Homily for Feast of the Holy Family - December 26, 2021

 

Homily for Feast of the Holy Family

December 26, 2021

The Holy Family: A Model for Families

 

            This year I received a Christmas card from a dear family, and the photograph was the family posing as the Holy Family. It was very cute – their two-year-old was in a wooden manger, their older kids were shepherds and wise men, and the parents were Mary and Jesus. But as I looked at it, I thought…little Joey is never that peaceful. He’s a two-year-old terror. How long did it take to get this photo right? And then I turned it over on the other side and saw the outtake photos – there was Joey throwing a temper tantrum, and the kids looking all disheveled and disorderly, and the parents screaming at the kids…that was more like the family I knew!

            Doesn’t that sometimes feel like life in our families? We want our family to look like the Holy Family, but it ends up looking like a mess. We think it’s too much of a struggle to be like that picture-perfect family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. But today’s Gospel shows us a scene from the Holy Family that is less-than-perfect – they lose their kid for three days! Even messy and imperfect families can be good and holy families. But how? Let’s turn to the Gospel.

            First, we see parents who love the Lord and center their lives on Him. Notice how this Gospel begins by saying that “each year” the family went to Jerusalem “as was their custom.” It was expected that worshipping God would be the centerpiece of this family. I’m sure they kept the sabbath, went to synagogue, taught the child Jesus how to pray and read the Scriptures.

            It is beautiful to hear stories of people who say, “My mother and father are the holiest people I know.” That is true in my case – if my father ever asked me to get something off of his dresser, I would have to search for it amidst a sea of prayerbooks and Rosaries, all of which were well-worn from daily use. If parents have a personal, daily friendship with God, keeping Him at the absolute center of their lives, the children will realize this.

            Ah, but here’s the critical piece – all of us want to believe that Jesus is the center of our families and our lives, but is He? How many times have I heard, “I sent my kids to Catholic school, and we went to Mass most Sundays, why did they abandon the Faith?” Because that’s passing the buck. Christ at the center of a family means that we keep God in every aspect of our life. We go on vacation – and we look up where to attend Mass. We pray about whether God is calling us to be more generous with our family size, or with our money. We are willing to be countercultural and not let our kids have smartphones, or at least put strong parental controls on them. We make it clear to our kids that their souls are more important than their grades or getting into a good college. We live in a culture that screams, “There is no God!” for a hundred hours a week – one hour on Sunday is not enough to counteract that message unless our family is completely living for Christ! It takes sacrifice, but so did an annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem on foot…God was worth it for the Holy Family, and He is worth it for yours.

            Did you notice Jesus’ response after this dialogue between himself and Mary? It says that He went home and “was obedient to them.” Pause for a minute and let that sink in. The creator of the Universe, the all-Holy God, was obedient to a mere human being? Yes, and that is the way God ordered families for their holiness. Children under 18 grow in holiness through obedience to their parents! Consider if you had two pens. One didn’t function well and was moody; you had to hold it a certain way to write, and sometimes the ink didn’t flow properly, and it only worked if the room temperature was over 70…and you had another pen that worked any time you needed it. Which would be your favorite? In the same way, God wants young people to develop that total obedience to their parents – not when they “feel like it” or only in things that are convenient – because God wants to mold us to become HIS obedient sons and daughters. The goal isn’t, “Oh, I turn 18 and now I can do anything I want!” – the goal is, “Oh, now I am 18 and have been well-trained in obedience so I will become a good, docile son of God.” Our obedience doesn’t stop when we get older, it becomes given over to God so He can entrust us with greater tasks.

            It is true that over 18, we don’t have to obey our parents, but we must always respect them. I know many of us struggle because we have to take care of ill or aged parents. But it says in Scripture that “kindness to our fathers will never be forgotten by God.” Considering every way our parents were there for us, we learn to love by taking care of them in return. Do not abandon them in the time of their need!

            A final insight into a Holy Family is in this great exchange between Mary and Jesus. Mary asks Him, “Where have you been?” And Jesus gives a seemingly snarky response, “Don’t you know I have to be about my Father’s business?” (Anyone with teens has heard this kind of sarcasm!) But really, Jesus is teaching us that there is one thing more important than family – and that is our relationship to Him.

            King St. Louis IX of France had a very holy mother, Queen Blanche, who would tell him frequently as a young boy, “I love you my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child; but I would rather see you dead at my feet than that you should commit a mortal sin.” Shocking words – but not really, if you realize that she was just teaching him to love the Lord more than anything, including more than loving her. And King St. Louis IX took that instruction to heart – he never did commit a mortal sin, and kept his soul as pure as it had been on its baptismal day.

            Our family is a great gift from God, but it’s not the most important relationship in our lives. So when our sister-in-law doesn’t want us to pray before our family dinner because it “offends” her, or when our uncle asks why we’re such religious fanatics that we go to church every week, we smile and tell them that we love God before all else. Even Jesus had to obey His Heavenly Father over His earthly parents!

            Finally, we can all recognize that family life is messy. Jesus was born in a stable, and got lost for three days. God doesn’t wait until your family is Hallmark-perfect to become a holy family. Rather, seeking the intercession and imitation of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, God wants to make even our messy families into a holy family.

Homily for Advent 4, 2021 - Kerygma Homily 4 of 4

 

Homily for December 19, 2021

Advent 4 – Kerygma 4 of 4

Will You Follow Him?

 

            Catholics are really bad at praying out loud. I know that’s a huge generalization, but I’ve found it to be true. When I teach my freshmen and sophomore theology classes, I have one of the kids start off with a prayer…and not a pre-written prayer, either. They usually say something like this: “Dear God…um…um…thank You…um…and help us in this class. Amen.”

            Why do I bring this up? Because this fourth part of the kerygma, the basic Gospel message, is to have a daily, living relationship with Jesus Christ. And a living relationship is about more than just reciting pre-written prayers – it’s about sharing your entire life with the Lord Jesus.

            We’ve heard over the last few weeks the core of the Gospel message: that God loves us deeply, personally, passionately; but that all of us have sinned and have strayed away from Him; but that Jesus Christ paid the price for our reconciliation by His death on the Cross. But that salvation is only applied to our souls if we receive Christ through faith and a living relationship with Him.

            This same Jesus Who was born in a manger is still alive, forever and ever. Because He is alive, we can have a relationship with Him. But what does that look like, practically? Our response to His incredible love involves four things.

            First, we accept Jesus into our life. In the 1850s, a man named William Hunt painted a famous painting of Jesus knocking on someone’s door – you may have seen it before. It was based off of Revelation 2 where Jesus says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.” But when the painting was unveiled, some people objected to the artist and said, “You painted the door wrong. There is no door handle on the outside.” The artist responded, “Exactly – you can only open the door to Jesus from the inside.” Our Lord is a gentleman and He will never force His way into our life. He waits for us to surrender – a simple prayer such as, “Jesus, I am Yours, do with me as You will” can invite Christ in.

            Second, we take time daily to speak with Him in prayer. More than just reciting words, it means putting our heart and soul into a conversation with God. Think of how stilted it would be if a husband says to his wife, “Hi Honey…I love you…very much.” She would say, “Do you even mean it?” Prayer from the heart means speaking to Jesus as you would speak to a friend – tell Him your joys and sorrows, share your burdens and worries, ask for His forgiveness, tell Him how much you love Him. It’s fine to say pre-written prayers as long as we mean them from our hearts, just as a man might quote Shakespeare passionately towards his wife, “How do I love thee, let me count the ways…” We can make the prayer “our own” – “Our Father…yes, Lord, I know that You are my Father…Who art in Heaven…my true home is with You in Heaven forever…hallowed be Thy Name…yes, Lord, let your Name be praised for all eternity…” The important thing is that we are truly speaking with God Himself!

