Feast of Epiphany - The Gifts That Change Us

 

Homily for Epiphany

January 7, 2024

The Gifts That Change Us

 

            Katherine was from a banker’s family, a wealthy Philadelphia heiress who was related to Jackie Kennedy Onassis. Despite her socialite life, her family was devoutly Catholic, and three times a week would open their home to the poor for food and clothing – almost an early 1900s version of a soup kitchen and food pantry.

            With her socialite life, Katherine would frequently take long European vacations where she would hobnob with the rich and famous. She was able to secure an audience with the Pope, who said to her, “You have been given so many great gifts – how are you using them to serve?”

            This struck her deeply, so she came home with a new mission and new direction in her life. She gave away her fortune (which was a considerable $7 million, which would be worth $200 million today!) to found Catholic schools for Blacks and Native Americans. But once she started giving, she couldn’t stop. It seemed too easy to give away money. What could she give that was more valuable? She decided to give away her life and became a nun, founding the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament whose mission was to the poorest in America. We now know her as St. Katherine Drexel, the second American-born saint.

            Giving changes the giver. In fact, Christ tells us that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” Sacrificing something – whether it be time, money, or our very lives – puts love into action.

            I think it’s so significant that these three Magi came bearing gifts. They had no idea if they’d ever find this King, and even if they did find Him, what would He be like? Perhaps He would live in a huge palace with endless riches. But they figured it would be unfitting to encounter a King without offering something.

            And their gifts have rich significance. They give Him gold, because He is the great King of Kings. They give Him frankincense, which was used for worship, both because He is true God and also the Great High Priest Who alone could offer the perfect sacrifice of His life on the Cross. They offered Him myrrh, which was a preservative used for burials, symbolizing that He would follow in the footsteps of all the great prophets and be rejected and killed for His faithfulness.

            But these three gifts also have significance for us. The gold symbolizes offering God our money and possessions. Ultimately every last penny in our bank accounts are His anyway – when we realize that, we find great freedom.

            St. Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier and a Christian back in the late 300s. One cold winter day he was riding his horse and saw a shivering poor man begging by the side of the road. Without thinking, he took out his sword and sliced his cloak in two, handing the poor man half of the cloak. That night, in a dream, he saw Christ standing before him, wearing the half of the cloak he had given to the poor man. Upon awakening, Martin realized that he had to use all of his goods to serve the Lord.

            For us, that means sacrificially giving to those in need, or financially helping the Church in its mission of evangelizing the world. It also means not worrying about finances or housing or work, but placing it all in the Lord’s hands.

            The frankincense, too, is a symbol to us – of giving time to God in worship and prayer. Some of you know the Australian Catholic author Matthew Kelly, whose books are often given out at Christmas and Easter here at St. Jude’s. His conversion was rather unlikely. He was, in his own words, “restless and unsettled” as a teenager. An adult mentor told him, “Your bike route to and from school passes by the parish church. Why not stop in for ten minutes a day?” He began to do just that – and Someone was there to meet him (that Someone, of course, being Jesus Christ in the tabernacle). Day by day he found a growing peace, a clearer mission, and the love of Christ. He later wrote, “The most important things in life are rarely urgent – that’s why we need to be intentional and schedule them.” So true – you think about the things that give life meaning, like spending time with family and friends, growing as individuals, and our relationship with God – we would all agree that these are critical, but so often we are bogged down by our life’s mini-crises that we forget to keep time for that which is most important. As I look out on this Sunday morning, I guarantee that every single person in this church can give God more time each day to sit in His presence, read His Word, and speak to Him from our hearts. Very few of our spiritual lives are as solid as they should be – I challenge you to make a commitment in this New Year to give God more – if you pray for 2 minutes before bed, make it ten. If you pray for ten, make it twenty. Give God more, and see if God doesn’t give you peace and joy in return!

            Finally, the myrrh, that bitter substance, is a symbol of giving God our sufferings. St. Faustina once said, “If angels could be jealous of men, they would be jealous for two reasons: receiving Holy Communion, and suffering.” How many saints have been made simply by suffering well: patiently, joyfully, offering it all up for Jesus! The youngest child on the path to sainthood is Venerable Antonietto Meo, a six-year-old girl who became a saint solely through suffering well. She was diagnosed with bone cancer and had to lose her leg, but she said to her father, “I am very happy that Jesus gave me this problem so that I may be his dearest one.” She also remarked, "Pain is like fabric, the stronger it is, the more it's worth.” Not that suffering itself is good, but when immersed in love, it becomes the finest jewel we can offer to the Lord.

