[The deacon was preaching this week, so no vid. Here are my thoughts on this week’s gospel. I’ll be in Girdwood at Our Lady of the Snows this evening for the 6:00 Mass if you are in the neighborhood.]
If there is any time in society when we needed strong dads, it is now. Of course, it was not all that different in the days of Jesus either. God knew the times and he knew the situation into which the Word would be made flesh. He knew that Jesus would need a strong dad. He found such a dad in Joseph.
We don’t know much about Joseph’s personality from the scriptures, but we can learn a lot about him from his actions.
I’ve often preached that “Life is messy, and God is faithful.” Nowhere is this more true than how Jesus came into the world. It could have been neat and tidy. He could have waited until after Mary and Joseph were married. But he didn’t. He showed up early. That was messy! The precept of the law that is often referred to in this situation is Deuteronomy 22:16-22. Although it is unclear if or how this could be enforced, this precept says that the woman was to be dragged before her father’s house and stoned to death. Regardless, we know that Joseph was kind because he did not wish to expose her to shame.
But like dreams of Joseph the Patriarch, the dream of Joseph assures him that this is the Lord’s doing, that God’s plan is unfolding in his midst, and he has an essential part to play in that plan. He acts in faith. There is a Yiddish expression that says, “Man makes plans…God laughs!” It was certainly true for Joseph, and it is true for each of us. How many times have we thought we had it all figured out only to have our plans change in ways that we could not imagine. Often it is only in looking back in reflection that we see how the hand of God was guiding not to where we wanted to be, but rather to where we needed to be.
We need the faith of Joseph in our world today. This is the faith that prayerfully perceives the plan of God unfolding in our lives and realizes that we each have a part to play in that plan. I want that kind of faith. I want the faith of Joseph.
Hey, it’s Gaudete Sunday, where we take a break from the penance of the season and put on the ROSE (not pink) vestments.
It reminds me of that fellow who was chatting with his neighbor. He was saying that he was worried that he was getting forgetful, so he was taking a memory course.
“That’s very interesting,” his friend says, “What kind of course is it?”
“It’s associative,” he replies. “If I want to remember something I associate it with something else. That way I don’t forget it.”
“That’s very interesting,” his neighbor says, “What’s the course called?”
He stops for a moment and says, “I knew you were going to ask me that. Hold on, it’s like a flower, long stem, thorns, and a bud on the end.”
“You mean a rose?”
“Yeah…hey, Rose! What’s the name of that course I’m taking?”
You laugh, but I’ve got my 40th high school class reunion coming up this summer…right in the middle of fishing season!
But reunions are a great way to get reconnected with old classmates.
How many times has this happened to you? It’s a few years out of school, and you run into someone from high school. You recognize each other. But the conversation goes like this…
“So…it’s great to see you! How are you doing? Yeah, I’m great. Are you living around here? Great….great…yeah, me too….yeah, great.
And you keep stalling because you just can’t remember their name!!!
It looks like John the Baptist is having a senior moment . In Chapter 3, at the Baptism of Jesus, there is the voice from the cloud that said, “This is my beloved Son…” Now, here in Chapter 11, he doesn’t even seem to know who Jesus is. “Are you ‘he who is to come?’” What’s up with that?
Our clue, of course, is in Jesus’ reply to John’s messengers. The blind regaining their sight, the lame walking, lepers being cleansed, the deaf hearing, the dead being raised, the poor having the good news proclaimed to them…all these are definitive signs of the Messiah. Jesus could simply answer them, “Yep, I’m the guy.” Instead, he lets his actions do the talking.
Just this past week I got a good lesson in the old adage: “People will seldom remember what you say, but they will never forget what you did and how you made them feel.” So it was with Jesus. So it should be for us.
In the second part of today’s gospel passage there is a line that just leaps out at me, “…among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”
Sometimes we might feel like we are the least in the Kingdom. It amazes me that Jesus would say that even at times like that, folks like us are greater than John the Baptist was at that time.
Still, it makes sense when you think about it for awhile. The Church firmly believes that all old testament prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. John was the last and greatest prophet of the old covenant. He even preached its fulfillment in the person of Jesus and got to see Jesus with his own eyes. Even so, the new covenant of grace is of such a higher order that even the least of those of us who are baptized into Christ would be considered greater than John the Baptist. Mind blown!
Gaudete Sunday is a day to rejoice. John saw the fulfillment of his hope in the person of Jesus and he leapt in the womb for joy. Advent calls us to rejoice that the fulfillment of our hope is near as we await the coming of the Lord in glory at the end of the age.
John the Baptist just fascinates the heck out of me. He is at once terrifying and compelling. Like that scene in the movie you just don’t want to see, yet you cannot look away, even as you squish yourself deeper and deeper into your see and cover your eyes. Why is this so?
Let’s put him into context. John was the last and the greatest of the prophets. To understand him, it’s important to understand what prophets were all about. First of all, it’s important to remember that while prophets prophesied, their primary vocation was not to tell the future. Rather, they were seen literally as the mouthpiece of God. God spoke through them. The kings and rulers of Israel were anointed by God through the prophets. (See 1Samuel 16 , 1-13.) The prosperity of the kingdom depended on fidelity to the Covenant. Therefore, eccentric as prophets were, they had complete access to the halls of power. The primary role was to be the conscience of the nation, the voice of God calling the leaders and the people to fidelity to the Lord.
Sometimes the leaders of the people were not faithful. At this point the prophets would chastise the leaders to amend their ways or, they prophesied, God’s people would face dire punishments. These punishments were imposed so that the leaders would reform their lives and society and return to the Lord. When they did, the prophets would prophesy great benefits for the people and the return of a true, just, and righteous king. As much as the leaders and the people may or may not have wanted to hear what the prophet had to say, their faith in God compelled them to listen to what God was saying through him.
Now let’s fast forward to the setting of today’s gospel passage.
It was a tough time for the Jews in the days of Jesus. Palestine had been under Roman occupation for several generations. Now the people were once again looking forward to deliverance, and the coming of a new Messiah who would establish the Kingdom of Israel once again.
Enter John the Baptist.
As the last and greatest prophet, John is doing what prophets do. He is announcing the coming of the ultimate Messiah, exhorting the nation to fidelity to the Lord. Thus, he urges the people to get their lives in order in preparation for his coming, especially the religious leaders – “to make straight the way of the Lord.”
John’s message to them is a good message for us this Advent. What are some of the ways we can “prepare the way of the Lord” in our homes and our hearts. We do so in two ways, practically and spiritually.
Practically, I always advocate the “Advent Purge.” Get rid of all the physical clutter in your dwelling. Are there good coats you have not used in a year or two? Donate them to the warm clothing drive. Are there things that have been taking up space in your garage for years? Give them away or get rid of them! At the very least, clean out the junk drawer in the kitchen!
Next, get rid of all the spiritual clutter in your life. Start first with a good confession. We have several confessors coming the third week of Advent who have no idea who you are. What a great opportunity to avail yourself of the sacrament.
After that, take a good inventory of your time. Are there things that are stealing your time so that you don’t have time as a family or as an individual to pray? If so, it’s time to make adjustments, no excuses.
Make no mistake, the Lord is coming again in glory, maybe even before Christmas. The time is short. We need to be ready. Now is a good time for a good practical and spiritual inventory. Let us prepare our parish, our homes and our hearts so that Christ may find us ready to welcome him when he comes.
Greetings, Superfriends! This week we celebrate the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. That’s a pretty exalted title, but one that is well deserved. What does it mean to acknowledge that Christ has dominion over us, and especially our hearts? How does the Church show us that the Kingdom of God is quintessentially different from any earthly kingdom or authority? Each homily was a bit different this week, but the essentials are below. The video is from the 5:00 Vigil Mass.
Thy Kingdom Come – Vid from the 5:00 Vigil Mass
[The King Spud Joke.]
It is a very perplexing sort of juxtaposition. On the one hand we are celebrating the Solemnity of Our Lord Christ the King of the Universe. On the other hand, we have this gospel reading from Luke 23:35-43, where Jesus is hanging on the Cross and the good thief asks him to remember him when he comes into his kingdom. Jesus’ answer is “This day you will be with me in paradise.”
There’s a lot to unpack here.
First of all, what does it mean to acknowledge Christ as King? This is difficult for us Americans because we got rid of our monarchy 246 years ago. It helps to remember that a monarch had dominion. This means he had authority over the land and everything and everyone on it. But he did not own it. It was given to him by God to be placed under his care. At his death a king would be judged on how the land and the people prospered materially, culturally and morally under his care. He was a steward, not an owner.
This feast was established relatively recently by Pope Pius XI in 1925. He did so to emphasize that, in the face of the rising secularism of our day, it is Christ who is sovereign over all creation, including every human person. The feast also has an eschatological dimension. At the end of the age, the Kingdom will be established in fullness and Christ shall reign supreme. This is why it is celebrated on the last day of Ordinary Time, on the threshold of Advent, when we contemplate the second coming of Christ in glory.
Second, dying a brutal death by an incredibly cruel method of execution does not seem to be the way to establish the Kingdom. As we will see in May when Charles III is crowned King of England, it is usually done with great pomp and circumstance and lots of fancy clothes and shiny things. What was it about Jesus that allowed the thief on his right to see who Jesus really was, even in the midst of his own suffering? That is a faith that looks into eternity. THAT’S the kind of faith that I want!
Third, Jesus’ answer to the thief lets us know that the Kingdom is not just some distant, future reality. It is something that we can experience “today.” This is cause for reflection. There is an immediacy to the Kingdom, its benefits, its responsibilities, and our role in helping it unfold in the present day.
One thing is obvious. The Kingdom of God is very different from any kingdom on this earth. It bears none of the trappings of this world and thus transcends the vagaries of this world. So much so that even a dying, repentant thief could recognize the King of the Universe as he hung upon the Cross.
What’s the key? Quite simply, the Kingdom of God is not made of bricks or stone or pomp or circumstance or lots of shiny things. It is made up of relationships. Relationships with God and with one another.
Relationships are not rocket science. If you want a relationship to grow, you give it two things.
1. Time, and
2. Attention
If you want your relations with Christ to grow,
You give it time and attention
Once again, I say, “If you cannot find ten minutes a day for private prayer with Our Lord, your life is out of control and you need to make adjustments…no excuses.”
If you want your relationship with your spouse, your family, your friends to grow
You give it time and attention.
Very few relationships end because of conflict
Conflict is simply a symptom.
Very many relationships die because of neglect.
This coming year we are preparing for my 40th class reunion. Quite frankly, we are just amazed at how many of us are still alive.
But here’s a good exercise. Go back and pull out your high school yearbook from your senior year.
Count how many people wrote in your book that you would always stay in touch. Think about how many times you wrote that in the yearbooks of others.
Where are those people now?
Very few relationships end because of conflict
Very many relationships die because of neglect.
If you want a relationship to grow, give it time and attention.
If I was the Evil One, I would try to steal your time.
I would fill your life with so many good things.
Not bad things
Good things:
Career, responsibilities, hockey, soccer, volleyball, dance, video games, even volunteering…you name it, so that you would not have time to give attention to the essential relationships….to what really matters.
The Kingdom of God is built of relationships
In fact, we even describe it in terms of the most intimate relationship that we humans can have with one another,
We call it being in full communion
with God and with one another in the Church
In this holy communion, who I am is intimately joined at the very level of being with who God is
And who you are as the body of Christ.
This is celebrated in the Eucharist as we celebrate and receive holy communion from this very altar.
Virtue deepens this communion
Sin injures or severs this communion
Reconciliation restores this communion.
In the end, it is not our stuff that we take with us when we leave this earth
It is the relationship we build while we are here
Our communion with Christ and with one another.
This is our treasure in heaven.
It’s all about trajectory.
And it begins now
The Kingdom of God is close at hand
Because you and I are close at hand.
Let us build these relationships with Christ and one another
while there is still time
So that we may say today and every day into eternity
I always thought Advent was a season of prayerful preparation for Christmas, but our deacon said that Advent is also a penitential season. Is that why the color of Advent is purple? – P
Dear P,
Thanks for the question. Advent is one of my favorite liturgical seasons. Personally, I find it a welcome respite and a spiritual refuge from the insanity that typifies the commercial “Holiday Season.” Advent gives us a chance to contemplate Christ’s return glory at the end of the age, even as we prepare to celebrate his first coming in humility. It gives balance, perspective, and focus to concentrate on what Christmas is really all about. Regarding your question, you are both right.
As early as the fourth century, we see certain bishops in the West proscribing spiritual exercises and penance in preparation for the celebration of the Nativity, albeit less strictly than in Lent. The oldest mention of norms for Advent come from St. Gregory of Tours, in the second book of his History of the Franks. Gregory’s predecessor Perpetuus, (c. 480) decreed that the people of Tours should fast three times a week and perform acts of penance from the feast of St. Martin on November 11th until Christmas. It’s tough to say whether Perpetuus was establishing this practice or simply regulating an earlier one. In 567, the second Council of Tours instructed the monks to fast from the beginning of December until Christmas. This observance was soon taken up by the laity. In fact, it was commonly called “St. Martin’s Lent.” In 582, the first Council of Macon established norms for a period of fasting and penance in the weeks preceding Christmas. The council fathers decreed that from St. Martin’s Day to Christmas, the people were to fast on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In addition, Mass was celebrated according to the Lenten rite.
Today, Advent continues this tradition of prayerful preparation for the Holy Season of Christmas. (Which, incidentally, begins on Christmas Eve and ends on the Baptism of the Lord. So, the Christmas Season proper lasts either 14 or 20 days, depending on what day of the week Christmas falls.)
Advent is a time of great expectation. It typically lasts about four weeks, more or less. For the first three weeks, the readings at Mass invite us contemplate Christ’s coming in glory at the end of the age. In the last week, we shift gears to contemplate his first coming in humility in Bethlehem. Advent wreathes are the primary way we teach this. Each Sunday of Advent, as the light grows brighter when we light another candle, we are reminded of the image from John’s gospel of how Christ, the Light of the World, pierces the darkness of a world enslaved to sin and death. Every Catholic home should have an Advent wreath that is prayerfully lit each evening by a member of the household. It’s a great way to involve everyone, smallest to tallest. Personally, I’m also a big fan of Advent calendars to help build a sense of anticipation.
Advent is also a time to prepare practically and spiritually. Getting one’s physical house in order is a great place to begin. I always encourage the Advent purge. First, get rid of the physical clutter in the house. Is there some small appliance or other household item that has been giving you fits? Are there clothes that you haven’t worn all year? Get them out of there! Donate or recycle them. The same goes for getting your spiritual house in order. Are there attitudes, habits or sins that are coming between you and Christ or you and your loved ones? Get rid of them! Get into the confessional, lay them at the foot of the Cross, and get them out of your life. What better way to enter into the Holy Season of Christmas than with a clean, uncluttered house and a clean, uncluttered spirit?
Advent is a time of prayerful preparation for the coming of the Lord. It also gives us the opportunity to invite our neighbors and colleagues into a better way of celebrating Christmas.
Dear Fr. Leo:
I hate saying “Happy Holidays.” Can I say “Merry Christmas” during Advent? – J
Dear J,
Yes! Absolutely! At every opportunity you can!
Doing so is a great way to joyfully invite others to a deeper sense what Christmas is all about. It’s pretty simple to do. If someone greets me with “Happy Holidays!” I respond, “Why thank you! Merry Christmas!” Depending on the reaction, sometimes I’ll say to the side, “Actually, we Catholics are observing Advent right now. For us, the Christmas season starts on Christmas Eve. Then we party for twelve days!” It’s a great way to do a little street evangelization. Give it a try.
[Hey, folks. Deacon Mick Fornelli hit another one out of the park this weekend. I do like to hear him preach. Here is the vid of his homily on what we are to make of Jesus words about the tribulations in his age and in our own.
My own musings on the same readings, albeit with a very different take, are below.]
Dcn. Mick Fornelli – It’s Not the End of the World
BECAUSE OF THE NAME
Fall is football season. With football comes pre-game. With pre-game, comes pep talks.
The purpose of a pep talk is to inspire the squad to achieve higher than their expectations of others and perhaps even of themselves. Pep talks inspire confidence, build courage, unite teammates and set the heart on fire to aspire to great deeds. They usually have a great punchline like, “Win one for the Gipper!”
Today in the gospel, Jesus is also giving a kind of pep talk. He mentions how his disciples will be betrayed by those closest to them. How they will be dragged before religious and civil authorities because of his name. And so what is his punchline?
“You will be hated by all because of my name!”
What’s up with that?!
Unlike the first Christians, we have the benefit of history. We know what happened in the three centuries following Pentecost. Almost immediately, Christians were persecuted, first in the synagogues, and then at various times in the Roman Empire until Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 AD. (Ironically, because they did not sacrifice to the gods, the early Christians were persecuted as atheists.)
But it has not stopped there. According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, 900,000 Christians were killed in the last decade, about one every six minutes. Fortunately, this is down by about half from the previous decade that saw 1.9 million Christians killed in various parts of the world. These are sobering numbers.
Jesus was not being morbid, he was simply being realistic. It’s no different today than it was then. The simple fact of the matter is this. In today’s world, to be Christian, and especially to be Catholic, is to put a target on your back. If the political climate of the last few years in this country has taught us anything, it is that if you try to live your faith, even if you do it poorly, there are those in society who will find this very annoying. Finding it very annoying, they seek to remove us from the public square.
In this country, this has taken on the guise of the privatization of religious sentiment. Briefly put, it goes thus: “You may believe what you want, but don’t bring the insights or collective wisdom of your faith into polite public discourse. I find it offensive that your faith might seek to make a contribution to public discourse, let alone public policy.”
The fallacy of such a position seems obvious. Is this the only age in which human beings have existed in history? Could we not learn from the lived experience of our forebears? Are we doomed to simply repeat the errors of history, content in our own self-aggrandizement?
Hardly. For the past 2100 years, the Church is the only institution which has seen every political power and social movement come and go. We are not going anywhere. We have a place in the public square. As we have spoken in every age, we have a sacred duty to speak to the present age. A polite silence helps no one, saves no one.
Catholics in America are no strangers to subtle, polite persecution.
[I don’t think we can really begin to live fully until we come to terms with our own mortality – not in a morbid way, but in a healthy way, born of the hope that is in store for all of us.]
Well, winter is here and the liturgical year is winding down. Only two more Sundays before we start Advent. As we get to the end of Ordinary Time, the Church asks us to contemplate the end of all time. In this light, it’s not a bad idea to review the Four Last Things. As you recall, they are: death, judgment, heaven or hell.
In truth, I don’t think any of us can really begin to live until we come to terms with our own mortality.
[The Fr. McGillicuddy joke was told here. You have to watch the video to hear the joke! There is also a bonus joke about the Sadducees. ]
We don’t tend to contemplate our own death in the normal course of the day. However, I suspect that many of us have done so in the wake of the recent pandemic. I think living in the harsh beauty of Alaska also makes us pause from time to time. Anyone who has lived here for any length of time has lost a friend or a loved one to the wilderness. Twenty-eight years of ministry have also taught me that the more familiar you are with death, the less scary it becomes. There are certain people who have taught me how to die well as I have accompanied them to their passing. The moment of death can be a very grace-filled, and beautiful encounter. A friend’s wife once commented that it was very similar to being present at a birth. For the Christian, death is not something we hasten, but neither is it something we fear. As St. Paul says, “For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent, should be destroyed, we have a building from God, a dwelling not made with hands, eternal in heaven.” (2Cor 5:1). Death then is simply the next step to the fulfillment of God’s plan for us.
That plan is that we become what God has intended us to be. There is a subtle, but real heresay out there that when we human beings die we become angels. It’s a nice thought and it makes for good Christmas stories, but it limps theologically. Angels are spiritual beings. They do not have a body. By comparison, we human beings are spiritual and corporeal. We have a body and a soul. When Christ came to redeem us, he took on our human nature, body and soul in the Incarnation. This is why the resurrection of Christ is so significant. By his own resurrection, Christ has shown us what lies in store for all the baptized who remain faithful. Namely, that at the end of the age, these lowly bodies of ours, such as they are, will be raised. Then comes particular and general judgment. If we have remained faithful, then we become what God has intended us to be—perfectly human, body and soul.
In talking about the last things, there is a temptation to see them as something distant and remote. But they are not. Our judgment at the end of the age depends entirely on our relationship with Christ now and throughout the rest of our lives. So in a very real sense, heaven begins now. (Hell also begins now, for that matter.) It’s a matter of trajectory. If we enter into communion with Christ now and deepen that communion in the future, that relationship continues and is fulfilled when we pass through the veil. If, however, we sever communion with Christ, then that is our fate. Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.
The decisions we make now will carry us into eternity.
“Hey, honey! Guess who’s coming to dinner?” How is Zacchaeus going to explain THIS to his wife? No need really. Check it out.
Zacchaeus gets an uninvited guest for dinner.
Everybody likes to be liked. It’s part of human nature. Conversely, nobody likes to be despised. It hurts our sense of self-worth. But sometimes, either because of the choices we make or the choices of others, we might find ourselves the object of people’s ire. (Often this will happen in traffic!)
It’s hard to imagine how much the people despised a guy like Zacchaeus. He was a Jew, but he was also a tax collector for the Roman occupational government. As such, he was seen as a collaborator. Unlike our own Internal Revenue Service, which is highly regulated and can only take what the government is legally entitled to, one of the common practices of the day among tax collectors was to charge more than the actual tax and pocket the rest. By his own admission, Zacchaeus appears to have done exactly that. People hated his guts.
Given all this, at first glance he’s not the kind of person that you would normally expect to seek out Jesus. Yet, there he is, climbing the sycamore tree to get a glimpse. That’s when things get interesting.
I truly believe that the last thing on Zacchaeus’ mind was that Jesus would invite himself to dinner. But that’s how Jesus works, sort of like a traveling salesman.
[Incidentally, you know what you do when the health food salesman knocks at your door? Go ahead and ‘vite – him – in!]
Like the door-to-door salesman, Jesus invites himself into our world and into our lives without apology. He does this all the time. It’s what happens next that makes the difference between a detached observer, a consumer of religious goods and services, or a disciple.
Zacchaeus did not ask Jesus to barge into his life; but when he does, Zacchaeus recognizes Jesus for who he is and the opportunity for what it is. Here is salvation from his miserable existence. Here is Hope Incarnate standing right below him. The repentance of Zacchaeus is profound and genuine because the forgiveness and reconciliation offered him is profound and genuine. The lesson of Zacchaeus is a lesson for us. No matter how wretched or despised we may think we are, Jesus barges into our lives. Today, salvation will come to this house. It’s how we respond that will make the difference.
Does persistent prayer change God’s mind? Would you believe in such a fickle God?
Last Sunday evening, I was celebrating Mass at St. Elizabeth’s. You know how you always check out things at another parish to see what good ideas you can steal. I learned from a poster in their Narthex that they have I have a Trivia Night every so often to raise money for their World Youth Day pilgrims. Let’s take a team over and clean house!
It got me to thinking that how much cool stuff I have been privileged to learn in the course of my life, but also how much little known and useless information I have amassed over that same period.
For example, in high school, a friend of mine and I challenged each other to learn all the American presidents, the order in which they served, and the years that they served.
I found that much like the genealogies of Jesus in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, the American presidents are a diverse lot. There are great saints and great sinners. Geniuses and men of…shall we say, elusive intelligence. However, all seem to have wanted what was best for their country.
One of the most maligned is Calvin Coolidge, the nation’s 30th president who served the White House from 1923 to 1929, and was in office at the outset of the Great Depression. His nicknames were: Cautious Cal, Cool Cal, Silent Cal, and the Sphinx of the Potomac.
Not many people know much about President Coolidge today. But if you Google him, the first 49,000 citations will mention this one passage that he gave in a speech in 1929. He said: “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
Mr. Coolidge was right. In a way, he is echoing what our Lord is saying in the parable of the widow and the unjust judge. Does she prevail solely on the merits of her case? Not really. Does she prevail because of the benevolence of the judge? Hardly. No, it is her persistence that wins the day.
Why does Jesus ask us to be so persistent in prayer? Our prayer certainly does not change God’s mind. God already knows what we need long before we ask. Parents are the best examples of this. Our mom or dad could give us what we need without our asking, but would we really appreciate it? Probably not. How delightful it is to a parent when a child comes to their own realization of what is best and then asks for it.
Three and a half millennia of human experience has shown that persistence in prayer has profound effects upon the one doing the praying. God does not change as a result of prayer. We do. Persistence in prayer allows us to discern God’s ultimate desire for us and to make that desire our own.
As I said before, more often than not, time is an ingredient. A monk much wiser than me once said,
“I have found that so much of prayer is simply waiting on God; and I have learned that if I am willing to wait long enough, insight always comes.”
Timing is everything. And God’s timing is so much better than our own. He not only knows what we need, but when we need it.
Persistence in prayer allows us to move from praying, “MY will be done.” to “THY will be done.”
As we spend more time in prayer we begin to realize that God has three ways of answering prayer. 1) “Yes.” 2) “Not yet.” and 3) “I have something better in mind for you.”
Okay great, Fr. Leo. How do I do this?
It’s not that complicated, but it require some discipline. You need to find a time and a place. To take some time each day to unplug from the distractions of this world. Find a quiet place and spend some time with the Lord. Decide on a time each day that will work for you. You may have to tweak this a bit. And this may change depending on your situation.
For example, at one parish my prayer time happened at 9:00 at night. Here at St. Pat’s, since we are the party parish, it has to happen in the morning at 7:30.
You may need to adjust this time, you may need to fight for this time, but you need to make time.
I’ve said it about 163 times so far as your pastor, so you should be able to complete this quote for me.
“If you can’t find ten minutes a day for private prayer with our Lord, your life is what…? [OUT OF CONTROL!]
And you need to do what…? [MAKE ADJUSTMENTS]
Any excuses….? [NO!]
You are not far from the kingdom.
So first, make the time.
Second, find a place.
Create a space in the home.
Or change your routine to bring you to a holy place.
I love this one quotation that is popping up on the door in many churches in France. In four short sentences it says:
It is possible that on entering this church, you may hear the Call of God.
On the other hand, it is not likely that he will contact you by phone. Thank you for turning off your phone.
If you would like to talk to God, come in, choose a quiet place, and talk to him.
If you would like to see him, send him a text while driving.
Or get creative. I love to tell the story of the fellow at St. Benedict’s who had two issues. First, because of his weird work schedule, he couldn’t find his ten minutes and he kept bringing the stress of his work home with him.
As we chatted, the Holy Spirit kicked in and I asked him, “You live right down the street from the parish, right?
Why don’t you just pull your truck in and park in front of that big crucifix in front of the church on your way home?”
You know, he did.
About a month later he was in my office again and said, “You know, Father, that ten minutes has made all the difference. I don’t even get out of my truck. I just do my Magnificat right there. And I’ve also found that I can just leave all of the stresses and burdens of the day right there at the foot of the Cross. I suppose I could pick them back up again, but I’ve never seen the need.”
Let me end by paraphrasing Mr. Coolidge.
“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence in prayer. Vocation will not; nothing is more common than unfulfilled vocations. Cleverness will not; you cannot outmaneuver God. Erudition will not; the world is full of theological derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Pray On! has opened and always will open the door to grace for the human race.”
[Howdy, Church fans! Well, we are all recovered from the trip to the Holy Land. Hope you enjoyed the ride. Deacon John is preaching this week, but I will be covering St. Elizabeth’s this evening before I blast off the the Canon Law convention in Cleveland. If you want to catch the livestream of that, you can go to their Facebook page by clicking here; https://www.facebook.com/SaintElizabethAnnSetonParishAnchorage
In the meantime, here’s my thoughts on today’s gospel with an added bonus at the end.
It was not an easy thing to be a leper in Jesus’ day. Unlike today, where the use of sulfates has pretty much eradicated the effects, and the stigma, of the disease, to be a leper in the first century was to be completely outcast from society. Not only were you physically disfigured and rather smelly, you were ritually unclean as well. This meant that you could not worship with the believing community. Indeed, you were seen as cursed because of some sin of yours or a recent ancestor.
Two grateful lepers are offered for our consideration in this week’s scripture readings, both are Gentiles. The first is Naaman the Syrian. You may recall that he was a general of the army of the King of Aram. At first, he was disappointed that Elisha did not do some outrageous ritual. Instead, he just had him bath in the Jordan seven times. But at the advice of his servant, he did and was cleansed. His gratitude knew no bounds.
The ten lepers that approach Jesus, also in Samaria. Jesus is even less dramatic than Elisha. He simply has them show themselves to the priests to verify that they are now ritually pure and the curse lifted. They go off to do what he says and are healed on the way. So why the big deal about the Samaritan leper who comes back to give thanks? If you look at it on the face of it, the other nine, apparently Jews, were obedient and presumably did go and show themselves to the priests, just as Jesus instructed them. The Samaritan does not follow instructions. Instead, he returns to give thanks.
The lesson here is that gratitude is the higher virtue. Once they were cured, they could all move about freely anywhere they wanted. They could have gone to the priests first or they could have returned and given thanks first. Only the Samaritan gets it right. As Christians, when we realize what we have been given, and what we have been forgiven, our first response should always be grateful. It is in the warmth of this gratitude that all our other acts of charity and duty take on luster of grace.
BONUS!
As many of you know, I fly a little airplane around the Alaskan wilderness to many secret fishing holes and a few cabins that people let me use in their kindness. It is a float equipped Citabria 7GCBC with a 160 horse-Lycoming I0-360. It is great for getting me wherever I want to go. Here are some pics of the past summer. Enjoy.
Dog is my copilot.Undisclosed fishing hole, #1Undisclosed fishing hole, #2A boy and his airplane.Knik GlacierMt. Saint Augustine as seen from Bruin Bay.
