4th Sunday of Lent, Cycle C

The parable of the prodigal son is one of the most well-known and best-loved of all the parables. I believe this is true because we easily identify with each of the characters in this beautiful story of love and forgiveness. Most people associate themselves with the prodigal son; however, the characters of the father and the older son are also rich and relevant for our lives. In this homily, I want to lead you through a reflection on each of the characters so that you might see their presence in your own heart and might come to a deeper rejoicing in the mercy that God wishes to share with us.

The meaning of the word “prodigal” provides insight into the personality of youngest son. It means “a person who spends money in a recklessly extravagant way”. His request of the father in the beginning of the parable is offensive. He says, “give me the share of your estate that should come to me”, meaning, “give me my inheritance that I will receive when you die because I don’t want to wait that long.” Mysteriously, the father does exactly what he demands, giving the inheritance to both sons. To make this offense even worse, the younger son waits a few days before setting out. During this time, he could have changed his mind, he could have apologized, but he does not. He travels far from home, wasting his inheritance by indulging in any and every worldly, sinful indulgence. His inheritance was not something he earned, it was a gift of his father’s generosity, sacrifice, and hard work and he throws it away freely and completely. 

When exhausting the gift of his father on these sinful pleasures, the prodigal son is left unsatisfied. Despite filling his days and nights with everything money can buy, he is utterly empty, hungry, and alone; three things humans dread. In desperation, he works among pigs and longs to eat the garbage that is fed to them. This is made more pitiful when we realize the son was Jewish and that pigs were considered unclean and to be completely avoided. It is hard to imagine this son getting any lower than he is right now. He had everything he could ever need and he foolishly threw it away.

If we pause for a moment here, it should not be difficult for any of us to relate to the prodigal son. At baptism, we received the very life of God into our souls as original sin was cast out and sanctifying grace swept over us. We had everything we needed to spiritually make our way to heaven as sons and daughters of God. But this gift came at a price; God the Father sent his Son to die for our sins so that we might be saved. There is no greater sacrifice he could have made for us! However, how many times we are not content with this incredible gift. How often we come to God with that same bold request to receive our inheritance so we can spend it as we please. Whenever we sin, we say to God the Father: “Let me take the gifts you have given me, with all of the pain and sacrifice they have cost you, and use them however I want.” Anytime we take the gifts of God and use them for purposes apart from him, we will end up empty, desperate, and isolated by sin. 

Happily, this is not the end of the story. When the younger son hits rock bottom, he comes to his senses. He realizes that even the lowest servant in his Father’s house has all that he needs and more. The son resolves to return home, no longer as a son but as a servant. If his father accepts him back as a servant he will be grateful. This mature insight comes as the result of his suffering and happens only after the glamour of sin has vanished. He turns his back to his sinful life and begins his journey home.

While he was still far away, the Father spots him, runs to him, and embraces him. How many days the Father must have looked for his prodigal son, waiting for his return, and yet seen nothing? How easy it would have been for him to give up, to grow bitter, to let this inconsiderate child suffer the consequences of his poor decisions? But the father doesn’t do any of these things. He doesn’t wait for the son to limp back to him, he runs to him. He doesn’t command his son to his knees, he embraces him and kisses him! After the son acknowledges his wrongdoing and his unworthiness, the Father forgives everything and commands his servants to bring the best of what he has and clothe him in it and prepare the finest meal to eat. The Father rejoices in his son’s return and reinstates him as a beloved son and heir. Even though his child had lost everything given him, even though his child deeply wounded him, the father forgives and then celebrates this reunion. This father’s love desires that his children be united safely with him; this trumps even the hurts and mistakes that his son has committed. 

The loving forgiveness described here is incredible! Those who are parents might feel capable of this to some degree but to absorb the hurts and insensitivity of a prodigal child without bitterness is a gift only God can give. Sadly, we have all been prodigal sons and daughters throughout our lives in various ways and to certain degrees. As we return to our senses, we should always ask for forgiveness from our Heavenly father, most especially in the sacrament of confession, where he embraces us and welcomes us back into the household of faith. We are also called to exercise the forgiveness of the father towards those who have hurt us. Each of us have been forgiven a great deal and all that God requires for his gift of pardoning our sins, is that we in turn forgive those who sin against us. Therefore, it is important for us to reflect deeply on the forgiving heart of the Father in today’s parable, because it is his heart that we are called to imitate. We are called to watch and wait and pray for the return of those who have separated themselves from us by sin. We are called to embrace those who seek our forgiveness and to be extravagant in pardoning their wrongdoing without the bitterness or desire for revenge that often overcomes us.  

