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.

Homily for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary - August 15, 2021

 

Homily for August 15, 2021

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Living for Heaven

 

            Today we celebrate the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. The Church has always believed, even from its earliest days, that at the end of her earthly life Mary was taken up, body and soul, into Heaven. Since Mary never committed sin, she did not need to experience the consequence of sin (which is death).

            Mary was taken up into Heaven at the end of her life because she lived for Heaven every day of her life. Her entire life was for God – praising Him, loving Him, glorifying Him. For example, at the Annunciation when the Archangel Gabriel told her that she would be the mother of the Savior, she had a lot of reasons to refuse. As a pregnant, unwed mother, she risked people thinking she was an adulteress. She could have lost her fiancée Joseph. She could have been stoned to death. Certainly her plans for a quiet, peaceful life would be upended. But what did she say? “I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Her life wasn’t about her – her plans, her reputation, her safety – no, her life was completely given over to God.

            Or consider the Cross. How painful it must have been to stand at the foot of the Cross and watch Her Son die! She must have wanted to run away, to hide, to somehow get away from this scene that was tearing her heart out in grief. But no, she stayed faithful – because her life wasn’t about her comfort or her happiness – it was about God.

            We live for all sorts of things. Can you say that you are living for God? For Heaven? Most of our days are filled with pursuing money, pleasure, popularity, success, a comfortable retirement. Those things are good – but they aren’t the point of life.

            When I have taught Confirmation classes in the past, I would always start out by asking the teens, “What is the point of life?” Usually I’d get a variety of responses. Most kids would say, “Uh…to have a good time?” or “To make the world a better place” or “To be successful.” All of which are…not quite correct. The point of life is very simple: We are here on this earth to know, love, and serve God, so that we can be eternally happy with Him in the next life.

            A major turning point in my own relationship with the Lord was when I was a senior in high school, when I began attending community college. Up until that point in my life I had actually been homeschooled, so I guess you could say I was a bit sheltered! But when I started at community college, I began meeting people whose values were completely different from mine. All they would talk about is the next drinking party, the next paycheck, the next girlfriend…and I began to really evaluate what life was all about. I remember asking myself two questions: “Is that all there is to life? It seems to shallow!” and “Are they happy?” They weren’t happy – there was a constant striving for the next pleasure, the next hundred bucks, the next A on a test…and there was nothing transcendent. I realized the only truly happy people were those who were living for something bigger than themselves – and the happiest people I knew were those who were living for God.

            Now, one might say, “Why can’t I live for God and money? God and pleasure?” But we can only have one person on the throne of our hearts. It will either be God, or ourselves. We talk about Mary having an “Immaculate Heart” – a heart that is pure and immaculate is a heart that is undivided – she pursued God with her whole heart. Most of us give God part of our life (and often it’s not even the biggest part!).

            I was celebrating a funeral once where the nephew of the deceased got up to give the eulogy. He began the eulogy by saying, “My uncle loved two things in life more than anything else. He loved God…and he loved bikinis.” I wanted to stand up and say, “Hey man, you gotta pick one or the other!”

            So, to live for God, does that mean we have to quit our jobs and become hermits? Not at all. But it does mean that the goal of our lives, the orientation of our lives, must change. When we earn money, the money can’t be the goal; rather, we must seek to do our best at work to glorify God, provide for our family, and be generous to the poor. When we enjoy pleasures such as food and drink, sleep, or sexual pleasure, we must enjoy them in the way God intends, in moderation, and willing to give them up for love of Him. When we pursue success or influence, it isn’t to puff up our ego (“Look at me! I’m the greatest!”) but rather for His glory and so that we can lead others to Him. Do we spend our time, energy, thoughts, money on the things of this world that are passing away, or do we spend them on Him Who endures forever?

            Mary is enjoying Heaven now, body and soul, because she lived for Heaven every day of her life. May we too live, not for the empty and passing things of this world, but for Heaven, for God, in Whom all our happiness is found.

Homily for Ordinary Time 19 - August 8, 2021

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 19

August 8, 2021

Real Presence

 

            Around the year 1300 in a small mountain village of northwest Spain called O’Cebriero, it was snowing hard on a cold winter’s day. The priest looked out into the blizzard, with waist-high drifts, and was glad – because it meant he could lock up the church without saying Mass. Sadly, this priest had lost his faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. He was about to lock the front door when he saw a single peasant farmer, trudging uphill in waist-deep snow, to the church. The priest was unhappy about this inconvenience, and when the farmer entered the Church, the priest sarcastically remarked, “Why did you come all this way for a piece of bread?”

            The priest then proceeded to begin Mass, and much to his surprise, as he held up the Eucharist after the Consecration, it began to bleed. A statue of the Blessed Virgin in the church turned and bowed her head towards the altar, to recognize Who was present there. The priest’s faith was restored – and this Eucharistic miracle has been preserved in that church. I have been there, and have seen the statue of Mary, her head still bowing towards the tabernacle, where Her Son Jesus resides.

            It does indeed take faith to believe that this small round Host which we receive at Mass is truly the Body and Blood of the Lord. How can we explain such a mystery, when our senses seem to tell us that it is just ordinary bread? Let’s take a deeper look at the Scriptures to see how we can understand the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

            Jesus clearly says that He is the Bread of Life. But Jesus says that He is many other things that He only means symbolically – He calls Himself the Good Shepherd, the Vine, the Light of the World. Could He be using “Bread of Life” symbolically? Not if we look at the original Greek.

There are two Greek words for eating: “ephago” and “trogon”. Ephago simply means “to eat” and that can be used symbolically. We sometimes use “eating” symbolically in English when we say, “Let me chew on that idea for a while” or we say, “I need to digest that book.” Clearly we are meaning that symbolically. But the other word, “trogon”, is much more graphic – it means to chew, to gnaw, to rip with one’s teeth. It is a visceral, graphic verb that is never used symbolically. And it is this verb that Jesus uses in John 6 to describe what we must do! He says we must “trogon” His Flesh…we must literally put His Flesh between our teeth and consume Him!

            This should gross us out a bit…because that was certainly the reaction of the Jews! Immediately after this Gospel, they start complaining loudly to one another, “How can this man give us His Flesh to eat?” Jesus doesn’t back down – actually He doubles down and says, “Unless you eat (trogon) the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life within you. For My Flesh is true food, and My Blood is true drink.” His listeners react with even greater disgust – and Jesus does not apologize. Finally, it says later on in John 6 that “many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Jesus” – they walked away because of this teaching! Does Jesus run after them and say, “No, wait, you misunderstand Me!”? No – He turns to His Apostles and says, “Will you also leave?” And Peter responds, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life.” So Jesus teaches clearly, unambiguously that the Eucharist is truly His Flesh, that we must truly consume Him, and He is willing to lose followers over this teaching!

            But then how do we explain the fact that it still looks like bread? Well, have you ever been to a restaurant or a fancy hotel and seen a flower display and thought to yourself, “I can’t tell if that’s real or not!”? You go up to it, look at it, maybe smell it, touch it…and sometimes you still can’t tell! Fake flowers are sometimes so realistic that your senses tell you they’re real flowers, while they are actually made of silk.

            In the same way, in the Eucharist, our senses tell us one thing – but what it actually is is completely different. The great scholar St. Thomas Aquinas used the terms “accident” and “substance”. Accident means what something looks like, feels like, smells like, tastes like, etc – basically, our five senses. But “substance” is what something actually is. At every Mass, we begin with bread – it looks like bread, and it is bread. But at the point in the Mass called the “Consecration” when the bells are rung, we believe that a transformation happens. Aquinas called it “transubstantiation” – the substance of bread actually becomes the substance of Jesus Christ Himself, even though the accidents remain the same.

            And I’m glad they do remain the same! I wouldn’t want to receive a jiggling, bleeding piece of flesh at Mass – it would be repulsive. So He hides Himself under the appearance of very common things – bread and wine – in order for us to approach Him without fear. But He desires to be so intimately united to us – not just spiritually, but physically as well since we are both souls and bodies – and so He desires to become our Food. Every other kind of food I eat becomes a part of my body; but in the Eucharist, I become more like Him.

            When we stop and think about it, this is the most amazing miracle in the entire world. There is literally nothing that we can compare to it – a small wafer of bread, a small chalice of wine, when a priest speaks the words of Consecration over them, becomes the very Flesh and Blood of God Himself. May we approach this Eucharistic altar with awe and wonder; with souls cleansed of sin and aflame with love – for so great a gift and mystery as Christ’s Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist.