Baptism of Our Lord - Live Your Vocation (Jan 12, 2025)

 

Homily for January 12, 2025

Baptism of Our Lord

Call to Holiness by Living Our Vocation

 

            Many saint stories feature miracles and marvels, but there are some saints whose lives are just plain ordinary. St. Isidore the Farmer is one such saint. A twelfth-century man from Madrid, Spain, he was an ordinary farmhand who worked for a wealthy landowner. Despite his poverty, he was always generous and would share what little he had with the poor. He was married, and by all accounts, was an exemplary husband and father. He made sure that Christ was the center of his day – he began with daily Mass, and would frequently interrupt his farm chores for prayer. One time, a fellow worker, who was jealous of how well Isidore was respected, told the landowner that Isidore only went to Mass because he was lazy and wanted to shirk his duties. The next day, out of curiosity, the landowner went out to the field during the time of the Mass, and found that angels were plowing his field until Isidore returned from his prayer. Okay, well, I guess even an ordinary saint had at least a few miracles…

            But I start with the story of an ordinary saint, because that is precisely what we are all called to be – ordinary saints. As Mother Teresa said, “Holiness is not the luxury of a few, but the simple duty of you and me.” We reflect on baptism this weekend – not only Jesus’ baptism, but ours too. And baptism laid upon us a duty – the duty to strive for holiness.

            This calling is universal – for everyone, in every state of life. A priest one time had been inviting a certain parishioner to a bible study, but the man kept pushing him off: “No, no, I’m too busy, I can’t make it,” and all sorts of excuses. Finally, frustrated that the priest was persistent, the man exclaimed, “Look, Father, I’m just not that into this whole faith thing.” Perhaps that’s where some of you are – just “not all into” this whole following Jesus thing.

            But I am here to tell you that the days of lukewarm Catholicism are over. No longer is it enough to just go to church and say a few prayers – we must strive for holiness. In fact, it was the Second Vatican Council who articulated most clearly the “universal call to holiness”. Listen to this quote from one of its documents: “All the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity.” (LG 5) And again: “The forms and tasks of life are many but [the call to] holiness is one—that sanctity which is cultivated by all who act under God's Spirit and… follow Christ, poor, humble and cross-bearing, that they may deserve to be partakers of his glory.” (LG 41) If you’ve been baptized, you are supposed to become a saint!

            Holiness is simply the perfection of charity: loving God above all things, and loving our neighbor as Christ loves them. It is Christ who makes holiness abide within us – we love God because He loved us first and adopted us to be His sons and daughters; we love our neighbors because Christ, living in us, gives us the grace to do so.

            We find this holiness by living out our vocations. We heard about John the Baptist today, but do you remember back in Advent another Gospel regarding him? On the Third Sunday of Advent, we heard about tax collectors and soldiers coming to John the Baptist. They ask him, “What should we do?” Does John the Baptist tell them to run away to the desert and become hermits? Does he tell them to pray all day? No. He tells them to fulfill their vocation perfectly. To the tax collectors he said, “Don’t take more than what is required.” To the soldiers he said, “Do not extort anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” In other words, be who you are, but be it for God – and you will become holy.

            Your vocation gives a direction to love. If you are married, you must first love your spouse and kids above all else. I am called to love the people of St. Jude’s above all else (and forgive me for the times I have fallen short!). If you are single, your vocation is to use your time to serve – the poor, your community, your family. It is not holiness to have misdirected love. About ten years ago I made a long walking pilgrimage across northern Spain called El Camino di Santiago de Compostela. It was thirty-three days of traipsing across the Pyrenees and deserts of Spain to reach the bones of St. James the Apostle at Santiago di Compostela. One of the best parts was meeting people from across the world and hearing their stories. For the final ten days of the trek, we walked with a man from Italy named Michele (Michael) who had an amazing story. His three-year-old son was sick with a deadly disease of the liver, and he needed a transplant. He prayed and prayed, and things weren’t looking good, but right at the last minute a donor came through and his son was saved. In thanksgiving to God for this miracle, he decided to undertake this pilgrimage – but he walked all the way from Italy, just out his front door and over the Alps! He had been on the trail for almost six months! It was tremendously inspiring to see his devotion to God and his love for his son.

