Homily for Easter 5 - April 29, 2018

Homily for Fifth Sunday of Easter

April 29, 2018

Without Me You Can Do Nothing

            Two months ago, when the latest school shooting happened in Parkland, Florida, many politicians and celebrities predictably said, posted, or tweeted, “Our thoughts and prayers are with you.” In response, some people said, “The time for thoughts and prayers are over! Thoughts and prayers do nothing! It’s time to act, to pass laws, to rally for gun control!”

            Regardless of what you think about gun control, let’s talk about what you think about prayer. Does prayer “do” anything? Does it change things? If we really pray, does that solve our problems? Or do we have to figure things out on our own? After all, doesn’t the Bible say, “God helps those who help themselves”?

            Actually, no, the Bible doesn’t say that. It was Ben Franklin who said that, and it goes against what Jesus says in the Gospel today – “Without Me you can do nothing.” Notice He doesn’t say, “You can do some things without Me” or “I will help you live your life” but the absolute statement – nothing is possible without union with Him.

            I think this means three things. First, consider that we really have nothing on our own. Everything we have has been given to us: our life, our family, our gifts and talents, everything. It’s like a carpenter who is given wood, nails, and tools for free – yes, he is the one who makes the work of art, but he has to acknowledge that he received the “raw materials” without cost, from a very generous Giver.

            One of our middle schoolers had a great insight this past week when we were reflecting on this Gospel. He said that the phrase “without Me you can do nothing” also means that anything we do apart from God is worthless. All the money we earn, all the pleasures we have, all the sports trophies we win – in the end really means nothing. Without God at the heart of all we do – without seeking His glory in everything – then it all comes to nothing in the end.

            But the third meaning of this sentence “without Me you can do nothing” is that our life really requires union with God in prayer to function well.

            I think that we often misunderstand prayer. A lot of times we pray so that God can change our situation. God, make school shootings go away. God, heal my son with cancer. God, help me get a good grade on the test. But as Mother Theresa said, “I used to think that prayer changes things, but now I know that prayer changes us.”

            We should pray to know God and to become like God. That’s really the goal of prayer. I have always disliked the phrase “saying prayers” because prayer is so much more than reciting Our Fathers and Hail Marys. Prayer is first and foremost an ardent desire, a pursuit of God who is love. It’s not words that are recited; it’s a sharing of your life with your closest friend, the Lord.

We always make excuses about prayer, though. We say we’re too busy. Well, you’re never too busy to breathe, right? Who says, “Yeah, it’s been a busy day so I just stopped breathing for a couple hours.” Of course not! We breathe because we know we will die without it – we pray because we know we will die without it. When we have more burdens to carry, we need more strength to carry them. And that strength comes with our intimate union with Christ in prayer. As St. Francis de Sales said, “Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day, except when we are busy – then we need an hour.”

So, I will leave you with a saint and a challenge. First the saint: St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. Rose was born in France in the 1700s. As a young nun, she was fascinated by the stories she heard about America, particularly in the Wild West. She always had a burning desire to come and evangelize America – but she suffered from some major health problems. Finally, when she was in her late 60s, she was given permission to become a missionary to Missouri to work with the Potawatomi Indian tribe. She sailed over to America but was faced with another challenge: she was absolutely unable to learn the difficult Potawatomi language! Unable to speak to them and crippled with illness, all she could do was pray.

And pray she did! For hours upon hours each day, she would spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament, begging God for the conversion of the Potawatomi people. Slowly but surely, as God’s grace began to work on the Indians’ hearts, they began to be attracted by Catholicism. They would often come to meet with St. Rose, and even though they didn’t understand French, they loved to just sit in her presence for hours. They nicknamed her “Woman-Who-Prays-Always”. Against many difficulties, this mission was a huge success and many Potawatomi became Catholic – because of the power of this praying woman, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. Prayer made her a saint – and it called down the grace of holiness upon the whole tribe.

My challenge is to spend 10 minutes in prayer daily. Let me be honest – if you do not spend at least 10 minutes in prayer each day, you are not yet a disciple. People often ask – what do I do in those 10 minutes? Here’s what you should do. Start out by quieting your heart and mind, asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten you. Then read Scripture for a couple of minutes, asking God what He wants to teach you. Sit with what you read in silence for a couple more minutes. Pay attention to the movements of your heart, your desires, your memories, the Bible passage that you just read. Perhaps listen to a spiritual song. Then speak to God from your heart, thanking Him, trusting Him, telling Him how much you love Him, praying for the needs in your life. You will soon find that 10 minutes passes by very quickly and it soon becomes the cornerstone of your life, because without Him, “we can do nothing”!