Homily for Ordinary Time 29 - October 16, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 29

October 16, 2022

Spiritual Warfare

 

            If you’ve ever read the Old Testament, you may wonder why it’s so doggone bloody. The Israelites are always involved in a war – and today’s first reading is a perfect example, as Moses and Joshua fight and win a battle against the Amalekites. Non-Christians often use this as a reason for disbelieving in the Bible – how could God allow so many wars in the Old Testament when He preaches love and forgiveness in the New Testament?

            But there are two reasons for this. First, there is a principle in reading the Bible called the Law of Progressive Revelation. This means that God doesn’t reveal the fullness of His plan all at once, but only gradually. When I was in second grade, I took the bus with middle schoolers, and one eighth grader showed me her math book. I was appalled – how could anyone do math with letters? Algebra didn’t make sense! But of course – you can’t teach algebra to a second-grader. Likewise, in 1500BC (when this war takes place), God is still trying to convince the Israelites that there is only one God – they are not yet ready for His teachings about mercy and forgiveness. Back then, the entire Middle East was filled with warring tribes – to tell the Israelites not to fight would mean they would be destroyed by these other nations. So God is willing to overlook such violence because He was trying to first teach them that He is real, that He is the only God, and that He is going to be on their side forever.

            But the other reason why the Old Testament has so many battles is because what the Israelites go through in the physical realm, Christians go through in the spiritual realm. Israel is led out of slavery in Egypt by passing through the Red Sea – Christians are led out of the slavery of sin through the waters of Baptism. A man named Jeshuah – Joshua – leads the Chosen People into the Promised Land. A new Jeshuah (Jesus of Nazareth) leads His new Chosen People, the Church, into the Promised Land of Heaven. So these physical battles that Israel fights are foreshadowing the spiritual battle Christians engage in. When Israel prays, “Lord, deliver us from our enemies,” we can pray that too: “Lord, deliver us from our spiritual enemies – not of flesh and blood, but the powers and principalities of evil.”

            Our world is no less a battle now than it was during the time of Moses. We believe that the devil and his minions are very real – and I have helped with an exorcism, I can tell you that Satan is not a myth. This battle is not fought primarily in politics or in culture, but within every human soul. God created your soul for eternal bliss with Him, but Satan, out of his hatred for God, desires to own your soul as well, through sin and faithlessness. But it’s up to you to decide who will win this battle.

            So how do we fight this spiritual war for our own souls? We see two powerful tools in our other readings today. Our second reading speaks about the power of the Word of God. Before heading into a battle, any soldier needs to check in with their commanding officer to see what the plan is, what the advance scouts have found out, where the traps are, what kind of enemy they’re facing. “One mile up on the right is a big tank, and to the left are land mines, and you’re going to need this certain type of weapon…” These are the instructions we receive from the Word of God – they are our battlefield map, our armory, our check-in with the Commander. Read it daily and prepare for the battle.

            Our Gospel gives us another powerful tool – prayer without ceasing. I wish we knew the power and absolutely desperate need we have for prayer! My brother was in the Navy, and as part of his basic training, he had to walk into a room with tear gas and take off his gas mask, breathing in the toxic fumes. He said it was pure torture for several minutes until he was able to put back it back on and breathe clean air.

            That’s how desperately we need God – He is our breath of fresh air in the midst of toxic culture. Prayer can’t be a five-minute afterthought, but the very motivating factor of our life. Because Satan is wiley with his temptations – anger one minute, arrogance the next, lust here, greed there. We cannot avoid the temptations, but we can keep our eyes fixed on the One we are living for. The only thing stronger than our temptations is our love – if we love God more than we love sin, we will be free of sin. If we cling to God, then our sins will not cling to us.

