For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/100607.shtml
A priest especially should constantly rejoice in sharing Christ’s power over demons. The power to forgive sins that Jesus handed to His Church is of course a greater miracle than being able to tread upon scorpions and serpents, as impressive as the latter might be. The miracle of the Eucharist, which heals a person to the point of preparing them to inherit eternal life, is likewise reason for great rejoicing on the part of those priests who are configured to Christ so as to make this saving sacrifice present.
Having names written in the kingdom of heaven is of course a greater cause for rejoicing than having power over the demons who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Jesus invites his disciples through Him to enter into the reality of the kingdom of heaven, a kingdom that far surpasses life as we know it on this earth. Because that kingdom is fully revealed and fully present in the person of Jesus, He is the wisdom that has been sought by kings and prophets in all ages. Seeing Jesus is definitive for knowing ultimate and eternal reality. By seeking His face we advance toward the kingdom of heaven from which Jesus was born in the Incarnation and to which He returns at his Ascension. Trusting him with a childlike faith is greater knowledge than all human wisdom combined from the beginning until the end of time.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Homily for Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time
http://www.usccb.org/nab/100507.shtml
We must be willing to preach and to be preached to. Through our baptism, we enter into the priestly, prophetic and kingly mission of Christ. Through Confirmation, especially, we join in the mission of evangelization, of proclaiming who Christ is to others and the abiding presence of the kingdom of God through Him by the witness of our lives. Why does Jesus trust ‘goofballs’ like you and me to represent Him and to continue His mission? I guess because He knows our faith will only become real to us insofar as we are courageous enough to teach it and to share it with others. His message to those who proclaim the kingdom of God in his name is very straightforward in today’s Gospel. Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me and the one who sent me. These are strong words concerning our responsibility to preach the kingdom.
I have to admit, however, that when I hear this Gospel I usually spend way too much time thinking about how I have failed to preach the kingdom, and very little about how I have failed to listen to the kingdom being preached to me. Now I, like everyone, am looking for people who can inspire me or give me new insight into the mysteries of the faith. But what I lack is the ability to give to most ordinary people that I meet the chance to proclaim the kingdom to me. Instead, I usually am intent on sharing with them what I think they need, and then moving on to the next prospect. But woe to me if I fail to see within the lives of others the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and the mighty deeds He is working within the hearts of his faithful.
We must be willing to preach and to be preached to. Through our baptism, we enter into the priestly, prophetic and kingly mission of Christ. Through Confirmation, especially, we join in the mission of evangelization, of proclaiming who Christ is to others and the abiding presence of the kingdom of God through Him by the witness of our lives. Why does Jesus trust ‘goofballs’ like you and me to represent Him and to continue His mission? I guess because He knows our faith will only become real to us insofar as we are courageous enough to teach it and to share it with others. His message to those who proclaim the kingdom of God in his name is very straightforward in today’s Gospel. Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me and the one who sent me. These are strong words concerning our responsibility to preach the kingdom.
I have to admit, however, that when I hear this Gospel I usually spend way too much time thinking about how I have failed to preach the kingdom, and very little about how I have failed to listen to the kingdom being preached to me. Now I, like everyone, am looking for people who can inspire me or give me new insight into the mysteries of the faith. But what I lack is the ability to give to most ordinary people that I meet the chance to proclaim the kingdom to me. Instead, I usually am intent on sharing with them what I think they need, and then moving on to the next prospect. But woe to me if I fail to see within the lives of others the reality of Jesus’ resurrection and the mighty deeds He is working within the hearts of his faithful.
Homily for Thursday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time - Francis of Assisi
For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/100407.shtml
We can tell how much we love something by how much we miss it when it is absent from our lives. I love the Kansas City Royals, and I can tell anyone whenever they ask the last game I went to, and I can speak of excitement about my next opportunity to go watch a game. I can do this mentally, of course, but even my body ‘pines’ for watching baseball; there is a physical or kinesthetic or ‘heart’ knowledge of the thing that I love. I love being in the presence of baseball – Kansas City Royals baseball, specifically.
