out for our own business, and to heck with everyone else. Rather, as our first reading instructs us, we are to look after the widow, the orphan, the poor, the disabled, the unborn, the immigrant.

            Recently, Pope Francis issued an encyclical letter on solidarity, called “Fratelli Tutti” (meaning “All Brothers”). In it, he laments: “We have become accustomed to looking the other way, passing by, ignoring situations until they affect us directly.” But then he gives the solution: “Only a gaze transformed by charity can enable the dignity of others to be recognized.” The virtue of charity – to love as God loves – requires us to see others as God sees them, as brothers and sisters and not just random individuals to whom we have no responsibilities.

            The saints understood this deeply. I am reminded of the story of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who was married to King Louis in the 1220s. Soon after their marriage, Elizabeth heard the preaching of some Franciscan friars, who convinced her that her wealth in the royal castle was not for her to enjoy, but for her to serve others. She began to give away the fine silverware, tapestries and curtains, and gold and silver to the poor, using much of it to endow hospitals and schools. Her husband was none too pleased to find his stuff go missing, so one day he approached her when she was out making her daily rounds with her cloak full of bread from the royal kitchen. When her husband demanded that she show him the bread she had taken from the castle, she opened her cloak and roses fell out instead of bread. Her husband was shocked because of this miracle and from that time on allowed her to perform any charitable work she wished. But another time, she brought home a man with leprosy and laid him in her own bed. When a servant told the king this, he was disgusted and stormed into the room. Pulling back the sheets, he was amazed that instead of a leper laying there, he saw the figure of Christ crucified lying there. Once again, he recognized his wife’s holiness and allowed her to continue her good works. After his untimely death, she dedicated the remainder of her life to prayer and works of charity. She established a hospital and would spend her days cleaning sores, bathing patients, and feeding them. Imagine if the chairman of the board of a hospital, or the hospital president, would spend time doing that!

            St. Elizabeth could have made every excuse to stay in the palace, far removed from the problems of the poor. But, motivated by love for Christ, she rejected such insulation and actively sought out those who needed her kindness and compassion.

            This should be the attitude of every Christian. It’s not enough to stay insulated in our nice homes in North Stamford or Greenwich and say, “Oh, well, those problems in the inner-city don’t impact me.” We are our brother’s keeper – solidarity must be a part of every Christian’s life.

            So how do we do that, practically? A few suggestions. One can certainly donate to Catholic Charities, or volunteer at the New Covenant Center here in town (which runs a homeless shelter and soup kitchen). Perhaps you can mentor young men and women who need a role model. The holidays are coming up – perhaps you can invite over for Thanksgiving dinner that elderly neighbor who has no family nearby. Maybe it’s as simple as getting to know your neighbors – do you know them? Bake some cookies and go meet your neighbors! Or one could write thank-you cards for those who cut your grass or collect your trash. Maybe for you solidarity would mean calling that relative that you haven’t spoken with in years, and reestablishing a relationship with them.

            The whole point of solidarity is to get outside of ourselves, our worlds, and love our neighbor, motivated by love for God. As Jesus says, the whole law and prophets are summed up in these two commands. Indeed, the whole of our Catholic Faith can be summed up in them as well: love of God, and love of neighbor.

Homily for Ordinary Time 29 - October 18, 2020

 

Homily for October 18, 2020

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Render Unto Caesar

 

            This weekend’s Gospel invites us to consider the interplay between Caesar and God, between religion and our nation. As Catholics, we have a duty to be involved in the civil government of our country, because Catholics – and indeed, all persons of good will – ought to work for the common good of society. Certainly during this election year, there is an added significance to our task. But how can we see voting and the political process through the lens of our Catholic Faith?

            First, let us examine how our faith should impact our support of candidates. Regardless of what you think of the person running for office, we should vote mainly on the issues at stake. There are many pertinent issues at stake in this election: health care, the economy, foreign policy. But some issues are more fundamental than others. The right to life is indeed the preeminent issue, as our Church teaches. Listen to the words of this year’s document called “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” from the USCCB: “Abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human life and dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental good and the condition for all others. Abortion, the deliberate killing of a human being before birth, is never morally acceptable and must always be opposed.”