            Even the great saints were severely tempted, but through perseverance in prayer they triumphed. St. Anthony the Abbot was one of the first of the “desert fathers” – men who sought God as secluded hermits in the deserts of Egypt. He lived in a cave, fasted rigorously, and prayed unceasingly. But he was still tempted greatly. It is recorded in his biography, written by a saint who was a contemporary of his (St. Athanasius), that at times he had so many impure temptations that he felt like he was in the midst of a swarm of bees. Once as he traveled further into the desert, out of nowhere Satan gave him a mirage of a pile of gold coins in the path, with the suggestion to take some with him – who knows when he would need to use them? But he recognized that this was an attempt to get him to abandon his radical poverty. At every moment, Anthony covered himself in prayer, though. Finally, the Evil One appeared to him as fierce beasts, trying to cause him to abandon his vocation through fear. During one particularly severe temptation, St. Anthony cried out to the Lord, “Where have You been, O Jesus? Why did you not come to rescue me?” Jesus responded, “I was here, but I hid myself to see your struggle. And as you have not yielded to the temptation, I will be your helper forever.”

            Of course, there are so many other weapons against Satan that we have. The Vatican’s top exorcist, Fr. Gabriel Amorth, who did over 10,000 exorcisms in his lifetime, said that the two most powerful weapons against the devil are…Confession and the Eucharist. Last week we spoke about the Rosary being a powerful spiritual weapon. There are many others too, but if you start with daily prayer and the Scriptures, you’ll be on the right path.

            My friends, do you want to win the battle against evil? Do you want Christ’s Kingdom to come in your life and in your circle of influence? Turn to the Scriptures, and turn to daily, passionate prayer to arm yourself for the battle. Christ has won the war, but the battle for your soul is still undecided – until you decide to fight it with God at your right hand.

Homily for Ordinary Time 27 - October 2, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 27

October 2, 2022

The Incarnational Aspect of Faith

 

            Once when leading a bible study for middle schoolers, we were discussing a part of John’s Gospel where Jesus says, “It is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh is of no avail.” I asked the kids what they thought it meant. One boy raised his hand and said, “I think it means that it doesn’t matter what you do with your body, as long as you believe in Jesus in your heart.” The boy next to him turned to him, incredulous, and said, “So it doesn’t matter if I punch you in the face?”

            We all had a good laugh, but it made an important point – what we do with our bodies matters. It is in and through our bodies that we do good works or commit sin; it is in and through our bodies that we grow in virtue or descend into vice.

            Our faith is essentially incarnational. God took flesh and was born in a human body, and this sanctified and elevated all of our bodies too. We believe that, as Christians, our bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit” and thus we should glorify God in every aspect of our physical flesh. St. Paul even urges us to “make our bodies a living sacrifice” – that is, to offer our aches and pains, our recreation and our labor, to the Father as a sacrifice. God doesn’t need sacrifices of goats and calves; rather, He wants us to become a living sacrifice in the flesh. At the end of time, our bodies will rise again in a glorified form, to join in the reward of Heaven or the punishment of Hell.

            The Sacraments show us most clearly the connection between body and soul. Every Sacrament has a physical element – water for baptism, bread and wine which become the Body and Blood of Christ, the oil of chrism on our foreheads for Confirmation. Today’s second reading recounts how Paul ordained Timothy a priest – it was through the “laying on of hands” – it wasn’t just a prayer, but a physical action that sanctified him and actually changed his soul so that he became a priest.

            Even outside of the Sacraments, we have a very tangible faith, filled with things we can see and touch. We call these things sacramentals – objects that remind us of the invisible love of God. Crucifixes, Rosaries, holy water, statues, images, stained-glass windows, scapulars – all of these very physical items are reminders of God’s presence and what He has done for us. We need them in our lives and in our homes. After all, if something is out-of-sight it is often out-of-mind, so we constantly need reminders of who God is, who we are, and what we believe.

            Thus, we come to the Gospel – and we hear the Apostles cry out, “Lord, increase our faith!” Perhaps that’s the cry of your soul, too, if your faith is wavering or unsure. There are many ways to increase our faith (reading and studying the Word of God, more time for daily prayer, reading the Lives of the Saints, coming to the Sacraments more frequently) but one easy way is to fill our lives with concrete reminders of God’s endless presence and love. For too many people, we go Sunday to Sunday without thinking of God in-between…because we have nothing to remind us of Him. But if we have a crucifix in our living room, we remember His presence every time we look at it. If we wear a cross around our neck or a Miraculous Medal (a medal dedicated to Our Lady), then getting dressed in the morning is a reminder that He is with us always. If we carry a Rosary in our pocket, we are reminded to pray every time we reach for our cell phone or car keys. All of a sudden God becomes a part of our daily lives, because we have included physical sacramentals in our daily life. Our soul is shaped by what we put into our five senses.

