Ordinary Time 5 - For You, Jesus

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 5

February 4, 2024

For You, Jesus

 

            I am going to teach you a simple, easy, and quick way to become a saint – and it all boils down to a three-word prayer. Yes, it really is that simple. The prayer is this: “For You, Jesus.”

            Saints have been made with nothing more than this prayer and mindset. Mother Teresa was once washing the sores of a dying man who reeked and was covered in filth. A reporter was standing nearby and was repulsed by the sight. He said to her, “I wouldn’t do that for a million dollars.” To which Mother Teresa responded, “Neither would I. But I would do it for love of Jesus.”

            To do all things and to endure all things for love of Jesus – this is the secret of sanctity, and at the same time, it makes all things sweet.

            This is important when life becomes bitter. We see two portraits of suffering in today’s readings. First, Job says that “man’s life is drudgery” – he believes that suffering is completely meaningless, so try to avoid it at all costs. We definitely see this in today’s world – a philosophy called “hedonism” which says that pleasure is the highest good, so if something is unpleasant or boring or difficult, we shouldn’t do it or endure it. But lots of worthwhile things involve suffering – being physically fit, having a healthy marriage, having a relationship with God. So clearly avoidance of suffering isn’t the way to go (and it’s never fully possible, either).

            In contrast, Jesus appears to heal everyone of everything – does that mean that God wants to take away all illness? Sometimes you will hear preachers, mostly Protestant evangelicals like Joel Osteen, preaching something called the “Prosperity Gospel” – which is the idea that God wants to take away all of our suffering if we just have enough faith, devotion, and positive thinking. But Jesus does not heal people solely for the benefit of their bodies – rather, He heals to increase their faith, that they may realize He is the true Messiah. As Pastor Rick Warren likes to say, “God is more interested in your character than your comfort.”

            So if suffering isn’t a meaningless reality to be avoided at all costs, and if God does not always will our physical healing, what can be done with suffering?

            We come back to that three-word, transformative prayer: For You, Jesus. The secret to making everything in life valuable and sweet.

            Suffering is meant to do two things. First, it is meant to transform us and make us like Christ. The old story goes that a young boy was watching Michaelangelo carve his famous statue of David out of a giant block of marble, and after a while, the boy, in awe, said to the famous sculptor, “How did you know he was in there?” To which the sculptor responded, “I simply removed everything that wasn’t him.” In the same way, Christ wishes to be revealed through your virtue, but He must first remove everything that isn’t Him. However, if a block of marble had feelings and could speak, I bet it would find that chiseling process rather painful! Likewise, Christ sometimes painfully strips away our sins and vices, our selfishness and our self-reliance, that He may be revealed in us. For You, Jesus, that You may live in us.

            Second, suffering is meant to be offered to God as a living sacrifice. There’s a great story in the life of King David in 2 Samuel where a devastating plague had struck the land. A prophet speaks to David and tells him that to end the plague, King David needs to offer a sacrifice to God. David then goes to a certain man and asks to purchase his barn so he can offer a sacrifice to God to end the plague. The man replies, “Of course, take it for free, and take any of my cattle, whatever you want.” But David, in his integrity, insists on paying and replies, “I will not offer to my God anything that costs me nothing.”

            What a great attitude of faith! I will not offer God something that costs me nothing. So we suffer so that we can offer God something of great value that is taken away from us – a friendship, our health, or anything else that God requires. For You, Jesus. One time I was at a family’s house for dinner, and their ten-year-old son refused to eat his broccoli. It wasn’t obstinacy; it literally made him nauseous. He wanted to obey his parents, but felt physically unable to do so. So the parents and I gave him a pep talk: “Offer this to Jesus! Make it a sacrifice of love!” He did so heroically, and was able to eat the entire portion. It was love of Jesus that overcame his natural disgust – it cost him a great deal, and thus was a beautiful act of love, For You, Jesus.

            Anything and everything for You, Jesus. When we are rejoicing with friends. Before playing a game. Before your workday. During a quiet study hall. When stuck in a traffic jam on the Merritt. For You, Jesus. Everything we endure, and anything we do (that’s not a sin) can be offered to God. St. John Vianney once said, “Here is a rule for daily life: do not do anything which you cannot offer to God.” Everything else that we do, everything we enjoy, everything we endure – for You, Jesus.

            Try this prayer frequently. It will make you a saint, very quickly.

            For You, Jesus.

Ordinary Time 3 - I Pledge Allegiance

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 3

January 21, 2024

I Pledge Allegiance

 

            Her life was marked with suffering from the very beginning. Her Mohawk tribe named her “Tekakwitha”, which means, “She Who Bumps Into Things” due to her clumsiness. When she was four years old, her parents and brother died from smallpox, and although Tekakwitha survived, she was badly scarred and disfigured from the disease. Her aunt and uncle adopted her but treated her badly, secluding her from others because of her disfigurement.

            During her teen years, however, every now and then a Jesuit priest would come through the village. She was intrigued by those “Blackrobes”, as the Mohawks called the priests. The message of the Gospel resonated in her heart, and when she was nineteen she asked for baptism, receiving the name “Kateri” (Mohawk for “Catherine”). But her aunt and uncle were totally opposed to her conversion – they accused her of betraying the tribe. Her former friends turned against her and accused her of sorcery. After years of suffering from her family, her uncle gave her an ultimatum – choose Christ, or choose the Tribe and her family. For her there was no choice – her life belonged to the Lord Jesus. Thankfully, the Jesuits had set up a small village for Christian Native Americans in Montreal, so they urged her to travel 200 miles through the rugged lands of upstate New York to the sanctuary, where she lived her remaining two years in peace, offering prayers and sacrifices for the conversion of her family. She is now the only Native American saint: St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

            If you had to make that choice between family and Christ, which would you choose? The Apostles had to make that choice in today’s Gospel. We gloss over just how radical this was – it was absolutely expected in first-century Judaism that one had to be completely obedient to one’s parents, working in the family job. And Zebedee had a comfortable job, too – he must have been fairly wealthy, for he employed “hired men”, as the Gospel says. But when Christ came calling, James and John didn’t think twice – it was Jesus, and He demands our entire allegiance.

             More than our own jobs, our own families, even our own lives, Jesus Christ deserves our total allegiance. Why? First, because He created us. We wouldn’t even have another day of life if not given from above. But if this wasn’t enough, He purchased our souls when we were condemned by our sins. If an innocent person dies to pardon a guilty one, I guarantee the guilty party would awaken every day with a fresh sense of gratitude, wanting to live their lives to honor the memory of the extraordinary gift they have received. Of course, Christ also demands our allegiance because, as St. Augustine said, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” Union with Him offers the joy, in this world and the next, that we long for.

            So that means we choose Him over even the good things. Here I want to speak of three places where we might have to choose Him despite a significant cost.

            The first is to choose Him over our family and friends. I was once working with a young man in middle school who was undergoing a spiritual conversion. He lamented to me that his parents wouldn’t take him to Mass. I asked why, and he told me, “Well, only my dad’s Catholic. My mom is Jewish.” I said, “So?” He shrugged and with a wry smile said, “Happy wife, happy life!” I understand the desire for peace at home, but your job is to get your spouse and kids to Heaven, and how can we do that if we choose them over the Lord? Even if your spouse disagrees with your religious fanaticism, even if your kids think you pray too much, we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. So many saints became great saints despite families and friends thinking they’ve lost their minds – even Jesus had serious misunderstandings with His extended family!

            We must also choose Him over our work. During seminary, I did a year in hospital ministry, and I was always impressed that all of the Muslim nurses and doctors would stop what they were doing five times a day and come down to the interreligious chapel, where there was a prayer rug facing Mecca, and offer their prayers to Allah. I only wish Catholics were so dedicated to their relationship with God! If Muslims can pray during work hours, and Jewish employees can insist on the Sabbath off, then we as Catholics need to insist that our religious observances will be respected as well. We can tell our employers that we need an hour on Sundays to attend Mass. Frankly, if they refuse, that’s discrimination. Plus, it’s a very good witness to others that Christ is more important than even the money we earn!

            Finally, in Monroe the biggest threat to an active life with Christ is honestly our sports teams. We commit a lot of time and money to them, but even when we’re away at a tournament, we need to be clear with the coach that Christ comes first and make time to get to Mass. My brother, who was an excellent baseball player, was invited to play on an elite national team in high school…but their tryouts were Easter Sunday morning! My parents wisely forbade him from trying out, and indeed my brother was rather angry about it – but I remember it made an impact on me.

            Christ’s first words in today’s Gospel sum it up perfectly. Repent – repent for the things we have loved more than Him. The Kingdom of God is at hand – we pledge our allegiance to the Kingdom of God first, and allow Him to reign over every aspect of our lives. Some may call this fanaticism, that they don’t want to be a “Jesus freak”. But I think His death on a Cross is enough to demand nothing less than our entire lives for Him.

Ordinary Time 2 - Listen to the Voice(s)

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 2

January 14, 2024

Listen To The Voice(s)

 

            To prepare for this homily, I went grocery shopping. It’s amazing the wide variety of philosophies you can see on display at your local Big Y. In the parking lot, I saw an Amazon delivery vehicle emblazoned with the words, “Caution: Contents May Cause Happiness.” Really? The stuff I order on Amazon will fill the deepest longing of my soul? Looking at the Amazon driver, he didn’t look all that happy. A walk down the potato chip aisle proclaimed, “Satisfy Your Cravings” – as if our physical desires should be indulged whenever they pop up. Then in the checkout line, there was a copy of “People” magazine which really should be called “Rich People” magazine, since no mere mortals are featured within, and which touts that fame and fortune are all that’s worth pursuing. Or…maybe I’m reading too much into my shopping list!

            As we go through our daily life, there are a lot of voices we hear – from media, advertisers, TikTok, the neighborhood rumor mill, our spouse’s expectations, our kids’ demands…we are bombarded by messages every single day – often contradictory, confusing, chaotic.

            Christ offers us a better, clearer way. Can you hear His voice of Truth – and do you recognize it as His voice? Samuel didn’t – he had no idea it was God calling him, because he wasn’t experienced enough to hear the voice of God. But Andrew and Peter did – they encountered this man, Jesus, and with that one invitation “Come and see”, they recognized Him as the long-awaited Savior of the world.

            In a world of conflicting messages, can you discern the voice of God? The world says “live your truth”, but Christ says, “I Am the Truth.” The world says, “Do what makes you happy.” Christ tells us, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, they must deny themselves and take up their Cross.” The world says, “Do what feels good.” Christ tells us, “Make of your bodies living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to the Lord.” The world tells us, “Look out for number one.” But Christ responds, “Whatever you do for the least of your brothers, you do for Me.” The world says, “Whoever dies with the most toys wins.” Christ says, “If you wish to be perfect, go sell what you have, give to the poor, and come follow Me.”

            So how do we hear the voice of God, amidst the many cacophonous voices of the world? St. Paul instructs us to “Be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you can know what is the will of God, what is good, pleasing, and perfect.” We listen to the voice of God in silence – spending time with Him in prayer. We listen to His voice in His Word – spending time with the Scriptures daily. We listen to Him in the Mass – here, His word is proclaimed. We listen to Him in the teachings of His Body, the Church – we study what the Church Fathers, the Popes, and the saints have said. If we’re spending more time on Instagram than with the Lord and His Words, we will have the voices of the world shouting at us…while the voice of God is often only a whisper.

            But in being transformed by His Words, the world is transformed. One of my favorite saints is Bl. Frederick Ozanam, a Frenchman from the nineteenth century who first listened to the voices of the world, then the voices of his pride, then the voice of Christ coming through an unlikely source. As a young man, he was very infected by the anti-Catholicism that was still residual in France due to the French Revolution. He turned his back on the Church and began to read many anti-Catholic writers, listening to their voices over the voice of the Lord. However, he had a teacher who was a devout Catholic who brought him back and showed him the truth of the Catholic Faith. After returning to the Sacraments, he became on-fire with a desire to defend the Faith…mainly to puff-up his pride. As he was in law school, he used to organize religious debates among the students so that he could show off his knowledge of Catholicism. He would usually win the debates, but at one certain debate, an opponent shouted to him, “Your Church may be true, but what is it doing for the poor right now? Show us your good works, and we will believe you!”