            And these awesome gifts change us. Notice that the Gospel says that the Magi “returned home by another way.” That has a literal meaning – they took a different route – but also a spiritual one. They returned home changed, they were not the same men who started out on the lengthy journey. In fact, according to tradition, when they returned to their country, they abandoned their worship of pagan gods and waited thirty years until an Apostle visited their land so they could fully convert and become Christian. All three of them became martyrs.

            I sometimes wonder if our faith is still so small because we are unwilling to truly give of ourselves to the Lord. As St. John Vianney said, “If people did for God what they do for the world, what great number of Christians would become saints!” Sometimes our relationship with the Lord is transactional – we pray only because we want things from Him. Sometimes it is perfunctory – we do the bare minimum just to check a box. Sometimes it is half-hearted – we love God, but only if it means we don’t have to make any changes in our lives. And we wonder why we never experience Him, or why we make no progress in the spiritual life!

            I challenge you, this New Year, to be unafraid to give fully. Your treasure, your prayer life, even your daily sufferings – offer more of yourself to Him. Perhaps you may even find yourself changed by an encounter with Him.

Feast of the Holy Family - December 30, 2023

 

Homily for Feast of the Holy Family

December 31, 2023

The Blessing of Children

 

            Perhaps the most beautiful – and maybe the most countercultural – teaching of Christ is His teaching on marriage and family. Rather than being a natural union for convenience, comfort, or pleasure, marriage has been elevated by grace to a supernatural union which mirrors the Trinity and is ordered to the holiness of its members. There are so many elements of marriage and family that we could talk about: faithfulness, self-sacrifice, living as a Domestic Church. But I think our readings highlight one element that is quite timely: the blessing of children.

            In the ancient world – really, all the way up to the modern day – children were always seen as a blessing. For Abraham, children would be a visible sign that God was pleased with him. To have children meant that your name would last long after your death; in a sense making your memory immortal. That’s why he was thrilled with the news that he would finally bear a child.

            Sadly, many in our world see children as a burden, not a blessing. This past year, magazines such as Time and Business Insider ran articles entitled, “There’s no better time to be a DINK” – DINK meaning, “Double Income, No Kids.” These articles talked about how many couples are choosing not to have kids so that they can travel, have disposable income and free time, and just enjoy life free of burdens and living, breathing responsibilities. In fact, a 2022 survey of young adults found that 44% said they were not planning to have children! And I get it – kids are expensive. Recent data from the US Government puts the figure at $310,000 per child, not including college!

            But looking at it through the lens of Christ, children are not just a financial and exhausting drain of resources. Rather, it is a privilege to bring another immortal soul into the world and prepare this soul for everlasting life! Parents have the outrageously awesome honor to assist God in His creative act, as He brings another being into existence. While infertility is a tremendous cross for many couples who may be called to a spiritual fruitfulness in matrimony, it is impossible for a Catholic to be a DINK by choice, as children are one of the purposes why God has blessed us with marriage and sexuality. In fact, openness to life is such an intrinsic part of marriage that a Catholic marriage always includes the question, “Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to Christ and His Church?” If a couple says no, then the marriage is actually invalid!

            This does require trust – and He will bless that trust. One of my favorite lines from the Psalms is, “I have never seen the just man forsaken, or his children begging for bread. All the day long he is generous and lends, and his children become a blessing.” It is true – I have never seen someone who is open to life who is not blessed with enough food and clothing. They may not be able to vacation in Tahiti, but the simple joys of a big family more than make up for that.

            Once children are brought into this world, they must be formed to become saints! We all want success for our kids – usually defined as a good job, a college scholarship, success on the sports field. But the ultimate success is to spend eternity in glory with God. As the French writer Leon Bloy said, “The only real tragedy in life is to not become a saint.” How do parents help their children to do that? Three ways.

            First, by prioritizing God as a family. St. John Vianney said, “Religion must be about us like the air we breathe.” It’s not an occasional Sundays-only thing, but something we live out daily. In fact, the Church teaches that “parents are the primary educators of their children in the ways of faith.” We do this by filling our home with crucifixes and religious books, teaching our kids how to pray, and especially by bringing them to Mass every Sunday without fail. Forgive the bluntness, but if we skip Mass (even once!) because we’re busy taking our kids to sports games or dance recitals, then we are committing the mortal sin of idolatry. Whatever we do instead of going to Sunday Mass is what we worship. Young people will never prioritize Christ if parents teach them, by their actions, that sports or dance or robotics comes first, and parents will have to give an account before Christ if they prioritize any earthly good over their children’s spiritual lives.

            Second, parents need to preserve the innocence of our kids. None of us would invite Hugh Hefner or Howard Stern over for dinner…why would we allow our kids to have an unfiltered smart phone in their hands where they can bring such filth into their bedrooms? If parents give their kids a smartphone, they have a responsibility of putting parental controls on it and monitoring it closely. Connected to this, parents have the duty to make sure their kids have healthy, wholesome friends who will keep them on the right path. Teach your kids to love everyone but be discerning as to who will be a close friend.

            Finally, surround your children with examples of holiness. The lives of the saints can give holy heroes to young people – who isn’t inspired by the great missionaries like St. Francis Xavier who converted thousands in the Far East; or the incredible miracles of St. Padre Pio like bilocation and healings; or those heroic martyrs like St. Maximilian Kolbe. But not only the saints – living examples of holiness are critical. I remember going with my dad to his men’s prayer group, and seeing men that I respected – my coaches, our plumber, my friends’ dads – who loved Jesus and were pursuing Him made a huge impact on me. And of course parents themselves must be the best models of holiness. As Pope St. Paul VI said, “Modern man listens more readily to witnesses than to teachers, and if they listen to teachers, it is first because they are witnesses.”

            Almost every set of parents, though, have kids or grandkids who have strayed from the Faith. Have no fear – your role is not over! Now you must pray and fast for your kids and grandkids. Many people tell me, somewhat dismissively, “Oh, well, they’ll come back. The seeds have been planted.” But statistics are showing that more and more young people are not coming back, so it’s not automatic – and we can help bring back our straying children through prayer, fasting, and radical holiness (mere “ordinary kindness” won’t do – we need a life lived radically for Christ to be a true witness!). Their souls hang in the balance – but at the same time, we must never forget that God loves our children more than we ever could, and He is seeking at every moment to shower them with the grace of conversion and holiness.

            St. Therese of Lisieux said of her parents, “God gave me parents who were more worthy of heaven than of earth.” May the same be said of each of us who are called to the joyful, daring task of parenthood.

Christmas 2023 - Christmas is Christ's Mass

 

Homily for Christmas 2023

Christ’s Mass

 

            Back in the early 1800s, a small community of Catholics moved up to Goshen, NY, which at that time was quite the backwoods. They would see a priest only occasionally, as the priest would have to ride horseback amongst many hamlets in the Catskills, some of which were hundreds of miles away.

            However, they were thrilled to have the priest coming for Christmas Midnight Mass in 1847. Although a small congregation, they did the best they could to beautify the church with decorations, candles, and a small handmade manger scene. They all looked forward to the beauty of the Mass.

            But then…snow. A blizzard blew in from the north, covering the village. The people were heartbroken, knowing that the priest would be unable to come for Mass. Nevertheless they made the best of a bad situation and decided to gather in the church at midnight to pray and sing hymns as best as they could.

            The people gathered at a few minutes until midnight, when something quite surprising happened. The bell was rung, and all of a sudden from the sacristy (where the priest prepares for Mass), a priest that they didn’t recognize stepped forth and began the Mass. The people were overjoyed and poured their hearts out to God in gratitude. It was one of the most amazing, solemn, sacred Masses they had ever assisted at. When Mass was over, the priest went back into the sacristy to unvest, and the people waited for the priest to come back out, to thank him and greet him. But as they waited…and waited…and waited, no priest appeared. They went into the sacristy, but he wasn’t there. They then opened the back door – and there were no footprints in the snow. The people were in awe – the priest was clearly an angel of some sort. It was a true miracle, witnessed by dozens – and they were overjoyed that they got to celebrate Mass that Christmas.

            The word “Christmas” itself comes from the Old English for “Christ’s Mass”. It is a holiday that is primarily focused around the Mass and the Eucharist, not the department-store Santa and the fruitcake and the Bing Crosby songs. Consider the connections between Christmas and the Eucharist – Christ was born in the town of Bethlehem – a town whose name means “House of Bread”. He Who is the true Bread from Heaven was laid in a manger – a feeding trough. It is as if He was already making the point that He would be giving us His flesh to eat in the Holy Eucharist!

            Consider, further, the vulnerable love we see in both the Eucharist and the Divine Infant in the manger. In both cases, God purposely makes Himself small and defenseless. He wants so desperately to be near us that He is willing to hide His glory and place Himself at our mercy. His desire to be one of us led to Him taking flesh; His desire to be one with us leads to Him taking the appearance of bread, although it is truly His Body. Just as He was willing to risk rejection, loneliness, and suffering while living on earth, so He is willing to stay in our tabernacles night and day, alone and forgotten, because of His burning love to be close to His people.

            So as we look at this beautiful manger scene – and perhaps you have one in your home – never forget that the same Jesus Christ, God-made-man, is not just a figure constrained to history. No, He is truly alive today – not just in some distant heaven, but in every tabernacle in every Catholic Church in the world, and at every Mass in the Eucharist.

            Never has it been more fitting to sing that Christmas song: O Come, let us adore Him. Yes, the angels and the shepherds and the magi came to adore Him two thousand years ago in Bethlehem. But we have the privilege of adoring Him tonight, truly present in the Holy Eucharist - and not only tonight, but every time we come to Mass – Even when it’s not Christmas, it’s always Christ’s Mass.

Advent 3 - The Mission of the Messiah

 

Homily for Advent 3

December 17, 2023

The Mission of the Messiah

 

            Many people think that “Christ” is Jesus’ last name (“Hello, Mr. Christ!”). But it is not – Christ, Christos in Greek, means “The Anointed One” – it is the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Messiah”. In the Old Testament, three types of people were anointed with oil – priests, prophets, and kings. Christ was anointed, not with oil but with the Holy Spirit, into all three roles – He was the priest who offered His Own Body upon the Cross; He was the ultimate prophet in that He spoke on behalf of the Lord; and He is the King of the Universe.

            And our first reading tells us of Christ’s “mission statement”, as it were. Why did He come as man? What was His mission?

            First, to “bring glad tidings to the poor and heal the brokenhearted”. Notice His mission isn’t to make the poor rich, or to take away suffering. It was to give meaning and purpose to suffering by freely embracing it for our salvation.

            All of us are poor in one way or another. All of us have crosses, struggles, brokenness. I have yet to meet a single human being who is perfectly put together and doesn’t make mistakes. Oh, we fake it a lot and show the world our happy-face, but there is a deep poverty inside us – and this is good because it is a place where the Lord can enter. He doesn’t want to fill our poverty entirely, because then we lose our need for Him. So instead of taking it away, He brings glad tidings – the good news that suffering has value, that it can be united to His Cross, that it will all be redeemed.

            There was an ‘80s and ‘90s rock-and-roll star named Jim Carroll, whose band’s first album in 1980 was called “Catholic Boy”. Right after its release, he was interviewed on the old Tom Snyder show, and they asked him, “Why did you name your first album Catholic Boy?” He replied, “Because I’m Catholic.” He went on to explain, “Catholicism is the only religion to truly deal with suffering.” He told about how he had to accompany his friend who was dying of leukemia, and he felt totally helpless – much like Mary, at the foot of the Cross, had to helplessly watch Her Son broken and in pain. Catholicism isn’t afraid of suffering and death – it redeems and transforms it. So, Christ came to bring glad tidings to the poor – to tell us that our poverty is precious and valuable as it sanctifies us and unites us to Christ’s Cross for the salvation of souls.  

            Second, Christ came to “proclaim liberty to captives and release to prisoners”. Obviously this doesn’t mean to literally open jail doors – but rather to free those who are imprisoned by sin. Sin makes us slaves. Think about those sins that you wish you could be free of, but still find yourselves trapped in – a quick temper, a sharp tongue, a struggle with lust, the cycle of unforgiveness…we are not free if we are a slave to sin. But it was precisely for this freedom that Christ set us free!

