Seeds of the Spirit (Pentecost, 2018)

To listen to this homily, click here.

Every few months the National Geographic channel runs a documentary series on some of the beautiful national parks in the United States. I’ve watched these several times and never get sick of the incredible beauty we are blessed with. It makes me want to visit all the different parks to experience the unique features they offer. One park in particular comes to mind as we celebrate Pentecost and the end of the Easter season. Saguaro National Park in southern Arizona is 142 square miles of seemingly harsh and barren desert terrain. At first glance, you might think the only thing growing there is the giant Saguaro cacti which give the park its name. But look a little closer and signs of life are everywhere. Much of it is hidden, beneath the surface, and hard to see. This desert area doesn’t get much rain. Only about 1-10 inches a year fall on its sandy soil. But when it does, the whole desert is transformed, almost instantly, into a magical garden of beautiful flowers, green vegetation and other plant life, all of which was waiting for the transforming rain to bring it to life. 

Applying this to the spiritual realm, Fr. Benedict Groeschel wrote that the gifts of the Spirit are sewn into us like seeds. They remain in the desert of our souls waiting to be nourished and given life. They were first put there when we received the sacrament of baptism. Unfortunately, many of these gifts were never developed or we stopped using them to pursue worldly priorities. But they are still there, waiting for the rains to come. The grace of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, is that life-giving water. Today’s celebration is a reminder to invite that Heavenly Dew into our lives, to shout, “come Holy Spirit, come” so we, like the Saguaro desert, can be transformed into a place of beauty and life. 

Based on the readings this weekend, we might be tempted to think that the early Church had it better than us when it came to the Holy Spirit; that somehow we are at a disadvantage. But that isn’t true. When St. Paul went to visit the Ephesians, he sensed they were missing something in their faith. So he asked point-blank, "Have you received the Holy Spirit?" They replied that they hadn’t even heard of the Holy Spirit! When he heard this, St. Paul immediately confirmed them. They became supercharged Christians and their impact was felt immediately in the Church. 

We are one step ahead of the Ephesians. We have listened to Christ's command, "Receive the Holy Spirit." Each of us received the Holy Spirit at Baptism and Confirmation. The Spirit's gifts are awesome. Listen to them: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. They are already present in our souls but we must learn to use them.

Why were the twelve apostles, most of them illiterate, able to win a world for Jesus? And why are a billion Christians unable to repeat the same feat now? The answer is the Apostles used the Holy Spirit's gifts to the full and we do not. 

The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, is just as available to you and me as he was to Peter and the other members of the early Church. But the Holy Spirit is God, he is not a pet. We cannot say, “Come Holy Spirit into my prayer, but stay out of my work” or “You are welcome in my house but stay out of my marriage or my finances or the way I parent or my choice of friends.” If we want his transforming power to take over our thoughts, words, and actions, we have to give him permission to enter every aspect of our lives. If we block off certain parts of our hearts to the Holy Spirit, his gifts cannot bring about the powerful results we heard about in today’s scriptures. 

The amazing news of Pentecost is that God wants his Church to be just as lively and dynamic today as it was when Peter and the gang were around. He is still pouring out gifts of healing, prophecy, comfort, preaching, and so many others to Catholics around the world and right here at Incarnate Word in Chesterfield, Missouri. We are not waiting for God to deliver the goods, He is waiting for us to say “yes”, to accept his invitation and let Him pour the waters of grace on the seeds of the Spirit that have just been waiting to explode into full bloom.

One last story to send us on our way: A poor European family was coming to the US in the early 1900’s. Having never sailed across the ocean before, they figured they would need to plan for their own meals. Having spent so much on the tickets, they packed bread and cheese to eat during the long voyage. 

After many days of cheese sandwiches, the son came to his father, "Dad, if I have to eat cheese sandwiches all the way across the Atlantic, I won't make it." The kind father gave him his last nickel for ice cream. Hours later the child returned. The father noticed his wide smile. He asked what he had eaten. "Several bowls of ice cream and a steak dinner." "For a nickel?" "No, dad, the food is free. It comes with the ticket." He returned the coin to his father. 

The filet mignon and ice cream of the Holy Spirit came to us with the ticket of our Baptism and Confirmation. No one has to continue eating boring sandwiches every day. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are at our disposal. The Church and the world needs us to be powered by them! Say “yes” to God and do not hesitate to cry out, “Come, Holy Spirit come!”

Tell the Good News to Every Creature (Ascension, Year B)

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Not only is today the feast of the Ascension, but it is also Mother’s Day. So, before I begin the homily, I’d like to wish all moms here today a very happy Mother’s Day. Thanks to you who have brought forth and nurtured new life with generous hearts, for which we are eternally grateful. Thank you for your patience, guidance, and sacrifice in fulfilling your calling as moms. So much of what you do is quiet and unnoticed by anyone except God. I hope you all enjoy a wonderful and well-deserved Mother’s Day.  

The celebration of the Ascension today is pretty simple and straightforward. Today we are celebrating the fact that Jesus returned to his Father in heaven. So what does this final moment of Jesus’ time on earth have to teach us? 

           The Ascension matters to us because it tells us something about what we are supposed to do during our time here on earth. This feast is about waiting and working during our sojourn in this world. Throughout the gospels, Jesus made it clear that his kingdom was not of this world; in other words, this was a temporary place for him. With that in mind, he also made it evident he would come back again to judge the living and the dead, to reward the good and punish the bad. What Jesus did not do, for the apostles or for us, is reveal when he would be returning. As far as we know it could be in the next few moments, days, years, centuries, or even millennia.

            And that is where we find the apostles. In the passage from the Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells us they enjoy the vision of Christ for forty days after his wonderful resurrection. The Lord uses these forty days to show them that he is truly risen, that he has conquered death, and that everything he told them before the crucifixion was true. And he also instructs them not to leave Jerusalem, at least not until they have received the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. All of this, Jesus does to strengthen them, to embolden them, and to increase their faith in him until he returns to judge the earth.

            And what did Jesus expect the Apostles to do in the meanwhile? Christ says quite simply in the gospel, “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” During this indefinite time between his Ascension and his return in glory, Jesus wants the apostles to make the Church grow, spread the Good News of his victory over death, and witness to his resurrection. He promised great signs and divine protection to those who follow this command.

            But Christ’s command to the apostles didn’t stop there; as a matter of fact, his mandate to “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature” extends to you and me also. Even though Christ has ascended into heaven, even though we are waiting for his return at any moment of every day, we are expected to evangelize and give witness to all we have received through the gift of our faith. All of us have received the gift of the Holy Spirit by virtue of our Baptism and those of us who have been confirmed also received the graces of Pentecost within our souls.

           The feast of the Ascension reminds us all that it is our responsibility to spread the gospel, whether we are a priest or parent, a teacher or laborer, professional or full-time student. This is our task in this time of waiting for Christ’s second coming; we are not just supposed to sit around idly, hoping we are ready when Jesus returns.

            Jesus works through us to attract others to himself. People do not become Christians primarily through of the words of Christianity. People become Christians through the presence of Christ and the example of charity lived out in the ordinary lives of Christians. We cannot allow anything to destroy the presence of Christ within us. We can't give ourselves over to the forces of evil that wage war on the Lord. The epic battles of the Book of Revelation are waged daily. The early Church believed that every Mass, every prayer, every work of charity, was a skirmish in the fight against evil. The forces of evil continually find new ways to wage war. The Eighteenth Century saw this in the so-called Enlightenment when rationalism ridiculed faith. The Nineteenth Century saw the enemy embrace the industrial revolution as a way to turn people against each other, against God, and toward the worship of materialism. The first half of the Twentieth Century saw the battle change to the political front with the ideals of fascism and communism twisted to eliminate the presence of the Lord. 

The second half of the last century up to our present time has seen evil attack personal holiness through the media, the internet and other advancements of technology. The battle for the Gospel continues. The Lord fights with us. His power, his presence is greater than all evil, even the evil we ourselves create. God encourages us in the battle through the miracles we call the sacraments. The miraculous is an everyday occurrence. Every day at this altar and in churches around the world, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. 24 hours a day, 363 days a year, Jesus sits in our adoration chapel in the Eucharist, waiting for you and me to visit Him. We can receive Holy Communion daily. Our sins can be wiped away anytime we go to confession. What can be more miraculous than experiencing God in the sacraments?!! Besides this, there are spiritual and physical healings that happen each and every day! Miracles are occurring everywhere if we view the world with the eyes of Faith!

Jesus’ command as he ascends into heaven is clear: "Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.” No exceptions, no excuses to remain quiet in the face of difficulty, embarrassment, or persecution. Are we prepared to follow his command?

            

Love the Whole World, No Exceptions! (6th Sunday of Easter, Year B)

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            I am not a picky person when it comes to food. Anyone who has fed me vouch for this. There just isn't too much in the realm of food that I won't eat. Fruits, vegetables, meats, fish;they are all friends of mine when it comes to dinnertime. However, there is one thing I really can't stand: yellow skittles. But its not just yellow skittles, its also yellow starbursts, yellow sprees, yellow Jolly Ranchers, yellow jellybeans, and any other yellow candy that has a lemon flavor. I don't like them, I won't eat them, I separate them from the other candy I am eating then throw them away or give them to any sucker who wants them. And while my hang up with yellow candy might seem a little strange, most of us have some edible item we dislike and do our best to avoid, whether that be a fruit, vegetable, or some mystery meat. We all have things we like and those are the things we strive for, the things we like to have. Those items we don't like, we prefer to avoid and keep as far from us as possible, at least if we have the choice. This is a normal human reaction and something we do almost automatically many times a day in regards to people, places and things.

            In the gospel from John, Jesus says: "This is my commandment: love one another as I love you." Then, just a few lines later he says, "You are my friends if you do what I command you." and then he concludes by repeating: "This I command you: love one another." If there is one thingOur Lord is driving home to his apostles and to us it is this: "Love one another in the same way that I have loved you. Loving one another is my command and keeping my commandments makes you my friends. So love one another." But who is one another????? Who are we called to love in the same way that Christ loved us?????? Is it our friends? Yes! Is it our family? Yes! Would this include our co-workers, acquaintances and even total strangers? The answer is yes! Christ's command to love one another evenincludes thosewho have hurt us, thosewho annoy us, yes, even our enemies.

            The hard truth is there are people in our lives who are like the yellow skittles of life. These are the people that leave a bad taste in our mouth, the ones who make our stomachs churn when we see them. They are the folks who we would rather separate from the rest and throw away. They are the people who, if we had our way, would never have contact with us and we would never have to deal with them.

            But this command of Jesus to love one another, which he repeats several times, is clear; as Christians, we do not have the option of loving only those we like nor do we have the option of liking all of those we must love. As Christians, we do not have the luxury of choosingwhich people we will love and which people we will ignore or discard.

Christian love is much deeper; it is more than a passing feeling or fleeting passion.

           

            

            I mention this because there seems to be an increasingly hateful mentality in our society, even among those who call themselves Christians. I am not just speaking about a few backwards folks somewhere in the US or in the world. I am thinking of people in this city, people in this archdiocese, people in this parish. Christ's command to love one another extends to eachand everyperson made in his image and likeness; and this includes every person on this earth, regardless of their color, nationality, or creed. This command of charity embraces the whole range of humanity from the unborn child to the terminally ill and elderly. As Christians, we must love all persons, whether it is President Trump, brewing a Twitter storm or Pope Francis, saying things that are difficult to hear. As followers of Christ, we must love even those we struggle with, whether that is a Pastor, a member of the school administration, a fellow parishioner or any other person we don't see eye-to-eye with.

            But perhaps the reason why we find it so hard to love one another is because we don't understand what love truly is. To love as Jesus loves does not simply mean saying nice things or always grinning and bearing it; it is also about standing up and always doing the right thing even if this might be upsetting to some. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do for an individual is to respectfully confront themwith the truth and correct them in order to prevent them fromgoing astray. Sometimes this means saying things that are difficult  and unpopular. Just because someone says something hard to hear doesn't mean they don't love us. Far too often we avoid sharing the truth because we're concerned about being"politically correct."  As a result, we dilute the gospel message and use the excuse that we are being "pastoral" and "sensitive."

           Friends, our gospel promises wonderful things to those who keep Christ's commandments; by following them we gain the privilege of becoming Children of God!!! To make it even simpler, Jesus tells us his commandment is this: love one another as he has loved us. Nothing could be more simple; nothing could be more difficult. We need God's help to keep this command, especially when it comes to those people who might be difficult, hateful, or just entirely different from ourselves. That is why we are here today, in this Church, at this Eucharist. Our example of love is seen on the cross; Jesus gave his very life for all people, even the people who put him to death. We are called to that same level of love, for our friends, for our family, and yes, even for our enemies. 

         

            Join with me in praying for the grace to love one another as Christ first loved us. This is the hallmark of our faith, this is the pledge of our salvation, this is what hasand should alwaysset Christians apart. May those beautiful words of Christ reign in our hearts: "I no longer call you slaves, I have called you friends. Love one another as I love you."

Dream Big!! (5th Sunday of Easter, Year B)

To listen to this homily, click here.

Rather than rely on my own cleverness, which is quite limited, I would like reflect on the gospel image of the vine and branches using a story of a famous artist, quotes from Fulton Sheen, Mark Twain, and a few other masters, and the habits of traveling geese. Let’s see where this goes!

One day, the great Michelangelo entered his studio. He examined the canvases of his students. Some he complimented. He advised a few to paint for fun rather than food lest they starve. Finally he came to his best apprentice. The man was working on a small canvas. Michelangelo took up a brush and across the picture he wrote the Latin word "amplius." It means "larger." The maestro felt his pupil was playing it safe. He wasn’t working to his full potential. He wanted him to start over again. The artist did and he painted something breathtaking. 

There is a popular theory that we humans live our lives with large portions of our brains undeveloped or at least underutilized. This is also true of our souls. Spiritually, we are capable of being more convincing Christians than we are. What we lack is boldness. Had we a healthy dose of holy daring, we could become spiritual masterpieces. Jesus must often be tempted to write the word "amplius" over the lives of so many. We are good as far as we have gone. But we have not gone far enough. Our spiritual canvases are too small. We are capable of so much more in the spiritual life. The lives of our spirits need constant repainting. The Divine Teacher would tell us the larger canvases and brushes that we need are sitting right in front of us. They are ours for the taking. The problem with our world and the Church is not that God is failing to call enough people to be saints, it’s that too few people believe they are called to be saints. Saints make Jesus real. The same Christ who, in today's Gospel, says, "...every branch that does bear fruit I prune to make it bear even more." Our limited vision, says Christ, needs constant updating. But He does not tell us to grow fruit. Rather, He tells us eight times to abide, to rest, to stay close to Him. That's the secret.

A holy person said, 'Aim for the stars and you at least reach the mountain. But aim only for the mountain and you never get out of the mud." For many of us, our goals are too limited. Too often we attempt to go it alone in the spiritual life. This is not wise. Consider the habits of migrating geese. They fly in splendid formation. Ages ago they learned the hard way that they could fly more easily and for greater distances as a group. We would do much better at our faith if we acted in union with other believers. Some examples would be faith sharing, bible studies, reading of the spiritual masters, retreats, days of recollection, etc. A second trick that the clever geese have to teach us is about leadership. When the leader of their signature "V" formation gets tired from fighting the strong headwinds, it  drops back for a breather. Immediately, another goose comes forward to lead the pack. How much more effective our parish and we as Catholics would be if everyone carried his or her share of the burdens. As the geese would be the first to tell us, the lazy "Let someone else do it!" is not good enough. 

There are some of you here in church who have great contributions in leadership and talent to offer the Lord. You must come forward and take risks. Christ needs you and wants you. So do we! 

There is one last habit of geese to learn from. They encourage and support each other. When they fly in their formations, they honk like crazy. Even more so if they are flying through storms. The honking keeps the group in tight formation and serves as a beacon for strays. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for Incarnate Word to be known as the parish that supports and encourages one another, especially those who have drifted away from God?! Mark Twain reminds us that encouragement is oxygen for the soul. He said he could live for a month on one good compliment. It’s amazing how a kind word or sincere affirmation can pick up the spirits of others. We need one another's help. The Christian life isn't hard to live: it's impossible! Only one person has pulled it off on their own: Jesus. But He has sent the Holy Spirit and given us the Catholic Church to help us. In these 50 days of Easter, we read many stories of the first Christians which reminds us the Holy Spirit can make a great finish out of a rough start. Some misguided people say, "I'd be a hypocrite if I started going to church again." To them Fulton Sheen said, "Come back. There's always room for one more."  

So where do we go from here? Dream big! Becoming a holy leader, becoming a saint is not for someone else or a select few, it is for each us! In your prayer this week, give God permission to use your life, your personality, your talents, and gifts to bear good and holy fruit. Believe that He wants to use you, not only for your own benefit, but also for the building up and encouraging of others. You don’t have to have all the answers; let go of the desire for complete control. He is the vine, we are simply the branches. Remain in Him through daily prayer, charitable works, and kind words and be open to the daring plan God might have for you. Then see where He takes you and how He will amplify your life and this parish!