Saturday, February 9, 2019

HOMILY - 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C (2019)

This past week, I have heard our new Apostolic Administrator Frederick Campbell twice on Catholic Radio. On both occasions, he was talking about our three vocations as Christians. The first is our vocation to life. He stressed that our first vocation is to the dignity, sancity and value of life - a point he stressed to our 8th graders just a couple of weeks ago at Confirmation. He also stressed that this vocation to life requires us to protect and defend life - from natural conception to natural death; a point that is a challenged as even more states advance laws to take life in the late terms of pregnancy, or even at the time of birth. As Catholics, we must be clear and united in our defense of all life. And this is why I am especially proud of our school and PSR students who have been collecting coins as part of an effort by our Knights of Columbus to support moms in crisis pregnancies. I could go on more about this vocation of life, but will shift to our second vocation as Christians: Holiness. Our wonderful leader of our parish’s men’s group, That Man Is You, is constantly reminding us that we need more holy men and women, we need more saints, especially in the midst of the crisis in our Church, in our communities and in our families. Pope Francis reminds us that the Lord has set the bar extremely high for you and me: "He wants us to be saints and not to settle for a bland and mediocre existence." And then there is the third vocation Bishop Campbell speaks of which is our state of life, in which we pursue life and holiness. That is, as a single person, or married, or as a religious or clergy. It is in today’s readings that we are guided in our pursuit of that second vocation: holiness. In Luke’s Gospel, just before the passage we read today, Jesus heals Simon-Peter’s mother-in-law. You would think that after having just experienced that miracle Peter would be all-in. Yes, Peter welcomes Jesus onto his boat, and yes, Peter followed Jesus’ command to lower the nets into the water but there still seems to be some doubt and uncertainty in Peter. And I don’t think it was because he didn’t like his mother-in-law and was mad at Jesus for making her well (just kidding). I certainly get it from Peter’s perspective. I too doubt, and fail to trust, and fail to always follow God’s commands - even after experiencing God’s grace in my life. I fail to seek his will for me, and I feel that I am too often questioning what His plan for me is. And even more, like Peter, my response is too often to want to depart from Jesus. Not that I’m rejecting him, certainly not, but more out of shame and embarrassment. I want my response to be like Isaiah who says: “here I am Lord.” Not because of guilt, or religious duty, or blind obedience. But I want my response to be just that because of love - in response to God‘s incredible love for me, and as an expression of the love fills my heart and my mind - and a love that I want to share with others. I want to believe, trust, follow, and to then bring others to know and believe in this incredible God of ours. In other words, I want to be HOLY. So today’s readings give me inspiration to do just that. First it is in today’s second reading that Paul reminds us that we are saved - truly saved - by the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul grounds us in the truth, the fact, the history that Christ suffered and died for US, he rose from the dead for US. And he appeared to so many has proof of the fact that he did all of this for US, out of love for US. Second is the miracles that happened in today’s readings: the filling of the nets with fish when there were no fish to be caught, and the opening of the mouth of Isaiah by the angel. These extraordinary, yet real and tangible experiences of God’s power and love are incredible gifts for us even today. I know even in just recently for me it was not mere coincidences but miracles that provided me the necessary encouragement and hope that I needed in my moments of discouragement and doubt and failure. I’m certain it was God working, just as he did for Peter and for Isaiah and even Paul, bringing them and me to know his love and will. Third, I love Paul’s point that by the grace of God, I am what I am and his grace to me has not been INeffective, in deed the grace of God is in me. In other words, we can not do this alone, we need God’s help, and the good news is that he is willing to give us all the help we need, especially in our failings and doubts, in our pursuit of our holiness. Finally, as we read in all three readings the main character is ready to let go of everything they hold onto and to believe and trust in God: Isaiah is ready to serve, Paul is willing to toil harder than all, and Peter is going to leave everything and follow. We too are called not to run away from obligations or ignore our responsibilities, but instead to let go of anything that keeps us from fully loving and trusting our God. Lent is just a month away and is a perfect time to focus on those things in our life that distract or hinder our pursuit of holiness - consider now how you can use that time to let go of those things that keep you from being the saint God is calling you to be (and the saint we need you to be). And if you want to jump start your pursuit of holiness now, consider attending the men’s or women’s Catholic conference. As I conclude, I will offer this final thought for him today’s first reading. In the first reading, we read of angels crying out to one another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of host! All the earth is filled with his glory! We too will sing these words together in just a couple of minutes, as they have been sung from the earliest times of the Church. In the first reading, we skip over a verse from the book of Isaiah, which details Seraphim with three pairs of wings each used for a particular purpose as they sit before God. One pair to cover their faces in reverence for the God before them; one pair to cover their extremities in modesty; and the third pair extended in preparation for flight - ready to serve God. As we sing this song in just a couple of minutes, let this be our prayer and mindset before the Eucharist: reverence, modesty, and service before God. I can’t image a better prayer to guide us on the path to holiness: reverence, modesty, service. May God bless you.

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