Finally, we come to the older son, who has been obedient all his life and loyal to his Father. When he hears the sounds of celebration throughout the house and sees the fatted calf headed for the slaughter, it is all too much for him to bear. He becomes angry, pouts, and refuses to enter the house to see his brother or his joyous father. Once again, the father seeks out the one who is alone and pleads with his older son. When the son angrily responds to the Father’s plea with a list of his brother’s sins and a complaint that he never even got a party with his friends, we see that his heart is filled with jealousy and greed. In some ways, the sins of the older son are more dangerous because they are concealed and they have been festering in his heart for many years. His bitterness does not allow him to see the bigger and better picture: that his brother who was lost to sin, has repented and returned. In his self-pity and self-righteousness, he is unable to participate in his father’s joy.

Perhaps we too have had this same experience. Maybe we have been good Christians, loyal sons and daughters and have been outraged when the prodigal sons in our lives return and receive forgiveness. Perhaps we have pouted as we ran through the reasons they didn’t deserve the mercy they received and how we felt put out. Or we felt like they were forgiven too easily, that they really didn’t earn it. But this is small-minded, human thinking. None of us is completely righteous or without sin. Each of us is a prodigal son or daughter because all have sinned and turned away from God at some point. Not only should we rejoice every time a brother or sister is reconciled, all of us are called to imitate the loving father in today’s parable because we have received that extravagant forgiveness in our own lives.  

Let us return often to this beautiful parable of the prodigal son, which teaches us who we are, how we have been forgiven and what we are called to do. Let us never forget that we have first received mercy from God and we should rejoice in the opportunities to share that forgiveness with others. Finally, let us pray daily for those who have wandered far from God and family through sin that they may know the peace of reconciliation. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, his mercy endures forever!

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

There is a powerful question presented in the first reading today: powerful because it come from the mouth of God Himself. While he is appearing to the prophet Isaiah, the Lord asks, “Whom shall we send? Who will go for us?” 

This theme of calling or vocation, runs throughout the readings, as we hear St. Paul describe his experience of being summoned by God to spread the gospel to the whole gentile world. Then, of course, we also read about the calling of St. Peter, who follows Jesus after the miraculous catch of fish. Hearing these three vocation stories gives us an opportunity to reflect on our own calling to serve the Lord, whether that be as priests and religious, married people, or consecrated single life. Even if we have already chosen our vocation, even if it has been many years since we made that decision, it still serves us well to examine our response to the Lord’s invitation, every day. Through the grace of our Baptism, completed by our confirmation, all of us have been sent out by God. Whatever it is that we do, we are to do it for the greater glory and honor of God.

So, what does this mean? What does it mean to say that we are called to serve God in every way possible. Well, some of you are married, others are hoping some day to marry. Here’s what serving God means: it means that it is not good enough simply to be husbands. You must try to be the best husband possible, emptying yourself for your wife, serving God by serving her. Put her first. Women should always come first. Just as Eve was God’s gift to Adam, so too, your wife is to you. They are the sacred vessels of life. Love her, and love God by honoring her. For your part, women, don’t just be wives. Be the best wife the world has ever seen. Honor, love, and serve your husband as the daily expression of your love for God. To both husbands and wives: Do not compete with one another! Do not try to dominate your spouse! Support and serve each other and see it as the way you honor God and spread the gospel. 

Some of you are parents, or hoping to become parents. It is not enough to give birth and sustain the life of a child. You are also called to serve God through your children. Be the best parents possible. Being a good parent means teaching your kids the faith, forming them in virtue, disciplining them and raising them to be good citizens and future saints. Being a good parent does not mean  becoming your child’s personal slave, fulfilling their every whim, or making them little kings and queens! Remember that God has entrusted an immortal soul for you to protect, form and nourish. As you do this in the million ordinary and thankless tasks of everyday family life, recall you are serving God, who created your children.

Right now many here are students. Some find study easier than others. That doesn’t make any difference. You must be the best student you can be, developing your own talents. Your teachers may tell you you have to work hard to succeed in the world. I am telling you that this is only a part of the story. You must work hard, not simply to succeed in the world, but to serve the Lord.

Finally, some of our young people, and perhaps even some of our not-so-young people are being called to serve the Lord as priests and religious. In a parish this size, I am certain there are quite a number of men and women that God is inviting to this special mode of living for Him. If you think God might be calling you to the priesthood or religious life, do not be afraid. It is a life of incredible happiness and fulfillment and you will be amazed how God will use your gifts to build up his Church and heal those who are hurting. Parents, if you think your child might have a religious or priestly vocation, support them in finding out. 

Do not discourage them, do not be afraid. Your child will find the most happiness and fulfillment in the vocation God has called them to, even if it’s not the vocation you might have planned or hoped they would grow into. 

We are all called to serve the King of Kings. We don’t simply perform a job. We are called to serve the Lord and glorify him in what we do. If we are priests, we must be the best priests possible, using our particular gifts for Him. If we are auto mechanics, we must be the best mechanic possible serving God by taking caring of people’s cars and keeping them safe. Some of you are doctors, and lawyers, and nurses and school teachers. We don’t just need doctors and nurses and school teachers, and lawyers and accountants. We need the best doctors and nurses and school teachers and and lawyers and accountants. Whatever we do in life, we must do it to the best of our ability because we are doing it in service to the Lord.