            You may notice that we have some new furniture in our church – kneelers up front here. Starting this weekend, we have the opportunity to kneel to receive Holy Communion. Kneeling is completely optional – you are still welcome to stand for Communion – but for those who wish, this is a concrete, physical way of showing that we believe that Jesus Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. The Church as a whole – and certainly here at St. Jude’s – is in need of a Eucharistic revival, where we truly believe with our whole hearts and souls that this is not just a sign or symbol but is truly the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. What better way to strengthen our faith in His Real Presence than to receive Him on our knees, recognizing that it is God Himself that we receive into our bodies. Our physical bodies should express our personal faith in His Real Presence.

            A non-Catholic was once asking a Catholic what he believed about the Eucharist. The Catholic responded that he believed it was truly Jesus Christ Himself – not a sign or symbol, but God hidden under the form of bread. The non-Catholic responded, “If I believed that God physically dwelt in my church, I would crawl into the church on my knees!” A poignant reminder that if we believe He is here, then our physical posture will reflect that reality.

            So, I encourage us, if our knees are good and healthy, to consider receiving Him kneeling. We can receive Him on the tongue, which is the ancient traditional way (another sign of reverence for such an incredible gift), or on the hand. Our faith is expressed through bodily actions, and the most fitting response to the true presence of God is to fall down on our knees and worship Him.

Homily for Ordinary Time 25 - September 18, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 25

September 18, 2022

No More Plastic Man

 

            St. John Cansius was a Polish priest who was a college professor in the 1400s. Along with his incredible intellect, he was a profoundly simple and humble man. One day, he was making a journey on-foot to another town when he encountered several robbers who beat him and stole his knapsack. They brutally asked him if he had anything else, but finally left when he insisted when he had no more money.

            He had walked another mile when he remembered that he had a few coins in a hidden pocket inside of his clothes. Quickly he ran after the robbers and told them that he did indeed have more money, and offered it to them. The robbers were so struck by his honesty that they quickly returned everything they had stolen, and departed with their heads hanging in shame.

            Honesty and integrity should be the hallmark of every Christian. Honesty means being truthful in words; integrity means being truthful in our life. Lies are always from the Evil One, whom Scripture calls the “Father of Lies” – but by contrast, Jesus calls Himself the Truth. Those who follow Him must speak and live Truth.

            So…is Jesus then complimenting this dishonest steward? I have heard many interpretations of this parable, but the one that makes the most sense to me is that both the steward and the master were dishonest, by overcharging these debtors. When the servant is let go, he decides to right the wrong that he helped perpetrate, by bringing down the debts to their rightful amount…which also had the added benefit of ingratiating him to the debtors, guaranteeing a job once he was let go. The master admired the stewards’ shrewdness – the steward may have gained less money from this plan, but he gained something much more valuable: the respect of his peers and hope for the future. In context, this is what Jesus is praising – the steward being willing to make a sacrifice of money for a greater good – as Jesus wants us to be willing to use the things of this world in such a way that we actually pursue the greatest good of eternal life.

            The virtue of integrity, then, orders our entire life to pursue the highest good. That means that we are a Christian in every aspect of our life: our work life is done for Christ; our romantic life is in accords with God’s beautiful plan; our recreation gives Him glory; our school life is done for His praise; even our internet presence is infused with God. Integrity means that we’re the same person on Monday morning and Friday nights as we are on Sunday morning; that we’re the same person with our grandmother that we are with our football buddies.

            It might be easiest to see integrity as contrasted to its opposite, which is being two-faced or duplicitous. But it becomes impossible to wear two faces for long – as the American author Nathaniel Hawthorne once wrote, “No man, for any considerable period, can wear one face to himself, and another to the multitude, without finally getting bewildered as to which may be the true one.” Much wisdom there!

            An older friend of mine used to have a saying whenever he encountered someone duplicitous: “I can see right through you, Plastic-Man.” The idea is that until Christ penetrates every aspect of our life, then our faith is only skin-deep. If our souls are truly transformed by grace, it will necessarily radiate to every aspect, not just our Sunday morning activities.