As Eucharistic people we can tell whether or not the Eucharist is our favorite food by how much our minds and our hearts thirst for the Eucharist, especially when we are absent from the sacrament. Our hunger for the Eucharist even exceeds our hunger to hear God’s word through Scripture, since Jesus Himself in the Eucharist is that definitive word of God. But we get a glimpse of how much we should love the Eucharist by hearing what is was like for the Israelites who returned from exile to be able to listen to the scriptures openly proclaimed once again. They wept for joy, so much did the precepts of the Lord gladden their hearts.
Francis of Assisi taught his followers how to imitate Jesus in poverty – how to follow him without money bags, sacks or sandals. In contemplating the life of Francis, we should realize that our failure to hunger fully for the word of God or for the Eucharist can usually be attributed to our being already ‘filled’ with other things of this world. Francis teaches us through his example of poverty that the things we have take time and energy to use, and it is hard to draw the line between what we own and what owns us. Francis teaches us that the only necessary thing to possess in order to have a good life on this earth is the opportunity to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven with all of our hearts, all of our minds, and all of our strength.
We can tell how much we love something by how much we miss it when it is absent from our lives. I love the Kansas City Royals, and I can tell anyone whenever they ask the last game I went to, and I can speak of excitement about my next opportunity to go watch a game. I can do this mentally, of course, but even my body ‘pines’ for watching baseball; there is a physical or kinesthetic or ‘heart’ knowledge of the thing that I love. I love being in the presence of baseball – Kansas City Royals baseball, specifically.
As Eucharistic people we can tell whether or not the Eucharist is our favorite food by how much our minds and our hearts thirst for the Eucharist, especially when we are absent from the sacrament. Our hunger for the Eucharist even exceeds our hunger to hear God’s word through Scripture, since Jesus Himself in the Eucharist is that definitive word of God. But we get a glimpse of how much we should love the Eucharist by hearing what is was like for the Israelites who returned from exile to be able to listen to the scriptures openly proclaimed once again. They wept for joy, so much did the precepts of the Lord gladden their hearts.
Francis of Assisi taught his followers how to imitate Jesus in poverty – how to follow him without money bags, sacks or sandals. In contemplating the life of Francis, we should realize that our failure to hunger fully for the word of God or for the Eucharist can usually be attributed to our being already ‘filled’ with other things of this world. Francis teaches us through his example of poverty that the things we have take time and energy to use, and it is hard to draw the line between what we own and what owns us. Francis teaches us that the only necessary thing to possess in order to have a good life on this earth is the opportunity to proclaim the Kingdom of Heaven with all of our hearts, all of our minds, and all of our strength.
Homily for Wednesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time
For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/100307.shtml
In today’s Gospel we see why celibacy has become a valuable discipline within the priestly and religious life of the Church. It was one thing for the first apostles to leave their job and whatever families they had to follow Jesus when He called them, but those called to priesthood and religious life today are asked to leave in the beginning even the possibility of a natural family and other careers in order to enter into formation and to try to follow Jesus with singleness of heart.
Even as a celibate, which disposes one favorably to seeking first the kingdom of God, there are challenges to single-heartedness. It is human nature to constantly compare the life one has been given through a priestly or religious vocation with the life one could have built for himself. If thinking about this ‘fantasy’ life consumes too much energy, the celibate will find themselves full of resentment and self-pity rather than joy and gratitude. In this case, the celibate seeks ways to fulfill his desire for intimacy other than wholehearted service to the family of God.
Singleness of heart is a tremendous gift. Finding the one necessary thing is difficult. Everyday we should remind ourselves to seek first the kingdom of God, and its righteousness, confident that everything else will be given to us besides. If we are always looking to what is left behind, there is no way we can say to Jesus – I will follow you wherever you may go.
