All Saints Day Homily - November 1, 2020

 

Homily for November 1, 2020

All Saints Day

One Thing Necessary

                You’ve probably seen “clickbait” everywhere on the Internet. For the uninitiated, “clickbait” refers to a headline that is purposely sensational, so that you click on it. “Five Secrets to Weight Loss” or “Never-Before Revealed Photos of Your Favorite Movie Stars!” Even the Catholic world gets into it, when I see headlines such as “Five Secrets to the Rosary” or “Ten Pro-Tips on How to Go to Confession” or “This Popular Devotion Will Change Your Life!”

                Usually when I click on clickbait, it’s a letdown. Five secrets to the Rosary? Well, yes it’s a powerful prayer, but that’s not a secret! Pro-tips on going to Confession? You mean “examining your conscience” is now a pro-tip? Clickbait usually leads to disappointment!

                But what if there was “one secret to becoming a saint?” That would be worth clicking on! Is it possible that all the saints had one thing in common?

                Yes, I believe they did. They desired to love God more than everything.

                That is the secret to holiness, the secret to becoming a saint. Love God more than everything. No saints loved God half-heartedly; no saints put anything above their love for God. Everything else the saints did: their joy, their works of charity, their great writings and miracles and missionary efforts – all of this flowed from their love of God. That is how you become a saint!

                Consider a few saintly examples:

                St. Dominic Savio, the young schoolboy saint who died at the age of 15 in Turin, Italy, would fall so in love with God that he would lose track of time. One day after Mass, the rest of the boys in his school went to breakfast after Mass, then classes, then recreation. Hours passed, but the headmaster of the school (St. John Bosco) had no idea where he was. He finally went back into the chapel around two in the afternoon and found young Dominic standing stock-still, gazing at the Tabernacle with great love. When Fr. Bosco gently shook him to get his attention, Dominic seemed to wake up and ask, “Is the Mass over?” The Mass had been over for hours, but Dominic was so lost in love for God that he became unaware of his surroundings! As he later told St. John Bosco, “I become distracted, and losing the thread of my prayers, I behold such beautiful and entrancing sights that hours seem to go in a moment.”

                St. Igantius of Antioch was a bishop in the very early church, who was arrested during one of the persecutions and marched from Antioch (in modern-day Turkey) to Rome. On the way there, he wrote seven letters to the churches he would meet on the way – and the letters begged the churches not to interfere with his impending martyrdom! Rather than pleading for his life, he was pleading to lose his life so that he could find it only in Christ. Listen to his powerful words: “No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. My love of this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather, within me is the living water which says deep inside me: ‘Come to the Father’” Wow! What deep love for God!

                Finally, one more saintly example. All of us are familiar with Mother Teresa – but do you know how she started serving the poorest of the poor? Initially, Mother Teresa joined an order of teaching nuns who ran a school for wealthy girls in Calcutta. When she entered the convent, she selected as her motto the quote from St. Therese of Lisieux: “I will love Jesus as He has never been loved before.” That burning love of Jesus in the heart of young Sister Teresa is what prompted her, in 1942, to make a private vow “never to refuse Jesus anything.” Four years later, Sr. Teresa was on a train ride from Calcutta to Darjeeling, heading on her annual retreat, when she heard Jesus speak to her: “Will you serve Me in the poorest of the poor?” She had no idea what this would entail – but her love for Jesus and her vow to say “Yes” to Him in everything made her agree to this request from Our Lord. As they say, the rest is history – Mother Teresa became a household name and synonymous with charitable works – but only because she was filled with a burning love for Christ.

                The saints loved God more than anything – that’s what made them saints. You and I can love God more than anything, as well. Not half-heartedly, not putting our worldly concerns and pleasures and entertainment on-par with Him. No, to become a saint is to burn with a desire to know and love Him with our entire heart, soul, mind, our very life. Focus on that, and He will take care of making you a saint!

Homily for Ordinary Time 30 - October 25, 2020

 

Homily for October 25, 2020

Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Solidarity

 

            For the most part I enjoy living in Stamford, but there is one thing that drives me crazy: the way in which pedestrians cross the street in this city. You’ve seen it too – people cross whenever, wherever, totally unconcerned about the fact that they just caused a four-car pileup on Washington Boulevard. It’s not like this in any other city I’ve ever been in – I’d be driving along, minding my own business, and from out of nowhere some guy just waltzes into traffic, and I’m forced to slam on the brakes and lay on the horn, usually with a shout of, “Yo! Dude! What do you think you’re doing?!? You can’t cross here!” And then they just look at you with an apathetic shrug and continue on their merry way.