            My vocation was sparked by a priest who had incredible integrity. His name was Fr. Michael Sliney, and he used to run retreats for high school boys. He was an incredible athlete with a passion for soccer, and he was so much better than all of us high-schoolers. And he wouldn’t go easy on us, either – he would run circles around us with a cutthroat desire to win!

            But one day we were on our monthly retreat, and all the boys were playing soccer. Fr. Michael was standing off the side of the field, with a look of conquest in his eyes. I could tell that he was absolutely chomping the bit to get in. But instead, he did a surprising thing. He turned away, pulled out his Rosary, and began walking down the path praying the Rosary. He thought no one saw him, but I saw him, and I thought to myself – that man loves Jesus more than soccer, more than anything in this world. I want to be like that man. Integrity is being a Christian when no one’s looking.

            Jesus says something interesting at the end of today’s Gospel. He says that if we are trustworthy, we will be entrusted with true wealth. He can only give His greatest spiritual gifts – like intimacy in prayer, overcoming of sin, the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, and so much more – to those who are men and women of integrity, who seek to allow Him to penetrate the depths of their being and who don’t live shadow-lives. St. John Vianney once told the story of a saint who had a vision of Jesus during Mass. As Communion was being distributed, the saint saw Jesus standing before the altar with His arms full of amazing gifts of grace, looking for souls to distribute them to – but He could only give them to a soul who was trustworthy, that is, a soul living in integrity.

            This morning, my challenge is to consider how well we live this virtue. Are there times, places, or situations in our lives where Christ is not yet welcome? And how can we better invite Christ into these places?

            No more plastic men. Let’s be men and women of integrity – Christian, not just in name, but in reality, through and through.

Homily for Ordinary Time 24 - September 11, 2022

 

Homily for September 11, 2022

Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Confession: The Road to Healing

 

            St. John Climacus was a seventh-century Egyptian Catholic monk whose famous book “The Ladder of Divine Ascent” tells many edifying stories of his life in the monastery. He recounts that on one occasion, a notorious thief presented himself to the abbot, hoping to join the monastery. The abbot warned him that, because of his former sinful way of life, he would have to confess his sins publicly if he wished to enter the monastery. The thief, truly desiring repentance, declared that he’d be willing to confess his sins in the marketplace of Alexandria if that meant God would forgive him.

            So, the thief was admitted to the monastery on a trial basis. When Sunday came, the abbot gathered the entire monastery in the church for Sunday Mass, but he interrupted the Mass in the middle of it and called the thief to the center of the church. Strong monks grabbed this former sinner and threw him on the ground before the altar. The abbot struck fear in the heart of all when he cried out, “You are not worthy to enter here! What evil have you done?” Through tears of sorrow the man confessed the most horrible sins – lust, greed, even poisoning others. This public confession went on for some time, with loud wails and tears. When he had finished his public confession, the abbot instructed the monks to raise him up and clothe him with the religious habit (garment).

            Afterward, St. John Climacus asked the wise abbot why he made him make such a public show of his repentance. The abbot replied, “It was for two reasons. First, now that he has suffered the shame of confessing, he will never again suffer future shame for his sins. And second, because some of the brothers in the monastery also have hidden sins, and this will encourage them to confess them openly and honestly, thereby leading to freedom.” St. John replied, “Ah yes, I see your wisdom. And as the penitent man confessed the sins, I beheld an angel holding a scroll of the man’s sins. When each one was confessed, the angel crossed out the sin, until the scroll was completely clean.”

            Thus is the power of Confession! We should be grateful that our Confessions can be private – many confessions in the early church were public confessions, especially if the sin was known in public. It wasn’t until the seventh or eighth century that all Confessions became private – in large part because of the Irish people. When missionaries brought Christianity to Ireland, they found that the Irish were rather unruly people, and they would refuse to confess if it had to be done in public. So the missionaries made all confessions private from that time on, and it became the custom of the Church – for which we are immensely grateful!

            It was Jesus’ will to pour out His mercy and to reconcile sinners to Himself through the Sacrament of Confession. These beautiful parables of the Lord’s mercy show how lavish this mercy seeks sinners – of which we all are. But that Sacrament has fallen out of favor in recent decades – so here are six awesome reasons to go to Confession!