            Third, we re-orient our lives toward His will. This means obeying Him and His teachings through the Church. At the end of our lives, either we have said to God, “Your will be done” and we enter Heaven – or God will say to us, “Your will be done” and we enter Hell. There is a beautiful, powerful story told by Fr. Karl Goldmann, an Army chaplain during World War II who was imprisoned along with his brigade in a Prisoner-of-War camp. One of his fellow soldiers was a man who really wrestled with the faith – he would meet with Fr. Goldmann after hours and question him endlessly, searching for the truth. One day, the sad news came to the camp that this soldier’s hometown had been bombed heavily and his whole family, wife and kids, were found dead in the rubble. The soldier, upon hearing the news, went back to his barracks…but a few hours later, no one could find him. Everyone feared that he had killed himself in despair and sorrow. Fr. Goldmann joined in the search for the soldier – and much to his surprise, he found the man in the tent that had been serving as their makeshift chapel. He had flung himself on the altar and was gripping the crucifix as if his life depended on it. Fr. Goldmann compassionately approached the man and asked him if he could pray with him. The soldier responded, “Yes, Father. I need you to help me pray those words from the Our Father: Thy Will Be Done.” Together, they recited the Our Father for hours together, until the man could say those words with complete serenity of heart: “Thy Will Be Done.” He walked out of the chapel-tent with a sorrowful but peaceful heart – having surrendered everything to God. When we have a living relationship with Jesus, we surrender everything to Him.

            Fourth, we seek to imitate Him. As St. Gregory of Nyssa once said, “A Christian is another Christ.” There’s a famous story of a young boy watching Michaelangelo carve his famous statue of David. As the statue started to take shape, the boy asked, “Wow! How did you know he was in there?” And the great artist replied, “I just took away anything that wasn’t him.” Having that deep, personal friendship with Christ means chipping away everything in ourselves that isn’t Him.

            Now, after hearing the Kerygma – the Gospel message – for the past four weeks, we are left with a choice. Some of us have already chosen to follow Jesus. Some of us may be sitting here and thinking, “I was baptized and confirmed, that’s good enough!” Baptism and confirmation may make us Catholics, but they don’t necessarily make us disciples, followers of Jesus – both Hitler and Stalin were baptized and confirmed Catholics! It takes a choice to follow Jesus. And now the choice is yours. Some of us may be unsure of what we believe – that’s okay, just bring those struggles and doubts to Jesus. But wherever you’re at, Jesus is ready to meet you there with healing, mercy, forgiveness, joy…salvation.

            So we’re going to take a few moments of silent prayer. If you’re already a follower of Christ, reaffirm your desire to follow Him. If you want to be a follower of Jesus, in the silence of your heart, welcome Him into your life. If you’re not sure, tell Jesus honestly. But the Kerygma, the Gospel message, demands a response. Will you say yes?

Homily for Advent 3 - Part 3 of 4 - Homily Series on the Kerygma

 

Homily for December 19, 2021

Advent 3 – Kerygma 3 of 4

The Death of Jesus Is His Love

 

            About nine centuries ago, a great theologian named St. Anselm wrote a book called “Cur Deus Homo?” – “Why Did God Become Man?” He concluded that the very reason why Jesus Christ took on flesh at Christmas is so that He could die on the Cross.

            Often during Advent and Christmas we don’t think about Christ’s death – but that is the whole reason for God becoming man. He had to have a body in order to die. And He had to die in order to reconcile us to God.

            We’ve been diving into the kerygma – the core Gospel message – during this Advent season. We started out looking at God’s great love for humanity, but our betrayal of that love by sin, which turned us away from God. But God was not finished yet – He provided the solution to our wretched exile. The solution was the Cross.

            But why death? Wasn’t there some other way? Consider this – imagine you were back in school as a student. What would be the consequence if you punched a classmate? Probably detention, maybe getting suspended. But what would be the consequence if you punched a teacher? You’d get expelled. What would be the consequence if you punched the President? You’d get arrested and put in jail. The same action, when done against someone of a higher dignity, requires a more severe consequence.

            Then what would be the consequence if we were to offend God? He who is All-Holy, the Perfect One, the Creator, the Omnipotent and Majestic King? The natural consequence would be death – both physical death, and spiritual death as we would be separated from Him for all eternity. This was the natural consequence for every sin, no matter how small, since it goes against the august majesty of God. It says in Scripture that even the moon, the stars, and the angels are not spotless in the sight of God! Nothing with the least stain of sin can stand in His presence – hence, the consequence of our sin is to be banished from His presence for eternity!

            Consider, too, that God is the source of all life. If sin means turning our back on God, then we are rejecting the Source of Life, and we are instead choosing death. St. Paul echoes this in Romans: “The wages of sin are death.”

            We owed a debt to God that we could not pay back. We needed someone who could pay it – someone who was infinite, since we offended the Infinitely good God; someone who was human, since they had to die; and someone who was perfect, since he needed to offer a perfectly pure sacrifice to God. Where in the world would we find a human being like that? Nowhere. Among us humans, there has never been a perfect person to offer their life as a ransom for man.

            But…God’s love for us is too radical, too persistent to give up on us. Since we could not find a victim that fit all the criteria, He would have to become man! Such reckless love!

To ransom us sinners, He gave away the Sinless One. To take away our shame, He was willing to be spat upon and humiliated. He was willing to take on our weak humanity so that He could refashion the Image and Likeness of God within us.

            There was once a young boy, the only son of a widow, who could be quite troublesome. One day he was very bad, and his mother tried to swat his backside with a belt, but the boy by this time was much faster than his mother, so he ran outside the house and called back to his mother at the door, “You’ll never catch me! I can do as I please!” The poor mother, worn out with the struggles of poverty and raising a wild son, sighed and said, “I feel ashamed of myself for having brought up a son who is so naughty. I must be a bad mother – and so I will punish myself.” And she started to whip the belt on her own back. The boy was so moved at seeing his mother taking on his punishment which he justly deserved, and so came back crying and begging for forgiveness.

            And so it should be for us who behold the Cross. God did not want to chase us down with punishment, so He took the punishment Himself and hoped to win us by love. Will you let Him?

            One profound way to let Him win us by love is through Confession. Next week will be one of our Confession weekends where the Sacrament of Confession will be offered after every Mass. Please come and take advantage of the forgiveness He won for you. It was purchased at a tremendous cost – the cost of the Blood of the Son. It was this Cross that won reconciliation for the human race – and He waits for our response of repentance and gratitude.

Homily for Advent 2, 2021 - Kerygma Sermon Series Part 2 of 4

 

Homily for December 5, 2021

Advent 2 – Kerygma 2 of 4

Sin Is the Cause of All Unhappiness

 

            We’ve been preaching a series this Advent on the Kerygma – the core of the Gospel message. There are four parts – God loves us, we sinned and brought death and destruction upon the world, but Christ took our sins upon Himself and reconciled us to God, and we can have access to salvation through our living relationship with Jesus Christ. Last time we spoke of God’s immense love for us – but now we turn to the bad-news part of the Good News!

            When I was a teen, I used to attend a wonderful Catholic retreat in the summers – but it had the most awkward name. It was called “Catholic Familyland” – and despite how much fun it was there, I couldn’t ever tell my friends where I was going – such an embarrassing name!

            But at Catholic Familyland, I remember the priest always telling us, “Sin is the cause of all unhappiness in the world!” I have never forgotten those words, and I think they are profound! How much misery is caused by sin!

            You see, every human being is searching for happiness. But sin is choosing a counterfeit happiness over the real one. When I lived in Maryland, it was a big deal for us to make a trip to NYC. One year when I was a seminarian, I accompanied the 8^th graders at the local Catholic school to New York. On the way home, a kid named Alex came up to me on the bus and said, “Hey, look at this great Rolex I got for only $10!”

            I laughed and said, “Where’d you get it?”

            “Oh, some guy in Battery Park was selling it from a blanket on the sidewalk.”

            “You know that’s not real, right? It’s a fake knock-off.”

            “No, no! Of course it’s real! The guy selling it told me it was real!”

            “Okay, Alex. Whatever you say.” About ten minutes later he came back to me, all despondent, and said, “This is terrible. My Rolex stopped working.”

            “Well, yes, that’s what happens when you get a counterfeit.”

            And isn’t that the way with sin? It promises happiness – and it provides misery. It makes us happy for ten minutes, and then when that wears away we feel a greater emptiness than ever before.

            Think about the way we have been hurt by sin, both ourselves and others’ sin. Maybe it was because of our parents’ lack of love. Maybe it was because we were bullied growing up. Maybe we fell into the shame of addictions to drugs or alcohol or impurity. Maybe we broke relationships, or others broke them with us. Maybe we lived selfishly, and are reaping what we’ve sown.

            Even natural sufferings like sickness, poverty, and death are made more bitter by sin. If we truly loved God, we would rejoice at sickness, because it is an opportunity to share in Christ’s Cross. Poverty, in the light of faith, allows us to serve God unfettered by possessions. And death is the door to total union with God in Heaven. These natural sufferings, which are meant to bring us closer to Christ, end up being bitter due to sin. Besides, these sufferings are a result of original sin – so one could truly say that sin is the cause of all unhappiness in the world!

            Consider – a bird is happiest when it is flying; a fish is happiest in the water. So we are happiest when we are doing what we are meant to do. And what is the meaning of our lives? To know, love and serve God here on this earth so we can be eternally happy with Him in Heaven. To sin is to act against the very meaning and purpose of our life. Much like a bird underwater or a fish in a tree, we are unhappiest when we sin!

            All parts of the human person suffer because of sin. God initially intended us to live forever; but now, because of original sin, our bodies suffer sickness and death. God desired our souls to live in intimate union with Him; but now, sin separates us from Him. Our intellect was meant to know truth, but sin blinds us and makes us believe in errors (most atheists I know started down that path because they were living a sinful life and didn’t want there to be a God!). Finally, our free wills have become corrupted because of sin – we now desire things we know to be harmful. Before Original Sin, broccoli would be more delicious than chocolate; praying would have been more enjoyable than Netflix; we wouldn’t have to struggle to do the right thing. Now, our wills are weak and flabby, and we have to exert serious effort to pray or live good lives. Sin corrupted all of us – body and soul, intellect and free will.

            But – here’s the good news – sin is not the final word. There is hope – and hope is named Jesus Christ.

Homily for Advent 1, 2021 - Kerygma Sermon Series 1 of 4

Homily for Ordinary Time 33 - November 14, 2021

 

Homily for Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

November 14, 2021

Joyful Apocalypse

 

            Once upon a time there was a class of fifth-graders. They were, for the most part, a well-behaved class, eager to learn. One day, their teacher had to step out for a minute, so she gave them some work to keep them occupied.

            For ten, fifteen minutes, they diligently worked on the assignment. All was well until one boy declared, “This is boring!” and he threw down his pencil and started to read a book. Some of the other students began to follow his lead and slack off on the assignment.

            The teacher continued to be delayed. Fifteen minutes stretched into a half-hour, then forty-five minutes. The students began to get restless. A few kept at their work, but most of them began to goof off as it became clear she wasn’t returning. “What if she never returns?” they asked themselves with laughter as they began doing all the things they were forbidden to do – shooting spitballs, tossing a football in class, rummaging through her desk.

            A few good students tried to speak up – “Get back to work! What if you get caught breaking the rules?”

            But the other students scoffed at them – “She’s not coming back! We own this classroom!” And the chaos only got worse. Some kids started breaking things, the class bully started beating up the smaller kids, some were even trying to climb out the window.

            What will happen when the teacher returns? That depends on the student. Those who thought the teacher will not return will face a pretty severe punishment. But those who were diligent and followed the teacher’s instructions will be praised and rewarded.

            Our world is in a much worse shape than even a classroom without a teacher. Chaos rules every realm – from politics to our families, from our media to our financial system. I think we can all agree that our world is in pretty bad disarray. Part of that is because we do not see our Teacher, Jesus Christ. Yes, He is here, truly present in the Eucharist – but He is hidden, and most people do not recognize Him.

If we had followed His instructions in the Gospel, we would find our world to be tranquil and at peace. But as it is, we disobeyed our Savior, and our world is badly broken. Sin has multiplied, and all of us carry the scars.

            But our Teacher is returning. This is good news! He will return to judge the living and the dead, as our Creed professes. He will return, not as a hidden baby in poverty, but as a glorious and mighty King. This Second Coming of Christ will be visible to all, and no one will be able to deny His authority.

            We don’t know exactly when. When Jesus tells us in the Gospel that “no one knows the hour, not even the Son of Man,” it means that by natural knowledge alone, no one can know the day of His return. Of course, in His Divinity, Jesus knows when He will return. But by human knowledge, no one can figure out a specific date. I can remember people saying in 1998, 2000, 2012, and 2018 that the world was supposed to end – and yet here we are! If anyone gives you a specific date for Christ’s second coming, do not believe them!

            Yet a search of Scripture and the saints give four specific clues about what will happen beforehand. St. Paul talks about a great apostasy – in other words, a large amount of people will leave the Catholic Faith – are we seeing that, as fifty percent of Americans no longer claim to have a religion? Jesus warns of severe natural disasters before His Coming – and it does seem like we’ve had quite a few recently. The Book of Revelation speaks about economic collapse. I am not an economist, but one might wonder if we are heading in that direction. Finally, Our Lady revealed to Sr. Lucia at Fatima that the final confrontation between God and Satan will be over the family – and the family is under attack from all sides, from those who wish to redefine it to the vast number of families falling apart to the number of families who are not taking seriously their calling to lead their kids and spouse to Heaven. Every generation is called to remain vigilant and read the signs of the times.

So, could Christ’s Second Coming be soon? I certainly hope so – because what a joyous day that will be! Christ will come to finally destroy chaos, disorder, and sin. If we love sin, we will fear His coming. But if we love Christ and hate sin, then we will rejoice when He comes. No human effort can clean up this mess that we’ve made – the mess in our lives, our families, our nation, our world. No, it requires Jesus Christ alone to “make all things new”.

And if we are living holy lives, we have nothing to fear at His coming! I love the story of St. Charles Borromeo, the sixteenth-century bishop of Milan. He loved to play billiards, and was quite the pool-shark. One day he was playing billiards with a fellow priest, who asked him, “Bishop Charles, what would you do if you knew you were going to die in five minutes? Would you drop to your knees, or run to Confession?” The holy bishop replied, “I would continue playing billiards.” The priest looked shocked, so the bishop continued, “My soul is clean, in the state of grace, and I began this game with the intention of glorifying God. Why should I stop playing, if this is giving Him glory?”

If we are living as we should, we have nothing to fear when Christ comes again. On the contrary, how joyful it will be when He finally comes to destroy sin and death forever!

Homily for November 7, 2021 - Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

Homily for November 7, 2021

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

In the End, the Soul Alone Remains

 

            Imagine a kid building a sandcastle at a beach. It’s an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. But up walks a structural engineer, who says, “Hey kid, I noticed you’re building a sandcastle. Do you have permits for that? I notice it’s not ADA compliant. Are your footers secured to the bedrock? Is the electrical up to code?”

            The kid would probably respond, “Hey mister…it’s just a sandcastle!” We don’t need to make any special effort if we’re building something that’s going to be washed away in an hour. When we go camping, we don’t worry about landscaping around our tent, because we know our stay is not permanent. Temporary things don’t require the same amount of care that permanent things require.

            But when we consider it, there is only one truly permanent thing we own. Not our bodies, not our bank accounts, not our cars or houses or our position in the company or our sports trophies. The only thing we will own forever…is our soul.

            How often do we think about our soul? Probably much less than we ought! Our soul is immortal. It is made in the Image of God with an intellect and free will, and will continue to endure long after the mountains have been reduced to dust, long after every ocean has dried up. Unlike the animals, who live for a while and then die, our soul will live forever. CS Lewis puts it this way: “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”

            Your soul will either be an everlasting splendor, radiantly holy in Heaven with the glory of God, or an immortal horror, separated from God for eternity in the pits of Hell. There really is no other option. Thus, it is absolutely critical for us to care for our soul much more than we care for the very temporary things of this world.

            We see this dynamic in the Gospel. This story of the widow who gives her two last pennies to the Lord is sandwiched between two stories of people who marvel in transitory things. First we see the Pharisees, who “love honors and money.” Second, immediately following this story of the Widow, the very next verses in Mark’s Gospel read: “As Jesus was making his way out of the temple area one of his disciples said to him, “Look, teacher, what stones and what buildings!” Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down.” His disciples were marveling at the beauty and majesty of the Temple in Jerusalem.

            But where is the Temple now? It was destroyed in 70 AD, and none of it remains. Where is the Pharisee’s honor, where is their money? Nowhere – their bodies are lying in graves somewhere, and no one knows their name. But the Widow – she was giving her whole self to the Lord, trusting Him for her every need, generously loving to the point of sacrifice. And that made her soul beautiful, radiant, holy…which she still enjoys in Heaven. Her heart wasn’t set on passing things, but on eternal things – and her reward, therefore, is eternal.

            So how do we care for our eternal, immortal soul? Consider how we care for our bodies. We feed our bodies – we feed our souls by coming to Mass every Sunday and worthily receiving the True Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. We clean our bodies – we clean our souls by regularly receiving the Sacrament of Confession. We rest our bodies – we rest our souls by going on a retreat, and spending time in prayer. We exercise our bodies – we exercise our souls by doing good works. We discipline our bodies by dragging ourselves out of bed in the morning and by passing up the donuts at work – we discipline our souls by fasting and sacrifices done for love of Jesus.

             I think of the beautiful example of a little-known Catholic saint, St. Joseph Moscati, who realized the value of the soul. He was an Italian layman in the early-1900s who became a very accomplished doctor – he taught in medical schools, was one of the first ones to pioneer the use of insulin to treat diabetes, and published hundreds of scholarly articles in medical journals. But he was first of all a man of faith, who went to Mass daily and would pray before each patient entered the room.

            He would tell his patients that the “first medicine” was not pills or shots, but the Sacraments. After listening to their physical ailments, he would ask about the state of their soul, if they had been to Confession recently or whether they were practicing their Faith. Along with healing their bodies, he brought many of them back to the Faith, and they found the spiritual health that they had long lacked. He wrote to a younger doctor one time, “Remember that you must treat not only bodies, but also souls, with counsel that appeals to their minds and hearts rather than with cold prescriptions to be sent in to the pharmacist.” Here was a man who realized that, as important as the body was, the soul was our only possession that lasts forever!

            So I ask you – do you care for your soul as much as you should? What do we need to do to take care of it? Regular Confession, daily prayer, weekly Mass, practice of the virtues. At the end of our lives, everything else will be just as temporary as that sandcastle, washed away by the waves – our soul alone will remain.

Homily for Ordinary Time 31 - October 31, 2021

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 31

October 31, 2021

Rightly Ordered

 

            Are you one of those people who have a clean desk and a clean car? If so…please teach me how you do it!

            Don’t we all feel better when things are clean, organized, orderly? We can more easily find what we’re looking for. We can get more accomplished. Our life just feels better when it’s organized. I know that if I ever lose my appointment book (yes, I still use a paper book, since I don’t have a smartphone), I feel a tremendous panic until I find it again! When our life is orderly, we have greater freedom and peace.

            And this is why God gave us commandments – to rightly order our lives.

            Consider, all the way back in Exodus, the way in which God gives us the Commandments. He had just led His Chosen People, the Israelites, out of slavery, through the Red Sea, to Mount Sinai. There He gives them the Commandments – not to enslave them in a new way, but to give them the freedom of a life that is ordered properly.

            The proper order of our lives should be: God first, others second, ourselves third. Dis-order enters our lives when we put ourselves first, or when we love ourselves more than others, or even if we love others more than God. No, a rightly ordered life is: God first, others second, ourselves third.

            Hence these two Commandments in the Gospels. The first Commandment is the very core of who we are: love God with our whole heart, whole mind, whole soul. We can’t understand what it means to be human until we have a right relationship with God.

            But, let’s be honest – do we really love God above all things? I think there are three ways to tell if God is our #1, or if we are making anything else an idol: time, sacrifices, and enthusiasm.

            First, how do we spend our time? God asks for one hour per week for Mass, out of 168 hours in the entire week. Less than 1%. If we are too busy to make it to Mass, then we are idolizing something else – is it our work? Our kids’ sports? Our own laziness? If we spend no time in prayer, then God is not #1. Obviously we have to sleep and eat and work for eight hours a day, but that should leave us enough time to give God, not the scraps, but a significant portion of the day. The first litmus test, then, for whether God is first in our life is do we give Him time?

            Second, what are we willing to sacrifice for? There’s a great true story about a woman who was getting ready to go to church, and she noticed her husband sitting on the couch in his pajamas, reading the newspaper. She said to him, “Aren’t you going to church this morning?” He replied grumpily, “Nah, I don’t like that new priest.” She replied, “Well you also said you don’t like that new bartender, but you sure as heck haven’t stopped going there!” People are willing to put up with a lot for things they love – athletes will give up desserts to get in shape, but will they fast from dessert for the sake of growing closer to the Lord? People will give up sleep to work hard on a project, but will they give up sleep to pray a Rosary? What we sacrifice for is what we love.

            Third, what do we get enthusiastic about? Think about the NFL. Have you ever seen those fans who paint their bodies and wear cheese-heads and scream into the camera and live and breathe their team? These same guys, who are so enthusiastic about football, you take them to Mass and I say, “The Lord be with you!” And they respond grumbling, “And with your spirit.” Where’s the enthusiasm? Can there be anything greater than to love the Lord, to seek everlasting life? A football game lasts for a few hours, but seeking the Lord is a life-long adventure that lasts into eternity. Following Christ isn’t boring at all – it’s the most exciting quest to conquer our vices, to develop a deep interior life of prayer, to fight the devil, to help the Lord Jesus on His mission of bringing the world to Heaven – I can’t think of anything that makes me more excited!

            So – let’s go back to that idea of ordering our life of God first, others second, ourselves third. Only if God is truly first will we be able to love others well. Mother Teresa used to tell her nuns that before they served the poorest of the poor – people who were literally starving to death in the slums of Calcutta – they had to first spend an hour before the Eucharist, the True Presence of Jesus Christ. She said, “Let us first see Christ hidden in the Eucharist, so we can then see Christ hidden in the distressing disguise of the poor.” Only if Christ lives in us can we see Christ living in others.

            In fact, Mother Teresa is a perfect example of living out these two Commandments. We all know her as the great humanitarian, who worked with the poor. But what motivated her? At eighteen years old, she left her home country of Albania to become a nun in India, working in a school for wealthy girls. But as Mother Teresa grew in her daily prayer, she made a promise to Jesus to “never refuse Him anything.” That’s a dangerous prayer – but one that can only come from a heart that loves the Lord more than anything.

            One day, she was on a train ride to the mountains, when Jesus spoke to her heart very clearly. He said, “Will you bring My light to the poorest of the poor?” Remembering her vow, she courageously said yes and left the school with nothing but the clothes on her back. That first person she encountered, the man dying in the gutters of Calcutta with maggots crawling around in his sores – that was Christ in disguise. Only because she loved God so intensely could pick him up, clean out his wounds, and allow him to die in dignity and peace. That first man soon became thousands upon thousands that she helped, spurred on by her love for God. Hers was a rightly-ordered life – God first, others second, herself third.

            And you know what? Mother Teresa radiated incredible joy. In every picture, she is smiling with a joy the world cannot explain.

            Because that’s what happens when our life is in the right order: God first, others second, ourselves third.

Homily for Ordinary Time 29 - October 17, 2021

 

Homily for October 17, 2021

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ransom

 

            During World War II, there was a fighter pilot named Vivian Rosewarne from the Royal Air Force of England who flew multiple successful missions. He never ceased to be amazed by the grandeur of the sky and the world from his vantage point 20,000 feet above the ground. Despite his success as a fighter pilot, he knew his days were numbered, as more and more of his comrades were shot down on mission. In the last letter he wrote home to his mother, he shared his premonition that he would be shot down soon, but he told his mother not to worry. Instead, he penned these immortal words: “The universe is so vast and ageless that the life of one man can only be justified by the measure of his sacrifice.”

            Yes, in the grand scheme of history, our lives are so, so small. Walk through a graveyard and look at the graves – do you know any of those names? Those people who thought they were so important while alive are not even remembered today. Truly, our lives are only justified by what we sacrifice for.

            But our sacrifices are nothing compared to Christ’s sacrifice. If an innocent person dies, it is a tragedy – but if a guilty criminal dies, people often say, “Well, they deserve it.” But we are the guilty ones – Christ is the Innocent One. Our second reading says that Jesus is the only one among us without sin, but He took on Himself the guilt and shame, the punishment that should have been ours. It was our death He endured; our sufferings that He embraced. This is why He could say in the Gospel that His mission was to “give His life as a ransom for many.”

            Last week my homily was about the mercy of God – but mercy has a cost. The cost of mercy is the Blood of Jesus Christ. The price of our reconciliation to God is the death of His Son. What lavish and outrageous love – to ransom us criminals, God gave away His innocent Son!

            In the light of such an enormous sacrifice, there are two responses we should have. First, gratitude. Our entire lives should be one of gratitude. The Father was not obligated to send His Son; He could have just given up on the human race. The Son did not have to die for us, but His abundant love wanted to give it all. Every day we ought to thank Him for such a reckless love.

            And the best way to thank Him is through the Mass. The word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek word eucharistia, which literally means “thanksgiving”. One day St. Theresa of Avila was so overwhelmed with the goodness of God – she considered the beauty of creation, the goodness of her family and friends, the consolation of her Catholic faith, the promise of everlasting life – and she cried out to the Lord, “Lord, how can I ever thank you for everything You have done?” Jesus spoke to her and said, “If you wish to thank Me, attend one Mass.”

            When we attend Mass, we offer God the perfect thanksgiving – the perfect eucharistia – for such extravagant love He showed us on the Cross.

            But in addition to gratitude, such a sacrifice invites us to imitate His example. St. Paul tells us to “make our bodies living sacrifices” – to imitate His sacrifice by laying down our lives. I think of the beautiful example of St. Maximilian Kolbe, one of the most popular saints of the twentieth centuries. He was a Polish priest during the Nazi occupation, and was arrested because he was an outspoken critic of the Nazis. During his imprisonment in Auschwitz, he continued to exercise his priestly ministry by hearing confessions, praying with the men, and encouraging them.

            One man in his cell block escaped from the camp, and in retaliation, the Nazi guards ordered all the men in his cell to stand at attention as they went down the line and selected 10 men to be starved to death in an underground bunker. When the guards pulled out a certain man, he fell to his knees and cried out, “I have a wife; I have children! Please don’t take me!”

            From out of the line stepped Fr. Maximilian Kolbe. He said, “I will take that man’s place.” The guards were stunned – no one had ever volunteered to enter the starvation bunker before. They accepted the exchange, and Fr. Kolbe and nine men entered the underground cement bunker.

            Every day, the Nazi guards would check on the men, but instead of hearing them crying out for mercy, Fr. Kolbe led them in singing and prayers. Finally, he was the last of the ten men to die, serenely and peacefully. The man whom he gave his life for? He was rescued from Auschwitz and was present in Rome when Pope John Paul II named Maximilian Kolbe a saint.

            A man’s life is measured by his sacrifice. But all of our sacrifices are tiny compared with the ultimate sacrifice of Christ. With a love so profound, how can we do anything less than live a life of gratitude, imitating His example of self-giving love.

Homily for Ordinary Time 28 - October 10, 2021

 

Homily for October 10, 2021

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Bad Archery

 

            After Pope Francis was elected, in his first interview he was asked the question, “Holy Father, who are you? If you had to define who you were, what would you say?” He responded, “I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.”

            What a beautiful description! It is both a humble recognition of our weakness, but unbounded trust in His mercy. “I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon.”

            But many modern people don’t see themselves as sinners. Sometimes we think we are good people. But listen to Jesus’ challenging words in the Gospel: “No one is good but God alone!” St. Paul teaches us in the book of Romans that “All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.”

            The Greek word for sin is “hamartia”, which is an archery term meaning “falling short”. It’s when we aim for the target but miss. What is the target we are aiming at? Jesus. When we look to Him, we realize that all of us fall short of being like Jesus. Instead we often compare ourselves with others: “Oh, at least I’m not as bad as that guy…I’m not as hateful as my mother-in-law…I’m such a mess compared with her, she’s got it all together.” But that’s not helpful, because the comparison isn’t with this person or that person – it is the comparison to Christ – which helps remind us that we all fall short – we are all sinners in the need of God’s mercy.

            But, we may say with the young man in the Gospel, “But I keep all the commandments!” Sure, we may not have killed – but have we harbored anger in our hearts? We may not have committed adultery, but have we always been pure with our thoughts? We may not have stolen, but have we been as generous as we ought? Sometimes our sins aren’t things that we’ve done (which we call sins of commission) but rather things that we haven’t done (sins of omission). Neglect of prayer, holding back a kind word, trying to get out of an unpleasant chore, not being aware of the poor and needy…these too prevent us from becoming like Jesus Christ.

            All of this reflection on our sinfulness should not cause us to despair, though. The Apostles felt like despairing when Jesus said that this young man, who had done everything right, still wasn’t perfect – the Apostles exclaimed, in despair, “Who can be saved?!” But Jesus responds, “With man it is impossible, but with God, all things are possible!” He is making the point that we cannot save ourselves through our own efforts – it is only by fully entrusting ourselves to God’s mercy that we will be saved.

            And His mercy is most lavishly granted in the Sacrament of Confession. How long has it been since you’ve gone? A year, five years, fifty years? Some of us have been carrying burdens of guilt and shame and hurt that could easily be healed if we bring it to Confession. Confession is not to make us feel horrible about ourselves as “lousy sinners” – no, as Fr. Mike Schmitz says, “Confession is a place of victory!” It is a place where the healing medicine of the Cross is applied to our wounds, where we get to partake in a share of Christ’s victory over sin.

             Personally, I go to Confession every 3 weeks. I always leave feeling lighter, freer, cleansed, renewed. I receive the grace to help me overcome temptation and to become more Christ-like. No one would go a year without showering, so if we clean our bodies every day (and our bodies will someday be buried in the ground), we should clean our souls regularly too, since they will live for eternity!

            I want to urge you this weekend to take advantage of the Sacrament of Confession. It will be offered after Mass today, in the cry room/day chapel. If you don’t know what to confess (or how to confess!) we have booklets on the table with an Examination of Conscience and how to go to Confession. Even if it’s been years, do not be afraid. It is completely anonymous, and the Church has always taught that there is an unbreakable “Seal of Confession” – where the priest can never, ever tell anything that has been said in Confession. So have no fear – Confession is where our misery meets God’s mercy.

            We are all indeed sinners who, through the Sacrament of Confession, the Lord has looked upon with mercy.

Homily for Ordinary Time 27 - October 3, 2021

 

Homily for October 3, 2021

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Marriage: A Match Made In Heaven

 

            Many years ago when I was teaching a group of middle schoolers about the Sacrament of Matrimony, I invited a couple who had been married for more than fifty years to give a presentation about how to have a successful marriage. At the end of the presentation we opened it up for questions, and one precocious seventh-grade boy raised his hand and asked, “Did you ever think about splitting up?”

            There was a great awkwardness as they looked at each other, unsure of how to respond. Finally, reluctantly, the wife said, “Well, yes, there have been days.” To which the man, shocked, replied, “Really? You too?”

            Marriage is very difficult, because it puts two imperfect people together for life. But marriage is also a Sacrament, which means that a husband and wife now receive all the grace necessary to live it well. But what does it mean to live marriage well? Let’s go back to the beginning, to God Who created marriage.

            God created marriage for two purposes: the mutual sanctification of spouses (in other words, to get your spouse to Heaven), and the procreation and education of children (in other words, to get your kids to Heaven). Marriage is not about this world only – we live it in this world, but God gave it to us to direct us to Heaven. Although I hope your marriage is happy here, ultimately its goal is to lead us to the happiness of Heaven. Let’s dive deeper into these two purposes to find out how to live it well.

            The first purpose of marriage is the mutual sanctification of spouses – to make each other saints. If you put two sharp rocks in a tumbler and shook them around for a few weeks, they would come out very smooth, because the rough edges of each rock would wear off the rough edges of the other rock. In the same way, two people in a marriage – both of whom are imperfect, flawed, and have lots of rough edges – end up smoothing each other out. We grow so much in patience, sacrifice, and love because in marriage we are forced to be patience, to sacrifice, and to love. There’s no other option, because we made the vows for life.

            So if you are in a marriage, you can help your spouse get to Heaven in many ways. First, by praying for them – and by praying WITH them. An interesting statistic – currently, about 33% of marriages sadly end in divorce. But if a couple attends church together weekly, the divorce rate is 10%. If a couple attends church together weekly and prays together daily, the divorce rate is only 2%. This is because we need God to be the “glue” that holds a marriage together. By our own strength, we would struggle…by God’s grace, we have strength to overcome our natural human weaknesses with supernatural strength. Besides, a spouse cannot be our primary relationship – our primary relationship must be with God. We all desire total, unconditional love – which can only come from God, not from a spouse. But when a person receives that love from God, then they can approach their marriage, not as a way to desperately receive the love that they’re thirsting for, but to give the love that they have already received from God.

            Second, we can help our spouses get to Heaven by witnessing to them and encouraging them in virtue. There are times when a husband or wife might struggle in faith or in holiness – or perhaps not even be a believer. But that’s when prayer, patience, and sacrifice can win over their spouse. I am reminded of Elizabeth Leseur, a French woman whose cause for canonization (being made a saint) has begun. She was a devout Catholic but married an atheist, who constantly ridiculed and belittled her faith. She suffered a great deal because of her husband Felix’s barbs, and would offer every small sacrifice for his conversion. Tragically, she died young, but when Felix was going through his wife’s belongings, he happened to come upon her journal. He was amazed to read the depths of her faith – and the depth of her prayers and sacrifices for her. He was converted and became a priest, due to her witness and sacrifices.

            The second purpose of marriage is to be fruitful and multiply. In fact, in Genesis, that is God’s first commandment – have children! Again, this is directed to Heaven – we don’t have children just to pass on the family name or leave a legacy, but to help form new souls for Heaven. This gift of children should amaze us to no end – only God can create, but He invites us to be co-creators of new human life! And that new human life has an eternal destiny.

            So how do we get our children to Heaven? By making God the center of our family life. We all like to think that is the case, but do we really prioritize our children’s spiritual lives above all else? Are we willing to miss soccer practice for spiritual events like Mass or religious education? Do we take time out of our busy day to pray together as a family? Have we taught our kids that making money and “being successful” aren’t as important as becoming a saint? Jesus in today’s Gospel embraces these children and tells the Apostles, “Let the little children come to Me” – are we more concerned about our children’s souls than about their success on the sports field or in the classroom?

            When I die, I will have to stand before God and give Him an account of how well I have led you, my parishioners, to Heaven. When a father or mother dies, they will have to give an account of how well they have led their spouse and children to Heaven. Blessed will that person be who has cared more about their holiness than about their worldly happiness!

            A brief word to those in different situations: I know that some here have gone through the pain of divorce, or have lost their spouse, or are unable to marry for whatever reason. These can be difficult crosses to bear. Please know that the Lord loves you in the midst of whatever pain and loneliness you may be enduring – and your life can have great fruitfulness in many ways, even without the Sacrament of Matrimony.

            I want to close with a great story of a couple who saw their marriage as a preparation for Heaven: Saints Timothy and Maura. They lived during the persecutions of the Roman emperor Diocletian in the early 300s. Both were devout Catholics, and after their marriage, they began to secretly help the Church by storing the scrolls of the Scriptures that would be read at Mass. It was against the law to build a church, so the vessels and vestments and books had to be stored in people’s private homes. But this was a crime punishable by death. Sadly, after only 20 days of marriage, Timothy was arrested for being a Christian and was told to surrender the holy books, which were hidden. He refused, and his captors said, “Don’t you see the instruments we have for torturing you?” To which Timothy responded, “Don’t you see the angels strengthening me?”

            So his captors pulled the ultimate weapon – they captured his wife Maura and threatened to torture her if Timothy did not relent. But heroically, Maura replied, “Timothy, I will never speak to you again if you deny Christ.” They tortured her, but she refused to budge. Finally, the captors crucified both of them on crosses facing each other – and as they hung there, they sang hymns together, encouraged one another, and prayed together. They finally died, but their death was so holy that their captor eventually converted to Christianity and was martyred himself.

            May all of our marriages be so focused around Christ that they inspire the whole world to desire Heaven!

           

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 25 - September 19, 2021

 

Homily for September 19, 2021

Twenty-Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Pride & Humility

 

            Do you know how the devil became the devil? God did not create him evil. Rather, according to Scripture, the devil was created as one of the most beautiful angels. His name was Lucifer, which means the “light-bearer”, testifying to his glory and majesty. Before the angels were admitted to the Heavenly Realm, however, they were given a test. God revealed His plan to them – He showed them that He would take on flesh and be born a human being, to suffer and die for mankind. To Lucifer, this humility of God was too much. How could he, one of the most luminous angels, bow down and worship a God who became man? A God who would be hungry and thirsty, who would have to go to the bathroom, who would get killed?

            So Lucifer rebelled. His ancient battle cry was “Non Serviam” – I will not serve! He took a third of the angels with him in the rebellion, and after being cast out of Heaven, seeks to take his revenge on the ones God loves the most – you and I. Because we are in the image and likeness of God, Lucifer (now called Satan, which means “The Accuser”), hates us and seeks our eternal destruction.

            In a word, it was pride that caused the angels to fall. They thought it was beneath their dignity to worship a God Who became man!

            But pride is not only an angelic problem – it is a problem for us humans, as we see clearly displayed in today’s Gospel. And, in a sense, it is natural to want to be the best at what we do. We want to excel in school, at work, on the sports field, even in the spiritual life. It is natural to “take pride” in our accomplishments. But pride becomes a vice when we begin thinking that our accomplishments are all about us – boosts for the ego. How easily we can think we are better than others, or even better than God!

            The antidote to this vice of pride is humility. Today I want to speak of humility in our relationship with God, and humility in our relationships with others.

            First, with God. When the Titanic was being launched, an employee of the ocean liner was questioned about safety precautions on-board, and he famously replied, “Even God Himself couldn’t sink this ship.” Of course, we know the rest of the story. But this pride in thinking that we are above God runs very deep in the human heart. Last year during the pandemic, when the cases began to decline, a Governor (who shall remain nameless) famously declared on national TV, “God did not do this. We did this; science did this.” Pride says that humanity can forge their own path through life; that science and technology will solve all of life’s problems; that we are “master of our own fate, captains of our own soul” (as the famous poem says). But this pride towards God is deadly, because it isn’t based in reality.

The Catholic summer camp I help at, Camp Veritas, has a motto: “There is a God, and I am not Him!” Humility recognizes that we are not in charge…of literally anything. Our next breath is a gift from God. We cannot even control our own heartbeat – if He decides our time is up, we are powerless to resist. Everything we have and everything we are is only a gift from Him – and so humility requires us to live our life in complete and total dependence upon God. This looks like two things.

            First, we must pray like our life depended on it…because it does! Many times we act like we only need God when something goes wrong: “Oh, I pray when Grandma gets sick…I pray when I need help in my marriage or on a test…but otherwise I don’t really think of Him.” But we desperately need His grace at every moment. It’s all a gift from Him, so a humble prayer thanks Him for everything, from the roof over our heads to the breath in our lungs…to even the crosses and sufferings we must carry in our daily life.

            Second, we must humbly conform our lives to His. Every now and then I get a request at a funeral to play Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” – “I did it MY way” – but in reality we should be doing things HIS way! We follow His Commandments and His teachings through the Church, because humility recognizes that His ways are better than ours.

            This humility before God should lead to humility with others. In 1979 in Oslo, Norway, Mother Teresa was being honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. The problem was…no one could find the diminutive nun…she had gone missing a half-hour before the ceremony! They searched all over the entire convention hall, and finally with only a few minutes to spare, someone found her in a small closet, repeating over and over again the words, “Humility…humility…humility.” She did not want this award to tempt her to think she was greater than others!

            Every human being is loved by God with the exact same love. We may have different bank accounts, different homes, different jobs, but Jesus died for you just like He died for Jeff Bezos and the homeless guy in Bridgeport. From the divine perspective, every human being has equal dignity and worth – in fact, some of the people we look down upon may have a much greater crown of glory in Heaven!

            We should never look to others to see if we’re better or worse than them. Rather, humility only considers who we are before God, and nothing more. We are profoundly loved, sinners redeemed by grace, sons and daughters of the Lord.

            To grow in humility with others, we should follow the example of CS Lewis who said, “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself – it is thinking of yourself less.” Speak less about your accomplishments (and your problems!). Do menial tasks like taking out the garbage and cleaning your own bathroom. Thank others who have helped you along the way. Recognize that any accomplishment, gift, or talent you have is only because the Lord is generous and merciful to you.

            Humility is the core virtue of the spiritual life, because it makes us most like God, Who humbled Himself to be born into poverty so that He could die, rejected on a Cross. As St. Padre Pio said, “Humility and purity are the wings which carry us to God and make us almost divine.”

Homily for Ordinary Time 24 - September 12, 2021

 

Homily for September 12, 2021

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

No Shortcuts to Heaven

 

            We all like shortcuts to achieving our goals. You may see ads or headlines that read, “Three easy steps to becoming a millionaire!” or “Eat this one food and lose twenty pounds!” or “Here’s the secret to looking young forever!” We all want that one shortcut that is going to keep us healthy, or help us earn lots of money, or keep our brains active in our senior years.

            But the truth is, there is no shortcut to real fulfillment. Having good health doesn’t require “three easy steps” – it requires us to eat right and work out, both of which are not always easy. Making money isn’t easy – it requires working hard, saving, and using our money wisely. There are no “quick tips” to a happy marriage – it requires the daily sacrifice, love, and faithfulness from two persons. The world wants to make things easy, convenient, pleasant – but true fulfillment comes from sacrifice, discipline, self-denial.

            Hence Jesus’ admonition to Peter: “You are thinking, not as God does, but as human beings do!” Peter wanted salvation without the Cross – he wanted Jesus to find an easy, convenient, three-step shortcut to saving the world. But Jesus says no – He would have to take the long, difficult, painful road to the Cross – and in doing so, He shows us where our salvation lies.

            Pope Benedict XVI once said, “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness!” Not just greatness in the worldly sense, but to be truly free, joyful, authentic, virtuous, intimately united to the Lord – and all of this demands nothing less than the Cross.

            This is the paradox: truly living for Christ means the Cross, but it is also the way to authentic fulfillment and happiness. Consider: which is easier, to watch TV or to pray? But which one leads to greater joy? Is it easier to sleep in, or go to Mass? And yet don’t we always walk out of Mass and think, “Yeah, that was good, I’m glad I went!”? It’s easier to get a dog than to be generous with God and have another child, but which one leads to more fulfillment? It’s easier to hold a grudge than to forgive, but which one sets us free? It’s easier to sleep with your boyfriend or girlfriend rather than waiting for marriage, but which one leads to more joy on the wedding night? It’s more pleasant to go on a costly vacation than to give to the poor, but which one brings us the joy of a clean conscience?

            I truly believe that the main reason why people, especially young people, stop attending Mass and following the Lord isn’t because they have an intellectual objection to the Faith. Rather, they leave because being a disciple is difficult, challenging, costly. It’s just plain easier and more pleasant to sleep in on Sunday, live selfishly, indulge every desire for alcohol and fun and sex. And I will not lie to you – following Christ demands nothing less than the Cross. As GK Chesterton said, “It isn’t that the Christian ideal has been tried and found wanting. Rather, it has been found difficult, and left untried.”

            But the Christian ideal is also the only thing that truly fulfills us. Just last weekend I spoke with a young man who said that since he had returned to the Lord, he was happier than he had been since his childhood – even though he had to give up a lot of sins and addictions. He who loses his life for Christ, will find it.

            A beautiful example of this is Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. He was born into a wealthy, influential family in Turin, Italy in 1901. His father was the editor of the largest newspaper in Italy – and he was an atheist. His mother only went to church twice per year. But from his youngest days, Pier was drawn to God, and would often stop into churches to pray and walk himself to Mass. His relationship with the Lord Jesus had practical, difficult consequences. Often he would be walking outside on a cold winter’s day and find a poor man who was freezing, and young Pier would give his coat to him. Upon returning home, his mother would be furious that he had lost his coat, and Pier would never tell her where it went. As a teen, he began to skip out on family vacations to instead serve the poor of Turin, using his own generous allowance to buy them medicine and food. His family began to think that he was crazy for not living the lavish lifestyle they were accustomed to, but Pier received greater joy from simplicity and generosity than they had from posh living. Due to his work with the sick and poor, Pier caught polio when he was only 24 years old – but faced this cross with joy, trying to hide his physical weakness from his family so that they wouldn’t worry about him. His family, for their part, still thought he was just plain crazy for being so super-religious. It was only after his death from polio that they glimpsed his holiness – at his funeral, over 2,000 people attended, mostly the poor who had been helped by Pier’s generosity. Although he could have lived a wealthy, relaxing life, he knew that discipleship demanded so much more – and he gave away the wealth, the vacations, and even lost his family’s respect because of Christ. And yet he is now numbered among the saints!

