30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizeable crowd.  The blind beggar called out to Jesus, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”  Some of the people traveling with Jesus told the beggar to get lost.  “Don’t bother Jesus.  He’s with us.  He doesn’t have time for the likes of you.”

What does Jesus say?  “Jesus stopped and said, ‘Call him.’”  He didn’t call the blind man himself, he asked the disciples to call him.  Do you see the difference?

I want to tell you about two people, one at the end of her earthly life and one at the beginning.  I went to a funeral today (yesterday).  Mary Geeran, wife of deacon Bill Gearon, passed into eternal life on Thursday morning.  These are two incredible people.  Some of you probably know them.  They’ve been teaching marriage preparation in Saint Louis for a very long time.  If you’ve ever seen the Archdiocesan marriage prep video, they’re the elderly couple that are featured in the film. 

Bill and Marry have touched the lives of thousands of young people through marriage prep.  The thing that makes them special is that they have taken Jesus words to heart.  When they were married sixty years ago this coming New Year’s Eve, right down here, in front of this altar, they became one.  They were the epitome of the oneness that comes from the sacrament of marriage.

Until just a few years ago, when their health made it impossible, Bill and Mary led the first year retreat for deacon candidates and their wives.  That’s how Jan and I got to know them.  They have inspired a lot of deacon couples by their oneness and their spirituality.  “Jesus stopped and said, call him.”  Bill and Mary said “yes” to Jesus more times than anyone could possibly count.

The other person I want to talk about is a little child who was at 10:30 mass last Sunday.  The family was sitting in the last row so I couldn’t see if the child was a boy or a girl.  But at the Consecration, when the server rang the bell the child yelled out, “That’s a bell!”  Of course it didn’t stop there.  There were several other comments about the bell.

I couldn’t see the parents either, but being one myself, I can imagine them trying very hard to stop the monologue.  But remember what Jesus said about little children.  Wasn’t this little one really speaking for all of us?  After all, the reason we ring the bell is to call attention to the miracle that’s happening on the altar.  I know, it happens all the time.  It happens at every mass at every Catholic Church in the whole world.  But it’s still a miracle.  Like the little child, shouldn’t we be filled with joy? 

In our responsorial Psalm today we sang, “The Lord has done great things for us; we are filled with joy.”  As you sang those words, were you really filled with joy?  Was your mouth filled with laughter?  Was your tongue rejoicing?  “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad indeed.” 

Remember, Father and I can see you from up here.  I’m not going to point fingers and I don’t want to offend anybody, but some of you weren’t looking all that joyful.  But, hey, you can see me too and I know I don't always look all that joyful either. For one thing, I’m a terrible singer.  But God doesn’t care. After all, I sing with the voice that He gave me. He wants to hear your voice, no matter how bad you think you sound.   I promise I'm going to try to do better.

But what about the people sitting around you?  Don’t worry about them.  They’re just as concerned about how they sound as you are.  They’re not even listening to you.  If they are, and if they’re thinking about how bad you sound then they’re not really focused on God, are they?

I was on retreat this week with the Monks at Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky.  They sing everything.  They're in Church eight times every day singing their prayers.  What an awesome way to express their love of God.

But we’re singing those words in church, surrounded by people who are also in church.  It’s good for us to sing the words, to remind ourselves that the Lord has done great things for us.  But aren’t we preaching to the choir?  When was the last time you told someone outside of church how glad you are?  Do our non-church-going family and friends look at us and think, “I want what they’ve got?”  Or do they look at us and wonder why we bother going to church when it doesn’t seem to be doing anything for us? 

If we saw someone going to the same doctor week after week and never seeming to get better, would we want to go to that same doctor?  We’d probably go to another doctor, or maybe not go to a doctor at all.  We might try alternative medicine, or acupuncture, or voodoo or anything rather than go to a doctor who doesn’t seem to make people better.  Some of us even turn to alcohol or drugs.  Or maybe we’d just stay sick, thinking there’s no hope.  