            First, because we need to hear those words “I absolve you.” Imagine that we have hurt a friend. We may feel really bad about it, and regret it, but we’re not reconciled until we hear the friend say, “I forgive you.” In the same way, we may feel bad about our sins and regret them, but we are truly reconciled when we hear those words, “I absolve you” – it is Jesus, through the priest, welcoming us back into His arms!

            Second, because we gain free advice! A Jewish psychologist was once chatting with Cardinal Dolan from New York, and the psychologist said, “If your confession thing really catches on, I’ll be out of a job!” He went on to explain, “I listen to people’s troubles all day long, most of which are caused by bad choices. I give them advice, but charge $200 an hour, and can’t even forgive them at the end of the day!” If I really want to grow in virtue, it is critical to have a spiritual guide to give advice on how to overcome our sins – hence, the role of the priest in Confession, as a spiritual doctor giving advice to the soul!

            Third, to help us grow in humility. The root of all sin is pride, so the antidote is humility. And there is nothing that humbles us like having to confess our failings to another fallen human being. Humility is knowing who we are before God, and who we are is sinners redeemed by the lavish, freeing mercy of God.

            Fourth, we confess so that we become honest with ourselves. We all have a tendency to rationalize away our sins. We say, “I’m sorry I cut that person off in traffic…but they deserved it!” Or we say, “Oh, it’s not a big deal if I miss Mass on Sunday.” But when we honestly confess our sins, we can’t rationalize it away – we have to honestly confront that what we did really mattered – and that we are sorry, and God can forgive it. There is a joke in the church that every Hispanic woman’s confession starts the same way: “Oh Padre, tengo problemas con me esposo!” (Oh, Father, I have many problems with my husband!) And then the wife blames all her sins on her bad husband! But confessions helps us to stop doing that – the problem isn’t with this person or that person, it is with me – and this is the first step toward true freedom.

            Fifth, so that we are reconciled back to the Church. Sin doesn’t just hurt the sinner – it wounds the entire Body of Christ. Certainly many sins directly harm others – perhaps insulting a person, or stealing…but even sins that seem to be harmless, like thinking an uncharitable or impure thought, bring down others because it makes us not as holy as we should be, which makes the Church not as holy as it should be! Taking a bucket of water out of a lake may not seem to make much of a difference, but if a thousand people took a bucket, the water level would drop significantly. Likewise, if we are all saints, the holiness level of the whole church will rise and shine forth…but if we are all sinners, we taint the Church’s holiness. Hence, we need to be reconciled, not just to Jesus, but to the whole Church…which is why we confess to the Church’s minister in the priest!

            Sixth, because Jesus said so! On the night He rose from the dead – Easter Sunday evening – He appeared to His Apostles, and what did He give them? Words of wisdom? A miracle? No, He gave them the power to forgive sins. He said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven.” He gave the Sacrament of Confession to the Apostles, who were the first bishops, who then passed it down through the Church until now.

            Some of us say, “Oh, well, I’m a good person, I don’t need to go to Confession.” But have you ever had a window that you thought was clean, but once the sun started shining directly on it we notice smudges and streaks? In the same way, when we approach the Light of Christ, He reveals the ways that we have fallen short – not to condemn us, but to cleanse us deeper!

            As we begin this new school year, Confession is a great way to make a new start. Before and after every Mass this weekend, Confessions are being offered. If it’s been a while, come to Confession. If you missed Sunday Mass this summer, come to Confession (even before coming to Communion). If you want to grow in holiness, come to Confession. It’s a Sacrament for everyone – because we are all the lost sheep, the lost coin, the Prodigal Son – we are all the one that Christ is seeking.

Homily for Ordinary Time 22 - August 28, 2022

 

Homily for August 28, 2022

Twenty-Second Sunday of Ordinary Time

Hidden Giver

 

            Some of you may know the story, but it’s worth retelling how St. Nicholas became associated with the gift-giving Santa Claus. St. Nicholas was a real-life bishop of Myra, Turkey back in the fourth century, and he was known to be concerned with both the spiritual and the material needs of his flock. One day he heard of a man with three daughters who could not afford to marry them off. Back in those days, a father needed to pay a “dowry” to give his daughters in marriage, but this man was so poor that they had no ability to pay.

            So, according to the story, Bishop Nicholas came to the man’s house at night and threw a bag of gold down his chimney. This was enough for the first daughter to be married. Then, a few years later, he tossed another bag of gold for the second daughter, then another bag for the third. In this way, St. Nicholas became known as a man of vast generosity, leading to his connection to another man who brings gifts down chimneys.

            St. Nicholas – and Jesus – show us the proper way to give: without expecting anything in return, anonymously if possible. This shows that we are motivated by love for God, and not for human praise.

            But this can be challenging! Sometimes in marriage, the temptation is to do an act of service to our spouse…so that we can get something from them. “Honey, I did the dishes for a week, so you should let me go on my hunting trip…dear, I did this or that for you, so I should be allowed a new pair of shoes.” Kids can sometimes do that to their parents – “I’ll do the chores for you as long as you drive me to the mall or get me that new toy.”

            This falls short of the beautiful but challenging ideal of the Gospel. Do we really believe that our hidden acts of service to others do not go unnoticed by God? Do we really believe that He will repay us? So many times we do acts of service or give generous gifts only hoping for an earthly return. But true charity is motivated solely out of love – I love God, and this person is made in His image, so it is worth it to do the dishes for them even if they don’t thank me, or reward me, or even acknowledge that I did anything.

            After all, this is exactly how God acted with us. The Blessed Trinity was completely happy by themselves – they didn’t need anyone or anything, as their joy and delight was complete. But out of absolute generosity, the Father decided to create us – not because He got anything out of it, but simply out of love. He continues to shower so many blessings anonymously – the blessings of food, water, our very life – and so often does not get recognized as the Giver of all these good gifts. And even when He sent His Son to die for us, Jesus did not receive any greater happiness or glory because of His death. Rather, He did it solely to benefit us, with no thought of any benefit for Himself.

            So my challenge to you this week is to find ways to bless others anonymously, without seeking any recognition or thanks – and have the faith to believe that God sees it, delights in it, and will reward us. As St. Augustine put it so succinctly, “Give of your earthly gifts, and receive eternal ones…give earth and receive Heaven!”

Homily for Ordinary Time 21 - August 21, 2022 - Who Can Be Saved?

 

Ordinary Time 21

August 21, 2022

Who Can Be Saved?

 

            St. John Bosco was a priest in Turin, Italy during the mid-1800s. While he was still a seminarian, he befriended another seminarian named Louis Comollo, who was a great example of holiness. The two of them used to read lives of the saints together and speak about the joys of Heaven.

            One day, after a conversation about Heaven, they decided to make an interesting agreement. They swore to each other that the first one of them to die would, if God allowed it, let the other one know whether the deceased one was saved. They even wrote this promise down as a contract, signed it, and told others about it.

            Tragically, Louis fell ill and died at only 22 years of age. The evening after his funeral, St. John Bosco was getting ready for bed when he and his fellow seminarians heard – and felt – a loud rumble like the sound of thunder from out in the hall. It shook the building so strongly that several seminarians actually fell out of bed. They huddled together in terror as the roar got closer and closer. From out of the roar came a voice, which declared, “Bosco, I am saved!” Three times this phrase was said, and then the noise faded away. Everyone was so afraid that even St. John Bosco almost passed out. Later on, Bosco would say that it was the most terrifying moment of his life, and he discouraged anyone else from making such a promise!

            What a joy it would be to be saved! Not only a joy for us, but a joy for the Heart of God, for He is a good Father, and as St. Paul writes, “God wants all to be saved and come to the knowledge of truth.” He invites every human being to spend eternity with Him, and the Church officially teaches that everyone receives enough grace to be saved.

            But is it guaranteed that all will be saved? Not at all. We can always reject that invitation, spurn His grace. In fact, Jesus speaks more about Hell than anyone else in the Bible. It is a reality, and it’s not empty.

            Sometimes as Americans, we believe in an idea called “Universalism” – the false belief that all will be saved. Universalism is the idea that God’s love is so great that at the end of time, even the worst sinner will go to Heaven. But this has been condemned as a heresy since the sixth century.

            So some people believe in quasi-universalism, or as I like to call it, “Not-Hitlerism” – the belief that everyone goes to Heaven unless you’re basically Hitler. But this, too, is not the teaching of the Church. The Church teaches that one unrepentant mortal sin is enough for a soul to lose its salvation.