We only have one shot at life. We only get one life. We need to make the very best of our lives and this happens when we serve God in every aspect of our lives.

People often get a little squeamish with this concept that we are all called to serve the Lord in our respective vocations. We often think we are not good enough. Surely spreading the gospel must be a job for a saint but not for little old me! All three readings this week answer that question. Isaiah was not good enough at first. But when an angel touched his mouth with an ember from the fire, he was made clean. In the second reading Paul reminds us that he started off by persecuting Christians. He was not a good man. He would round up men, women and children and bring them to trial. Paul was a spectator at the martyrdom of St. Stephen, but he cheered on the mob and left excited to find the next victim. But despite all this Jesus transformed Paul into an apostle. In the Gospel, Peter wants Jesus to leave him because he is so aware of his own sin. Jesus basically says, “No way. I have work for you, You will be catching men.”

Jesus says to us, “Stop hiding behind your human failures. How dare you say that I cannot send you?  I am God. I have work for you to do. I will cleanse you. I will send you.”

We have work to do. We have been sent by the same God who sent Isaiah, who empowered Paul, who made Peter a fisher of men.

We need to stop limiting ourselves to the here and now. We need to do the work of God. Every part of creation has its own truth and goodness and beauty, including us human beings. The problem is that many of us refuse to recognize the dependence of creation on God. Creation without the Creator fades into nothingness. People who attempt to live separated from God condemn themselves to meaningless lives. 

We are called, we are sent, to lead people to meaning, to lead people to God. Whatever it is that we do in life, from something as major as marriage or priesthood or religious life, to something as minor as finishing a school assignment, we do it in service to God. Every action of our lives has purpose, not just for ourselves, but also for others who are seeking the Lord. We are meant to be fishers of men, each in our own vocation. Let us pray today for the courage to respond to this calling by doing all for the greater honor and glory of God.

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

In the 1960’s, one of the most-influential and widely-loved bands of all time was given a challenge: write a song with a simple message that would be understood by the people of any and every nation. John Lennon, who was fascinated by the power of slogans and wanted to use his lyrical gifts to make a positive impact on the world, responded with a song that was both easy to understand and hard to get out of your head. This hit song debuted on live television in front of 400 million viewers and quickly became a hit for the popular band. The simple message offered by the Beatles was this: “all you need is love, love is all you need.” Right away, this song was well-received, especially in the UK and US, where it spent time at #1 on the music charts.

Now whether or not they intended to, the Beatles hit upon a spiritual truth. They were right to say that all you need is love! But they were not the first ones to proclaim this bold truth. St. Augustine, in a 4^th century homily on the first letter of St. John, tells his congregation to love (meaning God) and then do what you will. But even this great Doctor of the Church was borrowing something that had already been stated by another. We find the inspiration behind both the Beatles and Augustine in today’s second reading of St. Paul to the Corinthians. In this beautiful letter, proclaimed at nearly every Christian wedding, Paul gives us a poetic and precise definition of what love truly is...and is not. To conclude, he emphasizes an important point: “In the end, faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” 

It seems so simple! A music critic, after hearing “All you Need is Love” rejoiced in the fact that their message could not be misinterpreted. It was clear that love was everything. One might feel the same way about the St. Augustine’s daring command to “Love God and then do what you will”. The scary thing is that both Augustine and the Beatles are right on the money; the problem is the world doesn’t know what true love is. Fortunately for us, St. Paul lays it out for us.

Before we can appreciate the terms of Paul’s definition of love, we need first look at the context in which the Apostle to the Gentiles was writing. He was NOT just speaking to people about to get married, nor was he setting out to define love! He was writing to the Church in the city of Corinth which had some serious problems. On one hand, most of the believers in Corinth were extremely excited about their faith. There were people with tremendous gifts in the community; there were teachers and healers and those who could speak in tongues. There were those who could lead in worship, those who were preachers and others who could prophecy. 

In the same church, and often in the same people, there were also some strange and unChristian things going on:

- like the man who was sleeping with his step-mother or the two church leaders who had dragged each other off to court instead of making peace. 

    - and some people really didn't behave that well at the meals held in memory of Christ: some ate too much, some drank too much, and others went hungry; 

    - and then too, there were public disagreements about which of the apostles and teachers who had come to Corinth were the best - and which were the worst;

• and there were even some folks who believed that their contribution to the community of faith was more significant than the contributions made by others - and because of this, their views on things should be considered first. 