Today is Priesthood Sunday.  This year is also a Year for Priests.  So today,  we really have a double celebration.  We have a God who loves us so much that He not only sent His Son to die for us on the cross, but He made it possible for pathetic creatures like you and me to actually walk out of here with Christ’s body and blood inside of us, thanks to our Priests.  With his hands and his voice Father Gary is about to act in persona Christ, in the person of Christ, to give us the greatest gift of all.  For the life of me, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to pass that up.

We’re like cell phones that lose their charge after a few days.  Plug them in for a while and they’re good as new.  Only, instead of electricity, we’re recharged with the actual physical presence of our Lord.  What a gift!  No wonder we’re filled with joy...............  Or are we?...............  And if we are, do we let it show? 

Jesus showed all the human emotions during His earthly life.  He was happy and sad, joyful and even angry.  In His short three-year ministry he attracted thousands of followers.  Today His disciples number in the millions.  When do you think He was most successful in gaining converts?  When He was turning the money changers’ tables over in the temple, or when He was speaking joyfully about His kingdom in heaven?  Here’s a hint.  Pick door number two.

So doesn’t it make sense that if we’re going to make converts or to get fallen-away Catholics back into church, we have to show them what’s in it for them?  To show them what’s in it for them, we have to remember what’s in it for us.  Don’t you imagine that we’re a lot more effective when we come out of mass with a smile on our faces?  Aren’t we better disciples when we approach evangelization in the spirit of sharing something wonderful that’s happening in our lives?  Doesn’t that spirit make our lives better?

When Jesus told the disciples to “Call him” He knew that He was going to do something wonderful, something miraculous for the blind man.  He was going to give him back his sight.  But Jesus has a lot more to offer than just one of the five senses.  He offers eternal life.  Knowing that, shouldn’t we be chomping at the bit to share that gift with everyone? 

I know you may be thinking “That’s easy for you to say.  You just came back from a retreat.  Everybody gets fired up after a retreat.  But this is real life.  Times are tough.  It’s just not that easy.” 

I get that.  You’re right.  I am fired up after a week with the Monks.  But isn’t it true that this a place of peace too?  There’s not a thing that happens in a monastery chapel that doesn’t happen right here at St. Bernadette.  The mass is the same.  It’s the same God.  We just live a different life-style. 

I don’t want to use the word “escape” because you can’t escape your troubles, even in Church.  But this is the place to ask God for help and to receive the power of the resurrection through the Eucharist.  Our time on earth is very short.  With God’s help we can get through anything, knowing that what God has planned for us when we leave this life is beyond our wildest dreams.  I don’t know about you, but I want to share that with everyone I know.

There are some people that Jan and I love very much who have fallen away from the faith.  We both pray every day that they’ll come back.  But today’s Gospel, especially that one six-word sentence, made me realize that we’ve been doing it all wrong.  God’s answer to our prayer, and the answer to any of your prayers if you love someone who’s not practicing the faith, is right there.  “Call him.”  Or, “call her.” Jesus healed the blind man after the disciples called him.

It seems so simple.  We have to speak for Jesus.  We have to call others to the Church, whether they’ve fallen away, or if they’ve never been here in the first place.  If we can get them here once, then it’s up to the Holy Spirit, working through you and me here in Church, to get them to come back again.

I’m going to give you some homework.  During the next seven days, pray that God will give you whatever you need to bring someone either to the Church or back to the Church.  Whatever that is, whether it’s the courage to speak up, or the right words to say, or an inner sense of peace that others see and want for themselves, God will provide it if you ask Him.

Then, when He answers your prayer, invite someone to Church.  If necessary, offer to pick them up and bring them with you.  Maybe you can bribe them with the promise of a trip to Waffle House after mass.  Be prepared for the possibility of a negative response.  If that happens, start over.  Get on your knees and say, “OK, God.  That didn’t work.  What else do you have?”