            I suppose the reason why pedestrians crossing at the wrong time or in the wrong place drives me so insane is that it’s a perfect example of individualism.

            Individualism – the belief that the three most important people in the world are me, myself, and I – is very much a characteristic of our modern culture. People are told, “Look out for Number One.” We tell kids from the time they’re young that “You’re special” – which often makes them believe it! We often believe that laws and rules apply to everyone except ourselves; sometimes we think the world revolves around our needs, our issues, our desires.

            But individualism goes against an important principle of Catholic Social Teaching called Solidarity. The Church has always taught that we ARE our brother’s keeper. We are not supposed to keep to ourselves, look out for our own business, and to heck with everyone else. Rather, as our first reading instructs us, we are to look after the widow, the orphan, the poor, the disabled, the unborn, the immigrant.

            Recently, Pope Francis issued an encyclical letter on solidarity, called “Fratelli Tutti” (meaning “All Brothers”). In it, he laments: “We have become accustomed to looking the other way, passing by, ignoring situations until they affect us directly.” But then he gives the solution: “Only a gaze transformed by charity can enable the dignity of others to be recognized.” The virtue of charity – to love as God loves – requires us to see others as God sees them, as brothers and sisters and not just random individuals to whom we have no responsibilities.

            The saints understood this deeply. I am reminded of the story of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who was married to King Louis in the 1220s. Soon after their marriage, Elizabeth heard the preaching of some Franciscan friars, who convinced her that her wealth in the royal castle was not for her to enjoy, but for her to serve others. She began to give away the fine silverware, tapestries and curtains, and gold and silver to the poor, using much of it to endow hospitals and schools. Her husband was none too pleased to find his stuff go missing, so one day he approached her when she was out making her daily rounds with her cloak full of bread from the royal kitchen. When her husband demanded that she show him the bread she had taken from the castle, she opened her cloak and roses fell out instead of bread. Her husband was shocked because of this miracle and from that time on allowed her to perform any charitable work she wished. But another time, she brought home a man with leprosy and laid him in her own bed. When a servant told the king this, he was disgusted and stormed into the room. Pulling back the sheets, he was amazed that instead of a leper laying there, he saw the figure of Christ crucified lying there. Once again, he recognized his wife’s holiness and allowed her to continue her good works. After his untimely death, she dedicated the remainder of her life to prayer and works of charity. She established a hospital and would spend her days cleaning sores, bathing patients, and feeding them. Imagine if the chairman of the board of a hospital, or the hospital president, would spend time doing that!

            St. Elizabeth could have made every excuse to stay in the palace, far removed from the problems of the poor. But, motivated by love for Christ, she rejected such insulation and actively sought out those who needed her kindness and compassion.

            This should be the attitude of every Christian. It’s not enough to stay insulated in our nice homes in North Stamford or Greenwich and say, “Oh, well, those problems in the inner-city don’t impact me.” We are our brother’s keeper – solidarity must be a part of every Christian’s life.

            So how do we do that, practically? A few suggestions. One can certainly donate to Catholic Charities, or volunteer at the New Covenant Center here in town (which runs a homeless shelter and soup kitchen). Perhaps you can mentor young men and women who need a role model. The holidays are coming up – perhaps you can invite over for Thanksgiving dinner that elderly neighbor who has no family nearby. Maybe it’s as simple as getting to know your neighbors – do you know them? Bake some cookies and go meet your neighbors! Or one could write thank-you cards for those who cut your grass or collect your trash. Maybe for you solidarity would mean calling that relative that you haven’t spoken with in years, and reestablishing a relationship with them.

            The whole point of solidarity is to get outside of ourselves, our worlds, and love our neighbor, motivated by love for God. As Jesus says, the whole law and prophets are summed up in these two commands. Indeed, the whole of our Catholic Faith can be summed up in them as well: love of God, and love of neighbor.

Homily for Ordinary Time 29 - October 18, 2020

 

Homily for October 18, 2020

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Render Unto Caesar

 

            This weekend’s Gospel invites us to consider the interplay between Caesar and God, between religion and our nation. As Catholics, we have a duty to be involved in the civil government of our country, because Catholics – and indeed, all persons of good will – ought to work for the common good of society. Certainly during this election year, there is an added significance to our task. But how can we see voting and the political process through the lens of our Catholic Faith?

