Homily for Ordinary Time 18 - July 31, 2022

 

Homily for July 31, 2022

Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Using Money for Profit

 

            The founder of Domino’s pizza, Tom Monaghan, is an immensely wealthy person…and a devout Catholic. During the 1980s, when he had amassed a huge fortune, he went on a spending spree: the private jet, the Bugatti…he even became owner of the Detroit Tigers. As a hobby, he loved architecture, so he began construction on his multi-million-dollar dream house inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.

            All of this changed in 1992 when he happened to pick up CS Lewis’ book “Mere Christianity”. He read in the book about how pride is the root of all sin – living for our ego, boasting about our accomplishments, living for self. He was struck to the heart – and realized that, despite all of his public Catholicism, he was living a very self-indulgent lifestyle. He quickly sold the Detroit Tigers, stopped construction on his dream house, and began to live simpler. He started attending daily Mass, praying a daily Rosary, and frequenting Confession.

            He finally sold Domino’s Pizza in 1998 for over one billion dollars – and has since used that money to spread the Catholic Faith. He founded Ave Maria University in Florida, rebuilt a cathedral in Nicaragua, and funds many pro-life organizations. Here is a man who could have used his wealth for himself – and instead realized that it was given to him to bring souls to Heaven.

            The man in today’s Gospel didn’t actually do anything wrong – he wasn’t a murderer or an adulterer, he didn’t cheat anyone or lie. But it’s what he didn’t do that had him condemned. He had all of this amazing wealth, in a time when the majority of the population struggled to find their next meal. And with his lack of generosity, he deprived others of their basic needs.

            Tolstoy once wrote that “I am a participant in a crime if I have extra food and another has none.” In America, we have more than enough material goods – money, leisure time, cars and houses and food – but these material goods will only profit us if we use them for others. Americans tend to live very self-indulgent lives – we make money, and we spend that money on ourselves: whether it be vacations, clothes, cars with all the bells and whistles, Amazon purchases, whatever. Most of our time and energy is used for ourselves and our own comforts.

            St. Anthony of Padua has a good analogy. He says that earthly riches are like reeds – they are very beautiful, but their roots are stuck in the swamp, and when you break the reeds, they are hollow. Likewise, earthly riches have their roots in the things of this earth instead of Heaven, and if we try to find happiness in them, we find them to be hollow.

            But does that mean we can never go on vacation or buy new clothes? No, it doesn’t. So what does God actually expect from us? He is actually very clear in Scripture: He expects His people to tithe. What is tithing? It is the practice of giving ten percent to God. In the Old Testament, Israel was required to give God the top ten percent of their flocks and fields. We, too, are encouraged to tithe – to give ten percent of our gross income to the Lord, whether to the Church directly or to charities.

            Some may say, “This is just an attempt for the Church to make more money!” No – it’s an attempt for the souls of men and women to not be snared by the lure of money. Mother Teresa always encouraged people to “give until it hurts” – if we only give our excess and save plenty of room for luxuries, then we are still living self-indulgently. We should be denying ourselves that fifth pair of shoes, that extra dinner out, that leather interior, that trip to Cancun…because our money doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to God. Consider – when you give to the Church, you are helping the most critical mission on earth: to bring souls to Heaven. When you give to the poor, you are giving to Jesus Christ in disguise. There is no better use for money! Plus, tithing frees us from undue anxieties about things – it puts our goods in proper perspective, and helps us to trust that God will supply everything we need.

            So, I would encourage you to tithe – give your 10% to God and to the poor. I tithe, and I have found that God can never be outdone in generosity.

            That which we give away stores up the greatest profit for us. Don’t store up the self-indulgent luxuries when we can store up treasures in Heaven!

Homily for Ordinary Time 17 - July 24, 2022

 

Homily for July 24, 2022

Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

The Reason Behind It All

 

            Once when I was teaching a Confirmation class, there was a kid named Jake who clearly didn’t want to be there. He sat in the back with a scowl, arms folded, totally unresponsive. About halfway through the year I finally pulled him aside and asked him, “Hey, what’s the deal? Do you not want to be here or something?”