Just so you don't think that I'm just blowing smoke, I took my own advice today (yesterday).  There are three people attending mass this weekend that haven't  been to church in quite a while.  Why?  Because I asked them.  I asked for God's help and He gave me the courage and the grace to approach these three people and invite them to come home.  Whether they come again next week is up to them and to God.  If they don't, then I'll have to ask God to help me again and I'll ask them again.  Meanwhile, I'm thanking God for this first step for them and for me.

Don't get me wrong.  I take no credit for this.  It was God working through me because I followed Jesus' instruction.  Maybe that's why I'm a little more joyful than usual today.  Knowing that God can work with such inadequate tools gives me faith that He has even better things in store for all of us.

So, keep trying.  Eventually the person may come to mass with you just to get you off their back.  Once they’re here, it’s up to God and the rest of us to get them to come back.  Remember that short six-word sentence:  "Jesus stopped and said "call him."

28th Suday in Ordinary Time

Murphy was circling the block trying to find a parking place.  He was already late for an important meeting and he was starting to panic.  He raised his eyes toward the sky and said, "Lord, if you help me find a parking place, I promise to give up drinking and to go to mass every Sunday."  Just then, a parking spot opened right in front of him.  He looked up and said, "Never mind Lord.  I found one myself."

All things are possible for God, even if we don't always give Him the credit.

The readings today definitely give us a lot to think about.  In the first, from the Book of Wisdom, Solomon tells us that riches are nothing compared to Wisdom.  He says that gold is like sand and silver is no more than mire.  He even tells us that he prefers wisdom to light.  Our lectors' workbook tells us that the word wisdom, Sophia in Greek, at this time in history meant prudence for making intelligent decisions regarding life.  Wisdom was a guide for following the will of God in the way you lived.

By the way, the word Sophia is a feminine noun.

Notice that Solomon says he prayed and prudence was given him.  He pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to him.  Even today we sometimes hear the phrase "the wisdom of Solomon."  But he admits in this reading that he, himself wasn't wise.  The spirit of Wisdom came to him only after he pleaded with God. 

I know a lot of people who think they're "wise".  Surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, a lot of people who've received the sacrament of Holy Orders, that would be priests and deacons, think that the sacrament somehow confers wisdom.  Or maybe they think that the Church only ordains the wise.  Either way, they're very impressed with their own "wisdom".  Or maybe I should say we instead of they.  It's an easy trap to fall into.  But as Solomon tells us, Wisdom is a spirit and it's a gift from God.  Education doesn't equal wisdom.  If anything, too much education may be the enemy of wisdom.

Remember the definition of Wisdom from the Lectors' workbook,  it's a guide for following the will of God in the way you live your life.  Being able to recite Church Law from memory isn't wisdom.  Keeping a copy of the Catechism on your coffee table doesn't show that you're wise.  Being well-versed in the changes that are coming in the mass isn't wisdom.  You can be smart  and lack wisdom.  You can definitely be rich and lack wisdom.  Jesus tells us that in today's Gospel.  In fact He tells us that it's harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

But, getting back to Solomon, here's what he says at the beginning of Chapter 7, just ahead of today's first reading:

"I too am a mortal man, the same as all the rest, and a descendant of the first man formed on earth.  And in my mother's womb I was molded into flesh in a ten-months period--body and blood, from the seed of man and the pleasure that accompanies marriage."  The reason he says ten-month period is that in Biblical times, they used a different calendar.  Ten Biblical months equals nine of our current months.  Remember that Mary visited Elizabeth when Elizabeth was "in her sixth month" and baby John jumped for joy?  All you moms know that you really feel the baby start to move around about the fifth month.  Elizabeth's sixth month would be five months today.  But I digress.  Back to Solomon.

