We focused on three virtues for the weekend: suffering, charity and joy. (The Young Adult Minister spoke on "suffering"; a priest classmate of mine spoke on "charity"; and I spoke on "joy".) We had some great speakers (other than myself), and I was happy that some brother priests from the local diocese came to help with the Sacrament of Reconciliation (we held the retreat outside the Diocese of Pittsburgh). Our bonfire Saturday evening was awesome (and may have lasted a little too long). We had fun, enjoying the time simply in the fraternity of our discipleship, but also enjoying some needed time away with the Lord.
Below are my homilies for the Masses on Saturday (Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary) and Sunday (Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time).
------------------------
Homily for the Saturday of the
Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
SCJ Retreat + 16 November 2013
Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary
SCJ Retreat + 16 November 2013
My
brothers, the Gospel we have just heard is nothing new to us. In fact, we just
heard this pericope a little less than a month ago. But, as with any of the
words of Jesus, it bears repeating – both in our hearing its proclamation, as
well as our reflecting upon it.
While
we know that we should be persistent in our prayer, sometimes we lack the
energy, time or even words that give us that disconnect from God. This is why
the idea of a retreat is so important . . . This is why this retreat is so
important for each of us.
We need the time to simply “be with God” . . .
and to simply “be”.
To
this end, then, I would like to simply share three quotes on prayer by three
great men of prayer. After I state the quote, I’ll give a brief moment of
reflection after each one, so that we may drink in the wisdom presented to us.
Saint Anthony
Claret teaches us: “Christian
perfection consists in three things: praying heroically, working heroically,
and suffering heroically.” Saint John
Chrysostom teaches us: “It is simply impossible to lead, without the aid of
prayer, a virtuous life.” Saint John
Vianney teaches us: “Prayer is the inner bath of love into which the soul
plunges itself.”
As
great as these men are in the realm of the spiritual life of the Church, we
cannot ignore the importance of our Blessed Mother, whom we commemorate today.
Her example for us as Catholic men cannot be diminished in any way. From her,
we take away the greatest model of prayer: of how she pondered all things in
her heart. The Immaculate Heart of Mary is where the Blessed Mother discerned
the happenings of her life and the life of her Son, and, though not
understanding all things at that moment, trusted in the Divine Providence. And
so, we, too, must ponder the events of our lives in our hearts, discerning all
things through the Sacred Heart of Jesus, though we understand them or not.
The
great son of Mary, Blessed (and soon-to-be Saint) John Paul II gives us his
impeccable wisdom to close this homily as we continue to seek to be men of God,
men of prayer: “How [is one] to pray? This is a simple matter. I would say: Pray any
way you like, as long as you do pray.”
----------------------
Homily for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
SCJ Retreat + 17 November 2013
SCJ Retreat + 17 November 2013
Well,
we’ve made it to this point: the time where we are about to be sent out from
this time away, back into the world of our “everydayness”. And, yet, we’re
aware that what has begun here will never be finished.
Our
readings fit so well into the reflection of the three virtues we’ve been
pondering in our hearts over these last days: suffering, charity, and joy. In a
nutshell, Jesus reminds us that WE WILL SUFFER for the sake of His Name, and in
that suffering we will find true joy, for the joyful charity we practice we be
reflected in the love we have for His Name.
“For Jesus Christ, I am
prepared to suffer still more.” These words of
Saint Maximilian Kolbe should be one of the many sayings that we continuously
pray every day. As Catholic men, we have the not only the opportunity to suffer
for the sake of the Holy Name of Jesus, but we have the obligation to do so
without boasting or complaining – coming to bear the wounds of Christ and His
Cross in our very flesh. Christ never promised an “easy life” for his
disciples, for He understands how love must suffer.
Saint
Robert Bellarmine, to whom I have a particular devotion, teaches us thus: “The
school of Christ is the school of charity. On the last day, when the great
general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text
of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian.