            Back in the 1940s, a young Frenchman named Jacques Fesch was on a bad path. He got fired from successive jobs for laziness, abandoned his wife and daughter, and started to live a criminal lifestyle. At a certain point, he robbed a bank, and as he was getting chased by the police, shot and killed an officer. When he was finally arrested, the judge ordered the death penalty for him. At first, his prison term was filled with anger and vitriol – God must not exist if He would allow Him to fall into such sin and be locked in a prison!

            Initially, he refused to allow the chaplain to visit him. But the chaplain was persistent, and slowly he began to become friends with Jacques. The condemned man’s lawyer, too, was a devout Catholic, who prayed frequently for his client. Pretty soon, Jacques began to examine his life and consider how deep his sinful chains were. He experienced a gradual but deep conversion, as he began to beg God for mercy.

            Towards the end of his life, he began to read spiritual books, receive the Sacraments as often as he could, and keep a spiritual journal. He wrote, “This is not a prison cell – this is a monastery” – because he spent all day in prayer in his cell. He apologized to all those whom his actions had hurt, and was so prepared for his execution that he remarked to the chaplain, “Just think, in a few short hours I will be seeing Jesus!” He is now actually on the path to canonization! It took him his entire life, but he finally realized that true freedom wasn’t doing whatever you want, but submitting your life to the sweet Kingship of Christ. Four stone walls weren’t limiting his freedom – rather, he found freedom when the Lord had removed the chains of his sin. If your soul is trapped in the bonds of sin, run to Confession, and experience the freedom of His Mercy.

            Finally, to “proclaim a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God.” The same word in Greek means both “favor” and “grace” – He comes to offer the saving grace that opens the gates of Heaven. Imagine Jesus Christ Himself as a leather purse full of the most precious commodity – grace. He descended from Heaven to distribute that grace to men and women. It was on the Cross, however, when His Sacred Heart was pierced, that grace flowed out – and now that the leather purse has burst, men and women have the opportunity to fill themselves with the endless sea of grace that continually pours out from the Heart of Christ. I hope this isn’t disrespectful, but I think of a pinata and how kids go crazy when it is burst asunder. Likewise, when the floodgates of grace were burst asunder on the Cross, we ought to have that same excitement and fervor in filling our souls with grace! The Sacraments, the Word of God, and daily prayer attach us to the many streams of grace that flow from the Heart of Christ. And when Satan wants to accuse us of our sins, we show Him the grace that we have received – and thus are “vindicated by our God” as the Prophet says. Past sins cannot condemn a man who has washed his soul clean in Confession and fed his soul with the Eucharistic Lord.

            And that is why this is Gaudete Sunday – the Sunday of joy and rejoicing. All of our readings have that theme – rejoicing! Not because we’re going to get presents in ten days…not even because the family is coming in from out-of-town. Rather, our joy must be supernatural – the joy that comes from knowing our lives are given worth and meaning, our ancient bondage to sin is finally ended, and the fountain of supernatural grace has been opened to us – all because Jesus Christ came to save us.

Advent 2 - The Second Coming of Christ, Part 2

 

Homily for December 10, 2023

Second Sunday of Advent

The Coming of Christ, Part 2

 

            Last week I spoke about the return of Christ. We know He is coming soon, but as St. Peter reminds us in the second reading, “Soon” does not necessarily mean within the year, or even within our lifetimes. But when He does come, what can we expect? We see three elements of Christ’s Return within the readings today.

            The first is called the Last Judgment, or General Judgment. At the end of time, every soul that has ever existed will gather in the presence of the Lord, and He will reveal every single consequence of every choice we have made, for good or for ill. The secret prayers, the hidden acts of charity, the private thoughts of judgment, the hidden sins will all be revealed, and we will be able to see how we fit into the beautiful, mysterious plan of God’s Providence.