            This is not to say that other issues are unimportant. But people of good will can disagree with how to end poverty, or the best way to welcome immigrants, or how to provide accessible health care to all. There can be differing opinions on these issues. But people of good will cannot justify legal murder, which results in the death of over a million human beings each year. We shut down the entire country because of two hundred thousand deaths from coronavirus, but have tragically enshrined in law the evil of abortion which kills five times more people every year.

            But is it a sin for a Catholic, then, to vote for a pro-choice candidate? We turn to moral theology for the answer. In moral theology, there are three different ways to cooperate in evil. There is “formal cooperation” which means that you intend the evil being committed. An example of that would be someone who drives the getaway car for a bank robber. He clearly intends to participate in the evil itself – and Christians may never formally cooperate in evil. But there is also “remote material cooperation” in evil – that means that a person participates in evil but doesn’t know about it, or it’s so remote that it’s completely out of their control. For example, if a man uses a knife to stab someone, the knife manufacturer technically cooperated in evil by making the knife and knowing it was dangerous, but they clearly did not intend or foresee it being used so violently. In that case, the knife manufacturer is blameless.

            But there is a third type of cooperation called “proximate material cooperation” which means that even if you don’t intend the evil, you still know about it and enable it. For example, someone who sells a man a knife knowing full well that he plans to murder someone with it, even if the seller is personally opposed to murder, would be guilty because he aided and assisted the murderer with full awareness.

            This would be the case for someone voting for a candidate who has very publicly said that they would continue to enable the slaughter of millions of innocent unborn children. Even if a voter says, “Well, yes, but I like his other policies” – but the Church says that abortion has “preeminent priority”. After all, if a candidate was excellent on everything else but said, “I am planning to bring back slavery” – wouldn’t that alone disqualify that candidate? If a candidate agreed with everything good but wanted to reinstate the Holocaust, that would certainly be an issue that supersedes all others. In the same way, while other issues are supremely important, there is one that can disqualify someone for public office, and that is their support for legalized abortion. If I can’t trust a politician to protect the most fundamental right (life) in the most vulnerable population (the unborn) then how can I trust them to protect other rights or help other groups of people? Their credibility would be shot!

            Now, with that said, there is more than one pro-life candidate for Presidency. One of the great failures of our current country is that there are only two main political parties – but Catholics are not obligated only to vote for one of the two major parties. Yes, it’s true that they likely will not win this election – but it is a lie to say that they will never win! There was a time when our nation had more than two legitimate choices for President – that time can return if we, as Catholics, stay involved in the political life and raise up political parties that more completely reflect our Catholic values.

            Finally, we must always remember that the real problems in our nation are spiritual, not political. Regardless of who wins the election on November 3, there will still be hundreds of millions of people who support abortion. Regardless of who is occupying the Oval Office, there is still tremendous greed in the capitalists who make their money off the backs of the poor. Despite the election, there is still an epidemic of broken families and poverty and irreligion and addictions and mental health crises…all of which point to a deeper struggle. America needs to return to God, and that won’t be solved by an election. It will be solved when you and I start living our faith, praying intensely, and becoming saints.

            As they said about Supreme Court nominee Amy Barrett, may they say about you and me: that the “dogma lives loudly” within us. Archbishop Charles Chaput once said, “The only people who truly change the world are saints.” In the constant tension between Caesar and God, God will always win. We need to remember that when November 3rd comes around.

Homily for Ordinary Time 28 - October 11, 2020

 

Homily for October 11, 2020

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Good Life Points to the Eternal Life

 

            A very large friend of mine from college used to say, “Food is God’s love made edible!” There were times when I wanted to respond, “Perhaps you should have less of God’s love on your plate?” But I think he was on to something – the good things of life are a foretaste of Heaven.

            GK Chesterton once said, “In Catholicism, the pint, the pipe, and the Cross all fit together.” He recognized that we are not dour Puritans who refuse to enjoy ourselves! After all, our readings today speak of Heaven in terms of a feast – not as a boring lecture or reading a devotional book, but as a party. This should give us pause!

            And it should help us to understand this world. Every “good and perfect gift” is given by God so that it could remind us of Him. Whether it be the beauty of nature, the love of family and friends, the joys of sports, consolations in prayer, success in business or school, good food and wine, music and the arts – all of the delights of this world are meant to be a foretaste of Heaven. Any time we enjoy them, we ought to think, “This is wonderful – and Heaven is even better!” The “good life” points to the eternal life.

            Thus, we must never see these good things as an end in themselves. Our hearts can easily become attached to them, and we don’t want to give them up. I am reminded of the story of a young girl who saved up her money to buy a fake pearl necklace. It was only five dollars, but to this girl it was the most wonderful thing she had ever owned. She wore them around the house every single day for months.

            Finally, her father said to her one night as he was tucking her into bed, “My daughter, I want to ask a favor from you. Do you love me?”

            “Of course I love you,” she said.

            “Will you give me your pearl necklace?” the father asked.

            The girl didn’t know what to say. Of course she loved her father, but this was too much! It was her prize possession! She refused.

            The next night, the father asked the same question. “Do you love me?” She nodded, her eyes filling with tears because she knew what would come next. “Will you give me your pearl necklace?” Still she couldn’t part with it.

            For several weeks this happened every night. The little girl wrestled within herself. How could her daddy ask for such a thing! This was the one thing she loved more than anything! How could he ask for it? Didn’t he know how much it meant to her?

            Finally, one morning, love won out. Reluctantly she walked into her father’s room and handed him the pearl necklace. The father was touched and gave her a big hug, and then opened his dresser drawer and pulled out a necklace made of real pearls on a real gold chain. “My daughter, because you were willing to show your love for me by giving me your fake pearls, I will show my love for you by giving you this necklace with real pearls and real gold.” Imagine the girl’s delight when she received such a gift!

            And this is how we must use the good things of this world – enjoy them, but not be attached to them, because something better is coming when we are finally ready and able to give our lives back to the Father.

            Every good thing should lead us to Christ, which means that we use it well. GK Chesterton also said, “We should thank God for beer and burgundy by not drinking too much of them.” St. Thomas Aquinas instructed people, “Drink alcohol only to the point of hilarity!” St. John Bosco used to tell his boys, “Have as much fun as you want – but don’t sin!” (if I had a motto for my life, that might be it!). Enjoy life, but in moderation. Too much of any good thing becomes a bad thing!

            So, my friends, rejoice in the blessings of this life! They are foretastes of the great banquet feast of Heaven, where the joy will never end. But never become attached to the good things here on earth – something greater awaits us!

Homily for Ordinary Time 27 - October 4, 2020

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 27

October 4, 2020

Grace Makes the Fruits Grow

 

            Many of you probably have gardens. If you do, you know that it can be a lot of work. One must till the soil, take the rocks out, fertilize it, plant, weed it, water it…a lot of prep-work needs to go into farming if it is to be fruitful. But in a sense, it is mysterious how a plant grows – there is something invisible that causes it to go from a seed to a plant to the fruit of the plant. We prepare the conditions for growth – but God alone makes it grow.

            This is the same in the spiritual life – it is a cooperation between us and God. He gives the growth by giving us grace – we cooperate by seeking out the sources of grace. Let’s look at grace: what is it, why it’s necessary, and how to obtain it.

            First of all, what is grace? A simple four-word definition: grace is God’s life within us. That should boggle our mind! God wants to dwell in our souls? The all-holy One desires to make His home in my poor, sinful soul! St. Theresa of Avila said that if we could see a soul in the state of grace, we would be tempted to bow down and worship it. A soul with grace means a soul where God lives within it – thus it is the most beautiful thing in creation!

