Thursday of Advent 1

Some two hundred years ago, a Cherokee Indian named Drowning Bear (1759-1839) allowed a missionary to read to him several chapters of the Bible. His reply? “It seems to be a good book; strange that the white people are not better after having had it for so long.”

The implication here is that if people actually lived in obedience to the Word of God, their lives would be dramatically better as a result. This was precisely our Lord’s point in today’s gospel. Jesus invites us not only to hear his Word; he wants us also to act on it.

God’s Word was spoken not simply for our information. Instead, it’s meant for our application, that our lives might be blessed with transformation.

Yet in our noisy world, we can be deaf to God’s Word. In our selfish world, it’s tempting to resist God’s Word. In our skeptical world, it’s fashionable to dismiss God’s Word. In our overscheduled world, it’s easy to neglect God’s Word.

And when we don’t let God’s Word impact our lives, God lets us live with the consequences. He does so not in vindictiveness or passive aggression, but so that we can learn to want what it is we’ve been missing- the freedom, the peace, and the wisdom that can come only from building our lives in obedience to the rock of his Word.

Let’s accept the challenge of today’s gospel to obey God’s Word, as we prepare to celebrate at Christmas, the Word-made-flesh.

Readings for today's Mass: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/120111.cfm

First Sunday of Advent

While standing in a supermarket checkout line, I noticed a little sign warning that tobacco products would not be sold to anyone not born before today’s day in 1990. My first kneejerk thought was: “People born in 1990 are still in preschool!” But then I did some quick math in my head and realized that, no, people born in 1990 are now young adults. I was reminded quite forcefully of the old saying “Tempis fugit!” – Time flies.

Time does fly, and we need to be always mindful of the time. Not just so that we know what time it is, which is always important, or so that we’re not late, which is important too. We need to be mindful of time so we can appreciate how quickly it passes, realize how little of it we really have, and accept how short life is.

Before a Sunday Mass once, I was standing in the back of the church. I wanted to know if it was 8:00 o’clock yet so I could start the procession, but for some reason I had forgotten my watch that day. So I asked two different people walking past if they knew the time, but they didn’t have watches either. Then I turned to one of our regular ushers, and asked if he know the time. He held up his forearm, showed me his wristwatch, and said with a smile, “I’m watchful!”

I thanked him and said I would be using his words in my homily on this First Sunday of Advent, because in today’s gospel our Lord tells us very directly that we all need to be watchful. Not just in the sense of being aware of the time, of course, but being watchful for his coming, which could come at any time. We need to be alert and prepared to meet the Lord- whether it be at his second coming at the end of all time, or our meeting him and the end of our time, when we pass from this life into eternity. At both of those times we’ll be judged on how we’ve conducted our lives. We know it will happen; it’s an article of our faith. But we can’t be exactly sure when. And because time flies, the time when we meet Jesus may come more quickly than we think, or expect.

That’s why we need to be prepared; that’s why we need to be watchful.

At a deacon's funeral I attended, an Irish priest preached the funeral homily in which he recalled a parish mission he had attended in Ireland as a boy. The priest who was leading the mission reminded the entire congregation that one day, everyone in the parish would die. When he said that, however, one woman in the pews began to giggle uncontrollably. At the end of the talk, the priest greeted everyone at the door as they left. When he met the woman who had giggled, he asked her why she had laughed when he said that everyone in the parish would die. “Well you see Father,” she explained, “I’m not from the parish!” The serious point was, however, is that one day we will indeed all die and be judged by the Lord, and for that we need to be prepared.

Preparing to meet the Lord means repenting- turning our lives around, seeking to grow closer to God, opening ourselves more to his grace, striving to follow his will more faithfully, and eliminating those attitudes, habits, and lifestyles that we know to be sinful. I’m reminded of the story of “Easy Eddie” O’Hare, who was the lawyer for Chicago mafia boss Al “Scarface” Capone. Easy Eddie was a crafty attorney whose legal skills managed to keep Capone out of jail and continue his illegal bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution operations. In gratitude for his services, Capone paid O’Hare lavishly and gave him plenty of extra perks, including a massive home that filled an entire Chicago city block.