In short people in Corinth were, at times rude to one another, impatient, arrogant, greedy, selfish, egotistical, and unkind. This even though they had also displayed some very wonderful spiritual gifts - this even though they were generally good people. The hard truth about true love, as outlined by St. Paul is this. It doesn't matter if you have enough faith to say to a mountain “move”, and it moves; if you don’t have love,  you are nothing. It doesn't matter if you can speak out for God - if you know all mysteries - and can heal all diseases - and do so - if you have not love - it won’t save you. Love is the test of our faith. People know we are Christians by our love and they know that we are something less than fully Christian when we lack it.

So then, the million-dollar question: what is love? Simply put, it is loving God above all things and our neighbor as we ourselves want to be loved and cared for. Even more simple: God first, neighbor second, and self last. Authentic Christian love moves us to see that each person is created in the image and likeness of God. It makes us realize that within each person is an immortal soul God wants to love forever in heaven. Love makes us want to help that soul be united to God no matter what the cost. Sometimes true love will make people uncomfortable, angry, or even hurt their feelings. Christian love does not always feel good, it is not necessarily politically correct or popular. But it always moves us to want what is best for others just as badly as we want those good things for ourselves. True love helps us to look past the trivial hurts, slights, and worldly setbacks to what is truly important: eternal union and happiness with God, whether it be for ourselves or someone else. 

   With this background information, we can understand why St. Paul says love is patient and kind. It only makes sense that it is not jealous, pompous, inflated, rude, or self-seeking. Of course it cannot be quick-tempered, or brood over injury, or rejoice over wrongdoing. It must instead rejoice with the truth and bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things. This love cannot fail.

We, for our part, must measure our love against the gold standard Paul places before us. I want you to put yourself into today's passage where love is described. I want you to think about your own life and where you need to grow to embody this fullest form of love. Listen again to this passage, slightly changed, of how God’s love should look in your actions:

I am patient. I am kind. I am not envious or boastful, arrogant or rude. I do not insist on my own way. I am not irritable or resentful. I do not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoice in the truth. I bear all things, I believe all things. I hope all things. I endure all things.

All you need is this love! May you share it generously so that you may receive it freely from source of all Love, Jesus Christ, whose love never fails. Turn to God, ask his help to pass the examination of love each minute of each day and ask his help to abide in him as He abides in you. 

40th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade

One day, about three years ago, while I was stationed at the cathedral basilica, I received a startling phone call in my office. On the line was a young lady: desperate, tearful, frightened. She told me she needed help and she was near the cathedral. Now, we received calls on the phone and at our door constantly, with most people asking for money and rejecting any other type of assistance. Dealing with this on a daily basis can make you a little hardened and skeptical when someone tells you that they need something. Because of this experience, I was already on guard and prepared to tell her to call the St. Vincent de Paul society and wait for them to contact her. I asked where she was and what I specifically could do to help her. She told me that she was sitting in the parking lot of the planned parenthood on the corner of Forest Park Parkway and Boyle Avenue, about a half mile away. She was pregnant and alone and could not see how she could provide for this child. An abortion seemed like the most logical choice and the best solution to her unplanned pregnancy. But this young woman had a conscience that was making her hesitate. And she had a maternal instinct that told her that somehow, this just wasn’t right, that what was happening inside of her was life, human life.

As I listened to her predicament, I had chills going up and down my spine. I asked her to please leave that parking lot right away and come to the cathedral so that we could work something out. By the grace of God, she left Planned Parenthood and came to my office. Her needs were indeed real,  substantial and not easily or quickly resolved. There was no way she, by herself, would be able to provide for the baby that was being formed in her womb. I could see why she felt that abortion was the way out. Although she didn’t realize it, that young woman’s call and visit to my office that day challenged me to consider what I myself was willing to sacrifice in order to stand up for life. 

After listening to her story, I put her in contact with one of the pregnancy crisis centers that we are blessed to have in St. Louis. They helped her come up with a plan for her pregnancy and prepared her for the task of taking care of this newborn baby. They offered her counseling to support her in straightening things out in her life and in her relationships. They also helped her find other charities that provide clothing, food, and other essential items for both moms and babies. While this addressed her immediate needs and fears, this young woman had significant financial challenges that also had to be addressed. Through prayer and the help of generous people, we found some donors who helped with her bills and payed down her debt. I promised to cover her transportation expenses until she was back on her feet and working. In the end, she gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, baby girl. I felt privileged to be invited to the hospital afterwards to hold the baby and share in the mother’s joy. And I couldn’t help but marvel at how many good, pro-life people played a part in making it possible for her to carry this child to term and choose life instead of the seemingly easier path that abortion promised. All of the financial sacrifices that I had made to help this woman were completely worth it in that single moment. 

But in the midst of this joy, I also felt sadness. This baby girl was lucky; her mom had hesitated before walking through the doors of Planned Parenthood, her mom had reached out for help before doing something that was irreversible and tragic. How many other babies that day had not been so lucky? How many young lives were lost because their moms didn’t know about crisis pregnancy centers or didn’t think to call a church or maybe just didn’t have a person that cared enough to help them find an alternative to abortion?

