Trinity Sunday - May 30, 2021

 

Homily for Trinity Sunday

May 30, 2021

Indwelling Trinity

 

            When Cardinal Timothy Dolan was a young priest, he was in charge of running an RCIA program for adults who wanted to convert and become Catholic. One man was going through the classes to please his wife, and he challenged Fr. Dolan almost every class on some issue or another. He seemed to be truly wrestling with the Faith. Finally, at the end of the last class, Fr. Dolan asked the man if he had any questions about the Catholic Faith. The man replied, “Yeah, there’s one thing I just don’t get.”

            Fr. Dolan braced himself – would it be a hot-button issue like the Church’s teaching on birth control or marriage?

            The man continued, “I just don’t get your teaching on grace. You said that God literally comes to dwell in your soul. That seems too good to be true – I must have misunderstood.”

            Fr. Dolan breathed a sigh of relief and said, “You understood me perfectly – that is grace.”

            Trinity Sunday gives us an opportunity to reflect on the Trinity’s action in the world. Often we focus on the Father’s creation, or the Son’s death on the Cross, or the Holy Spirit inspiring the Apostles. But the entire Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is not just out there but comes to dwell in our soul through grace.

            I don’t think we fully appreciate what an amazing gift this is! In Catholic theology, this is called theosis or divinization – that we become so filled with God that we resemble God, we contain God, we radiate God, we become transformed into God. As St. Athanasius put it so succinctly, “God became man so that man might become God.” What an amazing gift! Christianity isn’t about us becoming nice people – Christianity is about becoming so filled with the Blessed Trinity that we become like Him.

            Now, we need to make a careful distinction. Although we are truly divinized, we are not God. We don’t stop being creatures even when the Creator has drawn us into Himself. Some New-Age followers believe that we are “all part of the divine” and that we just need to tap into the “god within”. That’s pantheism, and it is not what we believe.

            Rather, we believe that, because of the free gift of God’s grace, He does three things. First, He comes to dwell in our soul. Second, He makes us adopted sons and daughters of God, which means that we share in His nature. Third, He transforms us until we start to share His glory. How remarkable! This is so much more than just “getting to Purgatory by the skin of our teeth” – this is an invitation to participate in the inner life of the Trinity?

            Lest we get too abstract, let’s look at three practical consequences of this “theosis”.

            First, it means that we must always live in the state of grace (that is, free of all mortal sins). St. Theresa of Avila said that if we could see a soul in the state of grace, we would be tempted to worship it! So make sure your soul is always a dwelling-place for the Trinity. This means avoiding mortal sins like missing Mass, getting drunk or using drugs, or any sexual activity outside of marriage. If we happen to fall into any of these mortal sins, run to Confession to get back into the state of grace, which will allow God to literally dwell in your soul again!

            Second, since we believe that God is in our soul, we do not need to go to great lengths to pray – we can pray anywhere, and have a continual conversation with the God Who dwells within. Yes, it is often helpful to go to a church or a prayer room in your house, but even if you’re in the dentist chair or on a ski lift or sitting on the school bus, you can converse with God living in your soul. Converse with Him often throughout the day!

            Third, if the Trinity dwells in me and you, then how must we treat each other? One time, St. Jacinta Marta, the young shepherd girl who was one of the visionaries at Fatima, was too sick to attend Mass. When her cousin Lucia came home from Mass, Jacinta came up to her and sat next to her, resting her head on her cousin’s shoulder. Lucia asked why she was being so affectionate, and Jacinta replied, “Since you received Jesus at Mass, being next to you is like being next to the tabernacle! I just want to pray to Jesus who is living in your soul!”

            How much respect and love we ought to pay to one another if we knew the other person was preparing for eternal glory! How would we treat another person if we knew their soul housed the Triune God! This should be our attitude toward all, knowing that God desires all to become transformed into Him.

            Divinization. Theosis. This teaching of our Catholic Faith is so tremendously awesome that I am speechless in the sight of such a mystery. So I will conclude, then, with words that are not my own, but come from an early church Father, St. Irenaeus: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, through His transcendent love, became what we are, that He might bring us to become even what He is Himself.”