O’Hare knew who he worked for and even took part in illegal activities himself. But he had a son for whom he wanted a better life. He was able to provide him with fine clothes and an expensive education, but he knew that he couldn’t give his son an honorable name or a good example. And so he made a decision to turn his life around. He met with federal authorities and testified against Capone. This led to Capone’s arrest. It also led to O’Hare’s assassination on a Chicago street. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medal and a poem clipped from a magazine. The poem read: “The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still.” O’Hare had seemingly realized that time flies, and that he needed to turn his life around while he still had time- both for himself and for his son. And as for his son, Butch O’Hare, he grew up win the Congressional Medal of Honor as a Navy pilot. Chicago’s O’Hare Airport is named after him today.

Now, we here this morning aren’t lawyers for the mob, at least I don’t think so. And turning our lives around will probably not place us at risk of being assassinated. But not turning our lives around will place anyone at risk of death, because death is a consequence of sin, and a life lived at odds with God leads to eternal death. This shouldn’t scare us, because God is merciful and wants us to live in hope! But should instead motivate us to conversion, not later, but now, because time, whether we want it to or not, always flies.

Wednesday of Ordinary 34

I once spoke with a guy whose wife of many years announced that she didn’t love him any more and that she wanted a divorce. She’s not open to counseling or working to salvage their relationship. Instead, she’s decided that she wants it to end, and end soon.

This fellow, as you might imagine, was absolutely heartbroken. Yet he found the strength to keep going, because he’d learned to stay close to Jesus through regular, frequent, and honest prayer. Thanks to Jesus, he wasn't completely crushed by his crisis.

Today’s gospel speaks of Christians in crises: Rejection by family, betrayal by friends, injustice at the hands of various institutions, imprisonment, abandonment, hatred, physical pain- situations that all of us can probably relate to, in one way or another.  Yet Jesus promises that through these crises he will never leave our side. Instead, he will be there in the midst of it all as our advocate, filling us with wisdom, and consoling us with his presence.

But it’s up to us, he explains, to persevere in faith, if we wish to receive these blessings. But isn’t that what we’re doing here, at daily Mass? Yes, we’ve come here to hear God’s word, receive God’s grace, and give him thanks and praise. Yet at another level, I’d contend that all of us who come to daily Mass do so to keep our lives together. We’re seeking to keep our personal and professional balance, by keeping God at the center of our lives. We don’t want to lose our focus; we don’t want to lose our grip. So we keep our eyes on Jesus and place our hand in his- because he promised that he’ll never leave our sight, and that he will never let go.

Readings for today's Mass: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/112311.cfm

Presentation of Mary

There’s a lot of talk these days about how kids are “over-scheduled” with too many activities: sports, music and dance lessons, clubs, Scouts, and all sorts of other extra-curricular activities. This can be stressful and detrimental to both children and their families. Nevertheless, many parents overschedule their kids because they want, above all else, for their children to be successful. And in doing so, they mirror the top ambition of a great majority of our fellow citizens.

This is why I think that today’s memorial of the Presentation of Mary is so important. We recall the tradition that Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anne, presented their young daughter to God in the great Jerusalem Temple, and dedicated her to his service forever. They didn’t dedicate her to the pursuit of success. They dedicated her to the Lord.

The story of Mary’s Presentation reminds all of us that our lives should be dedicated, not to the pursuit of worldly success, but to the service of God. This is not to say that success is necessarily a bad thing. But it is to say that life is, above all else,  about learning to love God and building his kingdom in the process. Some famous words of Mother Teresa sum it up well. “God has not called us to be successful,” she said, “He has called us to be faithful.”

Solemnity of Christ the King

On my daily commute a few weeks ago, I passed by Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on New York Avenue in the District. From my comfortable car as I sipped my coffee, I saw in the church doorway a rough-looking homeless man who had obviously spent the night there. And to my shame, I have to confess that my first thought was: “Thank God I don’t have to deal with that.”

Today’s gospel reminds me, as it reminds all of us, that we do have to deal with that- or with “them,” to be more precise. As we heard, Christ our King calls us to serve him by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting prisoners, caring for the sick, and welcoming the stranger. Our tradition refers to these as the “Corporal Acts of Mercy.”