            Occasionally here we receive a glimpse into such things. I went to seminary with a fellow classmate named Clinton, who complained about everything – the food, the teachers, the buildings – literally nothing was to his liking. His room was next to mine, and we frequently would spend time together, but it gets old being with such a downer all the time. One day we were hanging out and he was complaining, as usual, and I was so frustrated that I said, “Clinton, I’m fed up with listening to your complaints. I’m going to the chapel to pray.” He said in response, “Okay, please pray for me.” I shot back, “No, you go pray for yourself.” Later that day I felt bad about my snappy response, so I apologized, and it was all good. But fast-forward three years. He was preparing to be ordained a priest and he said to me, “I just wanted to thank you for saving my vocation.” I had no idea what he was talking about, so he explained, “Remember that time you told me to go and pray for myself? I took it seriously. I realized I was so miserable in seminary because I wasn’t developing a real personal relationship with Jesus; I hadn’t been seriously praying. So from that day forward I began to pray, and it saved my vocation.” I was amazed at how a comment, which was probably rude and unkind, ended up impacting the trajectory of his life! At the Last Judgment, all will be revealed – all of the consequences of our sins and good deeds. Nothing will be hidden on that day – which is a bit unnerving, and prompts us to live as men and women of integrity, knowing that even our inmost thoughts and secret actions will be known by all!

            Our Scriptures also reveal that this current, broken world will be destroyed, and in its place will be a new heaven and earth. It is not merely mankind who is broken – because we are called to “have dominion” on the earth, we see that it, too, is fallen due to our sin. This is where natural disasters, cancer, and all sorts of disorder springs forth. But at the end of time, God’s new creation will be the earth as it was meant to be, with order and beauty unimaginable.

            We sometimes see glimpses of this in the lives of the saints. For example, in a small town called Gubbio in Italy, there was a wolf that was terrorizing the people. He had attacked many of the townspeople at night and killed several. The people petitioned St. Francis, who was nearby, to help them somehow. St. Francis, after several hours of prayer, received an inspiration from the Holy Spirit of what to do. He went out to the wolf’s lair, and called out the wolf. The wolf came forth growling, and Francis made the sign of the Cross over it and knelt on the ground to speak to the creature eye-to-eye. “Brother Wolf, why must you strike fear in the hearts of these good townspeople, who are made in the Image of God? If they promise to feed you daily, will you live in peace with them?” According to eyewitnesses, the wolf placed its forepaw in the outstretched hand of St. Francis to seal the deal. Francis then preached a sermon to the people, saying, “If we have been filled with fear from the jaws of this beast, how much more ought we fear the eternal and fearsome jaws of Hell!”

            From that time on, the wolf became a welcome friend in the town. When the wolf died some years later, it was actually given a reverential burial in the town’s church. Recent archaeological excavations did find the skeleton of a large wolf beneath the floor of that church! This is such a beautiful example of the order returning to the natural world through the sanctity of a saint – and the entire universe will experience such peace at the end of time.

            A final reality that will occur with Christ’s coming will be the resurrection of the body, which we profess in our creed. It is in and through our bodies that we practice virtue or vice, that we do good works or sin. Hence, our bodies will be reunited with our souls to share in the glory of Heaven or the sufferings of Hell. This body, so broken and weak and frail right now, will someday be made new – to rejoice eternally or to suffer everlastingly. If we use our bodies for God’s glory here, we can expect a reward from Him in eternity. How beautiful it will be to see the Face of Christ with our eyes, to hear the songs of angels with our ears!

            For centuries, people eagerly anticipated the coming of the Messiah – the one who would finally break the ancient curse of sin. And, although it took a while, God remained faithful to His promise in a way we could never have expected – He would send, not a prophet, but His only Son to die for us! In the centuries since, we have eagerly awaited the second coming of Jesus Christ. We can have the same confidence that, no matter how long it takes, God will be faithful and finish His work, bringing all of creation to its exalted and redeemed state. With Christians throughout the ages, we cry out, “Marantha! Come Lord Jesus!”

Advent 1 - The Second Coming of Christ, Part 1

 

Homily for December 3, 2023

Advent 1

The Coming of Christ, Part 1

 

            During the Communist oppression of Russia, parents used to whisper into the ears of their children as they drifted off to sleep, “Do not be afraid, Christ is coming soon.” This did not cause them fear but comfort – amidst the absolute chaos and violence of the Revolution, they had the hope that Christ will win in the end.

            In these past few years, many people have lamented to me about “the craziness of everything that’s going on” – that seems to be a catch-all phrase for so much of the chaos we see in our modern world: war, broken families, addictions, mental illness, redefining everything that once was stable, economic chaos, pandemics…you name it. At a certain point we human beings have made such a mess that we need a Divine Intervention to set things right – which is why, for those who are on His side, Christ’s coming will be a joyous occasion, for all things will be made new when He returns!

