May 5, 2004 Arch. Dio. Development Appeal

There’s a story about an elderly man who was very sick. In fact, he was near death. He was also very wealthy and very stingy. In fact, he had never done anything for anyone in his entire life.

Knowing that the end was near, he decided he’d better do something before it was too late. He called his man servant to his bedside, gave him ten cents and told him to go out on the street and give it to the first poor person he saw.

The assignment didn’t take long. He was back in half an hour and reported to his employer that he had done what had been asked. It wasn’t long before the man breathed his last, comforted by his act of generosity.

Soon he finds himself in a long line. It’s the line where they decide your final destination. Eventually he works himself up to the pearly gate and there’s St. Peter. Peter asks the man for his name and looks for him in his big book. He finds the listing and sees that the man’s final act on earth was to give money to the poor. But as he pages through the book, he sees that there is only that one entry. Peter frowns and says to the man “Wait here. I’ll be right back.

Peter takes the book with him and goes to talk to God. He shows Him the book. God says, “This is good. His last act on earth was one of charity.” But as he flips through the man’s pages, He sees that they all the rest are blank.”

Peter says, “This is a tough one. What do you think we should do?”

God thinks for a few seconds and says, “Give him his dime back and tell him to go to hell.”
(pause until uproarious laughter dies down.)

I’m here to talk to you today about the ADA. (pause) Please don’t think I’m suggesting that if you don’t make a pledge you’re going to hell. I’d just like to spend a few minutes telling you why I give.

In the first year of a deacon’s training, he’s assigned to a social service organization for the summer. I was sent to Rosati House. Rosati House is a temporary home for mentally ill homeless people. It’s located up on North Grand, near the water tower. I don’t know if I was more afraid of the assignment or of getting there. The director even told me to be sure I left before it got dark.

I really didn’t know what to expect when I got there. They didn’t really give me any instructions other than to just “be there. When I got there the first time, a group of clients (that’s what they call the residents) were sitting in the living room watching “Forest Gump” on television. I sat down with them. I hadn’t been there long when one of the clients wondered how they mad Lieutenant Dan look like he had no legs. A young man sitting across the room from me launched into a very technical explanation of blue screens and computer graphics. It was way over my head.

So, I’m thinking to myself that there are some bright people here. Nothing at all like what I had expected. It turns out, when you hear these people’s stories that most of them aren’t much different from you and me.

One interesting gentleman had been a judge. One day when he got home from work, his wife, his furniture and his money were gone. In his depression he turned to the bottle and eventually ended up on the street. Since his wife had cleaned out the bank account, he couldn’t pay his mortgage and he lost his home.

The lesson I learned that summer was that any one of us could end up just like the judge. We’re only a couple of paychecks, or a long illness or an accident away.

Rosati House is part of St. Patrick’s Center which is part of Catholic Charities. Catholic Charities is the largest provider of social services in the state of Missouri. They receive more than one and a quarter million dollars from the ADA each year.

Your gift to the ADA is like buying an insurance policy. You don’t expect to have an accident but you still buy car insurance. You certainly don’t expect to have a serious illness, but you realize that without health insurance, you could lose everything you’ve worked so hard for. You don’t expect your house to burn down, but you buy homeowners insurance anyway.

You don’t expect to ever be homeless. You aren’t planning on going deaf or becoming disabled, but if you ever are, agencies funded by the ADA will be there to help you.

I doubt that anyone here hasn’t received some benefit from the ADA. The second largest recipients of support are the archdiocesan high schools, also more than 1 ¼ million dollars annually. Other agencies that are helped include the Newman Centers. (look back at Fr. G). The CYC receives money from the ADA. Pro Life and Natural Family Planning are also supported by your gift.

Remember, Jesus Himself was homeless for the last three years of His life. In the 8th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel he tells the Apostles, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And, in today’s Gospel, he says “My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me….No one can take them out of my hand.” You notice He doesn’t say his sheep have to be healthy, or that they can’t be disabled. He doesn’t even say they have to smell good. He does tell Peter to feed his sheep.

So, whether you give out of Christian charity or you give to make sure the services funded by the ADA will be there in case you ever need them, please be generous.

Oh, I almost forgot. The Permanent Diaconate receives funds from the ADA for training new deacons.

May 3, 2004

The message today seems to be about the message. Our first reading, the responsorial psalm and the Gospel all speak about Christ’s message.

In the first reading, St. Paul tells the people of Corinth that they will be saved if they hold fast to the word he preached to them. He reminds them that Christ died according to the scriptures and that he was raised on the third day “in accordance with the scriptures.”

In the responsorial psalm our response is “Their message goes out through all the earth.” “The heavens declare the glory of God. The firmament proclaims his handywork. Day pours out the word to day.”

Finally, in the Gospel Jesus tells the apostles, “If you know me, then you will also know my father.” “The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own.” It’s fairly obvious that we are all charged with spreading the good news, no matter what our vocation. Some of us get to spread the message from the pulpit. Most of us spread it by our actions and the way we live our lives. But Jesus, through Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and St. Paul, tells us over and over again that we must know Him if we are to enjoy eternal life. And the way we come to know Jesus is through the scriptures.

Here’s an ad that was in Saturday’s paper. It was in the section where some churches promote their particular services.

“Church Service 30 Minutes or less- GUARANTEED
Dress casual=Meet Nice People.
“It’s too short for you to get bored”
Then they give their internet address and their phone number. They don’t give their address.

Naturally, being curious, I went to their web site to see exactly what message they deliver every Sunday morning, in 30 minutes or less. Under “What We Believe” this is what they say:

“We are a family of believers committed to worshipping and serving Jesus Christ” That’s a noble goal in 30 minutes or less.

Please don’t think I’m making fun of this particular church or putting down their beliefs. I’m sure they’re good people. They’ve decided that the way to attract people in this day and age is to advertise the shortness of their services. And, if that gets people into the pews, it’s not an entirely bad idea.

But Jesus tells us to preach the Gospel. Spread the word. Give people the good news. There were no watches in the first century, so I guess Jesus couldn’t have guaranteed that his sermons would not take more than half and hour. He didn’t seem to be interested in time. Apparently, his listeners weren’t either. We know of one particular instance when He spoke all day. He kept the people so late that He had to provide dinner. And, more than 5,000 people were willing to sit there all day and listen.

Is His message any less powerful in 2004 than it was in 33AD?