Ordinary Time 12 - Creation Reveals the Creator

 

Homily for June 23, 2024

Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Creation Reveals the Creator

 

            I am a big fan of St. Francis, but I believe he is often misunderstood. The world often portrays him as a twelfth-century hippie tree-hugger, from all the garden statues of him which feature him playing with birds. And he did have a number of very remarkable miracles that involved animals. One time, he was going through a crisis – should he devote his life to prayer or to preaching the Gospel? He sends a message to St. Clare to ask her advice, and when she replied that he is to spend his life preaching to the world of the salvation of Jesus Christ, he is so excited to carry it out that he wastes no time arising and taking to the streets. But before he encounters any person, he comes upon a flock of birds – and he begins preaching to them about how God has created them beautiful and they are called to glorify God. Much to everyone’s surprise, the birds fall silent and begin to listen, craning their necks and stretching out their wings in an attitude of attention! He is able to pass through their midst without them flying off, and only when he finishes the sermon and gives them the sign of the cross do they take to the skies!

            Another time he had retired for rest and prayer at a certain hermitage, and there was a falcon nesting there. The falcon took it upon himself to care for the saint – he would crow when it was time for the man to arise, and he would often take off and return with bread in its beak for the holy man.

            And there are many other stories of lambs, fish, wolves and all sorts of creatures who had great fondness for St. Francis. But these stories are often misunderstood. St. Francis only loved the creatures because they reminded him of the Creator! He wrote his famous “Canticle of the Creatures” praising the sun, moon, stars, water, land, animals…precisely because they reveal something of Who God is. Creation is good, but is never an end in itself. Rather, it points to its Maker.

            Many people in our world today are in error about the role of creation and how we are to deal with it. On one hand, some have fallen into extreme environmentalism – seeing nature as quasi-divine, and that human beings are a blight, a cancer on creation. This is an error, but one that has very tragic consequences! I used to go to a public school until one day in second grade I came home and told my mom that “my teacher said you can’t have any more kids because the world is too overpopulated”. That was the end of my public school career (and my mom had two more kids after that).

            The other extreme is to abuse creation. Creation is not something that we should just destroy for our benefit. We see this in what Pope Francis calls the “throwaway culture” – we live in such a consumer culture that we have to have everything disposable, triple-sealed, shipped from thousands of miles away (did you know the average apple travels over 1500 miles to get to us?). So many practices by corporations damage and destroy our common home.

            But if these are the extremes, what’s the right answer? The answer is stewardship. When God created our first parents, He put them in the midst of the Garden and instructed them, “Have dominion over the garden, till the ground, protect it and use it.” We owe it to God, who has given creation to us – and to future generations, to whom we are going to entrust this world – to use it wisely as stewards, caring for it.

            Remember, creation is good because it reveals God to us! In what ways? I can think of four things that creation reveals to us of God.

            First, we see His goodness and love. There is no reason for a vivid sunset, a newborn’s smile, or a grand mountain – other than sheer goodness. He could have made this world boring and bland; all food could taste like shredded wheat and there could have been no such thing as color…but He chose to make it beautiful solely out of His goodness.

            We also see His power. Have you ever been swimming in the ocean and gotten knocked over by a wave, tumbled around so that you don’t know which way is up or down? Amazing that such a simple substance as water has incredible power to give life or take it – God’s power on display. And yet how beautiful it is that the ocean is teeming with life – from giant whales to fragile coral to the vast schools of fish – we can see how God fits all things together for His glory.

            At the same time, creation is incomplete and points to everlasting life. It’s amazing how many times I’ve been outside on a gorgeous evening, enjoying the sunset, and then a mosquito comes up and bites me. It reminds me that as good as this world is, it is always mixed with sorrow until Heaven. So, the world’s imperfections remind me of a better world that’s coming.

            Finally, creation helps keep us in our proper place in the cosmos. Standing atop a huge mountain makes us realize that we are not the center of the universe. When we realize just how small we are, yet how complex and beautiful, we realize both that we are loved beyond belief, and that we are nothing compared to the greatness of God.

            My friends, as we spend time outdoors this summer, consider the goodness of God. Creation was not made to be an end in itself, but rather an insight into the loving Heart of God. I leave you with this immensely powerful quote from St. Augustine:

            “Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air, amply spread around everywhere, question the beauty of the sky, question the serried ranks of the stars, question the sun making the day glorious with its bright beams, question the moon tempering the darkness of the following night with its shining rays, question the animals that move in the waters, that amble about on dry land, that fly in the air; their souls hidden, their bodies evident; the visible bodies needing to be controlled, the invisible souls controlling them; question all these things. They all answer you, 'Here we are, look; we're beautiful.'

            Their beauty is their confession. Who made these beautiful changeable things, if not one who is beautiful and unchangeable?”

Ordinary Time 11 - A Hidden Life

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 11

June 16, 2024

A Hidden Life

 

            My alma mater, Franciscan University, has a campus in Austria that used to be a 12^th Century monastery of Carthusian monks – semi-hermits who spend all day in contemplation of God and His Word. During my freshman year at Franciscan, news reached us on the main campus that workmen had been putting an addition onto the old monastery, when they uncovered the graves of four incorrupt monks! Their bodies had not decayed, even after eight centuries, which is a spiritual gift known as incorruptibility – which God sometimes gives to the bodies of saints as evidence of their holiness. These four monks had been buried in unmarked graves, since out of humility, they wanted their holiness to be known only to God. We have no idea who they are, but I can only imagine the immense amount of spiritual graces they called upon the world due to their holiness – and their hiddenness.

            Jesus Christ spent three years preaching, and thirty years as a hidden, obscure, common laborer. In doing so, He showed us the beauty of a hidden life, away from the eyes of the world – and that this hidden life can change the world. Two weekends ago, I attended Evening Prayer in Fairfield at a new convent of cloistered Carmelite nuns. Here were women who are living completely withdrawn from the world. One might look at them and say, “Why would they hide their lives away? They could do so much good for the world – ministering to the poor, teaching the young, influencing society!” Yes, but they can do much more good for the world by living a quiet, hidden life of prayer and penance – and the graces they are calling down upon the world and our diocese are far greater than any good work they could perform.

            Remember, as St. Paul instructs us, we walk by faith and not by sight. Our faith tells us that hidden lives of virtue and prayer are far more valuable in the sight of God than those who are “famous” in the eyes of men. A Christian ought to be content to be hidden, like the proverbial mustard seed in today’s Gospel, for a hidden life of holiness is most pleasing to God.

            Being famous is not bad in itself, but it is definitely wrong to seek fame for its own sake. We should never set out to achieve fame, even if we think we have the best motives (“oh, think what great good I can do if I am powerful and influential and famous!”). Rather, we should seek only the glory of God and His Will. If He decides that we can do great good through influence or fame, then He will make it happen. But if He decides that we can do the most good – and achieve the most holiness – through a hidden life, then we trust in His plan.

            This is sometimes hard to understand from a worldly mindset. There was a great play and movie about the life of St. Thomas More called “A Man for All Seasons”. St. Thomas More was the chancellor of England – powerful, influential, famous – although he was thrust into that position and desired only a quiet life. An ambitious young man named Richard Rich keeps begging Thomas for a job in the government, so that he too can “rise up in the ranks” and become famous – for his own ego. In one particularly poignant scene, Rich is once again begging for a job, and Thomas responds – “But I have offered you a job, with a salary and benefits. At the new school.” Richard is crestfallen: “A teacher?” The saint responds, “Why not be a teacher? You’d make a fine one, even a great one.” Richard responds, “Yes, but who would know it?” Thomas responds, “You, your pupils, your friends, and God. That’s not a bad public!”

            St. Philip Neri used to say, “Love to be unknown!” As the old Christian hymn puts it, “His eye is on the sparrow” – God looks out for the little ones, those who are unimportant in the eyes of the world – those are the ones who are most dear and most precious to God. A dear friend of mine is a nun in Tennessee, who was having some health problems which prevented her from teaching in her parish school. She was stuck in the kitchen, making food for the other sisters, and she was pretty bummed about it. But her Mother Superior, sensing her distress, said to her, “Hidden things are spousal things.” In other words, she is invited into a deeper intimacy with her Groom, Jesus Christ, precisely because her life was hidden from the world and shared with Him alone.

            So do not be discouraged if your life is hidden! Perhaps some of us think that because we are older and stuck in our house by ourselves that we have lost the savor of life. Maybe we are a homemaker who wonders if we’re really making a difference. Maybe we’re stuck in a dead-end job with no chance of promotion. We may wonder if living such a small, hidden life is worth it.

            If that is the case, realize that your life is precious, precious in the eyes of the Lord. Your hiddenness is a sign that you belong uniquely to God, and He invites you into a special intimacy as His closest friend. Savor and rejoice in your life’s hiddenness!

            And if you have been granted some influence or fame, if you are rising in the company or finding notoriety on social media, make sure your motives are pure – you are doing it only for the glory of God and in accords with His will – and stir up in your heart a desire for a simple, hidden life.

            My friends, the world might be changed by politicians, celebrities, social media influencers. But what keeps the heartbeat of the world strong is the poor, humble, lonely, suffering souls who live hidden lives of love. Only in eternity will we know the power of hidden prayers, of hidden acts of charity, of hidden lives lived for God.

Ordinary Time 10 - The Divider

 

Ordinary Time 10

June 9, 2024

The Divider

 

            We like to think of Switzerland as the neutral land of peace, but that was not the case in the late 1400s. The country was divided into different city-states, which were united and protected one another. They had just successfully fought a war against an invading force, and were so successful that they won millions of gold pieces in spoils – and the united country began to fracture. Each city began to fight the others over this money – and all of a sudden, they began to threaten civil war.

            One of the governors knew the perfect man to settle this quarrel: St. Nicholas of Flue. Although at one time a soldier himself, Nicholas had given it all up for Christ as a holy man and a monk, living in the Alps in prayer and contemplation. He had already been gifted with many mystical gifts, including consuming nothing but the Eucharist for food. The governor invited St. Nicholas to a meeting where all the other governors were fighting, yelling, and threatening one another. They were on the brink of a civil war.

            Nicholas went to the meeting and walked in – and the crowd became hushed, having heard of his holy reputation. He did not need to say anything, but he pointed upward to Heaven, raising his eyes to the skies. Everyone got the hint – why were they fighting over the dust of this earth, when they were meant to enjoy the glories of Heaven? The meeting disbanded without any further argument, and the country itself was saved.

            Division. It’s everywhere in our world. The very beginning of human history is marred with division – Eve was meant to be the partner of Adam, and both of them were meant to walk in communion with God. But once Original Sin entered the picture, we see the couple separated from God – they hide in the bushes – and hiding from one another, as they clothe themselves in fig leaves. Adam even blames both Eve and God for his sin – “It was that woman that YOU put here with me!” and Eve passing the blame on to others, too: “It wasn’t my fault! I was tricked!”

            The word “devil” comes from the Greek and Aramaic word diablos which literally means “the scatterer, the divider”. Satan is a very real being, and one of his main tactics is to divide. To separate us from God and from one another. And one of the main ways in which he does that, in today’s modern world, is through social media.

            Think about it – Satan doesn’t tempt most of us to be murderers or to cheat on our spouse. He knows that won’t work – we’d see right through it. But he can distract us from asking the deep questions in life by scrolling mindlessly through Instagram…he can get us to ignore God by wasting our time on TikTok videos instead of developing a real prayer life…he can get us to hate each other through those harsh Tweets that tear down instead of building up.

            Yes, I know, social media is just a tool. Right. So is a radial saw. And we can give a screwdriver to a toddler, not a radial saw. When working with a dangerous tool, one has to be aware of the dangers and mature enough to handle it without destroying ourselves and others. Do you think most people possess this maturity? Let’s look at the dangers, and the “instruction manual” to teach us how to use well the dangerous tool of social media.

            The half-truths of social media are the most dangerous. Remember – Satan rarely tells outright lies. He usually tells us half-truths instead. How did he get Eve to fall? He said, “Oh, if you eat this fruit, you won’t die, you will become like gods, knowing right from wrong.” He wasn’t lying – they didn’t immediately die when they ate the fruit, and they did experience, in a new way, right…and especially wrong. But he neglected to tell them about the loss of grace, the darkening intellect, the inclination to sin, and the suffering and death that would enter the world through this choice.

            Likewise, social media feeds us a lot of half-truths. It tells us that we only have self-worth if we have lots of likes. It tells us that we desperately need to find out what everyone else is doing in their lives, at all times. It tells us that digital “connection” is somehow a substitute for actual friends and interactions. It tells us that we have to have an opinion on absolutely everything under the sun – I am still kind of flabbergasted at how many people felt the burning need to comment about Harrison Butker’s commencement speech last month.

            Please don’t misunderstand – social media is not evil in itself. Like most Millennials, I have a Facebook, and it is great to connect with old friends and share pictures and news. And, of course, the Gospel can be shared on social media, and it’s able to impact many thousands of souls.

            But one must use such a tool with the mind and heart of Christ. How do we do that? First, by limiting our time on it – it must be balanced with a real interior life of prayer and good spiritual practices. Second, by remembering that everyone on social media is an actual, living human being, made in the image and likeness of God. When we are having a lively debate, forgo the insults and vitriol which so characterizes these online interactions, and realize that these are people that Christ died for! Third, be careful what voices we trust. Not everyone is worth believing. There are a lot of shrill voices out there who would happily share a meme that is completely false – and we don’t take the trouble to investigate it. We must be deeply grounded in the Scriptures and the teachings of Christ’s Church, so we can evaluate what we are being told through the lens of truth. Finally, we must keep custody of our senses – our eyes will someday look upon the Face of Christ, and our ears will hear His voice – and it can be as simple as a Dolce & Gabbana bag sparking greed in our hearts, or seeing a picture of someone’s vacation and suddenly being filled with envy, or all the scantily-clad people tempting us to reduce them to merely a body.

            Social media is like most things in this world – a neutral thing that can be used for good or for ill. It can divide us from God and one another, or it can connect us and bring us closer to God. Like St. Nicholas of Flue, we are called to look up, and use all things in such a way that we keep heaven in mind. We ought to heed the words of St. Paul today: “Look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.”