            First, let us examine how our faith should impact our support of candidates. Regardless of what you think of the person running for office, we should vote mainly on the issues at stake. There are many pertinent issues at stake in this election: health care, the economy, foreign policy. But some issues are more fundamental than others. The right to life is indeed the preeminent issue, as our Church teaches. Listen to the words of this year’s document called “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship” from the USCCB: “Abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human life and dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental good and the condition for all others. Abortion, the deliberate killing of a human being before birth, is never morally acceptable and must always be opposed.”

            This is not to say that other issues are unimportant. But people of good will can disagree with how to end poverty, or the best way to welcome immigrants, or how to provide accessible health care to all. There can be differing opinions on these issues. But people of good will cannot justify legal murder, which results in the death of over a million human beings each year. We shut down the entire country because of two hundred thousand deaths from coronavirus, but have tragically enshrined in law the evil of abortion which kills five times more people every year.

            But is it a sin for a Catholic, then, to vote for a pro-choice candidate? We turn to moral theology for the answer. In moral theology, there are three different ways to cooperate in evil. There is “formal cooperation” which means that you intend the evil being committed. An example of that would be someone who drives the getaway car for a bank robber. He clearly intends to participate in the evil itself – and Christians may never formally cooperate in evil. But there is also “remote material cooperation” in evil – that means that a person participates in evil but doesn’t know about it, or it’s so remote that it’s completely out of their control. For example, if a man uses a knife to stab someone, the knife manufacturer technically cooperated in evil by making the knife and knowing it was dangerous, but they clearly did not intend or foresee it being used so violently. In that case, the knife manufacturer is blameless.

            But there is a third type of cooperation called “proximate material cooperation” which means that even if you don’t intend the evil, you still know about it and enable it. For example, someone who sells a man a knife knowing full well that he plans to murder someone with it, even if the seller is personally opposed to murder, would be guilty because he aided and assisted the murderer with full awareness.

            This would be the case for someone voting for a candidate who has very publicly said that they would continue to enable the slaughter of millions of innocent unborn children. Even if a voter says, “Well, yes, but I like his other policies” – but the Church says that abortion has “preeminent priority”. After all, if a candidate was excellent on everything else but said, “I am planning to bring back slavery” – wouldn’t that alone disqualify that candidate? If a candidate agreed with everything good but wanted to reinstate the Holocaust, that would certainly be an issue that supersedes all others. In the same way, while other issues are supremely important, there is one that can disqualify someone for public office, and that is their support for legalized abortion. If I can’t trust a politician to protect the most fundamental right (life) in the most vulnerable population (the unborn) then how can I trust them to protect other rights or help other groups of people? Their credibility would be shot!

            Now, with that said, there is more than one pro-life candidate for Presidency. One of the great failures of our current country is that there are only two main political parties – but Catholics are not obligated only to vote for one of the two major parties. Yes, it’s true that they likely will not win this election – but it is a lie to say that they will never win! There was a time when our nation had more than two legitimate choices for President – that time can return if we, as Catholics, stay involved in the political life and raise up political parties that more completely reflect our Catholic values.

            Finally, we must always remember that the real problems in our nation are spiritual, not political. Regardless of who wins the election on November 3, there will still be hundreds of millions of people who support abortion. Regardless of who is occupying the Oval Office, there is still tremendous greed in the capitalists who make their money off the backs of the poor. Despite the election, there is still an epidemic of broken families and poverty and irreligion and addictions and mental health crises…all of which point to a deeper struggle. America needs to return to God, and that won’t be solved by an election. It will be solved when you and I start living our faith, praying intensely, and becoming saints.

            As they said about Supreme Court nominee Amy Barrett, may they say about you and me: that the “dogma lives loudly” within us. Archbishop Charles Chaput once said, “The only people who truly change the world are saints.” In the constant tension between Caesar and God, God will always win. We need to remember that when November 3rd comes around.

Homily for Ordinary Time 28 - October 11, 2020

 

Homily for October 11, 2020

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Good Life Points to the Eternal Life

 

            A very large friend of mine from college used to say, “Food is God’s love made edible!” There were times when I wanted to respond, “Perhaps you should have less of God’s love on your plate?” But I think he was on to something – the good things of life are a foretaste of Heaven.

            GK Chesterton once said, “In Catholicism, the pint, the pipe, and the Cross all fit together.” He recognized that we are not dour Puritans who refuse to enjoy ourselves! After all, our readings today speak of Heaven in terms of a feast – not as a boring lecture or reading a devotional book, but as a party. This should give us pause!

            And it should help us to understand this world. Every “good and perfect gift” is given by God so that it could remind us of Him. Whether it be the beauty of nature, the love of family and friends, the joys of sports, consolations in prayer, success in business or school, good food and wine, music and the arts – all of the delights of this world are meant to be a foretaste of Heaven. Any time we enjoy them, we ought to think, “This is wonderful – and Heaven is even better!” The “good life” points to the eternal life.

            Thus, we must never see these good things as an end in themselves. Our hearts can easily become attached to them, and we don’t want to give them up. I am reminded of the story of a young girl who saved up her money to buy a fake pearl necklace. It was only five dollars, but to this girl it was the most wonderful thing she had ever owned. She wore them around the house every single day for months.

            Finally, her father said to her one night as he was tucking her into bed, “My daughter, I want to ask a favor from you. Do you love me?”

            “Of course I love you,” she said.

            “Will you give me your pearl necklace?” the father asked.

            The girl didn’t know what to say. Of course she loved her father, but this was too much! It was her prize possession! She refused.

            The next night, the father asked the same question. “Do you love me?” She nodded, her eyes filling with tears because she knew what would come next. “Will you give me your pearl necklace?” Still she couldn’t part with it.

            For several weeks this happened every night. The little girl wrestled within herself. How could her daddy ask for such a thing! This was the one thing she loved more than anything! How could he ask for it? Didn’t he know how much it meant to her?

            Finally, one morning, love won out. Reluctantly she walked into her father’s room and handed him the pearl necklace. The father was touched and gave her a big hug, and then opened his dresser drawer and pulled out a necklace made of real pearls on a real gold chain. “My daughter, because you were willing to show your love for me by giving me your fake pearls, I will show my love for you by giving you this necklace with real pearls and real gold.” Imagine the girl’s delight when she received such a gift!

            And this is how we must use the good things of this world – enjoy them, but not be attached to them, because something better is coming when we are finally ready and able to give our lives back to the Father.

            Every good thing should lead us to Christ, which means that we use it well. GK Chesterton also said, “We should thank God for beer and burgundy by not drinking too much of them.” St. Thomas Aquinas instructed people, “Drink alcohol only to the point of hilarity!” St. John Bosco used to tell his boys, “Have as much fun as you want – but don’t sin!” (if I had a motto for my life, that might be it!). Enjoy life, but in moderation. Too much of any good thing becomes a bad thing!

            So, my friends, rejoice in the blessings of this life! They are foretastes of the great banquet feast of Heaven, where the joy will never end. But never become attached to the good things here on earth – something greater awaits us!

Homily for Ordinary Time 27 - October 4, 2020

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 27

October 4, 2020

Grace Makes the Fruits Grow

 

            Many of you probably have gardens. If you do, you know that it can be a lot of work. One must till the soil, take the rocks out, fertilize it, plant, weed it, water it…a lot of prep-work needs to go into farming if it is to be fruitful. But in a sense, it is mysterious how a plant grows – there is something invisible that causes it to go from a seed to a plant to the fruit of the plant. We prepare the conditions for growth – but God alone makes it grow.

            This is the same in the spiritual life – it is a cooperation between us and God. He gives the growth by giving us grace – we cooperate by seeking out the sources of grace. Let’s look at grace: what is it, why it’s necessary, and how to obtain it.

            First of all, what is grace? A simple four-word definition: grace is God’s life within us. That should boggle our mind! God wants to dwell in our souls? The all-holy One desires to make His home in my poor, sinful soul! St. Theresa of Avila said that if we could see a soul in the state of grace, we would be tempted to bow down and worship it. A soul with grace means a soul where God lives within it – thus it is the most beautiful thing in creation!

            But why do we need it? If I asked all of you how you get to Heaven, most of you would give me the wrong answer. Most people would say, “Being a good person,” or “Following the 10 Commandments.” Incorrect answer! We are called, not to be good, but to be holy. What’s the difference? We can be “good” on our own – we can only be holy by God’s grace. All of us are already pretty “good” – and we are holy, if we are in the state of grace – but we can always grow in holiness by opening ourselves up to more sanctifying grace. So the answer to how we get to Heaven is by living in God’s grace and having Him dwell in us.

            But how do we obtain it? As it is a free gift, we can only ask for it from God. We can ask through prayer and good works, but there are a few specific ways in which God has promised grace to us – these are called the Sacraments!

            We should participate in the Sacrament of Confession monthly and the Eucharist weekly, if not more often. These are the greatest ways to become holy!

            Right now, there are 32 companies racing to produce a Coronavirus vaccine, hoping that the right medicine will save lives. But we already have a healing remedy for the much worse spiritual sickness of sin, which, if left untreated, leads to everlasting death. This remedy is the Sacrament of Confession. As Our Lord revealed to St. Faustina, “When you approach the confessional, know this: that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here, the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy.”

            Sometimes we think, “Oh, I’m good enough, I haven’t done anything really terrible, why do I need to go to Confession?” Do we only take showers when we’re completely covered in mud, or do we shower more regularly than that? When we love God, we want to remove anything that is displeasing to Him, not only the big stuff. Regular monthly Confession cleans our soul of everything, and gives us a serious dose of grace to overcome our faults. Even Pope Francis confesses every two weeks! So every Catholic should make a good, honest Confession monthly.

`           In addition to Confession, we should always frequent the Eucharist. If we wish to be filled with grace, which is God’s life, then the best way is to be filled with God Himself in the Blessed Sacrament! St. Philip Neri, a sixteenth century priest from Rome, would watch to see if anyone from his Masses would leave the church early, and if they did, he would send out two altar boys with lit candles to accompany them to their house. He did so to remind people that they literally became living tabernacles when they received Jesus in His True Body and Blood.

            Right now we do not have an obligation to attend Sunday Mass. But that should not be an excuse to miss it! How can someone grow warm if they stay away from the fire? How can they see clearly in the dark if they walk away from the light? In our Eucharistic Lord, we receive the fire of Divine Love, the Light of Christ, the Source of our spiritual life. We should hunger for the Lord more than for bodily food, and we should come to Mass out of a deep desire for Him, not just out of a guilty obligation.

            Never miss an opportunity to attend Mass! When we are lying on our deathbed, we won’t wish we watched more TV, or scrolled more through Instagram, or spent more time at the office. We will wish that we spent more time in front of the Blessed Sacrament. When we approach the altar to receive Him, we must make sure that we receive Him worthily: we must be in the state of grace and have no mortal sins on our soul. Just as I can eat a peanut butter sandwich and it gives my body energy, it could kill someone with a peanut allergy. In the same way, two people could receive the same Eucharistic Lord with different effects: the person in the state of grace will grow in holiness, while the person not in the state of grace will, as St. Paul says, “eat and drink judgment upon themselves”.

            Grace can be more or less effective in our lives – it depends upon our openness to receive it. If one person approached a waterfall with a bucket and another with a shot glass, they would be able to take away a different amount of water, even though the amount of water flowing is the same. So in order to increase our capacity for grace, we must approach the Sacraments with love, preparation, and desire to receive the Lord’s love and mercy. Stir into flame a passion for Him – and He will come with an overflowing of grace!

            So why am I talking all about grace? Because our readings talk about a harvest of grapes from a vineyard. God expects us to give Him a harvest of holiness, and He is doing everything possible to nourish the vineyard of our soul through grace. It’s up to us to take advantage of that grace through the Sacraments, and to put that grace into action in our lives!

Homily for Ordinary Time 26 - Sept 27, 2020

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 26

September 27, 2020

Ambition and Kenosis

 

            One of the greatest Catholic movies ever made was the movie “A Man for All Seasons” about St. Thomas More, the great English martyr. Thomas More was the chancellor of England – second-in-command to the king – who was put to death for refusing to acknowledge King Henry VIII as head of the Church in England. Thomas More died, in his own words, “The King’s good servant, but God’s first” as he stayed faithful to the Pope and the true Catholic Faith despite great political pressure.

            In the movie, one of St. Thomas More’s associates was a young, educated man by the name of Richard Rich. Richard wanted to make a career in government and rise up in the nobility, so he begged Thomas More to find him a government job. More offered him a fine job as a schoolteacher, but Rich turned it down, angling for a better position. But Thomas More encouraged him, saying, “Be a teacher, Richard. You’d make a fine teacher, maybe even a great one.”

            Richard responded, “If I was a great teacher, who would know it?”

            The saint answered, “Your pupils, your friends, God. That’s not a bad public.”

            But Richard was determined, and through intrigue and politics, managed to find himself an opportunity – he was offered to become the attorney general of Wales if he would only witness, in court, that Thomas More had spoken against the King. He could have a position, a noble title, servants, a manor house – all he had to do was commit a little perjury.

            And the temptation was too strong – Richard Rich denounced his former friend in court, leading to his execution. But as Richard Rich was leaving the courtroom, Thomas More stopped him and said one of the best lines in literature: “Why, Sir Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world…but for Wales?” Thomas More died a martyr with integrity; Sir Richard Rich went down in history, in the words of one historian, as “a man of whom nobody had ever spoken a good word.”

            Ambition – the desire to rise up, to achieve lofty goals, to become somebody – is very different than the attitude that St. Paul speaks about in his letter to the Philippians. Paul writes, “Have in you the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave. He humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

            Quite the opposite of ambition! There is a word in Greek that describes perfectly what Jesus did – the word is “kenosis”. Kenosis means “self-emptying”, lowering yourself, pouring yourself out, making yourself nothing. Thus John the Baptist could say: “He (Jesus) must increase; I must decrease.” This is kenosis, following the example of Christ.

            The Second Person of the Blessed Trinity was adored by angels, but He emptied Himself and was spit upon by soldiers. God Himself, Whom all creation serves, bent down and washed His Apostles’ feet. The Lord of the entire universe consented to be nailed to a tree. He Who is the source of every good thing chose to be born into abject poverty. Kenosis – self-emptying – the attitude of Jesus.

            When I lived in Rome I used to make retreats at a monastery of American Benedictine monks in Norcia, Italy, where St. Benedict was born. The first time I was there, I arrived in time for dinner and was greeted by the abbot. He approached me and said, “Have you had your hands washed?” I thought it was an odd question – I mean, I’m not five years old, I do wash my hands before dinner! So I was momentarily confused until he grabbed a bowl and pitcher and towel and proceeded to ritually wash my hands and dry them on the towel, saying, “Welcome.” Here was the leader of the monastery, the man whom every other monk obeyed, who was willing to wash the hands of a guest. Kenosis, lived-out.

            So what does this mean for us? We have ambitions and goals about many things. Perhaps we want to become an all-state football player; maybe we aim to get accepted by Harvard or Yale; perhaps we want to rise up the corporate ladder and are pining for that next promotion; maybe we are working to lose thirty pounds. Does this mean we as Christians should not desire such things?

            The answer: it depends on two things.

            It depends upon our motivation. Why do we want them? The sole motivation for all our goals should be for the glory of God and to better serve our neighbor. We should not hide our gifts and talents and think that we don’t deserve honors, awards, promotions, but we must ask ourselves why we are pursuing them. It shouldn’t be about our vanity, our looks, or our ego. But if you have the talents to be an all-state football player, do it for the glory of God. If you can advance in your career, do it so you can better support your family and more conscientiously take care of the employees under you. Ambition isn’t bad when it’s done for God’s glory and the service of others, but it must not be done for our own glory.

            Secondly, it depends how we pursue these goals. Will you get promoted in the company because you work hard, or because you backbite and kiss-up to the boss and step on others as you climb the corporate ladder? Will you get into Harvard because you worked hard, or will you fudge the truth on your application? You may have the desire to be a sports all-star, but that does not mean we can neglect coming to Sunday Mass. We can have good goals but they must be accomplished by keeping our integrity and our priorities in the right order.

            Christ was willing to empty Himself, not exalt Himself. We may pursue our goals and achieve success, but in doing so we empty ourselves of our ego and our self-glorification. Everything we achieve should be for the glory of God. We should be truly ambitious about advancing His Kingdom and seeking our holiness. Let us and our egos decrease so that He may live and reign in us.

Homily for Ordinary Time 25 - September 20, 2020

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 25

September 20, 2020

Life is Christ

 

            If you knew that you were going to die tomorrow, what would your reaction be? Would you be at peace, knowing that you would join Jesus – or would you beg the Lord for a few more days, or a few more years?

