Homily for August 13, 2023
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Overwhelmed
The poor
nun from Chicago just wanted to walk. She had suffered from a myriad of illnesses
in her few short years in the convent, but when she slipped on a wet floor and
injured her back, the doctors predicted she would never walk again. She turned
to the Lord and made a promise: if she could walk again, she would start a
convent in the deep South, which was lacking a Catholic presence. Miraculously,
although the doctors predicted otherwise, she woke up one day completely cured.
But the problem remained: she had no idea how to build a convent.
Years
passed as she began to get approval. She and a few other nuns finally moved to
Alabama, where only 2% of the population was Catholic and there was a great
deal of anti-Catholic sentiment. In fact, the nuns were shot at by locals, the
convent was continually vandalized, but through prayer and love, the convent
flourished. But then God called once more.
This
young nun happened to be visiting Chicago again when she stumbled upon a
Baptist television station. Immediately, God put a burning desire on her heart
to form a Catholic television station. Problem was: she had a mere $200 in the
bank, and only had a high school education. Yet if this was God’s will, nothing
could stop it. From the convent garage, they began recording Catholic TV
programs and in 1981 went live with four hours of TV programs daily. And this
is how Mother Angelica, perhaps the most unlikely soul, founded the EWTN
Catholic media network, the largest Catholic media empire in the world.
If God calls
us to do something, He will give us the graces to do it, no matter how
difficult it may seem. If God invites you to walk on water, you can do it, but
only if you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ. Peter was overwhelmed when he
took his eyes off of Christ, because he was being asked to do something that is
only possible with Christ.
Today I
want to mention two things that God is definitely calling you to do,
which are hugely overwhelming aspects of the Christian life that we can’t do on
our own.
First,
He wants you to live out your own vocation, whether it be marriage or the
single life. Think about what these vocations really entail: marriage means
that you have the duty to love this person sacrificially, faithfully, and to
help them get to Heaven. Having children means that we have a duty to prepare
their souls for eternity! Living a single life in the world means that we must live
Christ-like in the midst of a culture that doesn’t support holiness, avoiding
temptation and growing in virtue. Living your Christian vocation authentically is
absolutely overwhelming!
I once
celebrated a wedding where the bride had a panic attack during my homily – she recognized
the huge commitment she was making! When I spoke with her husband a couple
weeks later, he mentioned, “Yeah, I had my own panic-moment the morning after the
wedding when I woke up and realized, what have I done?” It can be overwhelming
to be in a challenging marriage, or to raise teenagers, or to deal with
newfound grief when we become widowed, or to make sure the single life is lived
in a holy manner. Like Peter, we find that our vocations are too much for our
strength.
But with
our eyes fixed on Christ, He can empower us to do the impossible. I know people
who say, “Oh, I could never have another kid…oh, I can’t live with my spouse any
more…oh I could never bring Christ to my workplace and invite my friends to
church.” But that’s false! A lie of the Evil One! We can do all things through
Christ Who strengthens us! Peter couldn’t walk on water, either, but with the
power of Jesus, he did. Goodness, I can’t change bread and wine into the Body
and Blood of the Lord on my own – but with Christ’s power in me, I can! So,
whatever vocation God has called you to, He will give you the grace to live it
out with radical generosity, in holiness.
Like
Peter, we must look to Jesus Christ. It’s not rocket science – we find Him
first and foremost in the Sacraments. If you need help in your marriage or in
raising kids, ask Christ for the grace of the Sacrament of Matrimony to be
activated in your soul. If you need help overcoming the temptations of the
single life and using it wisely, ask Christ for the grace of Confirmation to be
reactivated. We can always come to the Eucharist and gain from Him the strength
to live our vocations well.
In
addition to the Sacraments, we also keep our eyes on Him in our prayer life.
Have you brought your marriage, your kids, your overwhelming job, your
loneliness, your struggles, to Christ in prayer? Not just asking Him to bless
these things, but truly surrendering them to Him? God, take my marriage…take my
kids…take my entire life. Your will be done. Sometimes we need to bring our
marriages, our kids, our work to God continually, for years, as we
struggle and fight to pursue holiness in our difficult vocations. But with our
eyes fixed on Christ, these challenges won’t seem so overwhelming.
A second
call from God is for each one of us to overcome our sins and seek holiness. We
can also sometimes feel overwhelmed when we try to overcome our flaws. Maybe we’ve
been wrestling with our temper for years, or struggling with lust, or grappling
with an uncontrollable tongue, or in the midst of an addiction to alcohol. We
sometimes think, “Oh, I’ll never be able to master this.” Again, a lie from the
Evil One! It is for freedom that Christ set us free, says St. Paul. You
may not be able to master it, but He can. Sometimes we think that if we just
try harder or have a different mindset, we can overcome these things. But no –
we need Christ to do the work in us.
But what
is the first two of the Twelve Steps in Alcoholics Anonymous? Admitting that we
are powerless, and believing that a Higher Power can heal us. And keeping our
eyes fixed on Christ, again, requires the Sacraments and prayer. First, regular
Confession and Eucharist – we can’t overcome sins without the forgiveness of
Confession and the strengthening in the Eucharist. Then, prayer. St. Augustine
once wrote, “There is no remedy so powerful against [temptations] as the
remembrance of our Savior’s Passion. In all my difficulties I never found
anything so efficacious as the wounds of Christ: In them I sleep secure; from
them I derive new life.”
The
truth is, the holy Christian life is much like walking on water – humanly
impossible, but still what Christ invites us to. And we can all become saints
if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ.
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