            But why do we need it? If I asked all of you how you get to Heaven, most of you would give me the wrong answer. Most people would say, “Being a good person,” or “Following the 10 Commandments.” Incorrect answer! We are called, not to be good, but to be holy. What’s the difference? We can be “good” on our own – we can only be holy by God’s grace. All of us are already pretty “good” – and we are holy, if we are in the state of grace – but we can always grow in holiness by opening ourselves up to more sanctifying grace. So the answer to how we get to Heaven is by living in God’s grace and having Him dwell in us.

            But how do we obtain it? As it is a free gift, we can only ask for it from God. We can ask through prayer and good works, but there are a few specific ways in which God has promised grace to us – these are called the Sacraments!

            We should participate in the Sacrament of Confession monthly and the Eucharist weekly, if not more often. These are the greatest ways to become holy!

            Right now, there are 32 companies racing to produce a Coronavirus vaccine, hoping that the right medicine will save lives. But we already have a healing remedy for the much worse spiritual sickness of sin, which, if left untreated, leads to everlasting death. This remedy is the Sacrament of Confession. As Our Lord revealed to St. Faustina, “When you approach the confessional, know this: that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here, the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy.”

            Sometimes we think, “Oh, I’m good enough, I haven’t done anything really terrible, why do I need to go to Confession?” Do we only take showers when we’re completely covered in mud, or do we shower more regularly than that? When we love God, we want to remove anything that is displeasing to Him, not only the big stuff. Regular monthly Confession cleans our soul of everything, and gives us a serious dose of grace to overcome our faults. Even Pope Francis confesses every two weeks! So every Catholic should make a good, honest Confession monthly.

`           In addition to Confession, we should always frequent the Eucharist. If we wish to be filled with grace, which is God’s life, then the best way is to be filled with God Himself in the Blessed Sacrament! St. Philip Neri, a sixteenth century priest from Rome, would watch to see if anyone from his Masses would leave the church early, and if they did, he would send out two altar boys with lit candles to accompany them to their house. He did so to remind people that they literally became living tabernacles when they received Jesus in His True Body and Blood.

            Right now we do not have an obligation to attend Sunday Mass. But that should not be an excuse to miss it! How can someone grow warm if they stay away from the fire? How can they see clearly in the dark if they walk away from the light? In our Eucharistic Lord, we receive the fire of Divine Love, the Light of Christ, the Source of our spiritual life. We should hunger for the Lord more than for bodily food, and we should come to Mass out of a deep desire for Him, not just out of a guilty obligation.

            Never miss an opportunity to attend Mass! When we are lying on our deathbed, we won’t wish we watched more TV, or scrolled more through Instagram, or spent more time at the office. We will wish that we spent more time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. When we approach the altar to receive Him, we must make sure that we receive Him worthily: we must be in the state of grace and have no mortal sins on our soul. Just as I can eat a peanut butter sandwich and it gives my body energy, it could kill someone with a peanut allergy. In the same way, two people could receive the same Eucharistic Lord with different effects: the person in the state of grace will grow in holiness, while the person not in the state of grace will, as St. Paul says, “eat and drink judgment upon themselves”.

            Grace can be more or less effective in our lives – it depends upon our openness to receive it. If one person approached a waterfall with a bucket and another with a shot glass, they would be able to take away a different amount of water, even though the amount of water flowing is the same. So in order to increase our capacity for grace, we must approach the Sacraments with love, preparation, and desire to receive the Lord’s love and mercy. Stir into flame a passion for Him – and He will come with an overflowing of grace!

            So why am I talking all about grace? Because our readings talk about a harvest of grapes from a vineyard. God expects us to give Him a harvest of holiness, and He is doing everything possible to nourish the vineyard of our soul through grace. It’s up to us to take advantage of that grace through the Sacraments, and to put that grace into action in our lives!