Charity will be the whole syllabus.” As we prepare for
the great Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, we come to appreciate that our
salvation is not based on how smart we are; it’s not based on how attractive or
popular we are or become; nor is it based upon how pious we appear. Ultimately,
it comes down to how we serve Christ in the other, by being Christ to the
other. By a happy coincidence, this is an ideal lesson being taught to us by our
current Holy Father, Pope Francis.
But
Pope Francis is also reminding us that this charity must be practiced with joy.
“Happy
the heart that keeps itself on the Cross, in the arms of the Well-Beloved, and
that burns only with divine love!” This instruction of Saint Paul of the
Cross teaches us that our joy will only be complete in Christ. As men, society
proclaims happiness and joy in possessions, status, partying, casual sex with
the hottest woman – or women – in the room, and “doing what you want, when you want”.
And, as men, we can easily descend into believing those fallacies in moments of
trial and tribulation. However, as Catholic men, we have the opportunity to
know that the only possessions we need to have are the Cross and the Heart of
Christ; the only status we need to have in life is “child of God”; the only
party we need to attend is the great and awesome Sacrifice of the Mass; the
only intimacy we’re called to engage in is found in the ecstasy of how our
vocations fulfill and mirror the depths of the Love of the Divine; and while we
can do what we want, when we want because of free will, we know that we only
need to do the will of God in our lives.
Yes,
what we’ve begun here is not finished with this Mass, or when the last car
pulls out to head back to Pittsburgh. But this is not a new message for us.
Life Teen, years ago, used to end their Masses with the statement: The Mass
never ends; it must be lived. Well, my brothers, to paraphrase that thought:
our faith journey never ends; it must be lived.
And
we will suffer for the Name of Jesus.
And
we will want to serve others in charity in the Name of Jesus.
And
we will find our ultimate joy in the Name of Jesus.
Our
journey of faith – based in our relationship with Jesus Christ, and nourished
by the Word and the Sacraments – is brought to a unique fulfillment as we
gather around the two tables, and as we share in an intimate communion with our
Lord and each other. The Eucharist, if it is the source and summit of our
faith, then becomes the end and the beginning of our faith journey. But It also
becomes the reason of our suffering, and its healing; the reason why we are
charitable to others, and why we can humbly receive charity; and the reason for
the fullness of our joy, and the reason we can never truly be unhappy.
My
brothers, the terrible and wondrous day of our Lord’s return is quickly
approaching. Are we ready? Are we ready and willing to joyfully give of ourselves
in charity and in suffering? Will we be prepared for the Lord’s glorious
coming, having borne the wounds of Jesus in our own flesh, or will we
procrastinate in our preparations? Will we be found ready to graduate from the
school of charity, or will we have failed through our attitude toward
recognizing Christ in the other? Will we joyfully welcome our Lord when He
comes to call us home, or will we mourn the unfulfilled moments of this life
despite the eternal ecstasy that awaits us?
The
great Catholic philosopher Peter Kreeft reminds us: “Everything smaller than Heaven bores us
because only Heaven is bigger than our hearts.” And he’s so right. Brothers: Prepare
for the Lord’s coming through your suffering, charity, and joy. Allow the
anticipation of what is to come allow you to brave the storm of this life.
Enter into the wound of the Sacred Heart of Christ to find solace in times of
joy and of sorrow. Let the ending of this retreat be for you a beginning to
renew your commitment with the Lord and His Church. Seek to do God’s will. Get
crazy in reckless abandon in the love of Christ.
Henri
Nouwen, the wonderful spiritual author of the Twentieth Century, gives us great
words to end this homily with: “My deepest vocation is to be a
witness to the glimpses of God I have been allowed to catch.” We’re not going to catch those glimpses of
God’s glory if we’re not suffering, not charitable, or not joyful. For us
gathered here, to live out our faith is to be a man who does everything in and
for the Name of Jesus. And it is in this Name that, in a matter of minutes, we
will be sent to be a witness for – through our suffering, charity, and,
ultimately, joy.
---------
Enjoy the journey . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment