Holy family 2018 - 3 Holy Family Lessons

The Solemnity of Holy Family gives us the opportunity to reflect on God’s plan for the family.  We could spend time today considering advice about making your family psychologically healthier, more functional, happier, etc.  In fact, our first reading from the book of Sirach gives a fair amount of advice on this topic: “he who obeys his father brings comfort to his mother; take care of your father when he is old even if his mind fails, be considerate of him.” Sirach is filled with such good practical bits of advice, and all of us would do very well to sit down with this wonderful book and consider how its advice could be applied to the concrete details of our life. 

St. Paul, too, in the second reading, gives some wonderful advice: Put on, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another.” Again, good advice for families, especially that last part.  Sometimes family members are the hardest to love; we come face to face with each other’s faults and vices; but when we fail to forgive one another and be patient with one another, our families fall apart.

These readings offer, sound advice; if you are a Christian or not, a member of Christ’s faithful or a person of no faith, you would be hard-up to disagree with any of that advice. 

But today, on this Holy Family Sunday, we need to go a little deeper than psychological advice. We need to consider what it means for the family to be holy, to be a place where family members can grow in sanctity.  So let’s look to the Gospel to the members of the Holy Family to learn how our families may become holy like theirs.

First, it’s easy to forget, that the Holy Family of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus, was a real family. We have all seen paintings and holy cards that depict them in a super-pious, unrealistic way. But they were real human beings, just like us, and they lived in the real world, the fallen world, just like us. The fact that Mary and Jesus were unaffected by original sin and that Joseph was a saint doesn't change the reality of their family life and their struggles.

In today's Gospel, we hear how Mary and Joseph were filled with “great anxiety”—they were worried sick—over the loss of Jesus.   We have all experienced “great anxiety” in relation to our families and relationships.  So being holy doesn’t mean we don’t have anxiety, challenges, struggles, or trials. 

Here’s the first lesson we can learn from the Holy family—HOW they endured their anxiety.  Mary and Joseph were filled with anxiety over the losing Jesus, but they did not lose faith or curse God.  Notice how Mary and Joseph don’t stand around blaming each other for losing Jesus.  They endured the anxiety together, and they went to look for the Christ, together. 

Husbands and wives, families, the lesson is clear isn’t it: in times of anxiety, fear, anger, uncertainty, sadness, frustration, helplessness, stick together and don’t lose faith.

In a way, God used their anxiety over losing Jesus for three days in Jerusalem in order to prepare them for a bigger trial.  About 20 years after this incident, Mary would have to undergo a greater trial of faith, she would have to witness her Son undergoing his Passion and Death. 
So again, A mark of holiness is the ability to undergo suffering with faith.  God allows sufferings to cross our paths, not because he likes torturing us, but because he wants to purify us, to help us grow in wisdom, to strengthen us for greater trials to come, to draw us closer and closer to his own suffering heart. A priest friend of mine often says, “everything prepares us for something else.” The suffering of yesterday and the suffering of today prepares us for the greater inevitable suffering of tomorrow. 
A second lesson. Notice, how Jesus responded to Mary.  He doesn't apologize for having gone off on his own without telling them. Instead, he simply says that they should have known that they could find him in the Temple, which he calls "his Father's house."
Jesus was not guilty of breaking the Fourth Commandment to honor your father and mother by going to His Father’s House.  Jesus was twelve-years-old, the age of adulthood in the Jewish Community.  And he made a choice to seek out His Heavenly Father’s House to attend to his heavenly Father’s business.
The second mark of holiness Jesus shows us is that our primary responsibility in life, our primary mission, is to find and follow God's call. Nothing, not even the strong, deep ties of family affection and loyalty, should interfere with doing God’s will. We sometimes experience a tug-of-war for our loyalty—God or family, God or country, God or place of employment.  Our primary loyalty is to God.

Prioritizing faith over worldly concerns is rarely easy. During the holidays, we know how easy it is to become overly concerned with the secular dimensions of Christmas, and the struggle of keeping Christ at the center of our celebrations. And throughout the year, there is the struggle of putting faith first. Sometimes the kids or one’s spouse aren’t always enthusiastic about coming to Mass or praying together throughout the week.  Sometimes one’s spouse might pressure you to disobey Church teaching concerning the use of artificial contraception.  But remaining faithful to our Heavenly Father is of the greatest importance.  In a sense, we are each members of two families, aren’t we? Born as children to biological families and born in baptism as children of God.  I know this is hard, but our greatest loyalty is to God. 

I’ve known several priests whose parents kicked them out of the house for entering seminary. Recall the story of St. Francis of Assis.  His father wished him to take over the family business.  Francis’ father publically disowned his son for turning away from the family business in order to follow God’s call. Sometimes children face tremendous pressure from parents wanting their children to be successful in the eyes of the world instead of the eyes of God.  But, Christian parents have as their vocation not just ensuring their children become psychologically well-adjusted, athletically competitive, or financially successful, but that their children know and follow Jesus Christ.

Finally, after discovering Jesus in the temple, St. Luke tells us that Mary “kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” She examined the events of her life, the trials of her family, her experience of anxiety, her fervent searching for Christ, and pondered them in her heart.

Here a third mark of holiness: Meditating on God’s will, examining our life in the light of Scripture and the teachings of the Church.  Even the pagan philosopher Socrates knew that the unexamined life is not worth living.  We like Mary are to examine how God is working in our life.

Every day, we do well, to set aside time for this sort of prayerful reflection.  Without this sort of reflection and meditation we will never achieve the emotional or spiritual growth God wants for us. Without prayerful reflection we miss the life lessons God wants for us, and we fail to appreciate and give thanks for the blessings of God and seek forgiveness for our failings. You might consider in the new year to begin a spiritual journal, in which you reflect on your life in light of the Scriptures or the life of the saints. A family does well too, to discuss scripture throughout the week.

On this Holy Family Sunday let us commit to making our families holy by assisting each other in discerning and following God’s will for our lives, in bearing our anxieties, trials, and sufferings with faith, and encouraging each other in engaging in those life-giving practices of mind and soul for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

33rd Sunday in OT 2017 - How Examination of Conscience can save your life

This is the last Sunday until January 14, the feast of the Epiphany, that the priest will be wearing a green chasuble. Next Sunday, the priest will wear white or gold for the Feast of Christ the King, in which we show that our allegiance to Jesus Christ is above any other allegiance: national, economic, or ideological. And the Sunday after that the green of Ordinary Time is replaced with the purple of Advent.

In fact, we already we see a lot less green out in nature, don’t we? As winter nears?  For Green is the color of growth, and winter is coming.  During Ordinary Time, we are concerned with the spiritual growth of the soul. And, so the liturgical color green reminds us of the need to engage in those spiritual practices which bring growth to our souls: prayer, meditation, study, works of mercy.
And so, as we come to the end of the season of growth, what’s your soul look like? Has your soul grown in the last six months? Have you grown in faith, hope, and love? For some of us our waist lines have surely grown, but what your soul? What have you done with the time you’ve been given? In the Gospel, this same question is asked by the master: What have you done with the talents given to you by God?

It is important for us to answer this question honestly. For our Gospel is clear, there are eternal ramifications for what we do with the time, talent, and treasure afforded to us by God.
Last week I finished a very interesting book on Dante’s Divine Comedy. It’s called, “How Dante Can Save Your Life: The Life-Changing Wisdom of History's Greatest Poem”. Rob Dreher, author and former journalist, described the impact of reading and reflecting upon Dante’s Epic Poem, how Dante helped deliver him from his mid-life crisis, depression and existential doubt.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Divine Comedy, a man named Dante finds himself in the middle of a dark forest, symbolic of the darkness and confusion of his life. These three vicious beasts, a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf attack him—the beasts symbolic of the lust, pride, and cupidity that have plagued his life. Dante cries out for deliverance, and there appears a figure from antiquity, the ancient poet Virgil. Virgil and Dante then embark on an adventure of a life-time, down through bowels of hell, up the mountain of purgatory, and into the celestial orbs of heaven.

In hell, Dante meets the souls of the damned, who were unrepentant for the selfishness and violence they committed during their lives. As Dante confronts the souls in hell and their eternal punishment, Dante confronts his own failure to love God and neighbor as he should, making gods out of earthly things, and as he makes this pilgrimage, he seeks God’s help to be purified from them.

I had read Dante in college, but I found this return to Dante to be very beneficial. It’s a reminder of the pilgrimage we must all make through life, turning away from idols and selfishness, and opening our hearts to the grace of God, so that we might love Him more.

Yet, Dreher’s book wasn’t simply a summary of Dante’s journey; it was more of a spiritual journal of how he applied the lessons of Dante in his own life. Dreher described how the pride of the souls in hell, could be seen in his own pride and resentment toward his family, who treated him as a sort of outcast. He saw how lust and greed tainted many of his choices during his college years. He saw how his self-absorption had led him, to this very dark place.

Using Dante to examine his conscience and his life, he became aware of sins from his past and present and brought them to the sacrament of confession. This he claims helped to deliver him from his depression and alienation from his family. Helping him find spiritual growth when he desperately needed it.

Many of us are not used to this sort of deep and prayer reflection. One of the tendencies of modern man is to go from one event to another without any sort of reflection on lessons learned. Just take this new fad of binge-watching television shows. Binge-watching is when you watch two, three, five episodes or more of a television show without any break. What’s the problem with that? First, it likely leads to the neglect of our household and family duties, and the exercise and sleep we need for healthy bodies. Secondly, if we are binge watching television, we aren’t engaged in prayer, study, meditation, and the works of mercy. And thirdly, it’s mindless. There’s no reflection. It’s just a constant stream of stimulation. It's "unexamined".

This lack of examination of conscience and lack of engagement in real life, is what led Dante to the middle of the Dark Forrest to begin with, he felt his life was not worth living because he wasn't engaged in real life, just sinful alternatives. He could not see the presence of God in his life because all he was focused on were earthly realities, especially his sinful attachments, and this led him to despair.

The saints, on the other hand, are so full of life and joy and charity, they are so keenly aware of the presence of God is because through the thorough examination of conscience in light of the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ, they distance themselves from the pursuits and attitudes which distract them from God and from doing His Holy Will.

We all know how busy Advent can be. With parties and shopping and concerts and baking and wrapping and decorating. And this can lead to much emptiness if we do not keep Christ at the center of it all, by reflecting on the meaning of the season. So perhaps, this Advent you might consider a spiritual journal. Read through the scripture readings for the day, and spend some time reflecting upon them, asking God what he might be trying to teach you in the concrete details of your life. Come to daily Mass throughout the week, if your schedule permits. And so importantly, if it’s been a few months or years, make a good examination of conscience and Sacramental Confession.

This way, you won’t lose your way in the busyness of the season, but will be able to truly enter into the joy the master has in store for us. Again in the Gospel, rewards and praises those who use their time and talent to do the master’s will. So, let us reflectively take stock of the talents we’ve been given, to repent of our selfish misuse of them, and recommit to using them to bear fruit that will last unto eternity, that we may enter into the master’s joy, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

Homily: Jan 1 2017 - Mary, Mother of God - A good year or bad year?

So. Was 2016 a good year or a bad year? Well, that certainly depends on who you ask, doesn’t it? It was an election year, so we all suffered through an endless barrage of political commercials. Famous and beloved celebrities like David Bowie, Gene Wilder, Muhammed Ali, Florence Henderson, Carrie Fisher, and Debbie Reynolds, passed from this life. Tragedy struck many parts of our nation and world: over 600 people were killed and 1700 people injured in Mass shootings on American soil. In fact, 90,000 Christians died for the faith in 2016.

