Imperfect Families Can be Holy Families! (Holy Family, 2020)

To listen to this homily, click here.

It’s difficult not to be sentimental this time of year, even for a crusty German like me! This season of celebration and being together as family contains so many happy memories for me growing up. The frenzy of excitement as we cleaned and decorated our little house in Hazelwood so we could host my mom’s family on Christmas Eve. The impatient praying at Midnight Mass, which actually started at midnight, at St. Agatha’s parish in South St. Louis, anticipating the many gifts that would appear under the tree a few hours later. The waking up at the crack of dawn to stare at the mountain of gifts Santa had brought. The lazy days between Christmas and New Year’s Day where we could play games for hours, enjoy having dad home from work, eat the leftovers from special Christmas feasts, and put our new gifts through their paces. What wonderful times those were! What simple pleasures! But what made these memories most special was not the gifts, the food, or the time of relaxing. What made the memories an everlasting joy were the people, my family. Despite our expected arguing, bickering, and occasional grudges, my family has and continues to be, a place of joy, strength, refuge, accountability, and faith. I hope you can say something similar as you think of your own families who loved and formed you!

The human family is not simply an evolutionary construct or a gathering of convenience; it's part of God’s plan. The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that the family is the “domestic Church.” Long before we went to Catholic school or PSR, or knew what was happening at Mass, we were being taught in our families how to love, how to share, how to forgive and pray. God, in his wisdom, knows that the safety, acceptance, and calm of the family is the most natural place for humans to learn how to love Him and others. That is why the family will always be sacred to God’s Church and why Church will never stop fighting to protect families from sin, evil, abuse, and redefinition.

It might surprise you to know this feast is relatively new in the history of our faith. It was not formally declared and celebrated until 1921. Of course, there was always a Holy family but the need to call people to return to family life was not so urgent until recently. For all its limitations and hardships, rural, agricultural life had a way of keeping families together, if for no other reason than the shared struggle for survival. With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, with its many promises of improvements and innovations also came the beginning of the breakup of the family. Families moved to cities, or at least some members did. Often there were different shifts in different factories for children and parents. Long hours away from each other, day after day, year after year. Within several generations, the Church saw where this was headed and instituted a yearly reflection on what God calls each family to be. 

We need this reminder now more than ever. Family life today is difficult. Has any one here not seen loved ones affected by divorce, the scourge of alcohol and narcotics, the breakdown of discipline, or profound hurts that produce grudges lasting decades?

We should pay attention to St Paul's letter to the Colossians which contains timeless advice. Apparently word had reached Paul that Christian families in that city were falling apart. And so he notes the qualities that must be present in any Christian home. "Bear with one another. Forgive one another... Over all these put on love...Christ's peace must reign in your hearts...Be thankful...Wives, cherish your husbands...Husbands, love your wives...Children, obey your parents in everything.”

What a home it would be to find all the qualities Paul mentions! It really would be a holy family! Oftentimes when we hear these things we let our cynicism win and think, “my family could never do all that.” But our Church is an everlasting optimist! She hopes for the best! With God all things are possible! That was the message last week and it is still true a week later, even with our families! How can our families grow holier if we don’t even try? We may never be the holiest family but with God’s grace we can certainly be a holy family! 

Some of you may be saying, “Get your head out of the clouds, Padre! How can we relate to the Holy Family? Joseph was a celibate. Mary a virgin. Jesus the Son of God. They had it easy!” But we do Mary, Joseph, and Jesus a disservice if we fantasize their lives. Take the Christmas stable for example. We picture it as something rustic and charming. However, stables are constructed for livestock, not families. That Christmas stable was crawling with dangerous vermin and foul odors. There were no pampers, heat, or fresh water. Imagine the cold drafts. Mary and Joseph had to be sick with worry for the Infant's health. Where would the next meal for the Baby come from? Soon there would be a murderous king hunting them and the need to flee to another country. Consider, too, the teen years of Jesus. Most teens believe they know everything. Can you imagine raising one who did?! Each family has their own unique challenges to face. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph faced theirs together with faith; how do we approach ours?

We celebrate not the feast of the Perfect Family but the feast of the Holy Family. God knows, each of us comes from very imperfect families and we all contribute our fair share to the dysfunction and neurotic tendencies that are found in every home. The good news is that God loves working with imperfect people! He can make you and your loved ones holy in the course of daily family life. But we have to give him opportunities to make it happen. In our time the main dangers to family life are a lack of silence, stillness, and being present to each other. Modern life and technology constantly try to isolate us from each other and keep us running around so there is no time to truly listen even to those we live with. And let’s not forget, we are not simply waging battle against human weakness or a hostile culture. The devil hates the things God loves; families are at the top of his list to divide, distract, and destroy. But we should never be afraid or lose hope because God will always protect us if we entrust our family to him. And God most often gives us grace in ordinary moments of life. Ask yourself these questions to get the conversation started with God on how to be a holy family:

1. when was the last time I gave my family my undivided attention and was completely present to them without the tv, phone, internet, or any other distraction pulling at me? Is there regular moments they know I am focused on them regardless of the other demands on my time?
2. Do I make time each day to try to communicate meaningfully with the people in my home? Do I know what is on their heart or do I mostly engage in small talk? Do I listen as much as I speak? Am I willing to share my heart, including my thoughts, feelings, and desires or do I simply convey information?
3. How often do I pray with my family, before meals, at the end of the day, even over the phone before ending a conversation with a family member who might be living out of town?
4. Am I doing my part to make my family a domestic church? Do I act in a way that fosters a community of respect, love, warmth, compassion, forgiveness, strength, holiness, peace, service, and gratitude? Or is it all about me?

These are some of the basic things we can do in our families to create a holy environment in our homes. Holiness then fosters happiness and healthiness which we all want. May God bless our families today and heal any hurts that keep us from loving as we should. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, please help us!

 

God Gets 💯 (Christmas, 2020)

 To listen to this homily, click here.

This year I feel like the college student who was unprepared for his final exam. Seeing the test in front of him, his mind went blank. Since it was right before Christmas break, he wrote on his paper: “Only God knows the answers to these questions. Merry Christmas!” When the college professor graded the test, he added this note: “God gets a hundred. You get a zero. Happy New Year!” I hope my homily does better than that, but whatever happens, give God a hundred. Despite everything we’ve endured in this strange and difficult year, God has been good to us. Christmas is proof that He never stops giving!

A number of years ago, a group of pastors came up with a creative Christmas gift. They collected $10,000 and used it to pay outstanding tickets. They set up a table outside the City Hall of their town and told people to bring their unpaid tickets. Believe it or not, it was a college student who had the biggest number – 84 - which the pastors covered. A woman brought in fourteen tickets and timidly asked one of the pastors if they could pay half. He responded, “No, we are going to pay them all, in full – because God’s grace is amazing.”