            He replied, “I’m an atheist.”

            Oh great, a thirteen-year-old atheist. “Okay, Jake, so why are you an atheist?”

            He replied, “Because I prayed for my grandma to get better, and she died.”

            I’d bet that this is one of the main reasons why people lose faith – because they pray for something and don’t get it. But doesn’t Jesus say that “ask and we shall receive”? Did He not promise that anything we ask the Father for in His Name will be granted to us?

            The key is in the last line of today’s Gospel. Jesus promised that “how much more will the Father give…The Holy Spirit…to those who ask.” Not that the Father will give riches, healing from every illness, a perfect life. No, He will give us the Holy Spirit, whose role is to make us holy.

            I often hear people say, especially when bad things happen, that “everything happens for a reason” – but they never give the reason. Well, I will tell you the reason, and it’s not mysterious: everything happens for your holiness. Everything God does or allows is for your holiness.

            Protestant pastor Rick Warren once said, “God cares more about your character than your comfort.” As Christians we have to view everything in the light of eternity. In the light of eternity, sickness can help us to grow in patience and give us something to offer up to God. In the light of eternity, death is a passageway to eternal life. In the light of eternity, having financial troubles helps to detach us from undue care about earthly goods and helps us to trust God alone.

             So much of what we ask for will not actually help us to become saints. If we ask for a new job with better pay, we might become more attached to riches and start to live self-indulgently. If we ask for healing, perhaps we are passing up an opportunity to grow in virtue through our sickness.

            As an example, there was once a young college girl who fell in love with this certain young man. Every day she would pray that he would fall in love with her in return, but month after month passed and he showed no interest. Finally, he started dating another girl…and they got engaged…and they got married. The first girl was devastated, and questioned why God had not answered her prayer – this young man was perfect for her, she thought!

            In her sorrow, she started to go to Mass and to Eucharistic Adoration more, and now that the young man was out of her life, she began filling that void with God. She discovered a love for God that she never knew…and God began to win her heart to Himself. She is now Sr. Mary Catherine TOR, a Franciscan nun. She would never have found her true vocation if God had answered her prayer all along…and now she is closer to the Lord than ever before.

            St. Theresa of Avila once said that “more tears are shed over answered prayers than over unanswered prayers.” He knows what will make us truly happy. Yes, He wants us to be happy in this world, but He desires our ultimate and eternal happiness. Parents have to hold down a young child who is receiving a shot, and the child doesn’t understand why he must feel pain, but it’s for their health. In the same way, we don’t understand in the moment why God seems silent to our pleas, but knowing that He is a good Father, we trust that He will make holiness

            So whether or not God answers our prayers, our attitude should always be: “Lord, how are you using this to make me holy? What virtues are you trying to form in me? How are you trying to bring me one step closer to Heaven?”

            I have since lost touch with Jake, and I pray for him. I pray for him to be blessed in this life, yes, but most of all I pray that he may regain his faith in the good Lord Who loves us. Because I know that the one prayer God always delights in is, “Lord, make us holy – make us like Yourself – and bring us to Heaven with You forever.”

Homily for Ordinary Time 16 - July 17, 2022

 

Ordinary Time 16

July 17, 2022

At the Feet of Jesus

 

            Poor Jesus. Every time He goes somewhere, they’re always bringing the lame and cripples and sick out to him. They want Him to constantly do miracles, bring some healing, multiply bread and fish, or save them from a storm at sea. It’s always request after request.

            How much of a blessing, then, must it be for Jesus to come to the house of friends, where He is on the receiving end of kindness! And Mary gives Him the greatest kindness of all – just lovingly sitting at His feet, listening to Him.

            So – let’s look at our own relationship with Jesus. How many of us would say that the majority of our prayer is asking God for things? When I look at our book of prayers out in the Church vestibule, it’s a litany of requests – heal this person, find this person a job, bring this person back to the Faith. All good things – and God does want us to bring our needs to Him. But true spirituality begins when we stop seeking God’s blessings and we start seeking God. God is not just a vending machine to give us stuff (“I want healing from my ailments, so I’ll put in my three Hail Mary’s and hope that I can get some healing!”). He is a Father who simply loves to spend time with His children.