Tragedy aside, a lot of interesting things happened too. NASA’s Juno spacecraft entered orbit around Jupiter, 483 million miles from earth. Pope Francis and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch met and signed an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting since the year 1054, nearly a thousand years ago. The first proven vaccine against the Ebola virus was found effective. And I think there was some basketball thing that happened here in Cleveland.

Two poignant events much nearer and dearer to our hearts: Our beloved Father Wendelken passed this year, and as you may have heard, Bishop Lennon the 10th bishop of the diocese of Cleveland retired this week. A temporary Apostolic Administrator was named by Pope Francis, Bishop Daniel Thomas, Bishop of Toledo will administer the diocese until a new bishop is named.

Was 2016 a good year or bad year? Well, what’s the criteria for such a judgment? The number of celebrities that passed away, technological breakthroughs, sportsball trophies?

A year, a day, a lifetime, should not be judged by the loss of celebrities or who won or lost various political elections. Rather, a year is judged by how well you treated others, whether or not you are holier at the end of 2016 than you were at its beginning.

How did you do? Did you develop and maintain new habits of prayer, service, and catechetical study? Have you properly repented for sins? Are you more patient, generous, joyful than you were a year ago?

If 2016 wasn’t as spiritually fruitful as it should have been, the turning of the year provides a wonderful opportunity to examine your life and to resolve to make the changes you need, the changes God is calling you to make. There is wisdom in making a New Year resolution, and I strongly urge you to consider a spiritual resolution.

Today we celebrate the great Feast of Mary, Mother of God. What resolutions, what changes do we need to make in our life? We but only have to compare ourselves to her. She is our model for what faithfulness and authentic humanity looks like: her prayer life, her openness to the will of God, her willingness to suffer for Him and to embrace the unknown, her charity toward family and neighbor. Look at her and listen to her. Like a good Jewish mother, she will tell you about the changes you need to make in your life. So, how will your 2017 be better than your 2016: if you become more like her. That’s it. It’s that simple.

We could spend the next year exploring what it means to become more like Mary. As St. Bernard said, there’s always more to say about Mary. There’s always more about her faith, her trust, her charity, her wisdom, to explore, to understand, and to emulate.

So let’s just examine one part of her faith today. What do we see Mary doing in the Gospel today? After the unique and profound experience of giving birth to the Savior of Humanity, after shepherds come to worship, and angels come to sing, we find “her keeping these things and reflecting on them in her heart.” She sat in silence and reflected.

How thoroughly unmodern of her! I call it unmodern because what is our modern tendency? To go from one thing to another without reflection: a new iphone app, a new Netflix show to binge watch, a new sale at Kohl’s, a new video game, a new flavor of frappacinno, a new fad, a new selfie. We are obsessed with novelty. And we go from thing to thing with so little reflection upon what matters most in life.

You want a New Year’s Resolution? 10 minutes before bed: turn off the tv, turn off the iphone, turn off your anxious thoughts about what will happen tomorrow, and reflect, like Mary, upon what God is doing in your life. Where is God calling you to grow? What is God wanting you to learn? What are the virtues God wishes to strengthen in you? What are the inspirations God wants you to follow? If you have a hard time beginning your reflection, read a line from the scriptures of the day, or a paragraph from one of the great spiritual masterpieces, like Thomas Kempis’ Imitation of Christ.
To live more reflectively in 2017 will help sanctify our year, it will help us remain centered on Christ, it will help us discover the presence of God in our life, that he is with us in good times and in bad, molding us and shaping us in this crucible of time, to become the people, his sons and daughters, as he made us to be.

Pope Francis, this morning from Rome, said: “Let us pause before the manger to contemplate how God has been present throughout this year and to remind ourselves that every age, every moment is the bearer of graces and blessings.”

May the Great Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, this year, this day, to become the people God made us to be, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.