In today’s Gospel we see why celibacy has become a valuable discipline within the priestly and religious life of the Church. It was one thing for the first apostles to leave their job and whatever families they had to follow Jesus when He called them, but those called to priesthood and religious life today are asked to leave in the beginning even the possibility of a natural family and other careers in order to enter into formation and to try to follow Jesus with singleness of heart.
Even as a celibate, which disposes one favorably to seeking first the kingdom of God, there are challenges to single-heartedness. It is human nature to constantly compare the life one has been given through a priestly or religious vocation with the life one could have built for himself. If thinking about this ‘fantasy’ life consumes too much energy, the celibate will find themselves full of resentment and self-pity rather than joy and gratitude. In this case, the celibate seeks ways to fulfill his desire for intimacy other than wholehearted service to the family of God.
Singleness of heart is a tremendous gift. Finding the one necessary thing is difficult. Everyday we should remind ourselves to seek first the kingdom of God, and its righteousness, confident that everything else will be given to us besides. If we are always looking to what is left behind, there is no way we can say to Jesus – I will follow you wherever you may go.
Homily for Tuesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time - Memorial of the Guardian Angels
For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/100207.shtml
After visiting Vacation Bible School at St. Michael’s parish one morning, I remarked to Fr. Bill the pastor that there seemed to be an awful lot of activity, but that I wasn’t sure the kids were learning that much about the Bible. I’ll never forget his response – learning the Bible is just an added benefit of having all these people here. The most important thing is that they are here, that the Church is their home, and that they enjoy coming here to see their friends. If that foundation of friendship is established, there is no limit to what you can teach them about the Bible and about their faith.
It was the wisdom of bishops in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas that whenever a new parish was established, the Catholic school was built prior to the permanent Church being built. The idea is that if you start serving the children, a strong parish community will follow. After being in a parish for three years, I can really see the truth of this. People care about their kids; they want the best environment for them and will invest in their futures. So a parish that celebrates its youth is a vibrant parish.
Jesus asks us to regard children as gifts from heaven, and to learn from them how to be trusting and dependent. So many of us spend our best energies trying to be independent; the unfortunate result is that our lives become smaller. Children create dependence in a good way. We must always guard against creating a culture where sacramental marriage is rare, and children are welcomed only at the convenience of those who desire them. Jesus warns us against harming children, for their guardian angels always gaze upon the face of his heavenly Father.
After visiting Vacation Bible School at St. Michael’s parish one morning, I remarked to Fr. Bill the pastor that there seemed to be an awful lot of activity, but that I wasn’t sure the kids were learning that much about the Bible. I’ll never forget his response – learning the Bible is just an added benefit of having all these people here. The most important thing is that they are here, that the Church is their home, and that they enjoy coming here to see their friends. If that foundation of friendship is established, there is no limit to what you can teach them about the Bible and about their faith.
It was the wisdom of bishops in the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas that whenever a new parish was established, the Catholic school was built prior to the permanent Church being built. The idea is that if you start serving the children, a strong parish community will follow. After being in a parish for three years, I can really see the truth of this. People care about their kids; they want the best environment for them and will invest in their futures. So a parish that celebrates its youth is a vibrant parish.
Jesus asks us to regard children as gifts from heaven, and to learn from them how to be trusting and dependent. So many of us spend our best energies trying to be independent; the unfortunate result is that our lives become smaller. Children create dependence in a good way. We must always guard against creating a culture where sacramental marriage is rare, and children are welcomed only at the convenience of those who desire them. Jesus warns us against harming children, for their guardian angels always gaze upon the face of his heavenly Father.