Throughout his ministry, Jesus taught that there can be no real relationship with him if we neglect the poor and ignore the needy. Unfortunately, we don’t always take our Lord’s words seriously enough. As the well know priest Fr. Benedict Groeschel once wrote: “I am astonished when I see so many sincere Christians afraid or disinclined to find Jesus) where he teaches he can be found, namely, among the poor.”

If we don’t avoid the poor and needy outright, we can sometimes avoid our responsibility to help them by “spiritualizing” our response. What I mean by this is expressed by a well-known anonymous passage. It says, “I was hungry, and you formed a humanities groups to discuss my hunger. I was imprisoned, and you crept off quietly to your chapel and prayed for my release. I was naked, and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance. I was sick, and you knelt and thanked God for your health. I was homeless, and you spoke to me of the spiritual shelter of God’s love. I was lonely, and you left me alone to pray for me. You seem so holy, so close to God. But I am still very hungry and lonely and cold.”

We hear things like this, and we probably feel a little bit guilty. We think of all the people we aren’t helping, and we feel frustrated. The needs are so great, and we don’t even know these people. Just what does Jesus expect us to do?

Jesus expects us to begin at home. You and I learn to love one another and to meet each other’s needs from our families. The expression “Charity begins at home” is true. We will not have the compassion and generosity we need to serve the poor and the needy unless we first learn and practice those virtues in the community of our relatives and friends.

Possibly we grew up in families in which members served one another and the community. Hopefully, we have learned to be servants from them. However, it is very possible that we did not, especially since we live in such a selfish culture. The first sentence of a very popular book is: “It’s not about you.” The author says this because our culture so often tells us: It is about you! Our culture breeds selfishness. And selfish people aren’t inclined to serve the needs of others.

This selfishness can be reinforced by some of the choices families make today. Because their kids are so over-scheduled with sports, clubs, and other activities, their parents feel guilty about giving them chores. The effect of this, however, is that kids don’t learn to serve the needs of the family by helping around the house. All of their activities are about their development, their advancement, and their amusement, and not about the common good. And they become selfish. So if you have children at home, I strongly encourage you to give them age-appropriate chores.

Another simple thing families can do to teach and create an atmosphere of service can be done around the dinner table. Each family member, one at a time, thanks the other family members for the ways they had served them or met their needs that day. For example: “I’m grateful to Charlie for helping me pick up my toys. I’m grateful to mommy for helping me with my homework. I’m grateful to Dad for taking me to Cub Scouts. I’m grateful to Winnie for having been so cooperative when it was time to leave the playground.” Doing this reinforces the idea that family members should cooperate with each other, help each other, and serve one another. We did this in my family after having been introduced to it at a family retreat, and it was a real blessing to us.

I would encourage you to think today about your families and friends in light of Jesus’ words in today’s gospel. Hopefully they’re adequately fed and clothed. If they are, then those needs have been met. But there are so many other needs. Needs that maybe we don’t recognize. Needs that maybe we’ve been ignoring. For instance: Do they need to be nourished by our presence? Are they starving for our affection? Do they hunger for our forgiveness? Have we stripped them naked by our insults and negativity? Do they need to be clothed with our encouragement and affirmation? Have they become strangers to us? Do we need to welcome them back into our lives? Do they feel imprisoned by dehumanizing jobs or the overwhelming demands of family life? Do we need to visit them with our help, understanding, and compassion? And when they’re sick, how do we respond? Is it an inconvenience to us? Do we get annoyed? Or do we heal them with our attention and loving care?

These are just some of the needs of those we love. And when we learn to serve them by meeting these needs, we’ll come to find ourselves far more willing and open to serve the needs of others, as Christ has commanded us to do. Instead of saying, “Thank God I don’t have to deal with that” maybe we’ll say “Thank God I can!”

Friday of Ordinary 33

Do you ever worry about the Church? Lots of people do these days. Depending on who you speak with, they worry that the church is either too liberal or too conservative, too worldly or out of touch with the world. Many are worried about attacks on the Church from the media and politicians. Church scandals are a source of worry too.

            All of this we might call the “bad news.” The “good news” is that God is in control. He never abandons his Church. And he’s always reforming it.

            This is clear in today’s Scripture readings, in which God protected the great Temple in Jerusalem from a threat from without and a threat from within. In I Maccabees, the people praised God when worship in the Temple was restored, after an oppressive foreign government tried to force everyone to worship other gods. And in the gospel, Jesus himself was in the Temple, driving out those who had turned it from a house of prayer into a corrupt marketplace.

            To fully understand this, we need to appreciate that the Temple is a symbol of the Church, because God dwells in his Church today, as he was once believed to dwell in the Temple. And how God defended and purified his Temple back then, reminds us that he does the same for his Church today. So there’s no need for us to worry about it. The Church may go through rough times, but God will never let it fail. It’s like G.K. Chesterton once wrote: “Christianity has died many times and risen again; for it had a God who knew his way out of a grave.”

Readings for today's Mass: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111811.cfm

Thursday of Ordinary 33

“Jesus Wept” is the name of a statue near where the Oklahoma City federal building stood before it was bombed, and over two hundred people inside were killed. It reminds us that our Lord weeps over the senseless loss of innocent life, and that he weeps too for the anger and hatred which causes it.

This statue was obviously inspired by today’s gospel. As we heard, Jesus wept over the coming destruction of Jerusalem and for all the innocent people who would suffer and die. But we’re also told that he wept for another reason. Jesus wept because the people of Jerusalem were blind to what makes for peace. The implication here is that if they did know what makes for peace, things might have turned out very differently. And what does make for peace? Working toward reconciliation; seeking and striving for forgiveness.

You and I are sometimes blind to what makes for peace. When we’re at odds with someone or have been hurt by them, we don’t always seek reconciliation and forgiveness. Instead, we get stuck in bitterness, anger, and self-pity. We “demonize” the other person or persons, which only makes matters worse.

As Christians, however, we are to be peacemakers. It’s up to us to take the initiative in forgiveness; we need to take the first step toward reconciliation. We might protest this and say: “That’s not fair! Especially after what was done to me!” And we would be right, because forgiveness and reconciliation isn’t fair at all.

But think of it this way: God doesn’t treat us with fairness, either? Instead, he treats us with mercy. That’s even better! That’s what makes for peace! And that’s how our weeping Lord calls us to treat others.

Readings for today's Mass: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111711.cfm

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

A California university recently introduced a new publication entitled “The Journal of Mundane Behavior.” It features scholarly articles that study the ordinary and routine things that people do. Recent issues have explored the significance of shaving, running errands, the table arrangement and background noise of a neighborhood café, and the making of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The sociologist who created this journal did so because he was concerned that his professional colleagues virtually ignored the study of the everyday behavior that fills most people’s lives.

            The same might be said of many people’s attitudes about the practice of religion. They give much attention to what they think are the “big issues’, while they write off the seemingly small, trivial, and routine things as being insignificant or unimportant. Jesus, however, suggests otherwise. In today’s gospel parable, servants were praised and blessed precisely because they had been faithful in “small matters.” In other words, Jesus stresses that when it comes to our journey of faith, it’s the little things that can mean a lot. Small, unnoticed acts of faith, kindness, service and generosity, and fidelity to our daily routines and duties, are essential for our spiritual growth and are important in the eyes of our Lord. Yet this is a truth that is tempting to forget, immersed as we are in a culture which esteems public recognition and the grand gesture.

            Sometimes we’re tempted to think that since God is so “big,” so to speak, and we are so insignificant in comparison, God can’t really be bothered to pay attention to many of the things we do. This was the case with David, a young social worker who served at a homeless shelter in San Francisco. As a Roman Catholic, he was deeply committed to the social justice teachings of the church, and he was quite generous, at some cost to himself, in helping the poor. However, he attended Mass only occasionally, had basically no private prayer life, and he openly flaunted the church’s teachings on sex and marriage.

            One day he asked a priest: “Do you really think that God (cares) whether you say your prayers, whether you hold a grudge against someone who’s hurt you, and whether you share a bed with someone you aren’t married to? We Christians are always so hung up on these little private things that we neglect the big picture- the fact that half the world goes to bed hungry every night and nobody cares.”

            The priest responded that while God does care very deeply about the “big picture,” he also cares about our private prayer, our private grudges, and our private morals. These things make a big difference for God because they make a big difference for us- they reflect who we are as individuals and the state of our relationship with God. Doing these things shapes our character, and they can show God how much we love him. And whether or not we do them always involves a choice between virtue and vice. (1)

            For other people, it’s not a question of God not wanting to be bothered with little things, it’s that they themselves can’t be bothered- often because they think that they’re just too busy. One Christian author recalls how he was annoyed when a friend, temporarily without a car, asked him for a ride so he could do a few essential errands. He agreed to do it, but inwardly he grumbled, because he had some things that he himself had wanted to do. However, as he ran out the door, he grabbed a book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a prominent German Christian who was executed by the Nazis during the final hours of World War II.

            He picked up his friend, and through each errand he fretted and fumed about the loss of his precious time. Finally, while waiting at a supermarket, he picked up the book by Bonhoeffer, and read these words: “The service that one should perform for another in a Christian community is that of active helpfulness. This means, initially, assistance in trifling, external matters. Nobody is too good for the meanest service. One who worries about the loss of time is usually taking his own importance too seriously.” (2)

            Dietrich Bonhoeffer is right. We often avoid doing “small things” because we think that we’re just too important. Yet the example of Jesus tells us otherwise. As Rick Warren says in The Purpose Driven Life, “Jesus specialized in menial tasks that everyone else tried to avoid: washing feet, helping children, fixing breakfast, and serving lepers. Nothing was beneath him, because he came to serve. It wasn’t in spite of his greatness that he did these things, but because of it, and he expects us to follow his example.” 

Archbishop Timothy Dolan recalls how as a teenager he was thrilled to go on afternoon rounds with his pastor. This priest was a monsignor- a highly respected man with a great deal of responsibility. When they stopped at a nursing home to see an elderly parishioner, they discovered her lying on the floor in a pool of her own urine. Yet without missing a beat the priest took off his coat, grabbed a mop, cleaned up the mess, dressed the woman in some clean clothes, kissed her on the head, and gave her a little bottle of lotion as a Christmas present. To this day, Archbishop Dolan continues to be inspired by this example of humble love. (3)

            And indeed it is love that Jesus calls us to when he tells us to be faithful in small matters. True love doesn’t ask if something we need to do is important or not. True love simply does it. Because no act is too small in the service of God. As St. Francis de Sales once wrote, “Great opportunities to serve God rarely present themselves, little ones are frequent. And you will profit greatly in God’s sight by doing all these things, because God wants you to do them.”   


(1) From Ronald Rolheiser's The Holy Longing
(2) From A Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
(3) From Priests for the Third Millennium by Archbishop Timothy Dolan

Friday of Ordinary 32

Have you ever known anyone hopelessly stuck in the past? People like this are typically unhappy people, filled with resentment, regret, loneliness, and an unhealthy nostalgia for the way things used to be. That’s why our Lord wants us to live in the present moment- the now- and work toward a future that’s full of hope.

            We can see this in today’s gospel. In speaking of the future “coming of the Son of man,” Jesus insisted that we “must not return to what was left behind.” Then he concluded, “Remember the wife of Lot.”

            Remember her? When Sodom was being destroyed, God insisted that she move on and not look back. But she did look back, and turned into a pillar of salt. God wants us to keep moving forward too, and not look back in nostalgia or regret, Because if we do, we’ll get stuck in a place that God doesn’t want us to be. Just like that pillar of salt.

            Salt, of course, is a preservative- it’s meant to keep things just the way they are. Which is fine for food, but not for human beings. Jesus said: “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it.” In other words, life doesn’t stand still. Time marches on. And so must we.

            With regard to the past, we need to grieve whatever we may have lost, give thanks for everything that was good, and then we need to let it all go, that we may live the life that Jesus is calling us to live today. Indeed, Jesus wants us to live- forever! That’s why he doesn’t want us looking backwards in bitterness. Instead, he wants us to move forward- in faith.

Readings for today's Mass: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111111.cfm

Wednesday of Ordinary 32

A friend of mine recently experienced some real tragedy. First, his brother died from cancer. Then, six weeks after that, both of his parents died in a terrible car accident as they were on their way to visit their son’s new grave. When my friend arrived in Buffalo before the funeral, a freak snowstorm paralyzed the city. His car broke down while there, and he contracted a bad case of poison ivy to boot. In an attempt at humor, he said, “Job has nothing on me!”