            However, when we reached Santiago di Compostela, after resting for a couple days, we were about to catch a flight home – and Michele told us that he was going to walk back to Italy! Another six months on the path. But we sat him down and had an honest conversation with him – “Michele, you now have to go home and be a father to your son. Do not walk back – take a train or a plane. Your son needs you. You are called to be his father – do not shirk this duty!” Reluctantly he agreed, and he returned to his son. As good as it is to make a pilgrimage for God, his first responsibility was to be there for his son, and that’s how he will find holiness.

            Holiness looks different for everyone. St. Cyril of Jerusalem uses the example of water and agriculture – water is the same everywhere, but it produces different fruit: grapes on the vine, apples on the tree, tomatoes on the plant. Likewise, the grace of Christ dwelling in the soul is holiness, but it looks different for everyone.

            For example, if you are a lawyer, truly care for your clients and do not be motivated by greed but by justice. If you are a teacher, love your students and do not speak badly of administration. If you are in business, care for your fellow employees and seek to serve customers, living honestly and uprightly. If you are parent, encourage holiness in your kids, sacrificing for them and speaking to them about Christ. If you are a young person still in school, study well for the glory of God, obey your parents and teachers, and treat your classmates as Christ would. Do all this with a deep prayer life, living in intimate union with God.

            It may not seem dramatic, it may seem ordinary – but that’s precisely how holiness becomes real. Most of us have seen the Christmas movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. One of my all-time favorites, in part because it gives a message completely opposite of most modern-day movies. Modern-day movies often say, “Follow your dreams! Live your best life! Find yourself!” The classic “It’s a Wonderful Life” preaches, “Do your duty, serve others, and in this you will find a truly wonderful life.” Don’t pursue your dreams – pursue your vocation, which is God’s dreams for you, and you will find happiness… and holiness.

Epiphany Homily - The Search

 

Homily for Epiphany

January 5, 2025

The Search

 

            What are you searching for? These are Jesus’ first words in John’s Gospel – what are you searching for? I think everyone’s looking for the same thing: happiness. But like children playing a maddened game of hide-and-seek, everyone’s looking for the same thing in different locations.

            The Magi and the Chief Priests and Scribes were all looking for the same thing: the Messiah. But they were looking in different locations. The chief priests and scribes were looking for a political messiah to ride in on a stately war-horse with an entourage of soldiers in battle array; the Magi were looking for a humble Baby with working-class parents. The Magi found Him; the Jewish leaders are still waiting for Him.

            I liken this to the fundamental human search: happiness. Everyone’s looking for it, but most people are searching in the wrong place. Perhaps some of us have found a certain amount of happiness in life. Maybe we’ve got a great family, a great career, enough money. That’s awesome – but all of that is a rather fragile foundation. In an instant, it could all be flipped upside down – and then where is our happiness?

            Chuck Colson was a lawyer in the Nixon Administration who had everything his career could offer: free access to the White House, tons of money, prestige and power. Even when he was at the height of his success, he felt restless. He put it this way: “I’d gotten to the top of the mountain, and I couldn’t think of any more mountains to climb.” But that mountaintop wouldn’t last long – he was implicated in the Watergate scandal and faced a jail sentence.

            Where was the happiness now? He would lose it all – what now? A friend of his sent him CS Lewis’ book “Mere Christianity” – desperate to find the inner peace he lacked now that everything else was being taken away, he opened to a random chapter, which happened to be the chapter on pride. All of a sudden his life came into focus – he had been worshipping himself as a god, believing he could provide all of his own happiness. He fell to his knees and invited Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior – and even though he was convicted and spent almost a year in jail, he found a peace he hadn’t known when he was at the top of the mountain.