Monday, September 24, 2007
Homily for Monday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time - St. Therese of Lisieux
For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/100107.shtml
I was in Paris for the World Youth Days in 1996, and I’ll always remember the huge picture of St. Therese that covered a large part of the façade of Notre Dame cathedral for those pilgrims in Paris at that time. Thanks to Msgr. Krische, the director of the St. Lawrence Center (www.st-lawrence.org) at that time, I was selected as one of two delegates from the United States for the World Youth Days. I’ll always remember the evening when all the delegates from every Episcopal conference from around the world spent a night in celebrating the life of Therese, and seeking her intercession. Her memorial is also special to me in that my first pastor, Fr. Bill Porter, loves St. Therese very much, and always insisted that we pray a novena leading up to October 1st. Then in each of the three years I was in the rectory, I would receive a red rose on the morning of October 1st, a sign that the favor for which I prayed was being granted.
By the world’s standards, Therese lived such a small life, and her early death from tuberculosis would presumably have diminished the significance of her life even further. But anyone who reads the diaries of her soul ends up feeling sorry not for Therese, but for one’s self. Because of her childlike faith, the life of Therese was so big and ours in comparison are so small. Therese, despite her crosses, was able to find a childlike freedom in her relationship with Jesus, and the simplicity of her love allowed her heart to stretch out to all souls in the world.
My favorite part of her diaries is the part where Therese asks Jesus to play with her life like he would play with a red rubber ball. Therese was afraid of trying to become by her own piety that perfect figurine that was doomed to sit on the shelf forever because it is too delicate and too valuable to actually use. No, Therese wanted to be the toy that Jesus played with most often, that toy that he threw around, and got dirty, and left in less that ideal places, but that toy that He used everyday and that brought Him great joy. Through the intercession of this great saint, may we have the grace to ask for this same kind of relationship with Jesus.
I was in Paris for the World Youth Days in 1996, and I’ll always remember the huge picture of St. Therese that covered a large part of the façade of Notre Dame cathedral for those pilgrims in Paris at that time. Thanks to Msgr. Krische, the director of the St. Lawrence Center (www.st-lawrence.org) at that time, I was selected as one of two delegates from the United States for the World Youth Days. I’ll always remember the evening when all the delegates from every Episcopal conference from around the world spent a night in celebrating the life of Therese, and seeking her intercession. Her memorial is also special to me in that my first pastor, Fr. Bill Porter, loves St. Therese very much, and always insisted that we pray a novena leading up to October 1st. Then in each of the three years I was in the rectory, I would receive a red rose on the morning of October 1st, a sign that the favor for which I prayed was being granted.
By the world’s standards, Therese lived such a small life, and her early death from tuberculosis would presumably have diminished the significance of her life even further. But anyone who reads the diaries of her soul ends up feeling sorry not for Therese, but for one’s self. Because of her childlike faith, the life of Therese was so big and ours in comparison are so small. Therese, despite her crosses, was able to find a childlike freedom in her relationship with Jesus, and the simplicity of her love allowed her heart to stretch out to all souls in the world.
My favorite part of her diaries is the part where Therese asks Jesus to play with her life like he would play with a red rubber ball. Therese was afraid of trying to become by her own piety that perfect figurine that was doomed to sit on the shelf forever because it is too delicate and too valuable to actually use. No, Therese wanted to be the toy that Jesus played with most often, that toy that he threw around, and got dirty, and left in less that ideal places, but that toy that He used everyday and that brought Him great joy. Through the intercession of this great saint, may we have the grace to ask for this same kind of relationship with Jesus.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Homily for Sunday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time
For daily readings, see http://www.usccb.org/nab/093007.shtml
I don’t know about you, but this Gospel about the rich man and Lazarus stirs up so many emotions in me. When I think of the man Lazarus with his sores being licked by dogs, I first of course think of Mother Teresa and of her willingness to serve the most destitute in the streets of Calcutta, India. I hope you are praying, as I am, for the rapid canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa. I was pre-medicine while at KU for my undergraduate degree, so part of me likes to think that I could handle caring even for people with open sores, but this Gospel passage reminds me that most of me is like the rich man who passes by as quickly as possible. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, I am more like the priest and the Levite who pass by the opposite side of the road and try to stay on schedule than the Good Samaritan who stops and cares for the man in the ditch. In today’s Gospel there is a dramatic reversal. The rich man is paradoxically much more in need than Lazarus, but this is hidden until the afterlife. The rich man was spiritually blind, and so could not see himself within the life of Lazarus, nor could he believe that the life of Lazarus was as real or as important as his own. This disease of spiritual blindness is much more debilitating to our eternal health than the open sores of Lazarus. The worst disease from which we can suffer, my friends, is to believe that we are self-sufficient.
Abraham does not make a lot of appearances in the New Testament, but plays such a great role in today’s Gospel story. The one whose faith paved the way for Moses and the prophets is the one to announce to us in today’s Gospel story the reality of heaven and hell. Since we believe that there is no salvation except through the grace of Christ, the appearance of Abraham in heaven should get us to pause, at least for a second, to ask why He is there, since Abraham did not know Christ. In our Eucharistic prayers at Mass you and I pray consistently for all the departed, Catholics and Christians and non-Christians, and those whose faith is known to God alone. We pray that Christ’s victory over sin and death will be extended to those who did not have the Gospel of Christ preached convincingly to them, yet responded with sincere hearts to the call to live good, generous and virtuous lives. So seeing Abraham in heaven, who was not baptized while on this earth and did not receive the Eucharist, gives us hope that all men can be saved. Didn’t Jesus say as much, as He pronounced his mission to reconcile all things to the Father, and not to lose anything within that entire creation that was handed over to Him?
But at the same time that the appearance of Abraham gives us hope that all can be saved, even non-Christians, the reality that we can choose a permanent home away from God; namely, hell, is also emphasized. Abraham’s pronouncement that the chasm between heaven and hell is so great that it cannot be passed is a good news, bad news pronouncement. The good news is that our freedom is real, not an illusion, and that God will honor our choice whether or not to love Him. The bad news, of course, is that our freedom is real, and our use of that freedom today has eternal consequences. Abraham’s revelation that one who will not listen to Moses and the prophets will not listen to the resurrected Jesus either shows that the habits we form with our freedom produce lasting fruit. With every choice we make, we either are formed in virtue or in vice. Every good choice we make increases the likelihood of our choosing the good again, and every bad choice we make increases this likelihood of our choosing the bad again. This is the reality of the moral life, the formation of habits of virtue or vice. The parable of the dishonest steward last week puts it this way – one who is faithful in small matters will also be faithful in large ones, and one who is unfaithful in small matters will also be unfaithful in large ones. It is erroneous to think that given one last great chance to choose Jesus on this side of heaven, we will be able to shrug off all our habits of unfaithfulness or addictions to the things of this world in an instant. The rich man has a firm habit of choosing material things rather than using his freedom to love the things of heaven, and it is not until this habit is removed after his death that he is able to see clearly and to choose rightly. As a pastor who has visited many people in the hospital at the end of their lives, I can attest that this is true. Death bed conversions are more rare than those who change very little at the end of their lives. The choices we make today will make a permanent impact on the person we will be at the end of our lives. That is the good news and the bad news of having real freedom.
Is anyone in hell? Well, Satan surely, but after him, it is not for us to judge. Today’s Gospel is not about scaring us into being good so that we don’t go to hell anyway. The fear of God that is holy is not a fear of punishment. It is a fear that comes from having a real relationship with God, and from not wanting to damage this relationship. Especially in today’s Gospel, we are encouraged not to fall to the sin of idolatry by preferring the things that make us rich in this world to the eternal riches of heaven.
I don’t know about you, but this Gospel about the rich man and Lazarus stirs up so many emotions in me. When I think of the man Lazarus with his sores being licked by dogs, I first of course think of Mother Teresa and of her willingness to serve the most destitute in the streets of Calcutta, India. I hope you are praying, as I am, for the rapid canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa. I was pre-medicine while at KU for my undergraduate degree, so part of me likes to think that I could handle caring even for people with open sores, but this Gospel passage reminds me that most of me is like the rich man who passes by as quickly as possible. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, I am more like the priest and the Levite who pass by the opposite side of the road and try to stay on schedule than the Good Samaritan who stops and cares for the man in the ditch. In today’s Gospel there is a dramatic reversal. The rich man is paradoxically much more in need than Lazarus, but this is hidden until the afterlife. The rich man was spiritually blind, and so could not see himself within the life of Lazarus, nor could he believe that the life of Lazarus was as real or as important as his own. This disease of spiritual blindness is much more debilitating to our eternal health than the open sores of Lazarus. The worst disease from which we can suffer, my friends, is to believe that we are self-sufficient.
Abraham does not make a lot of appearances in the New Testament, but plays such a great role in today’s Gospel story. The one whose faith paved the way for Moses and the prophets is the one to announce to us in today’s Gospel story the reality of heaven and hell. Since we believe that there is no salvation except through the grace of Christ, the appearance of Abraham in heaven should get us to pause, at least for a second, to ask why He is there, since Abraham did not know Christ. In our Eucharistic prayers at Mass you and I pray consistently for all the departed, Catholics and Christians and non-Christians, and those whose faith is known to God alone. We pray that Christ’s victory over sin and death will be extended to those who did not have the Gospel of Christ preached convincingly to them, yet responded with sincere hearts to the call to live good, generous and virtuous lives. So seeing Abraham in heaven, who was not baptized while on this earth and did not receive the Eucharist, gives us hope that all men can be saved. Didn’t Jesus say as much, as He pronounced his mission to reconcile all things to the Father, and not to lose anything within that entire creation that was handed over to Him?
But at the same time that the appearance of Abraham gives us hope that all can be saved, even non-Christians, the reality that we can choose a permanent home away from God; namely, hell, is also emphasized. Abraham’s pronouncement that the chasm between heaven and hell is so great that it cannot be passed is a good news, bad news pronouncement. The good news is that our freedom is real, not an illusion, and that God will honor our choice whether or not to love Him. The bad news, of course, is that our freedom is real, and our use of that freedom today has eternal consequences. Abraham’s revelation that one who will not listen to Moses and the prophets will not listen to the resurrected Jesus either shows that the habits we form with our freedom produce lasting fruit. With every choice we make, we either are formed in virtue or in vice. Every good choice we make increases the likelihood of our choosing the good again, and every bad choice we make increases this likelihood of our choosing the bad again. This is the reality of the moral life, the formation of habits of virtue or vice. The parable of the dishonest steward last week puts it this way – one who is faithful in small matters will also be faithful in large ones, and one who is unfaithful in small matters will also be unfaithful in large ones. It is erroneous to think that given one last great chance to choose Jesus on this side of heaven, we will be able to shrug off all our habits of unfaithfulness or addictions to the things of this world in an instant. The rich man has a firm habit of choosing material things rather than using his freedom to love the things of heaven, and it is not until this habit is removed after his death that he is able to see clearly and to choose rightly. As a pastor who has visited many people in the hospital at the end of their lives, I can attest that this is true. Death bed conversions are more rare than those who change very little at the end of their lives. The choices we make today will make a permanent impact on the person we will be at the end of our lives. That is the good news and the bad news of having real freedom.
Is anyone in hell? Well, Satan surely, but after him, it is not for us to judge. Today’s Gospel is not about scaring us into being good so that we don’t go to hell anyway. The fear of God that is holy is not a fear of punishment. It is a fear that comes from having a real relationship with God, and from not wanting to damage this relationship. Especially in today’s Gospel, we are encouraged not to fall to the sin of idolatry by preferring the things that make us rich in this world to the eternal riches of heaven.
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