Homily for November 8, 2026
Ordinary Time 32
Begin with the End in Mind
My least
favorite movie of all time is “Polar Express”. I’m sorry; I know it’s a
classic. But I really hate that movie because of one line. There is this little
boy who is unsure about whether or not to board this random train that shows up
in his front yard, and the Conductor, played by Tom Hanks, says the following
line: “One thing about trains: it doesn't matter where they're going. What
matters is deciding to get on.”
I almost
threw my remote control at the TV. It doesn’t matter where the train is going?
If I want to go to Boston and I board a train to Miami, I’m going to have problems!
No one goes to an airport and looks at the flights and thinks, “Eh, it doesn’t
matter which plane I get on. I might as well toss up a coin and hop on one.”
The destination matters!
Steven
Covey, in his famous book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, lists this as
one of the most important principles: Begin with the end in mind. A
person who wants to do something great with their life must first set great
goals and know what they’re aiming for. We’re building this new Spiritual Life
Center at St. Jude’s, but I can’t just say to the workers, “All right, go out
there and start laying concrete and putting up drywall, and we’ll see what
takes shape.” We need a blueprint, a plan. We begin with the end in mind.
But we
need not just the end, but the correct end in mind. If a pilot takes off
in Los Angeles and is headed to New York but is off by only three degrees, he
will end up in Washington, DC – 225 miles away from his intended destination.
It seemed like a small error at the beginning, but after five hours of flying,
it leads to a huge miscalculation.
Five virgins
in today’s Gospel made a huge miscalculation, too, in not bringing enough oil
for their lamps. They may have had a vaguely good intention – wanting to be in
the bridegroom’s party – but didn’t have the means to get there. As Christians,
we also must have not only the right goal, but also the right means to achieve
this goal. Let’s break that down.
First,
we must have the right goal. Our second reading gives us a hopeful vision of
our goal: eternal life with God. But this must be our primary goal, to
which everything is ordered. You may be familiar with the story of the Odyssey,
the Greek classic, which recently came out as a movie. It’s about a king, Odysseus,
who must get back to his home and family. But his men land on the Island of the
Lotus Eaters, where they are fed a fruit which makes them content and
forgetful. They lose all their desire to get home and sit contentedly in
apathy. Odysseus has to essentially capture his own men and tie them up to get
back on the ship to sail home. And this is the temptation in the Christian life
– we have the goal of eternal life, but become so entranced by the distractions
of this world that we forget to make progress. I’d bet these virgins who wanted
to come to the wedding feast were too busy dancing the night away or gossiping to
one another, so they failed to actually make the preparations for the wedding
feast. Christians are so busy with their immediate life-goals that they often
forget about the ultimate goal of Heaven. The goal of eternal life is the one
overarching goal that must direct the entirety of our lives.
Second,
we must have the right means to achieve this goal. The old saying is true: how
do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do we come to eternal life? One
choice at a time. To be clear: it’s not up to us to save ourselves. Christ
alone is our Savior; His grace is the driving force. But we are called to
cooperate with that grace with every choice we make; every act of our will
either builds the Kingdom or tears it down.
But to
look at our whole lives and say, “Okay, I want to be holy” is far too big of a
proposition. We need to break it into manageable steps. Let me suggest three
areas where we can have very reasonable goals.
First, virtues
and vices. A saint once said, “If you work to eliminate one vice from your
life each year, you will be perfect in no time.” So consider: what vice, sin,
or bad habit do you really want to work on this year? Maybe it’s an inclination
to impatience, a habitual struggle with lust, or a tendency to be arrogant and
boastful in your conversations. Seek to cultivate the opposite virtue, such as
patience, purity, or humility. Once we’ve spent a year mastering this virtue, move
on to another.
Second,
have a goal of good works. We must be intentional – these things don’t
just happen. So, for example, maybe we’re feeling called to do something with
the poor – great, give a call to Catholic Charities in Bridgeport. A vague
feeling or desire is not the same as actually doing something about it. Or
maybe we’re seeing our nephew make some bad decisions in his life and we feel
called to mentor him. Put those thoughts into action by calling him and going
out for coffee.
Maybe it’s
because I’m a choleric type-A personality, but I hate vague good intentions.
How many of us have friends who say, “Oh, we should get together sometime”? My
response is always, “Great, I’m free Friday and Saturday night – which day do
you want to get together?” There is usually an awkward pause when they realize
that now we actually have to do it! Same with our spiritual lives – a vague
good intention does not actually make us holy. Only what we choose to do about
it will invite the Kingdom of God to manifest in our lives.
Finally,
we should always have a goal in our prayer life. “Oh I should pray more”
is not a goal – it’s a wish, and as the old saying goes, “If wishes were horses,
beggars would ride.” A goal is “I will pray the Rosary every day on the way to
work” or “I will read the Scriptures for ten minutes before bed.” Make it concrete,
achievable, and realistic – then take the steps you need to do to accomplish
it. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you. Put your Bible on your pillow.
Have your spouse or parent keep you accountable.
My apologies
if this homily sounded more like a TED talk. But when I think about these ten
virgins, I think they could use a little TED talk about setting goals and
achieving them. They had a vague desire to be with Jesus, but many of them didn’t
take the steps necessary to prepare themselves. Many Christians also have a
vague desire to be with Jesus, but don’t make this the end-goal of their lives,
nor take the steps necessary to possess Him. But it does matter where we’re
going, and it does matter how we get there. Decide today if it’s worth
it to pursue Christ, and if so, what practical steps – in virtue, good works,
and prayer – that you can do to pursue Him with greater fervor.