            Frederick took this as the voice of God. He gathered seven of his friends together and they began to visit the poor of Paris, bringing food and fuel and medicine to the poor on a regular basis. Pretty soon others heard about this charitable work, and they began to call themselves the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which still flourishes today in the Catholic Church, providing charity to the poor. Although his spiritual director wanted him to become a priest, Frederick knew his calling was marriage, so he married and had a daughter, continuing his good work with the poor. As an aside, his spiritual director was complaining to the Pope that Frederick had fallen into the “trap of marriage” as he called it, to which the Pope replied, “I thought Our Savior established seven sacraments, not six sacraments and a trap!”

            At the time of Frederick’s death, there were over 2,000 members of the St. Vincent de Paul Society – and today that society numbers 800,000. Bl. Frederick Ozanam had to cut through the lies of the world – the atheistic lies of the French Revolution, the lies of his own pride – and listen to the voice of God spoken through a surprising opponent in a debate, who gave him his mission in life.

            As you go through your week, I encourage you to pay attention to which voices you are listening to. Which messages you are receiving from the world, the flesh, and the Evil One, and counter them with the Truth of the Lord, which we encounter in His Word and in daily prayer.

Feast of Epiphany - The Gifts That Change Us

 

Homily for Epiphany

January 7, 2024

The Gifts That Change Us

 

            Katherine was from a banker’s family, a wealthy Philadelphia heiress who was related to Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Despite her socialite life, her family was devoutly Catholic, and three times a week would open their home to the poor for food and clothing – almost an early 1900s version of a soup kitchen and food pantry.

            With her socialite life, Katherine would frequently take long European vacations where she would hobnob with the rich and famous. She was able to secure an audience with the Pope, who said to her, “You have been given so many great gifts – how are you using them to serve?”

            This struck her deeply, so she came home with a new mission and new direction in her life. She gave away her fortune (which was a considerable $7 million, which would be worth $200 million today!) to found Catholic schools for Blacks and Native Americans. But once she started giving, she couldn’t stop. It seemed too easy to give away money. What could she give that was more valuable? She decided to give away her life and became a nun, founding the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament whose mission was to the poorest in America. We now know her as St. Katherine Drexel, the second American-born saint.

            Giving changes the giver. In fact, Christ tells us that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” Sacrificing something – whether it be time, money, or our very lives – puts love into action.

            I think it’s so significant that these three Magi came bearing gifts. They had no idea if they’d ever find this King, and even if they did find Him, what would He be like? Perhaps He would live in a huge palace with endless riches. But they figured it would be unfitting to encounter a King without offering something.

            And their gifts have rich significance. They give Him gold, because He is the great King of Kings. They give Him frankincense, which was used for worship, both because He is true God and also the Great High Priest Who alone could offer the perfect sacrifice of His life on the Cross. They offered Him myrrh, which was a preservative used for burials, symbolizing that He would follow in the footsteps of all the great prophets and be rejected and killed for His faithfulness.

            But these three gifts also have significance for us. The gold symbolizes offering God our money and possessions. Ultimately every last penny in our bank accounts are His anyway – when we realize that, we find great freedom.

            St. Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier and a Christian back in the late 300s. One cold winter day he was riding his horse and saw a shivering poor man begging by the side of the road. Without thinking, he took out his sword and sliced his cloak in two, handing the poor man half of the cloak. That night, in a dream, he saw Christ standing before him, wearing the half of the cloak he had given to the poor man. Upon awakening, Martin realized that he had to use all of his goods to serve the Lord.

            For us, that means sacrificially giving to those in need, or financially helping the Church in its mission of evangelizing the world. It also means not worrying about finances or housing or work, but placing it all in the Lord’s hands.