            Nevertheless, my friend said that the overwhelming feeling amongst his family was one of gratitude. They were grateful for the wonderful rich life their parents had enjoyed; for the outpouring of concern and sympathy they received; for the good professional assistance of police officers, attorneys, and insurance agents; and for the love they share as family. This isn’t to say that they aren’t sad, because they are. But they’re grateful at the same time.

            Not everyone, however, would have found gratitude in these circumstances. Consider today’s gospel. Ten lepers were healed by Jesus, but only one returned to give thanks; only one was grateful. Why was this person different? He viewed life’s events through the lens of faith. “Stand up and go,” said Jesus; “your faith has saved you.”

            Today’s gospel challenges us to be grateful people- regardless of what life may throw at us. Because we’re people of faith, we can find good where others find only evil; we can see the hand of God’s providence where others see only cruel fate; we can discover a silver lining while others can’t see beyond the clouds; we can hope while others despair; we can be grateful when others are simply bitter. All because we have faith that nothing can ever separate us from the goodness and love of God. And we can always be grateful for that.

Readings for today's Mass: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110911.cfm

Tuesday of Ordinary 32

When at a hockey game with our sons, a fellow dad bought me a beer (for seven bucks!). When he handed it to me, I tried to insist on paying for it, as I honestly felt kind of guilty accepting it from him. But the other dad, for his part, was equally insistent that I accept it as a gift from a friend.

On later reflection, I realized that I had bought into the “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine” mentality that if someone does something nice for us, we need to pay them back. Or if we do something nice for someone else, we expect something in return. In practice, this means that when it comes to our relationships with other people, there are no free gifts of love or sacrifice. Only down payments. Or repayments. Either the other person is in debt to us, or we are in debt to them.

Unfortunately, this is a relationship killing mentality, both in relationships between people, and in our relationship God. This is what Jesus tells us in today’s gospel. He explains that we don’t serve God with the expectation that he’ll repay us or that we’ll be entitled to something in return. The truth is that God doesn’t need anything from us anyway. But the good news is that he’s happy to give us everything we need, not because he has to, but because he wants to- as his free gift.

Readings from today's Mass: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110811.cfm

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

A few years back my family sat down and made a plan about what we would do should there be a natural disaster or a terrorist attack. We determined where we’ll meet, where we’ll go, who our out-of-town contact will be, how much food and water and other supplies we need to stockpile, and we decided to get one of those hand-crank radios and cell-phone rechargers. After having lived through 9/11, the anthrax scare, that hurricane that knocked out our power and water for days, and in light of all the talk about avian bird flu, we want to be prepared as best we can, should something ever happen again.

As citizens, our government tells us that we should all be prepared. As Christians, however, it’s even more important that we prepare for the second coming of our Lord. This is the central message of today’s gospel parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Because while a terrorist attack or a natural disaster may never affect us, we know for a fact that one day Jesus will indeed come again in power and glory, to judge the living and the dead, and to establish his kingdom in its fullness. We “know neither the day nor the hour,” as Jesus said. But his return is guaranteed, and we need to be prepared.

But are we prepared? Ask yourself this: If you knew that Jesus would be returning later today, what would you do? Would you rush to tell certain people that you love them, especially those you hadn’t told in a while? Would you go to church; pray your rosary; open your Bible; or make an act of contrition? Are there people to whom you would apologize? Is there a favorite charity to which you’d make a hasty donation? Would you start refining your excuses for when you met Jesus face-to-face? Would you weep with regret? Would you be afraid? Or would you be overcome with joy and go out to greet the Lord, just as the wise virgins ran out to meet the bridegroom when they heard he was coming? How we answer this question is probably a good indication of whether we’re really prepared for Jesus’ return or not.

It’s been said before that we should live every day as if it’s the first day of the rest of our lives. And that’s not necessarily bad advice. But from a Christian perspective, maybe it’s better to say that we should live each day as if it’s the last day of our life. Because it might just be! And if it is, there might be some things we need to do in order to truly be prepared. For instance, is there a sin we need to confess? A wound we need to heal? A restitution to make? Priorities we need to shift? A habit we need to kick? A resentment to let go of? A good intention we need to act upon? A relationship to restore? If there are, we should never put off until tomorrow what we can do today. Because when it comes to preparing for the Lord’s return, there is no better time than the present.