            During Advent, we are not only waiting for Christmas, we are also waiting for the Second Coming of Christ. How fitting it is in this northern hemisphere that we await the shortest day of the year, knowing that afterward, the light will return. So as we see Western Civilization drifting into darkness, Christians are able to see it with the firm confidence that the Light will return when Christ comes again.

            Our readings today make it clear that every generation should be vigilant, because Christ may come again at any point. But I think in a particular way our generation is called to vigilance, for several reasons.

            First, if we consider that human history is a storybook telling the story of Salvation History, every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning was Creation and the Fall. The climax was Christ’s death and resurrection, which began the process of bringing the world back to its original glory. The end of the book is when we all live “happily ever after” in the New Creation when Christ returns. We are already 2023 pages past the middle of the book…which means we must be getting towards the end! In fact, we are now about as many years removed from Christ as Abraham was – a ponderous thought!

            In addition, I think there are some elements of our modern world that make this time uniquely ripe for Christ’s return. For example, never before in human history has the a world been so interconnected – someone can post something in Australia and it will be read in Paris in a matter of seconds. While this has been used for great good, Popes Benedict and Francis have often decried what they called “ideological colonization” – the fact that we can now export the worst elements of modern culture around the globe. For example, through the influence of American media, we have exported our materialism into third world countries that at one time were content with their simple lives. Many lucrative grants are offered to third-world countries to provide food and clean water…but only if they promote and comply with first-world family planning (i.e. population control).

            Another element of our modern world that could signal Christ’s immanent return is the widespread atheism and apostasy that has never before been seen on such a large scale. People are leaving religion in droves – we have never before had a culture that is truly secular, as we do now. In fact the word “culture” comes from the Latin “cultus”, meaning worship – it was always some sort of faith that held a culture together (whether Christianity, Islam, Eastern religions, or just the ancient pagan religions that all tribes ascribed to). We now have a world where religion is passe. Since religion no longer binds us together (as the word “religion” comes from the Latin “re-ligare” which means to bind), then the result is relativism – the belief that there are no truths, we can all define our own. Never before in human history has relativism been the prevailing philosophy.

            Finally, although sin has always been there, the sheer magnitude of sin cries out for God’s redemption. On a daily basis, how many millions of people commit the sin of gossip through social media? Every year, over 930,000 unborn babies lose their lives to abortion in America alone – this is more than any war or barbaric society could even conceive of in the past. The amount of bad pictures and videos of sex and violence that a man can look up in an afternoon is more than the most decadent Roman emperor could see in his lifetime. The ease with which one can fall into sin, coupled with the abandonment of God, cries out for His intervention!

            And thus, I feel like we are like the Israelites of today’s passionate first reading: “Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not? Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down, while you wrought awesome deeds we could not hope for!” As Christians our whole lives should be “Maranatha,” the ancient Christian cry meaning “Come, Lord Jesus!”

            Whenever it does come, let us be prepared – our lamps burning, our faith strong, our hearts expecting Him to come and bring about the healing that we cannot. The world will not be saved through politics, laws, or economics – it will only be saved when God radically breaks into human history to return triumphantly – not as an innocent baby, but as a mighty judge who will bring justice for His people who await His return.

            And so we watch and we pray, “Come quickly, O Lord!”

Ordinary Time 32 - Wisdom vs Knowledge

 

Homily for November 12, 2023

Ordinary Time 32

Wisdom vs Knowledge

 

            There was an old man praying the Rosary in a horse-drawn public carriage (which were like buses back in the olden days) when, at a certain stop, a young man got in. The young man, noticing the man devoutly praying the beads, replied, “Sir, do you still believe in that?”

            He nodded that he did, and the younger man launched into a long monologue. “Oh, but religion is over! We don’t need superstition like that any more. We have science, we have reason!” And he began to try to tell the older man about all of the scientific advances that were up-and-coming.

            The older man listened patiently, and they came to his stop. He said to the younger man, “This has been a very enlightening conversation, I would like to discuss this further with you. May I give you my address, and you can pay me a visit to tell me more about this science?” The young man agreed, so the old man wrote his address on a scrap of paper and departed.