            So how do we “sit at the feet of Jesus” and listen to Him with loving attention? There are many ways to do so – silence, Adoration, the Rosary – but today I want to speak about a powerful way to sit at His feet, called Lectio Divina.

            Lectio Divina literally means “Sacred Reading” and it is a way to read Scripture where we can encounter Him in His Word. When people read the Bible, they often read it in one of two ways. First, they read it cover-to-cover as if it were a novel – which is hard to do, because it’s not a book but a library which includes poetry, letters, books of law, genealogies…so by the time they get to Leviticus, it usually gets so boring that they give up! The other way people usually read the Bible is what we call “Bible Roulette” – randomly opening to a page and seeing what it says. God can sometimes speak through this method, but it’s just as likely you will get some random verse which doesn’t make sense!

            But Lectio Divina is very different. It involves reading a passage from the Bible very slowly, focusing on a word, phrase, or image that stands out to us. For example, if one were to use this weekend’s Gospel, perhaps the words “the better part” will stand out to you. Or maybe you will identify strongly with Martha and her busyness. Then, after we have our word/phrase/image, we read the same passage again, and ask God what He means – “Lord, what are You trying to reveal to me through these words? What are you trying to say to me through this person in the story?” And then we wait and listen to whatever thoughts or feelings are arising in our hearts. Finally we read the passage a third time, and we speak to the Lord about any good resolutions that He has inspired in us – for example, we could say, “Lord, thank You for showing me that time with You is ‘the better part’ – help me to spend more time with You…Lord, make me less like Martha with her busy-ness and more attuned to Your Words.” Lectio Divina is that conversation between us and the Lord – He speaks to us in the words/phrases/images from the Bible that stand out to us, and we speak to Him about those words.

            Sitting at the feet of Jesus in prayer is the key to spiritual growth. Not trying to demand something of Jesus, not being a Martha-like busybody, but just seeking Him.

            A beautiful story illustrates this. St. Thomas Aquinas was perhaps the greatest and most prolific Catholic author in history – he wrote innumerable books about the Lord and our Catholic faith, including his most famous “Summa Theologica” which is a profound summary of all of our beliefs. Towards the end of his life, though, he had a vision of Jesus Who said to him, “Thomas, you have written very well of Me. What reward would you like to have?” Thomas replied, “My reward is only to possess You.”

            Mary did choose the better part, because she chose just to be with the Lord. Sometimes we fear it’s a waste of time because we’re not accomplishing anything productive. But being with the Lord is never a waste of time – it was loving attention to the One Who delights in us. My friends, if you want a real spiritual life, it begins when we sit at His feet and seek Him.

Homily for Ordinary Time 15 - July 10, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 15

July 10, 2022

The Greatest Epidemic

 

            Mother Teresa was once taken on a tour of a nursing home in America. The nursing home director was telling her all about the state-of-the-art facility: round-the-clock skilled nursing care, good food, TVs in every room, plenty of comfort. But the saint noticed that no one was smiling and that they were all looking toward the door. She asked the director why everyone was staring at the door, and the director sadly responded that they were all waiting for a visit from family or friends, but only rarely did anyone come to visit them.

            From this experience, Mother Teresa concluded that there was a poverty in America that was worse than the poverty in Calcutta. She said, “The greatest poverty is loneliness, the feeling of being unwanted.” In Calcutta, people were starving – but they knew how to share what little they had, and this love brought them joy. Here in America, we have everything – and so often are miserable because we do not have the meaningful connections that make life worthwhile.

            A recent study found that 61% of Americans are lonely. There is a yearning in every human heart for connection. We are created for relationships, because we are made in the image of God Who is Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the original community of life and love, and since we are made in His image, we too desire to be part of a community of life and love. Thus, we recognize that something is deeply wrong when we are isolated, lonely, unloved. As Pope St. John Paul II said, “The only proper response to another human being is love.”

            As we reflect on this parable of the Good Samaritan, it strikes me that in our country we do not see people beat up by the side of the road. We don’t see people literally starving in the streets. We have enough soup kitchens and homeless shelters and government programs and charities to help most people live decent lives. Yes, we should continue to contribute to charities that help the poor, but most of us do not have a daily encounter with people who are lacking material goods.

            But the poverty we encounter daily is the poverty of loneliness. Perhaps our grandparents, who are isolated in a nursing home…perhaps a kid at school who always sits alone…perhaps a neighbor who has no family left. This is the needy person that we encounter daily.

            And the choice of how to respond to such a poverty is up to us. If I were to rewrite this parable for our modern world, it would go something like this: a person got beat up, not by robbers, but by life…perhaps they were the victim of online cyberbullying, or maybe their kids moved away from home and have ignored them. And so, they sat there by the side of the road, lonely and hurting. A person passed by, but was too distracted looking at their smartphone to notice. Another person passed by, but they were so busy working eighty hours a week and driving their kids to soccer practice that they couldn’t take time to help. Finally, a Christian, a true believer in Christ, noticed this person who had been forgotten by the rest of the world. They stopped, and got to know the other person’s name, and invited them out for coffee – nothing earth-shattering, but it broke through the loneliness and isolation. The person began to get well simply by meaningful human connection.

            I challenge us all to look around in our own life and see who could use a card, a phone call, an invitation over. Is it your grandma? Your neighbor? Your classmate? That person that you see sitting all by themselves in the pew in front of you?

            Once, a pair of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity went to visit a very poor man up in the mountains of Australia. When they came to his house, they were noticed a beautiful lamp sitting in the living room, covered in dust. The lamp was all dark – no light came from it. The nuns asked the man why he didn’t light the lamp, and he said, “I never get any visitors. I have no reason to light the lamp.” The nuns said, “If we visit you every week, will you light the lamp for us?” The man agreed, and he began to light the lamp…and through these visits, he himself became changed. He began to go out to visit his neighbors and return to church. Years later, long after the nuns had stopped visiting him, he wrote a letter to Mother Teresa and told her, “The lamp that your sisters had lit in my life continues to shine.”

            We have very little chance, on a daily basis, to encounter a man beaten by robbers. But almost every day we encounter someone who suffers from the epidemic of loneliness – and the cure doesn’t cost us even two gold coins – just a little time and love.

Parents - Don't Be Afraid to Parent!

Recently a mother and I were discussing her teenage daughter’s poor behavior and attitude, which was correlated to her use of TikTok and her unfettered access to the internet. The mother said with a sigh of resignation, “It’s just so sad that teens are so addicted to their phones…but what can you do?”

What can you do? You can be a parent! Yes, I know the peer pressure is tremendous to allow your kids a phone or device with endless free access to all the worst humanity has to offer (aka social media) – but as a parent your job is to form your children to be saints. Their souls are in your hands. We must be that first line of defense against the filth of the world. We would never allow them to go spend time with a pornographer; if we knew they were being bullied we would try to protect them; if something were harming their health we would spare no expense to rush them to the doctor. Then why are we allowing them a window into the cesspool of porn, hatred, time-wasting filth without any guidance? Study after study has shown the negative effects of the internet in general – and social media in particular – but still we turn a blind eye and wonder why our teenage sons and daughters struggle with identity crises, depression, self-hatred, addictions, aberrant behavior, laziness, a lack of desire for holiness!

Parents, do not abdicate your authority and your responsibility! At the end of your lives, the Lord will ask you how well you shepherded these souls He entrusted to you – whether or not you led them to Heaven and preserved their souls from sin to the best of your ability. We cannot use “oh, well everyone else’s kids have one, so my kid would be strange if they didn’t” as an excuse!

Will your kids be angry with you, maybe even say they hate you, if you put restrictions on their devices? Possibly. But their anger will be temporary – their gratitude will be eternal. Recently another friend who travels the country speaking about the dangers of social media was telling me that after her talk, she would always have many, many young adults come up to her with one of two reactions: “At the time I was furious with my parents for taking away my phone, but now I’m grateful.” OR “I really wish my parents had protected me from losing so much innocence.” No one has ever been grateful that their parents were so permissive!