This past Tuesday marked the 40^th anniversary of legalization of abortion in this country. In those 40 years, some 55 million babies have been killed and countless moms and dads have been wounded and haunted by a decision that was supposed to make their lives easier. Every day around 3200 abortions are performed in our country. To put that in perspective, that’s the equivalent of 160 Sandy Hook Elementary shootings taking place every day for forty years. But numbers alone don’t fully convey the horror of abortion. In each and every case there is the loss of an innocent life that was meant to be something unique, lovable, and beautiful. Each and every one of those 55 million babies was intended by God to be born, to have birthday parties, to be a brother or sister, to go to school, to make friends, cure diseases, and start families of their own. And while the unborn are the ones most profoundly wronged by abortion, the living suffer from this evil as well. Whether they be the mother or father, grandma or grandpa of the unborn child, a nurse or doctor performing the procedure, all who participate in the taking of innocent life, even the society as a whole, is damaged with every baby aborted. 55 million people, 55 million fellow U.S. citizens are missing and have not been given the opportunity to contribute to the fabric of this nation!

In many ways I know I am preaching to the choir. I have been impressed by the pro-life spirit that is present here at St. Joe’s. I can tell you that there was a much more divided congregation at the cathedral when it came to this issue, which I still cannot understand, that some people consider themselves Catholic and still advocate for abortion. 

What I want to ask you to reflect on today is not just the overwhelming stats or the evil nature of abortion; you already know these things. Rather, I want to ask each of you to consider what you are doing to make sure the evil of abortion is eliminated from our country. What sacrifices are you willing to make? How hard are you prepared to pray? How far will you agree to go in order to reach out to those considering an abortion or those struggling and hurting after their decision to terminate the young life entrusted to them. There are many ministries devoted to saving the lives of the unborn and protecting men and women who think that abortion is their only option. You and I need to support those ministries like Birthright, Thrive, Our Lady’s Inn, Coalition for Life, and Mary Queen of the Angels, to name a few in this area. We need to support them, whether that be through the sharing of our time as a volunteer, with our material resources, with our prayers, or by knowing what they do and where they are, in case someone ever comes to us in need. I wanted to share my personal story of helping someone choose life because it helped me to see that to be truly pro-life, means sacrifice and commitment. We must get involved in the struggle to save lives that are incredibly real, just like that baby, who is now two years old and brings a smile to my face whenever I get to see her. We cannot think of the issue simply in terms of numbers or laws or arguments. 

My prayer today is that the many pro-life people of this parish and in this country take up an even more active role in the struggle to end abortion and restore the right of every human person to be born. May none of us run away from our responsibility to protect these innocent lives and promote the dignity that is theirs. My hope for all of you is that you will be as blessed as I was three years ago to see how beautiful and delicate life really is. And that in a very special way you will believe and embrace the potential each of you can have in building up a culture of life. May God bless the work before us and use us to bring about the only choice that really matters: choose life! 

1st Sunday of Advent (Cycle C)

Recently, the Archbishop of Washington DC, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, made some funny comments about how people are starting to celebrate the holidays earlier and earlier. He was only slightly exaggerating when he said that “one knows it’s time for Halloween when the Christmas decorations come out”. I have to agree with him from my own experience of seeing so many people celebrating Christmas even before we enter the month of December. This premature celebration shows the power of merchandising over the proper and meaningful celebration of the seasons of life and the mysteries of our Faith. We are reminded of this every year as we notice the clash of colors between Advent violet in our churches and Christmas red splashed everywhere beyond the doors of our places of worship. However, I want you to relax. If you have taken advantage of some of the warm and pleasant weather in the last two weeks to put up your Christmas lights or other decorations, I’m not going to condemn you or ask you to rip them down. But I want each of us to enter fully into this beautiful season of waiting and preparing over the next four Sundays. 

So what’s going on in the readings today? And why do they seem so similar to the end of the world readings that we have been hearing over the past couple of weeks?

The background of the the first reading is important: the prophet Jeremiah is imprisoned by the Jewish leaders. He has been prophesying about disasters about to take place in Judah and Israel. In the midst of this darkness, today’s First Reading provides a more hopeful promise God has made to Israel. Even though Jerusalem will be an abandoned wasteland for awhile, it will not remain that way forever. There will eventually be joy, singing, and thanksgiving sacrifices in the temple and new life in the days to come. 

An image of new life springing from the old is used by Jeremiah to predict the renewal of God’s people and His eternal fidelity. A “shoot” or “branch” will bud from the old stalk of David lineage. The new will complete the old. The future will be even more safe and righteous than in former times. This “branch” will be a man whose ways will be even more wonderful than those of King David. He will bring about peace with justice. Those who longed for past times of prosperity and integrity, who now sit in exile and darkness, hear this with increased longing and hope. Something and someone is worth living toward, and living for. Someone is coming who will bring a complete renewal of God’s holy people.

The Gospel tempers this joyful prediction with some disturbing predictions of its own. If we listen carefully to what Christ is saying, his words are tough to hear and accept. He is speaking about the city of Jerusalem which is central to the religious sense of the people. Jesus is speaking to His disciples about the total collapse of the city which has been the symbol of God’s eternal fidelity. For the God’s holy city to fall is to disturb the whole natural order. For the people of Jesus’ time, the stability of the temple and the city itself was similar to the order of the sun and moon, the seas and the seasons. As with the prophesy we hear in the First Reading, the foreigners will disturb this order by destroying the city and violating the holy temple. Amid all this turbulence, Jesus encourages His disciples to stand firm, because He is the “shoot of David” who will conquer these distressing things and reestablish order and peace.

Jesus offers us encouragement to stand firm against the disorders, sufferings, and temptations which lead to conflict, both within ourselves and in our world. The Man of Justice and Integrity is always willing to enter into the disorderliness of our personal lives and world at large, if we let him. Some people waste a great deal of time trying to interpret the natural and astronomical signs laid out in today’s gospel. They look outward to see when Christ will come to restore the world and judge the nations. But this is not ours to know! Jesus says this very clearly when the apostles asked him about his return! Instead, Christ is inviting us to be attentive to our own unhealthy attractions, attachments, and disorders. He wants us to look inwards first in order that we might be alert and watchful for the ways the Son of Man comes to restore us to spiritual health and hope in him.  

The next two Sundays of Advent will bring John the Baptist onto the stage of Advent. But for today, we are invited to begin preparing for the coming of a Savior into our lives. To do this we are called to investigate the disorders within our lives and relationships. But be careful! Confronting these attachments and disorders is not always easy or pleasant! It is much easier to distract ourselves with other things, sometimes superficial preparations for the holidays that are Not as important as we make them. Oftentimes, we do not really want a Savior! We want an approver. We do not want a negative judge whom we fear, but an approving and benevolent assessor. Most Christians want to sweep away their past or present. We hope God doesn’t see the carpet under which we have swept the disorders. Others want to pretend that their disorders or need for integrity do not exist and they stick with denials. Still others spend their lives obsessed with their doing nothing but the right and correct things by their own power so that they don’t feel they need a savior. But all of these fall short of the mark, all of them fail to enter correctly into this beautiful season of Advent.

If you are looking for an Advent program, you might consider the following. These admonitions were written by an unknown author and they certainly are enough to fill the next four weeks. I invite you to adopt at least some of them for your journey this year to Bethlehem to greet the Christ-child: "Smile often. Pray more. Listen better. Tell those that you love that you do. Rediscover old friends. Make new ones. Hope. Grow. Give freely. Give in. Buy some flowers. Share them. Keep a promise. Laugh often. Reach out. Hug a loved one. Slow down. See a sunrise. Trust life. Have faith. Enjoy. Don’t be afraid of mistakes. Learn from them. Explore the unknown. Celebrate the gift of life. Give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others."

I hope your Advent is a blessed time of preparation and anticipation of the coming of the Christ-child. Take your time getting to Christmas and enjoy the surprising ways our God in heaven may be inviting you to draw closer to him in the next four weeks.

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

One day, a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his line cast out into the sparkling blue  surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish. About  that  time,  a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve   the  stress  of  his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the  beach and  decided to find out why this man was relaxing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family. "You aren't  going to catch many fish that way," said the businessman to the fisherman, "you should be working rather than lying on the beach!"

            The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And what will my reward be?"

            "Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the businessman's answer.

            "And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling.

            The businessman replied, "You will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!"

            "And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again.

            The  businessman  was  beginning to get a  little irritated with the fisherman's  questions. "You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!" he said.

            "And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman.

            The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet  of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!"

             Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?"

            The  businessman  was  red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living  again! You can spend all the rest of your  days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"

            The  fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "And what do you think I'm doing right now?"

            Our society is so materialistic, that it is easy for us to forget what really matters in life.  To so many people, happiness depends on possessions.  A beautiful house, a luxurious car, the latest in video and sound equipment, an exotic vacation, all these things become people’s goals in life.  Then, if one of these items cannot be attained, if a young couple cannot get a mortgage for their dream house, if an older couple cannot retire when they expected to, if the promotion a person was counting on falls through, then, for some people, life has taken a terrible turn for the worse.  They become despondent.  They can no longer have what they set their heart on.

            Actually, this is not just a quirk of modern American Society.  The Egyptians buried their stuff with them so they could take it to the next life. In every culture, man has tried to cling to wealth and struggles with letting go. In the Gospel for this Sunday a young man is called upon to leave his riches to follow the Lord.  This is a good man. This is someone who has tried hard to serve God. This is a man whom Jesus looks upon and loves. But he couldn’t do it.  He couldn’t leave his possessions to follow the Lord.  He had many possessions.  Too many. He was incapable of seeing the all surmounting value of following Christ. Just as some people entrust the happiness of their families to their things rather to the presence of the Lord in their love for each other.