            The frankincense, too, is a symbol to us – of giving time to God in worship and prayer. Some of you know the Australian Catholic author Matthew Kelly, whose books are often given out at Christmas and Easter here at St. Jude’s. His conversion was rather unlikely. He was, in his own words, “restless and unsettled” as a teenager. An adult mentor told him, “Your bike route to and from school passes by the parish church. Why not stop in for ten minutes a day?” He began to do just that – and Someone was there to meet him (that Someone, of course, being Jesus Christ in the tabernacle). Day by day he found a growing peace, a clearer mission, and the love of Christ. He later wrote, “The most important things in life are rarely urgent – that’s why we need to be intentional and schedule them.” So true – you think about the things that give life meaning, like spending time with family and friends, growing as individuals, and our relationship with God – we would all agree that these are critical, but so often we are bogged down by our life’s mini-crises that we forget to keep time for that which is most important. As I look out on this Sunday morning, I guarantee that every single person in this church can give God more time each day to sit in His presence, read His Word, and speak to Him from our hearts. Very few of our spiritual lives are as solid as they should be – I challenge you to make a commitment in this New Year to give God more – if you pray for 2 minutes before bed, make it ten. If you pray for ten, make it twenty. Give God more, and see if God doesn’t give you peace and joy in return!

            Finally, the myrrh, that bitter substance, is a symbol of giving God our sufferings. St. Faustina once said, “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be jealous for two reasons: receiving Holy Communion, and suffering.” How many saints have been made simply by suffering well: patiently, joyfully, offering it all up for Jesus! The youngest child on the path to sainthood is Venerable Antonietto Meo, a six-year-old girl who became a saint solely through suffering well. She was diagnosed with bone cancer and had to lose her leg, but she said to her father, “I am very happy that Jesus gave me this problem so that I may be his dearest one.” She also remarked, "Pain is like fabric, the stronger it is, the more it's worth.” Not that suffering itself is good, but when immersed in love, it becomes the finest jewel we can offer to the Lord.

            And these awesome gifts change us. Notice that the Gospel says that the Magi “returned home by another way.” That has a literal meaning – they took a different route – but also a spiritual one. They returned home changed, they were not the same men who started out on the lengthy journey. In fact, according to tradition, when they returned to their country, they abandoned their worship of pagan gods and waited thirty years until an Apostle visited their land so they could fully convert and become Christian. All three of them became martyrs.

            I sometimes wonder if our faith is still so small because we are unwilling to truly give of ourselves to the Lord. As St. John Vianney said, “If people did for God what they do for the world, what great number of Christians would become saints!” Sometimes our relationship with the Lord is transactional – we pray only because we want things from Him. Sometimes it is perfunctory – we do the bare minimum just to check a box. Sometimes it is half-hearted – we love God, but only if it means we don’t have to make any changes in our lives. And we wonder why we never experience Him, or why we make no progress in the spiritual life!

            I challenge you, this New Year, to be unafraid to give fully. Your treasure, your prayer life, even your daily sufferings – offer more of yourself to Him. Perhaps you may even find yourself changed by an encounter with Him.

Feast of the Holy Family - December 30, 2023

 

Homily for Feast of the Holy Family

December 31, 2023

The Blessing of Children

 

            Perhaps the most beautiful – and maybe the most countercultural – teaching of Christ is His teaching on marriage and family. Rather than being a natural union for convenience, comfort, or pleasure, marriage has been elevated by grace to a supernatural union which mirrors the Trinity and is ordered to the holiness of its members. There are so many elements of marriage and family that we could talk about: faithfulness, self-sacrifice, living as a Domestic Church. But I think our readings highlight one element that is quite timely: the blessing of children.

            In the ancient world – really, all the way up to the modern day – children were always seen as a blessing. For Abraham, children would be a visible sign that God was pleased with him. To have children meant that your name would last long after your death; in a sense making your memory immortal. That’s why he was thrilled with the news that he would finally bear a child.

            Sadly, many in our world see children as a burden, not a blessing. This past year, magazines such as Time and Business Insider ran articles entitled, “There’s no better time to be a DINK” – DINK meaning, “Double Income, No Kids.” These articles talked about how many couples are choosing not to have kids so that they can travel, have disposable income and free time, and just enjoy life free of burdens and living, breathing responsibilities. In fact, a 2022 survey of young adults found that 44% said they were not planning to have children! And I get it – kids are expensive. Recent data from the US Government puts the figure at $310,000 per child, not including college!