Pentecost Sunday - May 23, 2021

 

Homily for Pentecost

May 23, 2021

Praying in the Spirit

 

            The Holy Spirit gave some remarkable gifts in the early Church. Today, we hear about the gift of tongues – and the gift of evangelization, as Peter’s preaching converts three thousand people (I wish my homilies could be as effective!). If we keep reading through Acts of the Apostles, we see the Holy Spirit giving the Apostles the gifts of healing and prophecy and extraordinary knowledge – even the gift of raising people from the dead!

            So where are these gifts now? Don’t you and I possess the same Holy Spirit that filled the Apostles? Three thoughts on this. First, the early Church needed to see extraordinary signs for the Faith to be spread – just as it is important to take extra care of a baby that an adult wouldn’t require, it was important for God to shower the infant Catholic Church with extraordinary gifts to help it grow into full maturity.

            Second, the Holy Spirit is still active in the Church – just in different ways. We see the Spirit active in our lives when we feel inspired to do something good, when we have a desire to pray, or are filled with courage to follow Christ despite any difficulty. The Spirit gives gifts that are often subtle, but are nonetheless from God.

            But there is a third reason I believe why the Church does not manifest such extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit – and that is because we don’t desire it enough.

            One time a young man sought to join a Catholic monastery, so he knocked on the door and was met by the abbot. The young man said that he loved God and wanted to devote his whole life to Him. To his surprise, the abbot took the young man to the back of the monastery and instructed him to wade into the lake, and the abbot went in with him. When they were chest-deep in the water, the abbot grabbed the young man by the hair and plunged him under the water.

            The young man was so taken by surprise that he began flailing around, sucking in water, feeling like he would drown. Just before he passed out, the old monk let him up for air – but just for one breath, before he dunked him again. Once again the young man fought but this old abbot was surprisingly strong, and he once again felt like drowning, as his lungs were burning and he couldn’t breathe. Finally the monk let him up for one more breath before plunging him yet again. This time the young man was able to struggle free from the grasp of the monk, and he quickly swam to shore where he stood there panting and gasping for breath.

            “What was that for?” the young man angrily demanded. The old monk simply replied, “When you desire God as much as you desired air, you can enter the monastery.”

            Do we desire God that much? Do we pray with expectation, with confidence that God is actually listening, and that He has the power to actually send us His Spirit? Or are our prayers perfunctory? Many of us merely recite an Our Father and a Hail Mary before going to bed and wonder why we’ve never experienced the Holy Spirit. Because we don’t burn with a desire for Him!

            People will pray with such fervor when they want material blessings. Pope Francis recently told a wonderful story about a poor man whom he knew in Argentina, who was told that his nine-year-old daughter in the hospital wasn’t going to live much longer. In desperation, he took a train to a distant shrine of Our Lady, and he arrived late at night when the shrine was closed. Undaunted, the man fell to his knees, gripping the gate, and prayed aloud with tears and pleading. When the nuns came in the morning to open up the shrine, they found the man there, on his knees, clutching the gate. He went in and prayed before a statue of Our Lady, and as he was returning home, his wife called with the good news – doctors couldn’t understand it, but his daughter made a full recovery. The power of prayer!

But if we are willing to do this just for earthly blessings, have we ever prayed with such fervor just to know God, to be filled with the Spirit? The word “enthusiasm” actually comes from the Greek word “enthousiazein” which literally translates to “being possessed by a god”. To pray with enthusiasm – not just with words but with fervor – this will unleash the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

            St. Paul talks about this in Romans 8, when he says: “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.” Have you ever desired something so intensely that your words fail you, and you just feel an ache inside? This is what St. Paul is talking about – desiring God so intensely that we feel it, we groan for it. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are unleashed in proportion to our faith – so when we desire Him intensely, we will receive His Spirit.

            I believe that as it becomes harder and harder to believe in God in our modern, rationalistic world, God is prepared to shower extraordinary graces and gifts of the Spirit on believers. I know people – young and old – who have had mystical experiences such as visions and speaking in tongues. I have seen people exercise gifts of healing and prophecy right before my eyes. These gifts are real and are still given to the Church – but only if we have enough faith to burn with a holy desire for God.

            Today – whether in this church after Mass, or in the silence of your room tonight – beg God for an outpouring of His Holy Spirit. If you ask with faith and desire – confident that He will come through, hungry for Him and Him alone – you will see the Spirit alive and active in your life.

Homily for Easter 7 - May 16, 2021

 

Homily for Easter 7

May 16, 2021

Empty Promises

 

            Today’s first reading and Gospel mention a character we don’t often talk about – Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Jesus. He is somewhat of an enigma – what would prompt one of Jesus’ closest followers to turn and betray Him?

            I believe the reason is simple: he wanted the things of this world more than the things of eternity. He expected Jesus to be an earthly king, even though Jesus promised that His Kingdom was not of this world. When the earthly kingdom of Christ didn’t materialize, Judas became disillusioned. He was then captured by the ever-present snare of money, allowing thirty pieces of silver to convince him to betray innocent blood. Worldly power, money – Judas wanted the things of this world, and was willing to commit the most heinous crime in history to have them.

            When you and I are baptized, our parents made several vows on our behalf. First they were asked, “Do you reject Satan? And all his works? And all his empty promises?” It’s easy enough to reject Satan and his works, but what exactly are his empty promises?

            Simply put, Satan promises us that the things of this world will lead to happiness. Money, pleasure, comfort, power, popularity. But can any of these things lead to real and lasting happiness? We’ve all experienced what I call “Christmas Afternoon Syndrome.” From Thanksgiving onward, every kid is hyped up about Christmas. They make Christmas lists, send letters to Santa, and dream about the things they are going to get on Christmas morning. For an entire month, most kids think of nothing but Christmas morning. Then Christmas morning comes, and they joyfully tear into their gifts…and then Christmas afternoon comes, and although the gifts are fun and wonderful, I always felt a sense of emptiness, wondering, “Well, that was fun, but is that all there is? Why am I not as happy as I thought I’d be?”

            Satan’s empty promise is that the things of this world will make us happy – but Christ tells us that we are “not of this world”. This means that we should enjoy the good things here, but to use them in such a way that they are not an end in themselves. Pleasure is not a goal – rather, it is meant to remind us of the sweet delights awaiting us in Heaven. Money should not be a goal – rather, we should steward it well and lay up true riches in Heaven through our generosity. Popularity shouldn’t be the goal – rather, we should use our influence and popularity to lead others to Christ. Power and authority is not an end in itself, but rather a way to serve others. To be “not of this world” means to acknowledge that the things of this world are not ends in themselves, but rather they are things meant to lead us to where true joy is found – in God.

            This is a constant battle for human beings, though, because the pull of worldly goods is stronger than the desire for God. Most people who leave the Church don’t do so because of an intellectual reason so much as laziness. The pillow is more attractive than the Mass. The parties are more fun than prayer. We have three enemies working against us: the weaknesses of our flesh, which makes us choose the easiest and most comfortable path; the temptations of the world, such as advertisements and unhealthy friendships which keep telling us to desire earthly things and distract us from Heavenly things; and the Evil One, who tells us that our happiness can be found in this world.

            So how do we keep our faith in the Lord Jesus? By keeping our eyes fixed on Him and on the eternal joy that lay before us. Jesus is clear that if we are Christians, we “do not belong to the world”. Yes, we live in the world, but only as pilgrims. Imagine if someone was walking on a journey to see a friend but got so caught up with the beauty of the road and the forest that they decided to stop walking and instead build a house there and live forever along that road. They would never reach their destination; they would never see their friend. In the same way, if we wish to reach our destination – which is heavenly glory and spending eternity with Jesus, our closest Friend – then we cannot be distracted by the things of this world. We’re just passing through!

            One of my favorite saints is an obscure Italian nun named St. Hyacintha Mariscotti. In her earlier years, she was a very worldly teenager, caring only about boys and parties and fancy dresses and the usual local gossip. She had her eye on one particular young man from the town, who she was convinced loved her back. The young man would come over her noble family’s estate, and spend afternoons with the family. She really thought he was going to ask for her hand in marriage. Finally, one day, the boy went in to privately chat with Hyacintha’s parents – this was the day, she thought! He will finally propose! After a while, they came out and the parents proudly announced to the family, “We have tremendous news! This young man wants to marry…your younger sister!”

            Hyacintha was absolutely devastated. She said, “There’s nothing left for me on this earth, so I might as well become a nun.” She joined the convent – but didn’t leave behind her former worldly ways. She had her habit made from the finest silk. While the other nuns were supposed to be fasting, she had a stash of snacks in her room. While the other nuns would be praying, she would sneak off the convent grounds to meet up with her old friends. Not a very good way to live religious life!

            However, God had mercy on her and struck her with a severe illness, to the point where she thought she would die. The priest was called in to give her the last Sacraments, but when the priest saw the stash of food in her room and her silken habit, he exclaimed, “What are you doing! You are supposed to belong to God, and here you are living for the world! Think about your eternity!” Hyacintha was struck to the heart. She made a good Confession and resolved to turn from her worldly ways. She was miraculously healed of her illness – and immediately changed her life. She gave away her silken habit and made one out of rough cloth; she began fasting rigorously and spending long hours in prayer. She is now known as St. Hyacintha Mariscotti. She could not become a saint while still immersed in the world (or worse, living half-for-the-world and half-for-God). No, she had to detach herself from the world so as to attach herself totally to God.

            And this is the challenge for all Christians. We live in a world that is filled with so many good things; but we belong to a better world, where we can enjoy God forever. Detach yourself from the pleasures of this world and discover the joy hidden in God.

Homily for Easter 6 - May 9, 2021

 

Homily for Easter 6

May 9, 2021

Love Alone Fulfills Us

 

            Pope John Paul the Great once said, “Man can only find himself in a sincere gift of himself.” He is echoing Jesus’ connection between love and joy. Christ tells us that if we wish to have joy, complete joy, it comes from loving one another to the point of sacrifice.

            Let’s backtrack all the way to the beginning…of the human race. In Genesis, God looks at all He has made and says it is good. The sun, the rocks, the trees, the animals – all is good. Then He creates man – it is very good. But something is wrong – He says it is “not good” that man is alone. That is more than just loneliness, as painful as that is. Rather, Adam is missing a part of himself.

            John Paul II says in his “Theology of the Body” that love is self-gift. Adam, alone in the garden, wanted to make a gift of himself to someone. He wanted to share his thoughts, his heart, his future. He wanted to lay down his life for union with someone…but there was no one who was a proper recipient of the gift. He couldn’t share his thoughts with a dog or a cat; he couldn’t have a true relationship with a tree. Despite what you may read on bumper stickers, a dog is not your relative or your child – they cannot receive and return a self-gift. Adam was incomplete – he had a desire to make himself a gift, but could not find a recipient.

            Only when Eve was created did he find what he was made for. She alone had the dignity to receive his self-gift, and could return that self-gift. That is why God says He is creating an “ezer kenegdo” for Adam – we often translate that Hebrew phrase as “helper” but that’s pitifully insufficient. Ezer Kenegdo means “life-saver” – it is only in having a person to love that Adam realizes who he is and what he’s made for. Otherwise, he’s lost!

            Hence, the connection between love and joy. When we love, we complete ourselves because that is what we were made for. But this love is not an emotion, but willing the good of the other. This often requires sacrifice. But as Mother Teresa said, “I have found the paradox: when I love until it hurts, there is no more hurt, only more love.” A profound truth – when we have sacrificed our life for another, only then do we find what it means to truly live.

            The saints knew this intimately. St. Therese of Lisieux was a nineteenth-century cloistered Carmelite nun with an identity problem. She felt restless, unsettled. She wanted to be a priest, but being a woman, that was impossible. She wanted to be a missionary, but her health prevented that. So she continued to wrestle within herself, asking herself, “What is my vocation?”

            Finally one day in prayer she was led to open St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. She read there that the Body of Christ has different members, and that the hand cannot be the foot. But still she said, “But what is my calling?” She read further, and St. Paul writes that “I will show you a still more excellent way…love is patient, love is kind, love never fails.” She closed the Bible and remarked with joy, “I have finally found my vocation! My call is to love.”

            And then she set about living it out. Every day, she would find ways to sacrifice and serve. Respond with a smile when another nun intentionally splashed dirty dish water on her. Seek to spend time with the sister who was not well-liked. Patiently endure the failings of others, without speaking badly of them. It was not easy – one time it cost her so much to smile patiently at someone that she said she was “bathed in perspiration”. But her life’s purpose was to love – no matter the cost – and it brought her great joy…and holiness.

            So are you depressed? Lonely? Anxious? Restless, searching for “more” in life? Many times this comes from us being overly concerned about ourselves – our problems, our worries, our crosses. As they say, a man wrapped up in himself makes a pretty small package.

So what is the antidote? Love is the answer. Go and bake cookies for your neighbor. Write a thank-you note to someone. Pick up the phone and call the lonely relative. Spend time loving Jesus in prayer, no matter the cost. Get out and sacrifice for someone else – and you will be surprised how much joy you will find.