The remedy for this is found in the first reading from the book of wisdom. King Solomon is reigning over one of the most prosperous and peaceful eras that God’s Chosen People have ever experienced. It is here that the Lord appears to the young king and promises him any one thing that he asks for. Imagine the thoughts that must have gone through Solomon’s mind. Should he ask for unlimited power? Endless riches? Ceaseless pleasure? Perfect health? Certainly any of us would rank these requests high on our list. But instead of these attractive things, he begs the Lord for something much more subtle and profound. He asks for Wisdom, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and because of that, all of the gifts that he could ever have wanted followed.

So what is this wisdom that Solomon speaks so highly of? It is really the combination of three desirable traits working together in perfect unity. True wisdom is the blending of knowledge, experience, and good judgment together to inform every decision a person makes. This harmony of knowledge, experience, and good judgment makes a person wise and able to see things for what they are, both good and bad. A wise person has perspective when it comes to setbacks and disappointments, he knows what to fight for and when to concede. The people who possess wisdom know the right order for living, how to make good choices, avoid evil, and most importantly, how to have the right priorities.

A truly wise person can live with incredible wealth or complete poverty and still be happy. And whether they find themselves surrounded by friends or under siege by enemies, they will still find peace. And in any other circumstance you can think of, good or bad, the wise person has all that they really need because their strength and joy and comfort come first from the Lord, who never breaks his promises and who never stops protecting those who call upon him in faith. 

Our readings today require us to look inward and ask if we are truly wise. Have we asked God for his gift of knowledge, experience, and good judgement to live within us? Are we humble enough to accept the lessons that wisdom teaches us, lessons that often require a complete faith and trust in God? Can we believe that if we seek his wisdom then everything else that we need will be given to us in abundance? And that the things we used to think so important, might no longer matter so much? Or will we falter like the rich young man, whom Jesus saw and loved and invited to draw one step closer to perfection and eternal life? Will we go away sad because we cannot escape the power that worldly things and riches and prestige have over us? 

To possess wisdom and live wisely is not easy, in fact on our own we won’t get there. But with the help of God’s grace and learning from him in daily prayer, he will share this wisdom with us freely. May we be wise enough to put the things of this world in their proper place and when Christ invites us to trust and follow him, may we joyfully answer yes, without sadness or hesitation.

Respect Life Sunday (Catholic Principles of Voting)

This weekend, throughout the Archdiocese of St. Louis, we are observing what is called “Respect Life Sunday.” There is a great deal to talk about, especially considering that we are in a general election year and there is much at stake. But before we dive into all that, I think it is important for us to first go back to the gospel of last Sunday, where Christ gave us two direct orders. The first was to be sure and never lead another person, another child of God into sin. Jesus used the image of a millstone, which is a large, heavy rock, and said it would be better to have one of those around your neck and to be thrown into the sea than to be responsible for causing another person to sin. The second command, equally strong, was that we are to avoid sin at all costs. To drive this point home, Our Lord uses the image of cutting off one’s limbs and plucking out eyes if they are the things that are leading us to sinful behavior. Obviously, Jesus is not telling us to act on this literally, otherwise we Christians would be a blind and gimpy lot. But what Jesus IS telling us is that he takes sin and scandal, which is the act of leading another to sin, very, very seriously and that we should stop at nothing to drive them out of our lives.

Which leads us to today, Respect Life Sunday. Traditionally I have used this Sunday to preach about the scourge of abortion in our country, a legalized genocide that has taken the lives of more than 50 million of our fellow Americans. I usually point out the gross hypocrisy of our society, which will vigorously defend the lives of some innocent people, which is good, and yet will allow the murder of millions of others in the name of a mother’s choice or convenience, a possible birth defect, or a perceived lack of quality of life. But today I want to to focus less on abortion, not because it is any less important. No, abortion is the number one evil in our country today. Instead I want to focus more on voting because that civic act has the potential to end abortion and protect the right to life to generations to come. I also want to focus more on the Catholic teaching on voting because there is a terrible amount of confusion and dissent among Catholics.

Now as soon as I said Catholic Teaching and voting, some people probably started getting uncomfortable and angry. Many people say, “what business has the Church in politics? Stay out of it!” But how can this be? Jesus commands us to be a light to the world and to spread the Good News to every person on the earth. How can this happen if we turn off our faith and even ignore it in public matters like politics. Especially when those politics affect our rights and the rights of those who cannot speak for themselves! Others simply dismiss the priest by saying, “the Church tells me I have to vote according to my conscience and my conscience tells me to vote for A, B, or C.” It is true that the Catholic Church believes that you must vote according to your conscience. But the Church also tells us that we must form our consciences according to Catholic Teaching and Natural Law. To vote without first forming our conscience would be as irresponsible as turning on a fire hose full blast without holding on. It would be dangerous, unhelpful, and end up doing more harm than good!

So what is the Catholic Church’s teaching on voting? First of all, our Church teaches that it is a serious responsibility that we should make every effort to fulfill. As good citizens, we need to vote unless there is some serious reason we are prevented from doing so. This is one of the ways that we participate in building a Christ-like society, by choosing the leaders who will represent us in making public policy and defending our rights. Secondly, there is a hierarchy of goods or, put another way, a hierarchy of evils. Some things take precedence over others, some things are more important and others less so. On one hand there are significant political issues like education, foreign policy, fiscal policy, healthcare, green energy, and transportation, to name a few. Each of these political issues are open for debate and argument. You can make an argument for your position and, unless your thinking is off the wall or downright immoral, your position can be totally valid. However, there could be another person who disagrees with you and could have another completely rational and feasible viewpoint. These sort of things are true political “issues.” They are not hard truths and you are not required to subscribe to any particular view.

On the other hand, there are other topics that have been adopted by politicians and political parties, which transcend the classification of a political issue. These matters are not up for debate, they are not one person’s opinion against another, they involve a definite right and wrong, they are always and everywhere black and white. These topics are different because they deal with basic human rights, inalienable rights that are not granted by the decree of any government but instead are due to every human person because that person is created in the image and likeness of God. These topics tap into natural law, a law written on every human heart, regardless of that person’s religion creed or upbringing. They have a definite right and wrong because they deal with the very foundations of society and order. To violate them would be to attack the basis of civilization and human dignity. So what are they? 

There are six major topics that all Catholics must consider this Fall when they go to the polls to vote. They are: Abortion, Euthanasia, Embryonic Stem cell research, cloning, Same-sex unions, and contraception. Each of these are intrinsically wrong, which simply means that they cannot be justified in any circumstance. No matter what sort of supposed good might be accomplished through any of these actions, they remain wrong, always and everywhere, no matter who you are. 

Now this bothers some people a great deal. They say, “I don’t agree with the Church’s position on these issues, so I don’t have to follow this” Well, what if we took the same approach to gravity. The law of gravity has been very inconvenient and even deadly for some people. I can disagree with it all I want. But if I go a very high place, and denounce gravity and tell the world how I don’t believe it is true for me, and then I jump...well, gravity doesn’t care what I think. It will still be true when I reach the ground.

Others say that they follow most of what the Church teaches just not one of these topics. But our Faith doesn’t work this way. Being Catholic is not something that we do partially or even mostly. Being Catholic is something that we must embrace fully and completely. And each of these six subjects are fundamental teachings; if we disregard them, we are no longer living a faith that is Catholic. It’s kind of like trying to have a pizza without cheese. 

Which brings us to the final point of this homily, which is putting all this together so that we can live our catholic faith with integrity while fulfilling our civic duty. There are many political issues that all of us can differ on and come to various conclusions. In fact, most of the issues in a given election fall into this category. However the six major topics that I mentioned earlier: Abortion, Euthanasia, Embryonic Stem cell research, cloning, Same-sex unions, and contraception require that we always select the candidate who supports the church’s teaching in these areas. And if there is no candidate who upholds all of these teachings, which is usually the case, then we must pick the candidate who supports the greatest number of these fundamental truths. 

I think its important that each of you know that I don’t enjoy preaching on this topic of voting. I wish there wasn’t even a need to have a respect life Sunday on the calendar because all us Catholics were on the same page concerning the six major topics. Sadly, this is not true. But it is my responsibility as your priest to share the teaching of the Catholic Church and to make sure that your consciences are formed as you prepare to vote in a few short weeks. We are responsible for the choices we make in the voting booth, even if no one else never knows who we voted for. Our choice, as insignificant as it might seem among the millions of others, is a statement of who and what we support, of who and what we stand for. Will it be with the Catholic Church, who has weathered the storms of many centuries and still stands strong and consistent in her moral message? Or will it be with something else that is worldly and fleeting and prone to change?

In the end, it is indeed our choice and ours alone. But we must remember that our vote has consequences, not only for ourselves but also for others. If we claim to follow Christ, we need to do so from beginning to end, A to Z, in the fundamental truths of our faith which are under attack with Abortion, Euthanasia, Embryonic Stem cell research, cloning, Same-sex unions, and contraception. Voting to support candidates who promote these immoral things, especially when there exist other candidates opposed to these evils, is wrong, plain and simple. Such a choice separates us from the Church because we are choosing to act in a way that is not consistent with the Catholic faith. My prayer for all of us is that we have the humble courage to do what is right, even if it be difficult, even if we struggle to completely embrace these teachings. Let us trust the wisdom of our Church, which has been guaranteed the guidance of the Holy Spirit until the end of time. May God bless and protect our great nation.