            When the old man had disembarked, the young man glanced at the paper and was shocked. It read, “Blaise Paschal, Paris Academy of Sciences.” The young man had tried to explain science to one of the greatest scientists in history, one who also possessed a rich Catholic Faith. Both men had knowledge, but only one of them had wisdom.

            Our first reading is a panegyric to wisdom. Despite all of our advances in science, technology, and learning, our world is rather short on wisdom. What is wisdom? How does it differ from knowledge? How do we grow in wisdom? Let’s examine these questions!

            Knowledge is facts, wisdom is an understanding of how the facts fit into the whole, what it all means. We may know what type of tree that is, but wisdom tells us that the tree is beautiful. We may know how the human body works, but wisdom tells us what it means to be human and what the meaning of our lives is. Knowledge can tell us what the stars are made of, but wisdom stands in awe and wonder at the heavens.

            Knowledge is good, but can be very dangerous when divorced from wisdom. After all, the first sin was to desire the “tree of knowledge” – growing so much in knowledge of all things, both good and evil, so that we would become “like gods”. Even today we see a tremendous temptation to be “like gods” with our knowledge. For example, there is a movement in science called transhumanism which seeks to live forever by merging technology and the human body. The ultimate desire of transhumanism is to download our consciousness onto a hard drive so that our personality lives on a computer, which will never die – an attempt to be like gods, without God! It is also acting “like God” to create or manipulate human life in a laboratory, instead of seeing human life as a free gift from God that we receive with gratitude. It is acting “like God” to develop technologies that cause death and destruction – after Robert Oppenheimer created the nuclear bomb, he famously declared, “I have become Death, the destroyer of worlds” – almost proud of his quasi-godlike powers.

            Wisdom is the proper balance to knowledge. Knowledge asks, “Is it possible to do this?” while wisdom asks, “Is it prudent, just, or good to do this?” Wisdom helps us to see everything in this life in the light of eternity. For example, wisdom understands that money is not an idol; wisdom understands that suffering can be redeemed by love; wisdom sees every human being in light of their intrinsic dignity from God.

            So how do we grow in wisdom? How do we cultivate that understanding of the meaning of life, the proper understanding of all things in light of eternity? Three ways.

            First, study the wisdom of past ages. Every page of the Scriptures is full of rich wisdom of how best to live life. The lives and writings of the saints show us how wisdom is put into practice. Surround yourself with wise people, both those of the past and those alive now, and seek out their wisdom. It’s far easier to glean the wisdom of others than to try to discover it ourselves!

            Second, learn the lessons God is trying to teach us, particularly through suffering. We almost always seek to get out of suffering – be it physical, emotional, relational – but this is a priceless opportunity to gain a new, eternal perspective. What is God trying to teach you through your bad diagnosis? What is God trying to form in you through that difficult boss or challenging marriage? How will your perspective change because of the loneliness, struggle, or pain that you’re going through? Nothing is wasted – all can form wisdom within us.

            Finally, we can grow in wisdom through wonder. We don’t have much wonder in today’s world. We like to have everything under our control, with all knowledge literally in the palm of our hands. But we should also cultivate wonder, which is the antidote to the pride that knowledge can engender. Sit one evening and marvel at the stars. Listen to a beautiful piece of music without trying to critique it. Spend time in Adoration and listen to the Teacher. Wonder makes us realize our proper place in the cosmos – we do not, and will never, know all things, and that is good! As God revealed to St. Catherine of Siena, “I am He Who is, you are she who is not.” It’s good to feel small in the universe!

            Even the most learned scholars in history needed to cultivate wisdom. St. Thomas Aquinas, who was perhaps the most brilliant man to ever live, who wrote literally millions of words about every subject under the sun, stopped writing towards the end of his life, leaving his magnum opus unfinished. When his friends asked why, he told them that he had experienced a vision of Christ Crucified while he was celebrating Mass. He said that compared to seeing the greatness of God, everything he had written was “like straw”. A man of profound humility – and wisdom.

            Knowledge is good – very good. It has immeasurably improved human lives in our modern world. But I fear that we have lost wisdom – we do not understand where we’ve come from, where we’re going, or any meaning behind all this knowledge. But Christ, Who is Wisdom incarnate, wants to balance our knowledge with His wisdom – so that we can keep everything in its proper eternal perspective.