            As St. John Vianney said, “The happiness of man on earth consists in praying and loving.” But let’s be honest – here we are, sitting in church on Sunday morning, and perhaps we can think of a hundred things that might make us happier. Eating a cookie, watching a movie, playing soccer. So how can I claim that Jesus Christ is our greatest happiness?

            Aristotle recognized that not all happiness is equal. He elucidated four different levels of happiness. The first is pleasure – it’s a quick happiness when you eat a hamburger, but it also lasts for a very short time. The second is achieving goals – we get that promotion, buy that car, get the A on the test. It feels very good, and the “high” lasts for a bit, but eventually it wears off and we’re back to square one. The third is enjoying family and friends – that is awesome, but eventually we have to go back to our room and be alone, and then what? If our happiness is based on something outside of ourselves, then we’re always going to be striving, searching, grasping at something else.

            So the key is to have happiness within – but being alone by ourselves is, actually, not happiness. In fact, Dante writes in his “Inferno” that Hell is not a party of evil people – rather, it’s the terrible loneliness of being unloved for eternity. We were created in the image and likeness of a God who is Trinity, so we are social beings who were made for a relationship of love. So how can we find happiness within us if it’s actually really terrible to be alone?

            The answer is to find it in a relationship with Someone who lives within us – the grace of Jesus Christ. Only in Him do we find Someone who loves us unconditionally, never abandons us, and dwells with us forever.

            But the Magi teach us an important lesson in our search for God – it is arduous, difficult, and we need to persevere. They came from Persia to Bethlehem, a journey of approximately 700 miles, over desert terrain, facing the burning sun of day and the freezing chill of night. It was not easy to seek the Lord – it cost them a great deal, including the cost of myrrh, which in Biblical times was approximately $4,000 per pound! So don’t let anyone tell you that searching for God is easy or convenient. There are sacrifices that must be made, comforts that must be abandoned, sins that must be repented of, and often it’s dry and difficult to pray or to motivate yourself to cultivate a relationship with Him.

            But isn’t that the case with everything that’s valuable in life? Nothing worth pursuing is ever easy. And if Christ is the pearl of great price, He is worth it all. I can testify with my own life – I began to pursue Christ seriously as a senior in high school, when I was taking classes at a local community college. I started hanging out with new people who were pretty shallow – their lives were all about the next paycheck, the next date with the girlfriend, the next party. There was no happiness or peace in their life, because they needed something outside of themselves to be happy. By contrast, I was getting involved in a Church youth group, and these people radiated a joy that came from deep within themselves. I realized that if I wanted joy, I needed Christ.

            So I began to go to Adoration weekly and pray the Rosary regularly. It was awesome, I felt so alive, so filled with the Spirit! Every time I read the Bible it spoke to me; I had such a hunger for the Eucharist.

            And then, about a year later, during my first year in college, all that came crashing down when I began to suffer from panic attacks, depression, and anxiety. It got so bad I could barely leave my dorm room – and my faith was shaken to the core. God, where is that joy You promised? I would go to pray and feel nothing but emptiness. Distraction, dryness, and doubts assailed me night and day. Some days it was all I could do to just barely hang on to the little scraps of faith I had.

            That lasted for about nine months, but when it ended, I felt joy restored – and more importantly, my faith had been deepened and strengthened through the trial. There would be many more times of darkness in my faith, but it was always temporary and there is an undercurrent of hope and joy even when my relationship with Jesus is difficult. So we must persevere in our search, confident that He Who promised us joy will be faithful to His word.

            So what are you searching for? Happiness. Where are you searching – in things outside of you, or in Jesus Christ Who desires to dwell within you? And will you persevere in pursuing Him, even if you find it difficult? The Magi persevered and found the object of their desire. In seeing and possessing Him, we find the happiness that we have always longed for. As St. Augustine said, “Faith is to believe in what you do not see, and the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”