Now, why am I telling you this story? It’s not so you will bring me your unpaid tickets. I am not one of those nice pastors! Still, it is a modern-day parable about God’s grace; undeserved, free, extravagantly generous and liberating. I think a lot about God’s generous mercy this time of year when I am hearing confessions. How people come in nervous, ashamed, burdened and sad. Yet they leave refreshed, free, and hopeful! How beautiful is God’s love and forgiveness! The same is true when I stop and think about my life and ministry as a priest with you. How generous God has been in my life! How many undeserved blessings I have been given in the form of treats, beautiful cards with heartfelt encouragement, monetary gifts and so many meaningful friendships. All while doing work that fulfills me and brings meaning to my life. It’s so much more than I deserve! I hope as you reflect on your life and on this year, despite the obvious hardships and setbacks, you feel something similar.

This humble gratitude for the most profound gifts is at the heart of what we celebrate on Christmas. God became man to reveal to us the depths of his love. It is his perfect and saving gift to the human race: undeserved, perfect, and free!

Let me tell you about a man who received a beautiful gift from God, a man who then wound up sharing it with the entire world. His beginnings were unpromising, to say the least. His father abandoned him before he was born, and his mother barely made ends meet by knitting sweaters, caps and socks. As a young man, he discerned a call to the priesthood, entered the seminary and became a priest in Salzburg, Austria in 1815. The bishop assigned Fr. Mohr to a mountain parish. One quiet evening the young priest sat down and composed a brief poem. He kept the verses to himself for two years. Then, shortly before Christmas, he showed it to a friend named Franz Guber. Franz provided a melody. We all know it well. Its opening words are: Silent Night! Holy Night!

At the Midnight Mass in 1818, Fr. Mohr’s small parish heard the hymn for the first time. The congregation loved it and each Christmas they looked forward to singing the carol which their pastor had composed. About fifteen years later, some traveling troubadours heard the hymn at a Christmas Mass. They picked it up and performed it at a concert in Leipzig. It spread quickly and was sung for the first time in America in 1839. 

Soon it was translated into English, Spanish and many other languages. Fr. Mohr’s poem became the most popular Christmas hymn of all time.

Fr. Mohr lived another thirty years after writing his poem. In spite of the hymn’s popularity, the composer died penniless. He had spent his earnings as a parish priest to care for the elderly. Fr. Mohr was buried in the cemetery of the parish where he had served as pastor for ten years.

If you consider the number of times Silent Night has been printed and recorded, the royalties would amount to millions, perhaps billions, of dollars. Yet, for his poem, Joseph Mohr gained neither money nor fame. It was not until after his death that the world even recognized its author. Fr. Mohr had received his poem as gift – it had come to him in an evening of quiet inspiration. What he received, he gave as a gift, first to his parishioners, then to children and adults throughout the world.

The story of the hymn “Silent Night” is appropriate for Christmas. The true greatness of Jesus was not understood from the beginning. He came among us with a modesty that did not reveal the immensity of his gift. Even 2000 years later, many people still do not know or accept the treasure he wishes to share so generously. 

Before we can appreciate the gift of the Christ Child, we might ask ourselves what any gift means. It is a great joy to receive a present and an ever greater joy to be able to give one. It takes a certain childlike wonder and simple gratitude to really get the point. Behind every meaningful gift, is the expression of love and sacrifice. 

Think of everything we have received from the hand of God, starting with the gift of life. Life is the greatest gift of all. None of us created our own self or thought up our own existence. Everything we enjoy depends on the initial gift of life. Yet there is something even greater God wants to give. That is what we celebrate tonight. That God was not content to simply brings us into existence, he also desired to save us from sin and darkness and help us return to him. He wanted to lead as one of us and so accepted our human flesh with all its limitations and humiliations. This is truest form of love and sacrifice! The God of everything becomes nothing to love and save us! 

In his wisdom, God has put his image within us. We experience life as Jesus did, a combination of longings and limitations, desiring to give, be known, and love. We each have an inner self we wish to reveal completely to someone who can understand and embrace us. That perfect someone does exist and we celebrate his birth today. Jesus is his name and He is the supreme gift of the Father, the fulfillment of desire in every human heart.

 

Think back to Fr. Mohr. A young man, who never knew his own father, experienced the love and warmth of Almighty God. Through Divine Grace, he expressed that gift in a poem now sung around the world. What are the gifts we have received from God this year? Have we acknowledged them and given thanks? Have we done our best to imitate the Christ-Child and become a gift to others? God is good! God never stops giving! Come let us adore Him!!

Inconceivable! (4th Sunday of Advent, Year B)

 To listen to this homily, click here.

There is a movie called the “Princess Bride” that is a sort of cult classic. Some people think it’s a cheesy film but I rate it as one of my favorites for its dry wit and the fact that a family can actually watch it together without the risk of scandal. If you’ve never seen it, I think you should; if you have watched the film, then you know the scene I’m about to refer to. In the first part of the story, there is a princess who is kidnapped by a band of scoundrels. One of them, named Vizzini, is the mastermind and happens to be a little man with a big vocabulary. As the kidnappers are pursued by a potential hero, Vizzini keeps declaring the hero’s feats and his odds of liberating the princess as “inconceivable”. And yet the mysterious hero keeps pursuing the captors and eventually forces a showdown; the inconceivable becomes possible after all!

There are a lot of things in life that appear, at first glance, to be inconceivable, impossible, and out of the question. The gospel today refers to two of them. Elizabeth, the wife of Zechariah, advanced in years and barren her entire marriage, is now pregnant with a son who will become the great John the Baptist. And then we have the Annunciation of Gabriel, where Mary hears she will become the mother of God. I can't think of anything more impossible than a humble, teenage girl becoming the Mother of God. Certainly, nothing is more inconceivable, in every sense of the word, than the possibility that this would happen without any relations with a man. Advent is the season of the impossible; the time when God shows us that anything and everything is conceivable if we place our trust in him. Advent is season when the Church's prayer highlights how the marvelous promises of God are fulfilled in ways both mysterious and unimaginable.