            But looking at it through the lens of Christ, children are not just a financial and exhausting drain of resources. Rather, it is a privilege to bring another immortal soul into the world and prepare this soul for everlasting life! Parents have the outrageously awesome honor to assist God in His creative act, as He brings another being into existence. While infertility is a tremendous cross for many couples who may be called to a spiritual fruitfulness in matrimony, it is impossible for a Catholic to be a DINK by choice, as children are one of the purposes why God has blessed us with marriage and sexuality. In fact, openness to life is such an intrinsic part of marriage that a Catholic marriage always includes the question, “Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to Christ and His Church?” If a couple says no, then the marriage is actually invalid!

            This does require trust – and He will bless that trust. One of my favorite lines from the Psalms is, “I have never seen the just man forsaken, or his children begging for bread. All the day long he is generous and lends, and his children become a blessing.” It is true – I have never seen someone who is open to life who is not blessed with enough food and clothing. They may not be able to vacation in Tahiti, but the simple joys of a big family more than make up for that.

            Once children are brought into this world, they must be formed to become saints! We all want success for our kids – usually defined as a good job, a college scholarship, success on the sports field. But the ultimate success is to spend eternity in glory with God. As the French writer Leon Bloy said, “The only real tragedy in life is to not become a saint.” How do parents help their children to do that? Three ways.

            First, by prioritizing God as a family. St. John Vianney said, “Religion must be about us like the air we breathe.” It’s not an occasional Sundays-only thing, but something we live out daily. In fact, the Church teaches that “parents are the primary educators of their children in the ways of faith.” We do this by filling our home with crucifixes and religious books, teaching our kids how to pray, and especially by bringing them to Mass every Sunday without fail. Forgive the bluntness, but if we skip Mass (even once!) because we’re busy taking our kids to sports games or dance recitals, then we are committing the mortal sin of idolatry. Whatever we do instead of going to Sunday Mass is what we worship. Young people will never prioritize Christ if parents teach them, by their actions, that sports or dance or robotics comes first, and parents will have to give an account before Christ if they prioritize any earthly good over their children’s spiritual lives.

            Second, parents need to preserve the innocence of our kids. None of us would invite Hugh Hefner or Howard Stern over for dinner…why would we allow our kids to have an unfiltered smart phone in their hands where they can bring such filth into their bedrooms? If parents give their kids a smartphone, they have a responsibility of putting parental controls on it and monitoring it closely. Connected to this, parents have the duty to make sure their kids have healthy, wholesome friends who will keep them on the right path. Teach your kids to love everyone but be discerning as to who will be a close friend.

            Finally, surround your children with examples of holiness. The lives of the saints can give holy heroes to young people – who isn’t inspired by the great missionaries like St. Francis Xavier who converted thousands in the Far East; or the incredible miracles of St. Padre Pio like bilocation and healings; or those heroic martyrs like St. Maximilian Kolbe. But not only the saints – living examples of holiness are critical. I remember going with my dad to his men’s prayer group, and seeing men that I respected – my coaches, our plumber, my friends’ dads – who loved Jesus and were pursuing Him made a huge impact on me. And of course parents themselves must be the best models of holiness. As Pope St. Paul VI said, “Modern man listens more readily to witnesses than to teachers, and if they listen to teachers, it is first because they are witnesses.”

            Almost every set of parents, though, have kids or grandkids who have strayed from the Faith. Have no fear – your role is not over! Now you must pray and fast for your kids and grandkids. Many people tell me, somewhat dismissively, “Oh, well, they’ll come back. The seeds have been planted.” But statistics are showing that more and more young people are not coming back, so it’s not automatic – and we can help bring back our straying children through prayer, fasting, and radical holiness (mere “ordinary kindness” won’t do – we need a life lived radically for Christ to be a true witness!). Their souls hang in the balance – but at the same time, we must never forget that God loves our children more than we ever could, and He is seeking at every moment to shower them with the grace of conversion and holiness.

            St. Therese of Lisieux said of her parents, “God gave me parents who were more worthy of heaven than of earth.” May the same be said of each of us who are called to the joyful, daring task of parenthood.