Preparing for Jesus’ second coming will involve challenge, change, and some painful sacrifice on our part. However, Jesus’ return is not something we should anticipate with fear. Instead, we should look forward to it with joy and eager expectation. This is why the New Testament ends with the prayer: “Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” This is also why, at every Mass, at the end of the Our Father, the priest offers a prayer that says “we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” Today’s gospel parable spoke of Jesus’ return in terms of a bridegroom coming to begin a wonderful wedding banquet to which all of us have been invited. Surely, that is a celebration that we should want to begin sooner, and not later. As St. Augustine once wrote, “When (that day) puts an end to our exile, frees us from the bonds of the world, and restores us to paradise and to a kingdom, we should welcome it.”

Sometimes, however, people are afraid of the prospect of Jesus’ return. This may be because they know in their heart that they just aren’t prepared. Or maybe it’s because they imagine Jesus, not as a merciful, loving Lord, but as one who seeks only to destroy and condemn. Or it may be because they misunderstand the Bible. We saw this misunderstanding a great deal amongst some Christian groups as the year 2000 approached, as they preached a message of fear and coming calamity.

But do you remember what Pope John Paul II did before the year 2000? He encouraged everyone to prepare for the third Christian millennium with more fervent prayer, greater devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, a renewed love for the Mass, and greater acts of justice and charity for the poor. But he didn’t forecast doom or preach a message of fear. Instead, he told us all to “Be not afraid!” and he declared 2000 to be a “Jubilee Year” – a special year of celebration and grace. And when 2000 finally came, he led us in joyful prayer, and then he enjoyed the fireworks in Rome.

Pope John Paul’s approach to the coming of the new millennium is a model for how we should anticipate Jesus’ return. We do need to prepare, but with hope and joy, not worry and fear. Because if we’re really prepared, there’s really nothing to be afraid of. Consider St. Francis of Assisi. While he was working in a garden, someone asked what he would do if he knew that today was the last day of his life. He smiled and said, “I’d keep hoeing this row of beans!” He was so well prepared that the prospect of meeting his Lord didn’t change his plans one bit. May we be as well prepared, as together we say: “Come, Lord Jesus!”

Thursday of Ordinary 31

Have you ever felt like just another face in the crowd? A very small fish in a very big pond? Just a number?

If you have, you’re not alone. Many people have struggled with the feeling that they’re worthless or insignificant. As Mother Theresa once said, “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but the feeling of being unwanted, uncared for, and deserted by everybody.”

However, whenever we think this way, we can take heart from today’s gospel, because it tells us that everyone is important and significant to Jesus. Especially those who are lost. Especially those who feel lost.

Through his parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, Jesus tells us what we’re worth to him. If we’re lost, he’s not going to shrug his shoulders. He’s going to find us and carry us back on his shoulders. And then there’s going to be a celebration!

In Jesus’ eyes, we aren’t just one of the crowd, we’re one of a kind, and he loves us in a way words can’t even begin to describe. As St. Augustine once wrote, “God loves each one of us as if there were only one of us to love.”

Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Souls)

Every morning, as I get ready for my day, I pray by name for all the people who have died in my or my wife’s family. Many of them weren’t Catholic; some weren’t even Christian; and a few did some pretty terrible things. Yet I pray for them, because our Catholic faith teaches that we can hope that all of them might ultimately be saved.

            Other religions and other Christian traditions might say with great confidence that some or even all of my relatives and in-laws are now separated from God for all eternity in hell. But that’s not how we understand things. We do believe in the possibility of hell. Yet there is another possibility too. As Pope John Paul II wrote, there is “a real possibility of salvation in Christ for all humanity.” Because God is love. Because love hopes all things. Because God desires everyone to be saved. Because Jesus died and rose again.

            We might say that this possibility is possible, however, only because of the reality of purgatory. Heaven is only for the perfect. And no one, when thy die, is perfect-even the saints.  Everyone needs to be purified…to be made whole…to be stripped of all that is ungodly. Change like this can sometimes be painful, because we’re defensive, proud, stubborn, addicted, angry. That’s why tradition speaks of the pains of purgatory. Yet at the same time, those in purgatory are friends of God, and they know it.

            And so we have hope for “all souls” who have gone before us in death. That is why we celebrate this Mass. And that is why we pray for them, every day.