How timely this message of hope and faith for you and me, who are living in inconceivable times and circumstances!! How badly we need to hear this idea that nothing, absolutely nothing is impossible with God. Doesn't it seem like every day we hear more troubling news, whether it pertains to the pandemic, the economy, morality, social injustice, racial inequality, or political division? It can be so easy to become dismayed, discouraged and downcast by the events that are taking place. Oftentimes we find ourselves asking: "how can I provide a Christian witness in such difficult circumstances?" how can my actions possibly do any good? What chance does good have in a world so influenced by suffering, sickness, evil, and death? If we listen too long to the many voices that cry out, “inconceivable” as God tries to rescue us, if we side with those who label the problems we face as impossible, even for God, we will find ourselves turning off areas of our lives to Christ. Areas that seem too difficult to change or reform- circumstances that seem too big, too serious to be affected by our feeble efforts and God’s subtle grace.  Although we would never say it out loud, we subconsciously think our worst problems and biggest worries are beyond God’s abilities.  And this weakness of faith hinders our Lord from working great and wonderful miracles through us. The actress Audrey Hepburn said something that is a good reminder to store away for those moments when we are tempted accept a situation as beyond God’s power or reach. She said, “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” Simple but true!

What are some examples of "impossible" things that God might want to make possible in our lives? Do we we believe God has a plan, a way forward with COVID that is powered by hope and faith rather than fear? Or do we think it is it only up to us to solve? Can God heal the racial hurts and incredible division in our country or is that inconceivable in our minds? Perhaps there is someone in our life who needs to be forgiven and we just can't quite bring ourselves to be the first person to extend the olive branch of forgiveness. Or maybe it's the other way around - could it be that there is someone we need to apologize to but we just can't get over the shame, embarrassment, and fear that comes with asking for absolution? Nothing is impossible for God! Is there some sin, addiction, or dark fear that has kept us away from confession for years because we felt that we could never be forgiven?  Nothing is impossible for God!! Perhaps it is some issue of the Church's moral teaching, which seems impossible to live in your own life. Can we ask for the gift of faith that God will give us the grace and strength to live according to his ways? Can we trust that it is not up to us to have the answer for every single situation or contingency. The only thing we must believe is that Nothing is impossible for God!! 

There are, of course, many other examples. Perhaps God might be calling you to step out of your comfort zone and do something more, something heroic, something that seems too hard, too extraordinary or too unrealistic. Is he calling you to follow him as a priest or religious? Is he calling you and your spouse to be open to another child? Is there someone who needs your support, financially, emotionally, or spiritually? Or do we excuse ourselves by saying that there simply isn't enough money in the account, we don’t have enough time, we are too old, unqualified or it’s just not possible because we are afraid to trust in God THAT much?

Our Advent is drawing to a close; in a few days we will celebrate the impossible that became possible when God became man and was born of the Virgin Mary. Christ still desires to work the impossible in our lives and in our world. But we have to have faith, the type of faith that moved Mary to say: " Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” Great miracles await those who are willing to trust God in this way. As Christmas approaches will you soften your heart and deepen your faith? The Angel Gabriel assures us that nothing is impossible for God!!

Comfort Comes with Repentance (2nd Sunday, Year B)

 To listen to this homily, click here.

If you’ve ever listened to Handel’s musical masterpiece, the Messiah, you can’t help but be uplifted by the tenor expressing in song the Lord’s promise given to Isaiah in our first reading: “Comfort, give Comfort to my people”. This message, this assurance of God’s help and healing never gets old or becomes irrelevant. But not everyone likes being comforted. Have you ever seen a parent try to hug their tough teen when they are upset? Or an independent child who wants to do something all by themselves? Some people resist all affection because they perceive it as an attack on their independence and strength! Comfort is only welcome to those who know they are hurting and in need of help. God’s people weren’t always disposed to receive God’s mercy and healing because they thought they were just fine on their own. People who think they can save themselves aren’t quick to cry out for a savior. 

Before Isaiah was inspired by God to write those words of comfort, he first proclaimed a message of judgement. This sounds harsh to our ears but it was actually God’s effort, over and over again, to try and warn his people away from the self-destruction they kept choosing. Over generations, the Lord warned his People that they would suffer tremendously for their sinful decisions. This suffering was not what God wanted but it was the natural consequence of turning away from his will and wisdom. In their worst nightmares, the Chosen People never thought their lives could get so bad. First, the Northern Kingdom, Israel, was defeated and taken into captivity by the Assyrians. Then the Babylonians conquered the Southern Kingdom, Judah. The people were led off into slavery, bound together with hooks in their noses like cattle. The Temple and the Holy City were destroyed. They had wanted to be like the pagans with their gold, powerful armies, and worldly kings. Now they were forced to live in a pagan land and serve pagan masters. 

But in their poverty something incredible happened; they rediscovered their faith. They turned from their pagan ways. They embraced their identity as devout followers of the one true God. They had no power except their faith in the All Powerful One. But in their weakness and reliance on God for everything, they realized they had more power than they could ever need. God witnessed their conversion. He heard their prayers. He sent His prophet to preach consolation for Israel, a time of relief for his people. 

Over and over in the history of God’s people and in the life of our Church, the events that led to the Babylonian captivity are repeated. We think we have it all, that somehow our plan and our ways are better than God’s ways. We allow evil to creep into our lives. We begin to serve other things and people rather than the Lord. Through this wayward allegiance, we allow something to destroy us. In fact, destroy ourselves by relying on our own abilities instead of the Power of God. But then we find ourselves completely alone. Through the Grace of God, through the prayers of others, we come to the Wisdom that we are only alone when we forget about Him who said He would always be with us. We realize no matter how bad life might have become, no matter how far we or someone else may have fallen, there is no depth God will not descend in order to pick us up and cover us in Divine comfort. 

God loves us so much that there is nothing that we can do which excludes us from His compassion and consolation. He hates our suffering more than we do. But he cannot make us turn to Him for healing, forgiveness and comfort. We must have the humility to seek forgiveness and let Him back into our lives. God’s comfort, mercy, and renewal is available to each and every one of us but only after repentance. 

There are two main temptations against the hope proclaimed by Isaiah in our first reading. The first is despair, where we believe our sins are too much for God’s mercy. We think he forgives others but he cannot forgive me. Does anyone here feel this way? Do you know someone who does? If so, we must challenge this despair with the promise of the Lord to bring comfort and mercy. He does not put a limit on his gift of forgiveness. All are eligible. There is nothing the Lord does not want to forgive. Jesus came to bring forgiveness, to bring mercy, to bring comfort. Despair has no place among the people of God and if we are feeling it, we must ask the Lord to increase our faith in him and in his love for us.If we give him an opening into our darkness, he will not delay to rush in with his love and comfort! 

The other temptation is more subtle and more common in our time. This is the sin of presumption, where we assume, if we need God’s mercy at all, it is automatically given to us. Presumption leads us to feel entitled to God’s mercy and comfort without repentance. Many no longer even bother to ask for it. Presumption is a sin against hope because it makes us self-satisfied; we feel saved by our own goodness and efforts rather than God’s complete gift of grace and forgiveness. God cannot forgive those who do not acknowledge their sins; God cannot save those who do not know they are lost. God cannot free those who do not realize that they are enslaved by worldly concerns and fears. Presumption manifests itself in the fact that fewer and fewer Catholics feel the need or desire to seek God’s forgiveness of their sins in the sacrament of reconciliation. God wants to restore us to spiritual health but we come up with a thousand excuses as to why we don’t need his mercy and can be justified on our own terms. Sometimes its difficult to be weak and vulnerable before God. It’s hard to admit our imperfections and wrongdoing. Most of us want to be strong, wise, and in control. But God cannot comfort us when we act this way. 

 “Prepare the way of the Lord,” both the prophet of the first reading and John the Baptist in the Gospel proclaim. Prepare the way of the Lord by acknowledging your sins and weaknesses to the Lord. Tell him how much you need him and want him to rule over your life. Share with him how many ways you fall short and get suckered into serving other masters like power, pleasure, and riches. Don’t be afraid to be little and weak because then God can comfort you! And then help others realize that they are loved by God, especially in their brokenness and weakness. Show them the mercy God has shown you! Yes, sometimes we may bottom out. Sometimes we may crash. But we are never so bad that God wants nothing to do with us. There is no limit to God’s love, nor to His Mercy. Pope Francis put it this way: the only limit to God’s mercy is the limit we put on His Mercy. Make the humble prayer of the psalmist your own and never lose hope of God’s infinite care for us: “Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation.”

Don't Slide Away from God! (1st Sunday of Advent, Year B)

 To listen to this homily, click here.

It is hard to believe we are entering another liturgical season while under the grasp of the pandemic. And while it would be easy to preach on the Advent themes of waiting and watching without discouragement, let’s save that for another time. Even more important, in my mind, is the need to reflect on the spirit of Isaiah’s question to God in the first reading. He writes from the heart and his inspired words shed insight not only into the human heart and its yearnings but also the Divine Heart of God. Today’s reading starts with a question many of us have asked before. “Why do you let us wander, O LORD, from your ways, and harden our hearts so that we fear you not?” In other words, Lord, why do you allow so much evil in the world? Can’t you just make it stop? Fix us so we cannot do the terrible things that happen every day around the world! Just make us do what you want. 

The prophet is longing for the love of God. But what he finds instead he cannot bear: God seems angry; God appears gone and feels distant. The experience the prophet describes might be familiar to us who see so much evil in our world. God is angry and has hidden his face; he is somewhere above the heavens, and we cannot find him. How can this be? Doesn’t God love us? Where is he? Why does he feel so far away? Why isn’t he here?

The prophet answers these questions, and in the saddest possible way. The reason for God’s apparent distance lies in our choices. God is not gone from us nor has he forsaken us. Our weaknesses, our selfishness, our pride, our failure to love, our failure even to accept the love of others—all these things have made us wither and dry up. Hollow and unclean, we have been blown away from God by the winds of worldliness. God is here, where he has always been. We are the ones who have been swept away by evil and selfishness. We are the ones who have run away from Him; not he from us.

This perspective reminds me of when I drove a car with a manual transmission. Sometimes, when I was waiting on a hill for a light to change, I would unconsciously relax my left foot which was on the brake and my car would slow slide backwards. I would notice the motion but think the person next to me was inching forward impatiently. “What a fool” I would mutter, only to realize a moment later that they were not moving at all; I was the knucklehead rolling backwards! So too with God, who NEVER moves away from us. But in our sinful, unreflective state, we often think he does because we fail to see how our wayward thoughts, words, and actions make us slide backwards from his loving presence.

This movement away from God is called sin and there are two types in our world: original sin, passed down to us from Adam and Eve at the dawn of creation. This fundamental fault disposes us towards the things we ought not like or want and makes it hard to chose the things which are best for us and for others. Original sin has put our world out of sync with God and his loving plan. But there is also actual sin, offenses that I choose to commit. Deliberate thoughts, words and actions that drive me away from God and from other people and bring about hurt, selfishness, and destruction. If you boil down any bad thing in our world, any of the reasons for why they take place, you will eventually trace it back to both personal and original sin, which is nothing more than humans wandering away from God.

And that is where the season of Advent and today’s readings tie in. We are reminded that God is near us every moment of our lives. Our Faith reminds us that Christ wants to draw us back to him and put an end to our destructive wandering. He wants our freedom to be used for peace, service, worship, healing, and loving. That is the message for us on this first Sunday of Advent. Our gospel tells us to be watchful, to look for the Lord’s coming and return to him. Jesus makes it clear that we must be prepared if we are going to be ready to receive him when he comes. This is a test we do not want to fail as people that bear his name; when he returns, we want to be waiting and ready. 

But because of our sinful tendencies, because of our inclination towards chaos, we need this season of Advent. We need this time each year to examine our lives and ask ourselves if we are living in a way that puts Christ in the center of our hearts; have we wandered away?

The amazing thing about our faith is the trust that God puts in us. Especially when you consider how so many behave. Despite the risks, God entrusts us with his gifts, with building up a piece of his kingdom and all he asks is "do your best, behave well, and be alert for my return."

Christ is coming again, and we need him to come again; too many in the world have become unruly and self-centered. But, while we long for his return, as Isaiah longed for his coming, while we long for the time when the world will be a place of harmony and peace, for the time when all things will be finally straightened out, the time when the wicked will get their just desserts and the faithful their reward,  --while we long for this time, we need not be overly concerned about when it will come, we need not worry because we have our work cut out for us and we can trust God to honor that work, and to keep his promise to be merciful and kind to those who have lived by faith in him.

The Lord will come, and the faithful and the unfaithful alike will see him coming. They will see him coming with his angels in the clouds with great power and glory, and the angels will be sent out to gather his elect from the four corners of the earth, and there will be justice, there will be peace. A peace greater than that which any earthly court can render, a justice more just than that which any law can guarantee.

This is our hope, this is our Christian faith, and this is the time in which we show our Lord that we indeed can be trusted and that we want to stay close to him. It is not our job to sit around and point out the faults of everyone else; we each have more than enough work to do within ourselves!

During this advent, let us allow the words of Isaiah in the first reading to resonate in our hearts and in our lives: “You, LORD, are our father, our redeemer you are named forever. Return for the sake of your servants. Would that you might meet us doing right, that we were mindful of you in our ways!”

Whose News Rules You? (Christ the King, Year A)

To listen to this homily, click here.

It getting more and more difficult to look at the news these days. Practically every time I check on what is happening, there is more bad news emphasized. Whether it’s about the pandemic, our nation’s political divide, race relations, natural disasters, or any other number of tragedies highlighted on a minute-by-minute basis, one would be forgiven for thinking very little good is happening anywhere at any time. Months ago, I had begun to notice how addicted I was to checking the news. What tipped me off was the screen time report my phone gives. More and more time using my my phone correlated directly to my sense of anxiety, cynicism, and anger. Slowly but surely I’ve been trying to balance any reading of the news with the reading of the Good News, the Word of God. If I am willing to give 30-60 minutes a day to learn about what is going on in our world, why wouldn’t I give at least a similar amount of time to learn the highlights what is happening in the kingdom God is building? That world is just as real as the one I am slogging through right now! When I am faithful to this balancing practice, the presence of peace, faith, and hope is palpable.

Perhaps you understand this struggle as well. Maybe you have been hurt by some of the events that are taking place in our country and across the world. Maybe you struggle to remain hopeful and ask “why”? Why have so many good people lost their jobs and their ability to provide for their families? Why are their different rules for different people? Aren’t we are equal as children of God? Why are so many innocent people losing their lives to violence, disease, and hunger, even when so much of this could be prevented? Why are troublemakers glorified and law-abiding citizens ignored? But even more fundamental than the question “why” is the question, “where is God in all of this?”

As Christians, we believe that God is all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing, and ever-present here in our world. But when we see good people being hurt and getting sick, when the innocent are suffering and dying at the hands of the wicked and greedy, this belief can be challenging. And it becomes even more difficult when the people who are suffering are our friends or family members. At times like these, it can be easy to look around and wonder: “Where are you God? How can you allow these things to happen?”

It’s for times like these that the Church, in her wisdom, gives us the feast we celebrate today, the feast of Christ the King. Today we reminded of the faith we profess in Jesus Christ as king of heaven and earth. He is in control of all that is happening, no matter how bad it seems, and he will make all things work for his greater honor and glory. 

The belief that Jesus reigns over all things is ancient but this feast is relatively new in the life of the Church. It was founded in 1925 by Pope Pius XI for a very practical reason. At the time, a certain dictator named Mussolini had taken control of Italy and another young man named Adolph Hitler was gathering support for the Nazi Party.  Across the world, the economy was beginning to fail and peace was faltering only a few years after the devastating First World War. 50 million people had just died from the Spanish Flu pandemic. These times were dark and many were wondering if God was present or if evil had finally conquered the world. So Pius XI established the feast of Christ the King to remind Christians that Jesus was in charge of the world and of history; not evil people and their destructive plans, not disease or natural disasters. 

Our times aren’t so different from the 1920’s. We often experience the effects of bad leaders and sinful shepherds; evil people still seize power and oppress the weak for their own gain. Our world hopes for peace as wars rage and terrorists murder the innocent and defenseless. So many in our world are affected by the struggle for earthly power and dominance, which causes abuses in marriages, families, and whole societies. Our times have seen horrendous attacks on human life and dignity. People still go hungry; the rich still oppress the poor, good so often appears to be defeated by evil and lives are too often snuffed out for the sake of profit and convenience. We need the message of hope and comfort given to us by Christ the King just as people did in 1925!! We need to be reminded that Christ still rules over history, even when things look terrible and depressing. We need to recall the fact that this world is passing away and the kingdom of God is coming to take its place.   

This is the truth of Christ the King. He is Lord of heaven and earth. He will return to make things right and to destroy evil once and for all. But for now he waits and, despite his unlimited power, he gives us a choice, he doesn’t force us to serve him. He asks us to choose between serving him and serving the world. But we cannot do both.

We would be wise to learn from the parable of the sheep and goats. The sheep are granted eternal life not because they immediately recognized Jesus in the people they served but because they were willing to love those who were marginalized, ignored, despised, and rejected. And Jesus reveals that these are the ones with whom he identifies. There is no shortage of individuals and groups who fit this description in our time. 

St. Teresa of Calcutta used to teach the "five-finger Gospel." You can watch the video of her holding a man's hand, palm up and beginning with the thumb, she says, "You. Did. It. To. Me." Mother Teresa emphasized that we don't need to go to Calcutta to practice the five-finger Gospel. We have people near us who are hungry, forgotten, imprisoned, rejected, and ill. The person who comes across angry, nasty, and hard to love often has the greatest need. Treat them with charity because, more than likely, you are ministering to Christ! Resist the temptation to adopt the world’s one-finger gospel which simply says, “me” or something even worse!

We can take comfort in Christ, whose kingship is described in Isaiah and psalm 23 as a loving shepherd. True power is manifested in service. We have a king who loves us by seeking out the lost, binding our wounds and even laying down his life for us.  In dark times like these, when things are truly difficult and frightening, Christ comes to seek us out and show us the way to safety. In return, he asks us to do the same for those around us who are struggling. 

Our times are tough but they’ve been bad before. Jesus was Lord and King then and he is Lord and King now! Stay close to him! Don’t lose hope! He will not abandon us. Be willing to love him through acts of mercy and compassion for those around you and nothing shall you want!

 

What a Fool Believes... (32nd Sunday, Year A)

To listen to this homily, click here.

This parable of the ten bridesmaids, five who are wise and five who are foolish, seems unthinkable these days. Who would possibly be allowed to have so many people in their bridal party with COVID 19 restrictions? Even before the pandemic, there has been a tendency for priests and pew-persons to focus on the less-important details of the parable. For example, it’s not such big deal that the foolish bridesmaids fell asleep; so did the wise ones. Nor is it helpful to be distracted by the detail that the wise did not share their oil with the others. This is not because they were somehow mean girls who were only thinking of themselves. The oil stands for something deeper that cannot be shared or given away. But more on that later. We will understand the heart of this parable if we remember it has, like all of Jesus’ stories, several layers of meaning. Some meanings are specific to the place and people he is preaching to. Others transcend 1st century Palestine and apply to all of us, regardless of where and when we live. Most important for us is to keep in mind that the lesson is not so much about 10 bridesmaids as it is about us who are supposed to be waiting for Jesus the bridegroom.

Let’s begin by digging deeper into traditional Jewish marriage practices. There were two stages to getting married. The first was the betrothal. Representatives from both families would get together and decide if the other’s son or daughter would be a good choice for their child and family. If they agreed, a dowry would be set, a marriage contract would be signed, and the couple would be legally married according to Jewish law. The betrothal was far more than an engagement. It was stage one of marriage. But the couple did not live together yet. They could remain betrothed for a year or two; no one exactly knew. This marriage process was not like ours which is meticulously planned out, sometimes minute-by-minute, by hired wedding coordinators. 

After the betrothal period, stage-two of the marriage took place: the wedding celebration. Here is how it happened. The bridegroom would go the house of the bride’s father and make the final arrangements, perhaps bringing whatever part of the dowry he still owed. Then he would escort the bride from her house to his home. This joyful procession would be led by maidens carrying torches. The bride and groom would come next, followed by members of their families. Neighbors would stand at their doors cheering the young couple on, wishing them well and offering small presents. Once the procession got to the groom’s house, the chosen ones invited to the party would enter with the bride and groom. Then the doors were closed and locked. Wedding crashers and late guests were not allowed in. If you weren’t ready, you missed out, no matter who you were. The wedding feast had begun and could not be interrupted. The party could last a whole week. For most people, it would be the happiest moment of their entire life; pure uninterrupted celebration with their dearest loved ones. From that point on the couple lived together as husband and wife.

In the parable, the maidens waited for the bridegroom to arrive so they could lead the procession. The only problem is that he is delayed. The five foolish girls were not prepared for a delay. They did not plan for any difficulties or surprises. They assumed everything would go according to their plan and they could control the timeline. As a result, their lamps have gone out and they did not have any oil to replenish them. The oil the wise virgins possess is not something external like food, clothes or money. The oil refers to an inner quality: for example, honesty, holiness, or integrity. It would be like asking someone to give you their courage or their relationship with God. Even if they wanted to, it simply isn’t possible; these are things each person has to cultivate for themselves. No one can do it for them. 

One of the most the most important and sobering lines in the parable comes when the foolish bridesmaids finally arrive late, and call out “Lord, Lord.” The groom responds, “I do not know you.” Even though they had been some of his dearest friends, even though they had been invited to the feast, they blew their chance to join in the celebration because they were not prepared for the big moment. They had ample time and opportunity but they squandered those chances. 

Jesus’ audience would know exactly what he was talking about because this was the world they lived in. It was possible to be too late and be locked out of the feast. There comes a time when there simply are no more chances and the opportunity is lost. If you’ve ever experienced this kind of loss, you know the crushing regret that follows. You and I are living in the time of betrothal. Jesus never wants you and I to miss the chance to join him at his wedding feast, when he finally returns to escort his Bride (the Church and all her faithful ones) to the eternal wedding feast in his home (which is heaven). But he is warning us that this terrible thing is possible if we are foolish and fail to be spiritually alert.

So what are the lessons for you and me as we ponder this parable? 1) There are some things that cannot be obtained at the last minute. We are foolish if we think we control our lives and our souls so much that we can wait to find forgiveness of our sins and holiness until the last minutes of our lives. These things take time and practice to cultivate and we simply do not know the moment we will be called before God. It is possible for us to be locked out.

2) The parable also teaches us there are some things which cannot be borrowed from others. The foolish virgins realized this too late and it caused them to be absent at the most important moment of their lives. You and I cannot borrow a relationship with God, we have to forge our own. We cannot borrow a virtuous, hopeful, and kind heart, we must grow our own with the help of God’s grace. If we delay doing these things, there will come a day when it is no longer possible, when it is too late and the lamp of our soul, first filled on the day of our baptism, runs out of oil and no longer burns with the light of Christ.  

    So where is your soul right now? Watching and waiting for the bridegroom? Or comfortable and sleeping, distracted by worldly concerns? May God’s wisdom come upon us all and help us to anticipate the Lord’s return by the way we live our lives. May we say with the psalmist, “My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God,” as we watch and wait for him. 

The Most Important Issue (29th Sunday - Pro Life)

 To listen to this homily, click here.

The struggle you and I are experiencing as we try to be both good citizens and loyal friends of God is nothing new. In fact the enemies of Jesus try to use this situation to get him in hot water with the Roman authorities, religious leaders or both. But Jesus proposes a better way! He teaches them to ‘Learn what you owe worldly power and authority and give earthly powers the appropriate respect and obedience. On the other hand, know what is owed to God and give Him the things that belong to Him alone.” It’s hard to imagine a more relevant teaching right now; “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, give to God what belongs to God.” The faithful Christian must constantly discern whether he or she is giving God and lawful civil authority their proper due. As Catholics, we must never forget that we first and foremost, citizens of heaven, That is where we are meant to spend eternity. Therefore all decisions and loyalties ought to be made with that allegiance to God and His law as our utmost priority. 

There are many serious issues facing us in the upcoming election: matters of human life and dignity, healthcare, immigration, environmental stewardship, economic policy, and education, to name some of the most apparent. There are no shortage of voices claiming to have the truth and proper priorities for us to follow as we prepare to cast our vote. There is an abundance of extreme speech from every direction, warning about the dire consequences should “so-and-so” win the election. Bitter division has festered in our families, between friends, and even in faith communities over the upcoming election. This is sad but it should not be surprising. This election is not just a contest between two political parties or ideologies. There are higher powers working behind the scenes. The devil, the prince of lies, the thief of souls, and spreader of division, never misses an opportunity to sow hatred and misery. He is working in the background of what is going on in our country right now. He cannot defeat God but he will never stop trying. He is like defeated bully lashing out, trying to inflict as much pain as possible in the time that remains before Jesus returns. 

The issues we face as a country are far bigger than political problems. Most of them spring from spiritual roots. This means they cannot be solved by human means alone. Politics can be part of the solution but we need God’s power and grace if we hope to see meaningful, lasting improvement. We need to consult God in addressing the challenges of today and follow his moral code.

It’s not possible for me to cover all the issues facing us as voters in one homily. That’s why Fr. Schneier and I made a couple videos to provide guidance in applying our Catholic principles to the issues at hand. Those can be found on the parish website and if you haven’t had a chance to see them, please set aside a little time to do so.

I have a responsibility as your priest to do everything I can to help you get to heaven and warn you of the spiritual dangers that threaten us as God’s people. Not all of the issues we face are equal. All deserve our prayerful consideration. But some are more pressing than others. Of all the issues we need to confront, the most serious are those dealing with the taking of innocent human life. 

In our country, the most urgent issue is the practice of legalized abortion which denies the most basic and fundamental human right to more than 800,000 unborn children every year. Our bishops, in their document on voting and faithful citizenship, call abortion the “our preeminent priority because it directly attacks life itself, because it takes place within the sanctuary of the family, and because of the number of lives destroyed. There is nothing more important because all of our other rights rely on the ability to be born. Abortion is not a political issue. It is a moral issue dealing with human rights that has become political. We need to understand this so we are not tempted to abdicate our responsibility to practice our faith in the process of being good citizens of our country. We cannot be silent about the subject of abortion!

I think it’s also important to remember that behind every issue is a person. Sometimes we forget this as we engage in the political process and hear the various arguments for or against a party’s position. We get so caught up in trying to “win” people to our point of view that we forget real lives are at stake. A number of years ago I was sitting in my office as an associate pastor. The phone rang and it was a distressed young woman. She said, “I am sitting in the parking lot of PP because I am pregnant and cannot afford another baby. I don’t want do this but I don’t know what to do.” “I will help you, just please leave there and come to my office.” I said, as calmly as I could. I had no idea what to do exactly but thankfully the woman came to the parish and I promised to get her the help she needed, from diapers to healthcare to vocational counseling. What amazed me in the months and years after that call, is how God sent so many incredible people to help this woman and her child. I did not have all the answers; in fact, my main role was to connect her with organizations and individuals who knew how to help her. Over time, more than 2 dozen groups and people of good will provided assistance to help ensure that unborn child could be born and also to provide a viable future for her mother. I am happy to say that this young mom is now happily married, has a home, and meaningful employment that helps provide for her growing family. Some of the people that provided assistance to her in her moment of need are still in contact with her to support and encourage her. A few have become friends. I never saw any proof of the argument that Catholics are pro-birth but don’t help once the child is born. I saw exactly the opposite from every person involved and this has been my experience with the entire pro-life movement.

I was privileged to be this child’s godfather. That little baby isn’t so little anymore. She is a feisty, funny, young lady who is doing great in school. I can’t imagine our world without her. What a loss it would be!

Sadly, until the laws of our country change, 800,000 children in similar situations as my goddaughter will be sacrificed in name of freedom and choice. More than 60 million have already paid the price for our moral indifference and cowardice. There is a real price that is paid when we fail to live out our faith in the voting booth and are afraid to call abortion for what it really is: murder, genocide, or as Pope Francis describes it, “like hiring a hitman.” 

 But I don’t stand here preaching to you without hope. Our greatest hope is in the inexhaustible mercy of God. Despite the fact that our country has allowed the destruction of so much innocent life, I am certain that deep down America still values the gift of life.  There is still so much goodness in our country and so many still try to find that balance of giving to God what belongs to God and to Caesar what belongs to caesar.. Deep down we still believe that life is truly precious, life is beautiful, life is the fundamental right of every person and the very foundation of our country. But we must do more to protect those who cannot protect themselves. We must work to ensure that every person has the right to live regardless of whether or not their life is convenient, expected, wanted, or productive. And we must allow this mentality to transform the way we think, the way we vote, the way we live out our faith.

 Lastly, and this is important, these offenses against human life in our country make victims of the living as well. If any of you have been involved in an abortion and are hurting please know that you can find healing, peace, and forgiveness from Christ in his Church, especially through the sacrament of reconciliation. It is important for each of us to remember that there is no sin, no offense too great for God’s mercy. There are ministries in our Church like Project Rachael and Project Joseph to help men and women who have been hurt by their decision to choose abortion as a solution to an unwanted, unplanned pregnancy. You are still part of God’s family and we love you!

 As we come here to this Eucharist, let us renew our efforts on behalf of life. We have a responsibility to end the scourge of abortion. All humans deserve the right to be born and we should be the first ones to jump in and help those moms and dads who are struggling to say yes to life. May each of us build up a culture that respects and protects life in every stage, from conception until death by the way we vote, pray, and live out our faith! Hail Mary…

Come to the Feast (28th Sunday, Year A)

To listen to this homily, click here.

In our Old Testament reading, Isaiah prophesies a heavenly wedding feast with "juicy, rich food and pure, choice wine." To appreciate the allure of this vision we have to remember that they did not have supermarkets with a variety of fresh meat and luxurious foods. Instead, for a special occasion, they would slaughter an animal and everything would have to be consumed or go to waste. There was very little ability to preserve food and most people lived meal to meal and could only eat whatever was in season in their local area. As for wine, it was consumed in limited quantities and usually diluted with water to make it last longer. The ancient world was one big lesson in “you get what you get and don’t throw a fit.” They would have been amazed at the overwhelming variety of food you and I have access to in this country. They would marvel at the fact that we can have summer food during the winter season and freeze cooked meals for months. They would also be scandalized by the fact that Americans waste 30-40% of all food that is sold in our country. For us, rich food and fine wine is an expectation, a birthright, a normal day in the life of a first world country. But this is new development in the history of the world. More than 2 billion people go hungry every day, even now! In order to appreciate the banquet language of our first reading and gospel, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of those who do not have food security, both in the ancient world and in our times. 

  To be invited to a wedding feast meant a break from hunger and the drudgery of daily duties. The wedding of a king's son would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience with several days of delicious food, abundant wine and general merrymaking. The prized invitation would come in two stages: first, a general announcement. Then, when everything was ready, they would tell people to drop everything, put on their best clothes and come. No one in their right mind would think of declining the king’s invitation. Even if you didn’t know the bride and groom, you would want to be at the big event to see and be seen. Even if you didn’t care for the king, you would respect his power and authority and do anything to avoid offending him. Even if you didn’t know the other guests or felt out of place, you would have to be insane to pass up free food and drink. Even more so the food and drink that would be offered to guests of the king. A wise and prudent person would do everything possible to be at the wedding feast.

Shockingly, foolishly some of the invited guests turn down the summons. Why? Well, Jesus says they go "one to his farm and another to his business”. They have other priorities; other responsibilities which seem more important to them. A farm and a business are good things, but these characters made them their ultimate concern, even more important than pleasing their king and joining the community in celebrating this happy moment. What matters most to them are the things of this world. In our time we might identify this way of thinking as secularism or materialism. In this worldview, the most important things to be valued are the things that can be measured, like wealth, productivity, health, and power. In this way of living, I put my desires before my obligations. It is, spiritually speaking, a very dangerous way to exist.

You don’t have to be a theologian to see that both the feast in the vision of Isaiah and the feast in Jesus’ parable are pointing to eternal life in heaven. Both images are using the basic elements of food, drink, and fellowship, things we can all appreciate and relate with, to give us a sense of what God wants to provide forever for those that accept his invitation. But we don’t have to wait until the next life to enjoy the meal God wants to serve us! Where do we find the finest spiritual food, drink and fellowship here on earth? In the Mass, at the Eucharist! The Mass is our link to the wedding feast that has been prepared from the beginning of time. Coming to Mass, worshiping at the Eucharist, joining in community each Sunday here at this altar is how we accept invitation of the King. 

Sadly, many people have rejected the King’s offer to join in his feast. As a nation and as a world, we are becoming more secular and materialistic. Fewer and fewer people practice their faith, go to church, or acknowledge their obligation to know, love and serve God! For many, the most important things are health, wealth, power, pleasure and productivity; all things that can be measured. They are good things, in their proper place, but they are not the best thing and can never become our ultimate goal. The rejection of God’s invitation, the refusal to eat with him at his table, surrounded by his friends, has an effect on us as individuals and as a society. It makes us spiritually starving and dehydrated. 

As we have become more secularized and obsessed with worldly things, we have fallen into more depression, anxiety, and addiction. The most vulnerable are our young people. The Center for Disease Control reported that in the month of June, 25% of young people, age 18-24, considered taking their own life. The study considered that the Covid-19 lockdown increased isolation, stress and substance abuse. The book of Genesis says that it is not good for man to be alone. Even living in a land of abundance does not satisfy the deeper hunger we all experience. We need each other and we need God.

To find God, like the people in today's Gospel, we have to accept his invitation. This is not easy. It is difficult to drop what we are doing and give God his due. Much of what our Church teaches is seen as foolishness in the eyes of the world. But we are in good company!  When Jesus first proclaimed the mystery of the Eucharist, "many disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him" (John 6:66) We have special challenges today. Nearly 70% of Catholics no longer believe the Eucharist the Body and Blood of Jesus. Nearly that same number only come to Mass once or twice a year, if at all! Faith is seen by many in our society as old-fashioned and irrelevant and the Church is nothing more than another imperfect human institution.”

As we hear in today's Gospel, Jesus invites the "bad and good alike". I don't know about you, but I am relieved to know that. I recognize that the Church is composed of sinful human beings. I am a prime example of such imperfection! St. Paul describes us as clay jars that contain an incalculable treasure. The treasure we hold is nothing more and nothing less than Jesus in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is our first taste of the banquet God wants to share with us forever. Everyone is invited but no one is forced to go.

Don't turn down the invitation. I know there are many things that compete for your time, attention, and energy. So many of them are good things. But nothing is better or more important than the opportunity to be fed by God and supported by his community of faith. What ultimately matters is how we respond to Jesus' invitation: "Everything is ready. Come to the feast." 

The Grapes of Wrath (27th Sunday of OT)

To listen to this homily, click here.

This weekend is all about vineyards in the Word of God; in fact, the last three weeks have mentioned vineyards in some way, shape or form to teach us about God. Regardless of whether or not you like wine or prefer beer, the Scriptures pack a punch on many levels.

The first perspective we might consider is historical. When Jesus tells his story about the vineyard, he is speaking directly to the People of God. The vineyard represents the Chosen People and God is the landowner. Jesus stresses all the good things God has done to get the vineyard established and prepared; not only did he plant the vines in the covenants he made with Israel, he also protected it through many miracles and the kings, judges and leaders he sent to Israel.  All the hard work has been done by God. He asks his people to take care of the relationship he has built with them and harvest the produce which is represented in the the Incarnation. (Despite his generosity, God can’t seem to get his share of the vintage.) When God sends the prophets to remind his people of the loyalty and praise they owe him, they beat, kill, and chase away his messengers. Anticipating his own death, Jesus says the landowner finally sends his son, hoping it will be enough to set the the vineyard in order. However, the tenants are so hardened they even kill the son, thinking this will allow them to keep the vineyard for themselves. Incredibly, when Jesus asks how the landowner should treat his rebellious tenants, his audience, the same people who will soon call for Jesus to be crucified, reply that the evildoers of the story should be put to a wretched death and their share be given to someone else. As things turn out, the Chosen People, lose their exclusive claim to God’s vineyard and he opens it up to new tenants, anyone who believes in his resurrected Son, Jesus Christ.

The second perspective of these parables is spiritual. In this view, God is still the landowner but now the vineyard is the Church, the new Israel. Once again, God has done all the hard work of preparing the Church to bear tremendous fruit. He has founded it through the sacrifice of his Son on the cross, watered it with the grace of the sacraments, protected it throughout the centuries with the Gift of the Holy Spirit and the leadership of the apostles represented in the teaching of the magisterium. Finally, he has constantly provided saintly men and women to keep the vineyard healthy and remind the tenants to give him his due of sacrifice, glory, and worship throughout the ages. The open question that remains when we consider the parable in this light would be, “Are we doing our part to make sure the Catholic Church is bearing good fruit for the Lord? As Catholics, are we making a holy impact on society? Are we helping to ensure that God gets what is his from the universe he created? Most especially love, respect, and adoration? Do we share freely of our gifts with the Church as a sign of appreciation for what God has done for us? Judging by the level of hatred, division, and violence in our world right now, perhaps we in the Church have been thinking too much about our own share rather than God’s!

The third and most challenging perspective is to look at the parable of the vineyard as personal. Each one of us is God’s vineyard and he has invested tremendously in every person. He created us with his own hands in our mother’s womb, gave us an eternal soul that reflected himself, made sure we are protected by a guardian angel, and bestowed a personality and talents that were unique to each and every person. After doing all this, he gave us free will and let us be born into the world to enjoy his goodness and the gifts he gave so freely. Throughout the life of every person, God sends messengers and caretakers to watch over us: teachers, priests, parents, friends, and neighbors, to make sure our vineyard doesn’t get destroyed. Once again, God is the one who does the hard work and then, instead of being a control freak, he steps back to let the vineyard have a chance to grow and bear fruit. All he asks in return is that our lives be fruitful and some of those blessing be offered back to him.

What does this mean on a personal level?  Have we in fact produced the good fruit of justice, mercy, and love? Do we at times forget that we are only tenants of our lives, bodies, and souls? Do we instead imagine ourselves as owners and do as we please? This grasping for ownership instead of stewardship is at the heart of every single sin we commit as individuals and society. Do we tend to store up more of earth’s fruit than we could possibly use while others die of starvation, neglect, and need? Do we act with violence against our fellow human beings with anger, gossip, judgement, racism, unforgiveness, moral indifference, or impurity, failing to see each person as a child of God? 

Today’s Scriptures are crystal clear; God is a generous and benevolent Lord; he gives us more than we could ever hope for or deserve. But he expects to receive his portion of the harvest. And when his tenants try to keep his share for themselves, when they ignore his messengers and mistreat his Son, there are real consequences. This truth applies to you and me too. We ought to reflect on what we owe God in every area of our lives; to ignore this question or put it off for another day is to put ourself in danger of God’s righteous wrath. Is God receiving his share from me as a faithful Catholic? Do I support the Church and her works of charity and mercy? Do I practice my faith completely or do I pick and choose what teachings I will follow? Do I conform my life to God’s Truth or do I try to conform God’s Truth to my life? Does God receive his share from me first or do I give whatever is leftover of my time, talent, and treasure? The same principles of giving God his due apply in other areas of our life also. Are we acknowledging and glorifying God as good citizens, diligent professionals, dedicated students, patient parents, respectful spouses, considerate friends and loving family members? If, in any of these areas of our life, we are trying to be our own masters instead of humble stewards, now is the time to make amends and start giving God his due.  

God will not never stop being generous. But we can be cast out of the vineyard and lose everything if we don’t repent of our greed and sinfulness. God will give it to someone more worthy. Think of God first in all things, acknowledge what you owe him, and be extravagant in thanking him. You will not regret it.