31st Week in Ordinary Time 2024 - Wednesday - Grace, Free Will, and the Cross of Discipleship

 Today's readings highlight a profound mystery of our faith – the dance between divine grace and human free will, and the true cost of following Jesus.

"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling," St. Paul tells us today, "for God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work." 

At first glance, this might seem paradoxical. Are we to work out our salvation, or is it God who works within us? The answer is both. 

God's grace is the initiating force—the unmerited gift that empowers us to seek Him. It's His grace that stirs our hearts, giving us both the desire and the ability to do what is good. Yet, He doesn't override our free will. We are invited to cooperate with His grace, to actively participate in our own salvation. This cooperation involves effort on our part—hence Paul's exhortation to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." This isn't a fear born of terror but a reverent awe at the magnitude of God's gift and our responsibility in responding to it.

In the Gospel, Jesus presents a stark message about the demands of discipleship: "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." 

To apply the lesson from St. Paul “carrying our cross” involves both human effort and reliance on God’s grace. The choice to carry our cross is ours, and our human strength is involved, but that feeble human effort is sustained and strengthened by God’s grace. We aren’t carrying our crosses alone. God is with us at every step.

Let us pray for the courage to embrace the cost of discipleship, trusting that God's grace will sustain and guide us. May we respond generously to His call, allowing His grace to work through our free will, and thus become true disciples who reflect His love to the world, for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

- - - - 

I would like to share a message from our bishop, which he posted online this morning, in light of yesterday’s election. His excellency writes:

“We are truly blessed to live in a democratic nation where we can participate in free elections to choose our government leaders. So many people across the globe do not have the opportunity to do so, and we should never take this fundamental right for granted.

Whether your chosen candidates won or lost, never forget that we are all brothers and sisters, created in the image and likeness of God. We are all neighbors, who more than ever, need to come together, united in peace. We must work for the common good, prayerfully, respectfully, and thoughtfully. We must put divisiveness behind us and move forward, together. May we approach one another with open hearts and minds, listen more, and talk less. It is only then that we can engage in meaningful, honest, and civil dialogue with our neighbors, friends and families, who might have opinions different from our own.

Please join me in praying for our newly elected leaders, asking that God grant them wisdom and courage to lead with compassion and justice. Let us pray that they demonstrate respect, kindness and generosity to all people. Let us pray that they uphold the God-given rights we are privileged to possess as U.S. citizens, especially the most fundamental right to life. And let us ask, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Peace, that our Lord fill us with a spirit of faith, hope and love, that we may be peacemakers in our homes, in our communities, and in our great nation.”

- - - - - 

For the Church, that we may faithfully respond to God's grace as we carry our daily crosses, cooperating with His divine will in building up the Kingdom. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our newly elected leaders, that God may grant them wisdom, courage, and compassion as they serve the common good of all people. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our nation in this post-election period, that we may heal divisions, engage in respectful dialogue, and work together as brothers and sisters created in God's image. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those struggling with the demands of discipleship, that they may find strength in God's grace and support in our Christian community. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those facing heavy crosses of illness, loneliness, or hardship, that they may experience God's sustaining presence and our compassionate care. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our parish community, that we may grow in our ability to recognize and cooperate with God's grace in our daily lives, becoming true disciples who reflect Christ's love to the world. Let us pray to the Lord.

We pray in a special way during this Month of November for all of the faithful departed; for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom, that they may experience the fullness of God's grace in eternal life. Let us pray to the Lord.

Merciful Father, you call us to discipleship and provide the grace we need to follow your Son. Hear these prayers and help us to respond generously to your call. Through Christ our Lord. 

31st Week in Ordinary Time 2023 - Adultery, Abortion, and Carrying our Crosses

 In the epistle this morning, St. Paul reminds Christians to keep the commandments of God. In the wake of the passing of issue 1 last night, two of the commandments are particularly glaring: you shall not commit adultery and you shall not kill. 

The abortion industry, which thrives on the killing of the unborn, thrives in large part because of our nation’s disregard of God’s prohibition of adultery. Rampant adultery, pre-martial and extra-marital sex, leads to so-called unwanted pregnancy, which leads to the justification of abortion.

The Church has a great task to work for the reversal of these diabolical attitudes, to do penance for the sins of our world, and to preach the Gospel in its fullness.

This is not a pleasant task. It is part of our cross. And this morning, the Gospel reminds us that “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Christ cannot be his disciple.” 

The cross of our times, one that we share, is to preach the Gospel and live our Faith in a nation that is growing increasingly hostile to the message of Christ. We do not choose the times in which we live, but we can choose how we live in our time. And our choice must be to carry our crosses faithfully. 

May God help us, sustain us, strengthen us, and give us courage to carry our crosses in union with Christ for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

- - - - -  

In reparation for sins against the innocent unborn, for an overturning of laws which disregard human dignity, and for courage in bearing witness to the Gospel of Life.

For the strength to be faithful to all of the Lord’s commands and the grace and humility to repent of our failings.

For the impoverished and sick and those experiencing any sort of trial: that Jesus the Bread of Life will be their sustenance, and that Christians will be instruments of God’s mercy for all those in need.  

We pray in a special way during this Month of November for all of the faithful departed; for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for deceased clergy and religious, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time 2022 - Strive to enter through the narrow gate

 On Monday, this past week, the Church celebrated the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, body and soul, into heaven. The Son of God came into the world so that each of us likewise might spend eternity, body in soul, in heaven alongside her. 

And in today’s Gospel, the Lord tells us how to do just that: “Strive to enter through the narrow gate.” 

Let’s dive into that most poignant line. The word “strive” in the original New Testament Greek is a really interesting word. It’s Agōnize-es-the, from which we get the word agonize. Jesus tells us here to agonize—struggle and strain to enter heaven. The implication here is that those who seek to enter the narrow gate must do so by real effort, like an athlete making exerting all of his strength to reach the finish line, all muscles taut—almost seeming to push, push, push past his emotional and physical limits. 

Is that how most of us would describe our efforts to grow in holiness? In the practice of prayer and good works? Are we struggling and straining to use the time we’ve been given for the work of the Gospel? Most of us would humbly admit, no we don’t. Which is why we pray over and over, Lord have mercy upon us. 

Notice the Lord doesn’t say, it’s important to have striven for heaven at one point in the past or it’s okay if you put off striving for heaven for when it is most convenient for you—to strive to enter the narrow gate at some indeterminate time in the future. Agōnize-es-the isn’t a past tense verb, it’s not a future tense verb, it’s in the present tense: “agonize now and don’t stop” The Christian life requires constant effort for heaven.

Now, there are some protestant denominations that profess that as long as at some point in your life you acknowledge that Jesus is God and Savior, that you are basically automatically guaranteed heaven. Some of us Catholics treat baptism with the same attitude. But that doesn’t align with the biblical data. Baptism isn’t that end of the race, it’s the starting point. 

And, on the other hand, many say, well, I’ll begin to take prayer seriously tomorrow, I’ll go to confession next month, I’ll engage in some charitable work when it’s more convenient. I’ll begin reading the Bible just after this season of Gray’s Anatomy (is that still on, I have no idea?) But what happens? To quote Meredith Wilson: “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you'll find you are left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.” Excuses about not getting serious about the Christian life leave us emptier and sadder for it.

To be saved, to enter the Kingdom, to get to Heaven, you need to strive for it now and until you draw your last breath. 

And on top of this immense, all-encompassing agonizing effort on our part to reach heaven, what does the Lord say next? The gate of heaven is narrow. The width of the door to Heaven is the span of a needle’s eye, something that is anything but easy to pass through. 

Listen to Matthew’s version of today’s Gospel, where the Lord says “The gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. But the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it” In other worse, The highway to hell is wide and easy; the road to heaven, the road to life is difficult, and not found by everyone.

And notice Jesus doesn’t say, complain about how narrow the gate is, how small it looks.  Many souls are presented with the commandments of God and the teachings of the Church, and say, 

no, too narrow, too rigid, too outdated, for me”.  They seek to refashion the gate and make it wider. They lobby for the Church to change her teachings instead of having the courage and fortitude to change themselves. But that’s not what Jesus asks. 

Entering the narrow gate requires us to change, and the behaviors and attitudes that are incompatible with heaven, incompatible with Church teaching, all need to be eradicated from our lives: our selfish clinging to sinful pleasures, our grudges and hatreds, our prideful self-aggrandizement. And this is all very hard, to let go of the bad habits and sins we have cultivated over the years.

C.S. Lewis’ wrote a powerful allegory called “The Great Divorce” in which he describes two types of people, those who are willing to give up their selfish clingings and those who get to go to heaven and there is a great divorce, a great chasm between them.

It is a tough gospel, a tough lesson. But, isn’t it the message of the cross? The key to the narrow gate of heaven is the cross that the Lord has told us that we must take up and carry, each and every one of us.

The daily examination can be a tremendous help in letting go of our vices and carrying our crosses more faithfully. The daily self-diagnosis: where have a dropped the cross today? Where have I failed to strive and strain for beatitude?  Where have I fallen into old habits—that so unfortunately keep me from the freedom and joy God wants for me, had I strived and struggled just a little harder?

Now of course this doesn’t mean we can’t physically and emotionally rest from our labors. The human body needs rest, we need the sabbath, we need a vacation now and then, but even leisure is to be placed at the service of striving for heaven. I rest because I must in order to serve God.

And again, this all sounds impossible. But the key is to try. And God knows how we try and how we don’t. But he also doesn’t leave us to accomplish this impossible task on our own. He gives us the strength we need at Mass, in the Eucharist. 

Jesus doesn’t leave us agonizing on our own, with all our weaknesses, staring at the uphill narrow road. He gives himself to us to strengthen us on the inside so that we might finish the race and keep the faith. We can indeed do all things in him who strengthens us. He empowers us by his word, he bolsters by the intimate friendship of prayer, and fortifies us by the awesome gift of Holy Communion so that united with him we might follow him step by step. The Mass—where we are fed and strengthened with prayer, worship, word and sacrament is a foretaste for those who persevere of the heavenly banquet.

And that’s how the Gospel today ends doesn’t it? With that beautiful image. Those who strive and strain to enter the narrow gate, from east, west, north, and south, will come to recline at the heavenly table in the kingdom of God. 

May we find our strength, our life, in the Eucharist today, to carry the cross, to strive to enter the narrow gate, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.