So what can be done? First, do not give teens (or younger!) phones with internet or apps. There are plenty of dumb phones still in existence! If you must give them phones that access the internet, put parental restrictions on them. Install Covenant Eyes on your son’s phones – and on your home computers while you’re at it (almost every Confession I hear involves pornography, which is mortally sinful and perverts your son’s ability to view women as anything other than objects, which will have huge ramifications on his future relationships). Do not allow them to use their screens at meals or while alone in their bedrooms. Get the support of other families who have the same policies. Most importantly – do not try to be your kid’s friend, but be their parent. Authentic love requires boundaries, discipline, and sacrifice.

Your kid’s eternal welfare is worth it – do not say, “Alas, I can’t do anything – my kid needs to fit in.” It’s better to stand out here on earth because we are trying to fit into the Communion of Saints!

Homily for Ordinary Time 13 - June 26, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 13

June 26, 2022

Fan or Follower?

 

            My Confirmation name is Peter, but I almost chose Michael. Not because I have any great love for St. Michael the Archangel – no, I was a huge fan of the Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina. I had all of his baseball cards, I read everything I could get my hands on about him, and I even tried to mimic his style when I pitched in high school. One could say that I was a pretty big fan of the guy.

            But some people take fandom to a whole other level. I think of the Deadheads who used to follow around the band “The Grateful Dead” – they gave up careers, family, and decent living conditions to be groupies of their favorite band. In fact, one of Jerry Garcia’s biographers wrote that for the Deadheads, “Music was their sacrament.” Or those Green Bay Packers fans who are willing to sit in sub-zero temperatures for hours to watch their team. Or the collector who spent over $115,000 to purchase a lock of Elvis’ hair – that’s commitment!

            That’s the major difference between being a casual fan and a committed follower –are they willing to sacrifice everything for the one they follow?

            Jesus invites several people to follow him, but they make excuses – “Let me go and say goodbye to my parents…let me go and bury my father.” Those sound like good reasons, but it shows that Jesus Christ is not the number-one priority for them. They perhaps liked His message and His miracles, but weren’t ready to make the commitment to Him.

            So what about us? Are we casual fans or committed followers? Are we willing to embrace the demands of the Gospel, which are all-encompassing? That means that Christ is King of more than just our Sunday mornings: it means our vacations…our nights out with the boys…our internet browsing…our marriages…our shopping habits…even our thoughts. The call to seek holiness must permeate every single aspect of our lives, without exception.

            Some might say that’s extreme. A priest was telling me a humorous story that when he was in Italy, he got into a conversation with a man on a bus. The priest asked him, “Are you Catholic?” The man replied, “Si, certo! (Yes, of course!)” The priest then replied, “Wonderful. Where do you attend Mass?” The man replied, “Ah, padre, sono Catolico…non sono fanatico (Father, I’m a Catholic, not a fanatic!)” It seems radical to be an actual follower of Jesus, and not just a Catholic in name-only, but Jesus makes it clear that He expects us to live for Him alone!

            People often tell me, “My faith is very important to me.” By that, they mean that they like the rituals and sentiments of faith: lighting a candle, singing “Silent Night” at Christmas, ashes on our foreheads, a quick “Hail Mary” before a basketball game. Nothing wrong with comforting rituals and warm memories.

            But that’s all just window-dressing without the heart of faith: a real encounter with the Person of Jesus Christ who asks us to follow Him. To be a follower of Jesus demands something of us – it requires us to forsake our former way of life, to live for Him alone, and to put every last aspect of our life under His Kingship. It requires us to develop a prayer life, to forgive our enemies, to take up our Cross and die to ourselves daily. If we want to live our lives-as-usual with just a little prayer sprinkled on top, then we are missing the very heart of our Catholic Faith. Our Catholic Faith is a grand adventure, an epic quest for holiness, a battle for the eternal salvation of souls that demands a life of sacrifice, integrity, and a life lived for Jesus Christ. Don’t settle for just warm, fuzzy feelings…for being a “fan” of Jesus Christ…when He invites you to follow Him to the Cross…and the Resurrection. After He lived, and died, for us – how can we do any less than live and die for Him?