"And I too, when born, inhaled the common air, and fell upon the kindred earth; wailing, I uttered that first sound common to all.  In swaddling clothes and with constant care I was nurtured."   Remember, he was royalty,   He was well taken care of."  For no king has any different origin or birth, but one is the entry into life for all; and in one same way they leave it.  Therefor I prayed and prudence was given me......"

In other words, I put my tunic on one leg at a time, just like you do.  But instead of focusing on the wealth and power of the family I was accidentally born into, I prayed for prudence and God gave it to me.  I pleaded for Wisdom and the spirit of Wisdom was given to me.  What's your excuse? 

In modern terms, who's wiser; the "learned" preacher who stands up here week after week spouting what he thinks are "words of wisdom" or the young couple who struggles and does without the things their friends have so they can send their kids to a Catholic school?  Who's really following the will of God in the way they live their lives? 

Don't get me wrong.  The Church ordains priests and deacons to many things and one of them is to preach the Gospel.  We all believe we're following the will of God.  But it's easy to forget that the faculty to preach is a gift, as is the spirit of Wisdom.  My job is help you follow the will of God.  It's not my message.  It's God's message.  And there's a BIG difference!

The spirit of wisdom is an amazing gift!  But if you think you have it and you really don't, or if you do have it but you think it makes you smarter or holier than anyone else, you're just going to make a fool out of yourself. 

Last week we asked you to contribute to the formation of future deacons.  Over the years the program for diaconate training has gone from just two years of classes to eight.  That's why the formation program needs our financial support.  It's an expensive program.   I was right in the middle.  It took me five years and I paid for everything myself.

 We all need as much training as we can get because life is getting more complicated by the day.  But, I know some very good deacons who would never make it through today's program.  It's very difficult.  But, all those years of expensive classes won't give anyone the spirit of wisdom unless they plead for it as Solomon did.

Here's a very simplistic example of what I'm talking about.  Let's say you're married and things aren't going as well as you would like.  You decide to talk to a minister.  An educated priest or deacon will walk you through all the necessary steps for obtaining a declaration of nullity.  He'll have all the forms and he'll help you fill them out.  A priest or deacon who's been blessed with the spirit of wisdom will do everything he can to help you save the marriage.  If that doesn't work out, then he'll get out the forms.

That's the kind of Wisdom Jesus displays in today's Gospel.  The young man seems to have led a good life.  He follows the commandments.  But when he asks Jesus what he has to do to gain eternal life, he's shocked at the answer.  "Sell all your stuff, give the money to the poor, and follow Me."  And the young man went away sad.  It's up to our imaginations to tell us if the man did as Jesus suggested.  The Gospel doesn't tell us.  Then Jesus  tells the disciples that it would be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. 

But then He seems to contradict Himself when He says that "All things are possible for God."  What is He saying?  Is it impossible for a rich man to get into heaven or not?  Don't we need rich people to help pay for things like the Seminary Campaign?  If no one is rich, who's going to feed the poor, the government?  No, that's not it.  If we're all poor, then the government won't have anything to tax and they won't have any money either.  Jesus was poor.  He depended on the generosity of others to survive during his earthly life.  Somebody had to pay for all those dinners He was always having.  Even at the last supper, Jesus and the disciples were eating the passover meal in someone else's house, eating someone else's food.  Apparently their host hadn't given away all his stuff.

He says "All things are possible for God."  If that's true then maybe a camel can pass through a needle's eye and a rich man can get into heaven.  Fortunately for most of us, this isn't a big personal problem.  We're not rich and we don't own camels.  That means it's easier for us to get into heaven, right?  I'm not so sure. 

We should all follow Solomon's example and beg for the Spirit of Wisdom. 

I think Thomas Merton had the Spirit of Wisdom.  I know I've used this before, but I'm going on retreat to his monastery next week and I think this prayer reflects a lot of wisdom and fits nicely with today's readings.

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.  And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing.  I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.  And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are ever with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.