            Also, the testimony of the Church acknowledges that salvation is not universal – there are souls in Hell. For example, Our Lady appeared to four children in Garabandal, Spain, in the 1960s and the children asked Our Lady where most souls go upon death. She revealed that the majority of people go to Purgatory, a good number go to Hell, and the fewest go directly to Heaven. In the apparitions of Fatima, the three shepherd children saw a vision of a Hell that was quite populated. Saints like St. Faustina, St. John Bosco, St. Theresa of Avila, and many more have had visions of this terrible place of torment.

            So we have to ask the question – why would God send anyone there? He doesn’t. We choose it freely. Love requires freedom. If God were to force us to love Him, it wouldn’t be love. Think of when you were a child and your mom told you to go give Aunt Gertrude a kiss. We would roll our eyes, sigh, and go over and give her a kiss. Is that love? Does it mean a whole lot? No, because it’s not done in freedom. Love requires freedom to be authentic.

            So Our Lord gives us the freedom to accept or reject His love, to accept or reject His grace, to accept or reject His offer of everlasting life. The choice is up to us. Why would anyone choose to reject such a grace? Because it’s costly. It’s the “narrow way” of prayer, sacrifice, self-denial, love…when the “broad way” of the pleasures of the flesh, the arrogance of pride, and the glories of this world are, frankly, more easy and attractive.

            When I was growing up and would go on a Boy Scout campout, my dad was great about making sure I got to Mass. Truthfully I liked going to Mass, and it sometimes helped that I got to skip cleaning up dirty pots and pans to go there. On one campout, my dad picked me up at a certain place, took me to Mass, and drove me back to the campsite, which meant I got to miss a brutal four-mile hike up a torturous mountain. When I arrived back, a fellow scout named Chris asked me, “Where have you been?” I told him I went to Mass. He shot back, “You missed the hike because of Mass?” I nodded, and he added, “I would rather hike forty miles than go to Mass.” I was floored – he would rather do anything than be in the presence of a loving God and to receive His Body and Blood? Sadly yes, and there are many who would rather do anything else than be with God. Some would rather scroll their phones for hours on end than spend a few minutes with God in prayer; many who would rather stay addicted to lust instead of take the steps necessary to be pure; many who would rather buy a Maserati than give a bit of money to the poor. The broad road is easy; the narrow road is hard.

            Now, why do I speak about all this? Because this life matters, as it determines where we will spend the rest of eternity. Don’t indulge these eighty or ninety years on earth and miss out on an eternity with God, our true Happiness!

            But the good news of all this is that God desperately wants us to be saved! He wants it so badly that He died for us to be with Him! And He has given us every tool necessary to be saved. He has given us the Sacraments, especially monthly Confession and frequent devout reception of Holy Communion; He has given us the Bible and the Church to teach us the way to holiness; He has given us the riches of prayer like the Rosary and Adoration; He has given us the examples of the saints; He has encouraged us to sacrifice and deny ourselves for others; He has given us the poor for whom we can do works of mercy.

            All we need to do is use these tools, seek holiness, and stay close to Jesus Christ – and we have nothing to worry about. He will obtain our salvation for us, if we cling to Him. But we must not let these tools sit idle, because the “broad way” of destruction is pretty tempting…but it’s the “narrow way” that leads to life.

Homily for Ordinary Time 20 - August 14, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time Twenty

August 14, 2022

Standing for Truth

 

            Many years ago I was at a Confirmation ceremony with Cardinal Edwin O’Brien from Baltimore. As part of the ceremony, the pastor asks all the kids to be confirmed to stand. They stood up, everyone applauded appreciatively, and then Cardinal O’Brien asked them to remain standing. The cardinal came to the center of the sanctuary and stood there, just looking at them in silence. The seconds stretched into minutes as the kids stood silently, the cardinal stood silently, and things started to get awkward.

            Finally, Cardinal O’Brien said, “Tonight you are standing for something. Never forget Who you are standing for. Please be seated.”

            It was a moment I’ve never forgotten. They were standing, in public, declaring that they believe in Jesus Christ. He is certainly worth standing for.

            As the old saying goes, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.” Unfortunately many people don’t have much more to stand for than for a comfortable life for themselves.

            But Jesus offers us a stark warning: to stand for Him means often to stand alone, against family and friends and society as a whole. After all, we are following a King Who Himself was rejected by His closest friends. Truth is controversial in a world of lies, and so Jesus Who is Truth Itself finds Himself in opposition to the world.

            I love that powerful scene from Jesus’ trial when He stands before Pilate, and Pilate asks Him, “So You are a King?” Jesus responds, “For this I have come, to bear witness to the Truth.” And Pilate asks the age-old question: “What is Truth?”

            Here we have two views of the world: Jesus, claiming to be King and Lord, and Pilate, rejecting that claim. These are still the fundamental visions of the world: either Jesus is Lord, or we are. Either a God-centered worldview, or a secular worldview. Either God established the world and its laws, and we must humbly obey those laws; or we are the ones who define life and marriage and gender and meaning and purpose. Either we submit to the Lord’s loving Kingship, or we rebel against it and do whatever we want. All of our choices and thoughts fall into one of these two categories – either a universe based on God, or a universe with us at the center.

            When there are conflicting visions of the world, we get di-vision – division. Jesus is only warning us that division is going to happen. And many of us have already suffered division because we hold to Jesus as Lord. I have a friend who was peacefully praying a Rosary for an end to abortion at a rally, and a man came up and spit on her. I know a friend who has been open to life and generous with their family size, and they often get snide remarks like, “Are those all yours? You’re done, right? Save some resources for the rest of humanity!” When I told my family I was becoming a priest, my brother (an atheist) commented, “You’re wasting your life!” There will be division because there are competing visions of what the world is.

            But it’s worth it to live for the Truth. In the mid-1900s, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was one of the few people who spoke out against Communism in Russia. He wrote “Live Not By Lies,” an essay that said it was better to suffer for the Truth than to live by lies – he paid for that essay which criticized Stalin with eight years in the Communist Gulag labor-camp, followed by exile. But is it not better to suffer for truth than to live comfortably in lies?

            The people who lived this best were the martyrs. The word “martyr”, in Greek, means “witness” – the more-than-50-million martyrs for Christ witnessed, by the shedding of their blood, that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that Heaven is real. These men, women, and children stood – and died – for Truth. And now they are living in a world where there are no more illusions, no more lies.

            One of my favorite martyrs is St. Thomas More. His death took place in merry old England, under the reign of King Henry VIII. The King hadn’t produced a son with his wife Catherine, so he divorced her and sought to marry his mistress Anne Boleyn. The Pope told him that it was wrong to be divorced and remarried, for in the eyes of God, he was still married to Catherine – a civil divorce doesn’t dissolve a sacramental marriage. In anger, King Henry VIII declared that he would be the head of the Church in England, and required all of his nobles to sign an oath of loyalty, declaring that the King, not the Pope, was the head of the Church.

            All of his nobles cared only about their own political futures and comfort and happiness, and the peer pressure was so strong, that only one solitary man refused to sign the oath – the King’s chancellor, Sir Thomas More. Thomas had a lot to lose – he was the second-in-command in the Kingdom, wealthy, married with four children.

            The King prevailed upon Sir Thomas, begging him to sign the oath due to their long friendship. He promised him wealth, riches, and greater favors. But Thomas knew that the Pope was the spiritual head of the Church, not the King, and he could not violate what he knew to be the Truth. So the King tried to persuade him with torture, locking him up in the Tower of London. The King sent in his wife and daughter, to try to convince him to sign the oath. Imagine how difficult it was for Sir Thomas to see his wife and daughter, whom he loved dearly, and have to choose to stay faithful to Truth. Yet his heart and soul was made up – it was worth it to lose everything to stand for Christ.

            And lose everything, he did. He was eventually beheaded for his steadfast faith, and his final words were, “I die the King’s good servant, but God’s first.”

            He knew that Jesus Christ was King of the World, the founder of the Church, the promiser of everlasting life – and thus, worth dying for. King Henry thought that he, the adulterous king, was the center of the universe.

            My friends, there will be division if we stand for Truth, because we live in a world of competing visions – a vision where Jesus is Lord of all, and a false vision where man is the center of everything. But despite what it may cost, it’s worth it to stand for Christ, to live for Christ, even to die for Christ.