            I ask you to consider today: what aspect of your life is still yours, and not His? What part of your life have you not yet put under His Kingship? Make a resolution to live completely for Him, and ask Him for the grace to carry it out!

            In all, I’m very glad that I didn’t pick Michael as my Confirmation saint, because the following year, Mike Mussina signed with the dreaded New York Yankees and I stopped being a fan of his entirely…but that was the same year that I also stopped being a fan of Jesus Christ, and started becoming His follower.

Homily for Trinity Sunday - June 12, 2022

 

Homily for Trinity Sunday

June 12, 2022

Sign of the Cross

 

            Let us begin in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. As Catholics we pray that brief prayer multiple times each day. Why do we pray the Sign of the Cross, and what’s it all about?

            First, consider how we make the Sign of the Cross. In the Western Church, we use an open hand – which is used in blessing (hence we say that we “bless ourselves”). In the East, they hold three fingers together, as a sign of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), while the other two fingers are united as a sign of Christ’s Divinity and humanity.

            The words we say confess the mystery of the Trinity. Notice that we say, “In the Name of the Father…” and not “In the Names of the Father” – God is one, so we say He only has one Name – and then we go on to name the Three Persons of the Trinity. Every time we begin a prayer, we recognize that the very core of our faith is that we believe in a God Who is One-in-Three: both unity and trinity.

            As we say that confession of faith in the Trinity, we seal the sign of the Cross on ourselves. You are marking, publicly, who you are and Who you belong to! The Cross is our ransom, our “price-tag” if you will, so we remind ourselves that we have been purchased by the Cross. So when Satan comes to tempt us, we make the sign of the Cross to show him that we are already marked!

            There is an amazing story in the book of Ezekiel, where an angel comes to Ezekiel and tells him that God is going to chastise all of Israel for its unfaithfulness – but there are still some good people left in Jerusalem, so the angel goes around and puts a mark on the foreheads of those who are still faithful to God. The mark he makes is the “Tau” – the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and it is drawn exactly like a cross! God has mercy on those marked with the Tau, and strikes down those without it.

            In the same way, those of us who are signed with the Cross will be preserved from the justice of God, and will receive His mercy instead. In ancient Egypt, God had the Israelites put the lamb’s blood over their doors at Passover so that they would be saved from the angel of death. Now, by signing the Cross over our bodies, we invoke the Blood of the Lamb upon us, so that we are saved from the power of death!

            But where do we put that Sign of the Cross? We put it on our forehead, our heart, and our shoulders. Why? Because we are put here on this earth to know, love, and serve God, so we ask that Christ be king of our minds, our heart (our desires and loves), and our actions. Every aspect of our life is put under the sign of our cross, that we may know, love, and serve Him.

            The Sign of the Cross is an incredibly powerful prayer. Often it’s used as the preamble to a prayer, but it has immense power in its own right. During the persecutions of the early church, some pagans tried to kill St. John the Apostle because his preaching was turning many people away from pagan gods to embrace Christianity. The pagans invited John over for dinner, and poisoned his cup. But before he began the meal, John prayed grace and made the Sign of the Cross over his cup. Instantly a snake crawled out of the cup, and John was able to escape unharmed.

            Listen to the words of St. John Vianney: “The sign of the cross is the most terrible weapon against the devil. Thus the Church wishes not only, that we have it continually in front of our minds, to recall to us just what our souls are worth and what they cost Jesus Christ, but also that we should make it at every juncture ourselves: when we go to bed, when we awaken during the night, when we get up, when we begin any action, and, above all, when we are tempted.”

            The Sign of the Cross is one of the most powerful prayers we have – it invokes the Trinity, seals us with the Blood of the Cross, puts to flight the Evil One, and reminds us who we are. Let us make that Sign carefully with devotion, and let us make it frequently throughout the day. It is the outward sign of who we are.

            In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.