Caritas Christi Urget Nos

Category: Homilies

  • Thursday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time

    Thursday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time

    Today’s readings

    In the aftermath of the great flood, what’s left is what God wants us to know is important: life. Life is the way we participate in the essence of our Creator God. And that life is so important that absolutely nothing could completely blot it out – not even the waters of the flood. What humankind had done to bring on the flood was not enough for God to allow that deed to completely blot out all life from the face of the earth. Indeed, God preserved life in the Ark so that, even in its impure and imperfect state, it could be brought to perfection in these last days.

    These last days came about through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. What the flood could not wash away was cleansed completely by the blood of the Lamb. Unfortunately, Peter and the Apostles did not yet understand that. Jesus rebuked Peter not just because he was slow to get the message, but more because his kind of thinking was an obstacle to the mission. The mission is about life, and nothing must interfere with it.

    We are the recipients of the command to be fertile and multiply. This command is not just about procreation of life, but also about defense of life. No one is to shed the blood of a person, because that person is made in God’s image and likeness. We believers must receive that commandment and actively defend life from conception to natural death. We defend human life because it is the promise of eternal life for us. We cannot miss the mark as Peter did. We must be on board with the mission and let nothing deter us from carrying it out.

  • Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time

    Tuesday of the Sixth Week of Ordinary Time

    Today’s readings

    First, I would like to say that, given today’s Scripture readings, I am very glad it’s not raining right now…

    What strikes me about these readings is that they speak of the fact that we, with our limited human minds and imaginations, often don’t get God. Even those of us who are people of strong faith often miss what God is trying to do in us and among us. Which puts us in company with the Apostles. They lived with Jesus every day, and still didn’t understand what he was trying to say to them. Jesus was trying to warn them not to get caught up in all the things the Pharisees get caught up in, and they thought he was disappointed they didn’t have enough food. Talk about getting your wires crossed.

    Then look at the first reading. We’re only in the sixth chapter of the first book of the Bible, just a few pages from the creation of the heavens, the earth, everything in them, and all of humanity. And already God is thinking this was a failed experiment. Or are we getting our wires crossed again? Maybe the purification of the earth was always part of God’s plan for our salvation. Maybe the new life that came forth after the flood was a foretaste and promise of the new life that would come from the Resurrection of the Lord.

    What we might take away from the Scriptures today is that often things of faith aren’t as easy to figure out as they may seem at first. We might often be missing what God is doing in us and among us. But a second long look at things with the grace of the Holy Spirit can help us to see the salvation in the midst of everything that’s messed up. In the midst of all our calamities, God is absolutely working to bring us back to himself. But we have to pray for the grace to see that.

  • Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Blessed are they who hope in the Lord

    Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Blessed are they who hope in the Lord

    Today’s readings

    When I was growing up, I always liked the “Peanuts” comic strip. Some of the best were the ones that started with “Happiness is…” So they would show pictures of Peppermint Patty hugging Snoopy with the caption “Happiness is a warm puppy” while another said, “Happiness is a good friend.” I think those cartoons were so appealing because we all naturally want to know how we can be happy, and most of us spend a good deal of our lives trying to figure that out. Often we will try one thing or another to see if it will make us happy. Maybe a self-help book here, or a TV Infomercial get rich scheme there. Maybe we’ll do whatever Oprah or Dr. Phil tell us will make us happy, or perhaps we’ll go power shopping. Maybe we will look for happiness in relationships that are not life-giving, or in owning things we do not need. Perhaps happiness is waiting for us in the right career, or the right school. But all too often we will become frustrated by the lack of happiness all these ideas give us, and then we mask the frustration and unhappiness in some kind of addiction. Happiness can be a rather elusive thing if we let it be.

    Today’s Liturgy of the Word is, in some ways, a reflection on what happiness is. We hear the readings today talk a lot about blessedness, and when the Scriptures speak of blessedness, they are talking about happiness. In the Hebrew of the Old Testament, the word is ‘esher, and in New Testament Greek it is makarios. Both of those can be translated “blessed” or “happy.” These ancient languages and cultures made a very strong link between the concept of being happy, and the blessings one had received. There’s even a sense of that in our own words. Dictionary.com has as one of its definitions of blessed, “blissfully happy or contented.” The elusive pursuit of happiness throughout time has included the idea of having been blessed by someone.

    But today’s Scriptures don’t quite go there. Today we hear the idea of happiness as a choice – our choice. We are given the choice of happiness and blessing or woefulness and curse, and we have the freedom to choose either path. Now the first reading from the prophet Jeremiah starts out with the rather ominous “thus says the Lord…” Usually that is followed by some foreboding of doom or prediction of dire consequences for impure behavior. But that’s not what we get in this reading. Here, Jeremiah speaks to a people who had been through exile and oppression, and he speaks words of comfort to them. But these words of comfort are more the like of tough love. His hearers are given two possible paths to follow: one can trust in human beings, or one can trust in the Lord. Guess which one is the right answer? Trusting in the power of people is what got them into trouble in the first place – that kind of nonsense will only bring them continued curse. But, those who trust in the Lord will find themselves blessed and fruitful, drawing their life from the ever flowing waters of the grace of God. But they have to choose one way or the other.

    Now we’ve all heard the Beatitudes before. But we are perhaps more familiar with Matthew’s version of them, which foretells blessing for the pure of heart and peacemakers and all the rest. Luke has just four beatitudes of blessing, but contrasts them with beatitudes of woe. These parallel quite closely the idea of curse and blessing we hear in Jeremiah’s reading. Those who are blessed – the happy ones – are those who choose to find their strength in God. Those who rely on themselves or other human beings or anything that is not God will find themselves filled with woe. What is so incredible about these beatitudes is that they are completely counter-intuitive. One would expect to be completely happy if one were rich, filled up, joyful and laughing, and well-spoken-of. But that’s not how it works in the Kingdom of God. Those filled ones are also filled with woe. Why? Because there is nothing in them left to be filled with the presence of God. Now, those who are poor, hungry, weeping and hated have all the room inside them in the world, and that can be filled with the incredible blessing of God. These will find themselves completely happy indeed. But one has to choose that path.

    The point that we absolutely have to get here – the point that I want you to take away even if you hear nothing else today – is that when we look for happiness anywhere else than in the blessing of God’s presence in our mind, we will always be ultimately unsuccessful. So part of today’s reflection on happiness has to find us taking a long, hard look at ourselves. I have to admit that I had the hardest time figuring out today’s homily. When I prayed about it, I found that there were indeed areas where I was looking for happiness in something far less than God, and I was resisting going there. When we reflected on this reading in our staff meeting on Friday, one of the staff said that it was hard to hear this version of the beatitudes because it was like a mirror was being held in front of you, and you found yourself having to see the mistakes and imperfections and flaws in your life. And she was right, that’s exactly what these readings are doing in us.

    So if you found yourself squirming a bit as woe was foretold to the rich, or to those filled up, or to those laughing or well-spoken of, then I think you’re starting to get the message. If we who are extremely blessed in our lives are so rich or filled up or jovial or well-spoken of that we find ourselves ignoring the cries of the poor, the hungry, the grieving and the oppressed, then we have some work to do in our spiritual lives. And work on it we better, or we will absolutely find ourselves ultimately, and perhaps eternally, unhappy. That’s what we hear in today’s readings.

    So are we finding our happiness in enough money, the right job, the best toys, the finest food, drink and entertainment? Those things aren’t bad in and of themselves, but if that is the ultimate goal of our lives, then we have to hear in today’s Gospel that we’ve got it all wrong. St. Ignatius spoke often of detachment, meaning the ability to have things but not center our lives around them, or even the ability to give them up if necessary. Today’s Liturgy of the Word impels us to look at the things we are attached to, and to give them up if they are ultimately keeping us from God.

    The Protestant Theologian Reinhold Niebuhr famously spoke of this in his “Serenity Prayer.” We’ve all heard the first part of it:

    God grant me the serenity
    to accept the things I cannot change;
    courage to change the things I can;
    and wisdom to know the difference.

    But maybe you haven’t heard the rest of that prayer. Listen closely:

    Living one day at a time;
    Enjoying one moment at a time;
    Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
    Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world
    as it is, not as I would have it;
    Trusting that He will make all things right
    if I surrender to His Will;
    That I may be reasonably happy in this life
    and supremely happy with Him
    Forever in the next.
    Amen.

    What is going to have us living supremely happy with God forever in the next life? Living and enjoying one moment at a time, accepting hardship, and dealing with the world as it is. But even more than that, happiness comes in trusting God to make everything right. So if we find ourselves in the woeful condition of poverty, hunger, grief and oppression, we can indeed look forward to great happiness in God.

    What these readings are calling us to do is to stand in front of that mirror and take a long, hard look at ourselves. If we see in that reflection any attachments that have us neglecting God or others, it’s time to ruthlessly cut them out of our lives. Lent is coming in just over a week. Maybe we will see in that mirror something we need to give up. I know everyone wants to hear me say that you don’t have to give anything up for Lent as long as you do something nice for others and try to be a good person. But that kind of advice is spiritual garbage, and you can hear that kind of thing from Oprah and Dr. Phil – you don’t need to hear me say it. You’re supposed to do something nice for others and be a good person all the time. Lent is an opportunity and a call to look at your spiritual life and get right with God. It is a time to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel as we’ll hear on Ash Wednesday. So please hear me say that if there is something in that mirror that is keeping you attached to something other than God, you absolutely have to give it up, and giving it up for Lent is a good start.

    We have before us two paths. Going down one, you will trust in yourself and others. This is the path that leads to woe. Going down the other, you will trust in God alone. Those who trod this path will be truly blessed, truly happy. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

  • St. Scholastica, Virgin

    St. Scholastica, Virgin

    Today’s readings: Songs 8:6-7, Psalm 148, Luke 10:38-42

    Today’s Saint (more)

    scholasticaWe are told in the Gospel today that “Mary has taken the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Much the same could be said about St. Scholastica, whose memorial we celebrate today. St. Scholastica is known as the sister of St. Benedict. Some traditions speak of them as twins. St. Gregory tells us that Benedict ruled over both monks and nuns, and it seems as if St. Scholastica was the prioress of the nuns.

    Often times we have heard about siblings who are very close in kinship, particularly if they are twins, so close that they know each other’s thoughts and share each other’s emotions. Not much is known of St. Scholastica except what we have from St. Gregory, and his account tells us of a spiritual kinship between she and Benedict that was extremely close. They would often meet together, but could never do so in their respective cloisters, so each would travel with some of their confreres and meet at a house nearby. On one occasion, the last of these meetings together, they were speaking as they often did of the glories of God and the promise of Heaven. Perhaps knowing that she would not have this opportunity again, Scholastica begged her brother not to leave but to spend the night in this spiritual conversation. Benedict did not like the idea of being outside his monastery for the night, and initially refused. With that, Scholastica laid her head on her hands and asked God to intercede. Her prayer had scarcely ended when a very violent storm arose, preventing Benedict’s return to the monastery. He said: “God forgive you, sister; what have you done?” She replied, “I asked a favor of you and you refused it. I asked it of God, and He has granted it.”

    Three days later, Scholastica died. St. Benedict was alone at the time, and had a vision of his sister’s soul ascending to heaven as a dove. He announced her death to his brethren and then gave praise for her great happiness. Like Mary in today’s Gospel and like St. Scholastica, we are called to spend our days and nights in contemplation of our Lord and discussing his greatness with our brothers and sisters. If we would do this, we too might find as the writer of the Song of Songs that deep waters cannot quench the great love we have for Christ and for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

  • Thursday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time

    Thursday of the Fifth Week of Ordinary Time

    Today’s readings

    Today’s Scriptures speak of the dignity and importance of women in the life of the world and of the Church. The first reading, of course, speaks of the creation of the first woman. She is not named, but is referred to as “woman” because “out of “her man’ this one has been taken.” The story is familiar: the man is put into a deep sleep and one of his ribs is taken and closed up with flesh. From this rib bone, the woman is fashioned. That the woman was formed from part of the man indicates the close partnership that exists between them: they are of one and the same flesh, created by one and the same God. This act of creation also creates a very important partnership: men and women are meant to be together, and their union is a sacramental sign of the life, breath, love and creating power of God.

    The second woman we meet is the Syrophoenician woman in today’s Gospel. The Gospels have a male-centric view that tends to say little about women, but this woman makes an impression. Her faith that Jesus can heal her daughter, and her persistence that he would hear her prayer, give us a model for our spiritual lives. For us disciples, a strong faith in Christ means never questioning his ability to act for our good, and never letting anything – not even the technicalities of a perceived mission – get in the way of acting on that faith. We too are called to steadfast faith, and persistent prayer.

    It is only with the creation of the woman that the creation of the world and all that is in it is complete. The woman completes God the Creator’s vision for the world, and now everything and everyone is in place for the praise and glory of God. Looking at the women in today’s Liturgy of the Word, we should give praise for the completeness of God’s creating power, and renew our faith and the persistence of our life of prayer.

  • St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr

    St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr

    Today's readings | Today's saint (more)

     

    agatha.jpgHistorically speaking, we know almost nothing about St. Agatha other than the fact that she was martyred in Sicily during the persecution of Decius in the third century.  Legend has it that Agatha was arrested as a Christian, tortured and sent to a house of prostitution to be mistreated. She was preserved from being violated, and was later put to death.  When Agatha was arrested, the legend says, she prayed: “Jesus Christ, Lord of all things! You see my heart, you know my desires. Possess all that I am—you alone. I am your sheep; make me worthy to overcome the devil.” And in prison, she said: “Lord, my creator, you have protected me since I was in the cradle. You have taken me from the love of the world and given me patience to suffer. Now receive my spirit.”

     

    The stories of the early virgin martyrs like Agatha do two things.  First, they remind us of the unsurpassed greatness of a relationship with Christ.  If they could believe in Christ when it would have been so much easier—and life-saving—to do so, then how can we turn away from God in the trying moments of our own lives, those trials which pale in comparison to the martyrdom they suffered?  But even those relatively minor sufferings which we may bear can be the source of our salvation.  We should look to the saints like Agatha to intercede for us that we may patiently bear our sufferings and so give honor and glory to God.  Second, these stories always point to Christ.  Even though we could get caught up in honoring a saint who stood fast for the faith to death, still that same saint would have us instead be caught up in honoring Christ, the one who was their hope and salvation. 

     

    May our prayer in good times and bad always be the same as that of Agatha:  “Possess all that I am—you alone.”

     

  • Thursday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time

    Thursday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time

    Today’s readings

    Fr. Ted quotes this reading often to point out that that two of us are like those Jesus sent out to preach repentance in today’s Gospel. Usually that means more work for me!

    But in this short reading from Mark, Jesus tells us three things about our mission as disciples. First, we don’t do it alone. Ministry is never something that we do by ourselves. True ministry is never a matter of our personal preference or even of what we personally think should be done. True ministry is a calling, and that calling involves the whole Church. We can’t be disciples all by ourselves. That fact helps to keep us authentic, and it also gives us support. Jesus sent them out two by two for a reason.

    Second, we can’t be too worried about what we take with us on the journey. Too much stuff just weighs us down and keeps us from doing what we are called to do. And if we make sure we have everything we’ll ever need for the journey, then we don’t have to rely on God. Which is totally backwards, because all we need for the journey is God anyway! With God’s presence on the journey, we will never be without anything we need.

    Finally, the mission is about repentance and conversion. Now, just as it was back then, the need for conversion in our world is huge. We are the ones who need to call people to repentance by living authentic lives and by speaking the truth in love. It is our calling to be the voice calling people back to the Lord.

    Our mission is to call people to repentance by living authentic lives within the community of the Church, trusting in God for the words and the grace. If we would not be afraid to do that, we too could drive out many demons in Jesus’ name.

  • Monday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time

    Monday of the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time

    Today’s readings

    We could look at today’s Gospel reading as an interesting miracle story of Jesus casting a demon out of a long-possessed man. But I think we should dig a little deeper than that this morning. Because many of us, I think, have to tangle with the unclean spirit from the tombs that infests us from time to time. If you’ve been in that situation, you probably can relate to having chained that spirit down with mighty strong chains, only to have them smashed to pieces. Then that unclean spirit starts crying out once again and injuring us in the process.

    For some, that demon is some kind of addiction. Or perhaps it’s a pattern of sin. Maybe it’s an unhealthy relationship. Whatever it is, there is nothing we can do to stop it all on our own. None of us is strong enough to subdue it. It is instructive that, when Jesus asks the demon what his name is, the demon responds in the plural: “we are Legion.” Indeed, legion are the demons that can torment us, legion are the past hurts and resentments, legion are the sins, legion are the broken relationships.

    When we find ourselves in that state of affairs, we have to know that human power is useless to subdue our demons. We have to do the only thing that works, which is to beg Jesus to cast those demons out. I often tell people in Confession that it’s okay to pray for yourself and that God doesn’t expect us to subdue our demons on our own. Jesus is longing to cast out our legion demons, all we have to do is ask. The voice of the psalmist today sums up the peace that can come from this Gospel: “Let your hearts take comfort, all who hope in the Lord.