            Blessed Chiara Badano faced a similar choice. Growing up in Italy in the 1980s, she was a normal, fun, popular teenager – she played guitar and tennis, had crushes on boys, and loved to hang out with friends. She also had a deep relationship with the Lord Jesus through her local youth group, and grew active in her Catholic Faith. At the age of sixteen, she was playing tennis when a sharp pain in her shoulder forced her to drop her racket. After a series of tests, she was diagnosed with bone cancer – a particularly painful trial, but she accepted it with great faith, saying, “This is for you, Jesus – if You want it, then I want it too.”

            She underwent chemo, and every time a clump of her hair would fall out, she would hold it up and say, “For You, Jesus.” The chemo made her tremendously weak, but she would use a walker to get around. She befriended one particular fellow patient who suffered from depression, and would go on walks with her through the hospital garden, which were agonizingly exhausting for Chiara. When her family urged her to rest more, she said, “I will rest in Heaven.” She even refused morphine because she wanted to consciously offer her sufferings to God. At one point she said to her parents, “There's only one thing I can do now: to offer my suffering to Jesus because I want to share as much as possible in His sufferings on the cross.”

            After a two-year battle with cancer, it became clear that she wasn’t improving. She was more than resigned to death – she longed for it. When the doctors told her that she had no hope, she responded, “If I had to choose between [being healed] and going to heaven, I wouldn't hesitate. I would choose heaven.”

            News of this remarkable dying girl began to spread, so much so that Cardinal Saldarini, the Archbishop of Turin, Italy, visited her and remarked, “The light in your eyes is splendid. Where does it come from?” Chiara responded, “I simply try to love Jesus as much as I can.”

            As she was dying she gave two instructions to her mother: first, to bury her in a wedding dress, because her death would be her wedding with Jesus; and secondly, not to mourn, because union with Jesus would be a time of great rejoicing.

            How many of us would have faith like that? For Chiara, as for St. Paul, life was Christ and death is gain. What powerful words St. Paul uses: “I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better.” Yet most of us do not desire Heaven as much as we desire a long life here on earth! We’d often rather enjoy the passing pleasures of this world to the endless joys of the life to come!

            How can we change so that “life is Christ and death is gain”? Two practical thoughts.

            First, we must pray! If we do not enjoy spending fifteen minutes with God every day, we will not want to spend eternity with Him in Heaven! Prayer is how we become accustomed to breathing the air of Heaven. He has shown us manifold signs of His love: the beauty of nature, the love of family and friends, His mercy on the Cross…prayer is our response of love to such a generous God. We cannot say “life is Christ” if He is just an afterthought in our day. Rather, our time with Him must be our bedrock, our foundation. It’s more than just “reciting prayers” – it is spending time in silence, with His Word (the Bible), speaking to Him from our hearts and listening to Him.

            Then, ask God daily what He wants you to do. When I was at Trinity High School, I used to ask the kids, “What college do you want to go to? What career do you want to have?” But I realized that was the wrong question – I should have been asking, “Where do you think God wants you to go to college? What career is God calling you to?” Our lives are not ours to do whatever we want with them. As we heard last week in the readings, “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. Both in life and death we belong to God.” So ask the Lord daily, “How do you want me to use this day? How can I glorify You today?”

            This past week I had lunch with an old friend who was recently baptized. He had been raised without faith, but due to God’s grace and the example of his wife, he embraced the Catholic Church and was baptized right after the quarantine. He was telling me that his wife, a devout Catholic, wanted to purchase a second home on a beach somewhere. But this man, despite being a newly-minted Catholic, said to me, “I just don’t think that’s what glorifies God! It just seems so self-indulgent. Can’t we do something better with our money, for God?”

            If life is about Christ and not about us, then we cannot live it self-indulgently! Self-indulgence is the American vice, because in many ways we see it as the culmination of the American dream. We work hard, earn money, and then we think we earned our right to relax and enjoy the good things in life. If that’s the case, then life’s not about Christ, it’s about you – your wants, your pleasures, your time, your money. My friends, to say that “life is Christ” means that our time, our money, our talents, our health all belong to Him – we are not free to do what we want with them. St. Paul says, “Christ will be magnified in my body” – every last breath, every last minute, every last dollar of Paul’s belonged to Christ. What does the Lord want you to do?

Then we will be detached from the things of this world, and attached to Him alone. Back to my original question, the reason we don’t want to die is because we love this world more than we love the Lord. But our lives cannot be about the things of this world. Life is Christ, and death is gain.