            There are no shortcuts to Heaven. There is no easy way to become a saint. Rather, we must daily take up our Cross, conform our lives to Him, and in doing so, we will find a richer, more fulfilling life both here and in the life to come, better than any of the empty pleasures that the world can offer.

Homily for Ordinary Time 23 - September 5, 2021

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 23

September 5, 2021

The Value of Silence

 

            There is a fellow named Bernie Kraus who records nature sounds for films and television. When he began recording nature sounds in 1968, in order to get one hour of uninterrupted nature sounds (no cars, planes, or other outside human noise), he would have to record for about 15 hours. He said that today, to get the same one hour of uninterrupted nature sound, it takes him over 2,000 hours of recording time – he is constantly being interrupted by the noise of the world around him.

            And we do live in a noisy world. I walk into a store, and am bombarded with piped-in music. I drive up Route 8, trying to enjoy the mountains surrounding the Naugatuck River, and am constantly distracted with mile after mile of billboards. Even on trains and subways we have our ear pods in, our eyes glued to our phones, constantly distracted from the real world around us.

            In today’s Gospel, the man couldn’t hear the voice of Jesus because he was physically deaf. In today’s world, we cannot hear the voice of Jesus because it is drowned out by too much noise. We wonder where God is – but He speaks in silence!

            Silence is such a beautiful and underappreciated gift in the world. A person who can be silent is a person at peace with themselves. When New York Post columnist Rod Dreher was going through a time of intense personal turmoil, he went to see his parish priest, and the priest prescribed one hour of silence per day. At first, he thought, “That’s crazy! I’m a busy journalist; I have to keep my ear to the ground and be constantly connected. I can never do that.” But as his personal struggle turned into depression and anxiety, he gave it a shot – and he found that God was present in the silence. The peace he had long lacked returned.

            CS Lewis once said: “In Heaven, there is music, and there is silence. In Hell there is only noise.” I would add that in America there is mostly noise. But if we want our ears to be opened to hear the still, small voice of God, we need to choose silence.

            And that can be frightening and difficult! I was teaching a Confirmation class one day when I challenged the kids to be silent for ten minutes per day. One girl looked at me as if I asked her to cut off a limb. I said, “Why don’t you think you could do that?” She responded, “I’m afraid of what I might hear.”

            Isn’t that often the case – we are afraid to be silent because we don’t want to face ourselves and we don’t want to face God? So we wake up to the radio, we make sure we’re scrolling through Instagram in every spare moment, we listen to podcasts in the car, we watch TV when we work out, and basically make sure that our brain is distracted at every waking moment.

            But what if we unplug? Disconnect? Encounter God – and ourselves – in silence? It would change our lives – and maybe for the first time, we would be able to hear the voice of God.

            One might say, “Well, but how does God speak in silence?” It is not in an audible voice. Usually God speaks in silence in one of three ways. First, through thoughts – perhaps a thought will come to our minds that wasn’t part of our usual “train of thought”. We wonder where the thought came from – because it came from the Lord. Second, through memories. Frequently God will call someone to mind because I need to pray for them, or forgive them, or reach out to them. Finally, through our emotions. In silence I will sometimes feel peace, or joy, or sorrow for my sins. If I feel fear or sadness, I lift them up to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to enlighten me as to why these emotions are arising. It can be unnerving to be in silence before the Lord, because we are very vulnerable – and that is how we should be: totally open to Him, surrendered to Him.

            So, do you want peace in your life? Do you want to hear the voice of the Lord? I challenge all of you to spend fifteen minutes a day in silence. Go for a walk in nature, turn off the radio in the car, or maybe just read the Bible for a bit and then sit with it in your living room. Silence gives God the space to speak – and allows us to hear His voice.

Homily for Ordinary Time 22 - August 29, 2021

 

Ordinary Time 22

August 29, 2021

Virtue

 

            A few years ago, when I was running a youth group in Stamford, one kid named Tommaso arrived early, so we started tossing a football in the parking lot. It was around Lent, so I asked him what he planned to give up for Lent. He mentioned a few things like giving up desserts and video games, but then he said, “You know, for Lent, I’m just going to try to be more like Jesus.”

            And that is the entire point of the moral life! To become more like Jesus. Every Commandment, every moral teaching is to make us more like Jesus. But in what way?

            Jesus had the perfection of every virtue – He was perfectly kind, humble, courageous, loving, self-sacrificing, honest, pure. So to become like Him, we must seek to become virtuous.

            Many Catholics think that it’s enough to avoid sin. And yes, we should avoid sin – but there is a positive flip-side to that, which is growth in virtue. When I used to be chaplain of a Catholic high school, often the teens would come into my office and ask, “Hey Fr. Joseph, is it a sin to listen to…(insert filthy rap artist here)? Is it a sin to watch this bad movie?” I would always respond, “Does it make you more like Jesus?” They would have to admit, “No…” So I would reply, “Then why are you doing it?” Our goal can’t just be to avoid sin. Then we fall into the trap of minimalism – thinking, “What’s the least I can do to get to Heaven? How close can I get to sin without actually falling into it?” That’s a terrible mindset! Rather, we should be asking, “How can I excel in virtue?”

            But what is a virtue? St. Thomas Aquinas says that a virtue is a “morally good habit.” So it is a habit – part of our character – something that we do without even thinking about it. It is a generous action to give money to the poor, but it doesn’t make you a generous person until you do it regularly, easily. Sometimes we struggle and wrestle to be kind to a challenging person, but we don’t develop the virtue of kindness until we do it automatically and it isn’t a struggle to be kind.

            All of us have virtues that come easily to us, and virtues that are more difficult. Perhaps you’re naturally a peaceful person, but you struggle to practice moderation in eating. Perhaps you are very truthful and honest, but maybe you struggle to practice chastity. But we must seek to acquire every virtue, even though we may struggle with some until the end of our lives. It’s the effort that counts!

            So how do we grow in virtue? Two ways. Prayer and practice. First, we pray for a virtue. This is a prayer God loves to hear, because it is a prayer to become more like His Son Jesus! Ask God for the virtues that you lack, because His grace can give us strength to overcome our natural human weaknesses and vices.

            But once we pray for it, we must practice it. Every time I pray for patience, I get a traffic jam. I say to the Lord, “Why this traffic jam?” And He says, “Well, you wanted patience, so here’s an opportunity to practice it!” Like any habit, the more we do it, the more ingrained it becomes. When we are learning a sport or an instrument, we have to do it over and over again. At first it’s clumsy, ugly, and weak – but after years of practice, we become proficient. Same with virtues. The first time we try to forgive someone, it takes struggle. But God eventually forms the virtue in us if we patiently persevere in practicing it, and it will become easy in no time!

            Every moment of every day is an opportunity to practice virtue. That obnoxious person behind you in the checkout line is an opportunity to grow in patience. That boss who criticized your work is a chance to grow in humility. The coworkers who are poking fun at your faith is an opportunity to grow in courage as you defend it. Coming home from a long day of work and your kids want your help with homework is an opportunity to grow in self-sacrificing love. God gives us a thousand chances every day to practice the virtues we need to become more like Him!

            This is why Moses could praise God’s laws in the first reading, and why St. James tells us in the second reading that we should be doers of His commands, not merely hearers. His commands are good – they are freeing – because they make us like Him.

            So my challenge for you is this. Consider which virtue you need to grow in. Ask the Lord to develop this virtue. And then seek out ways to practice it this week. If we work on one virtue each month, we will be saints in no time…because a virtuous life is a life lived like Jesus.