The best definition of original sin ever.

Original sin – the desire to be God and to live by the myth of self-sufficiency.

Homily - The Rich Young Man

Wisdom 7:7-9 - I pleaded and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.

Hebrews 4:13 - No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.

From the Gospel of Mark 10:17-30 – 

The Story of the Rich Young Man.

Please read this first.

The Homily ___________________________________________________________________

This morning I’d like us to try and imagine the rich young man as if the scene in the Gospel were today. His success is obvious. He dresses well, Italian shoes and a beautifully tailored suit. His money is invested.  His credit cards are golden. He flies first class. He drives a new car, probably a BMW. He’s energetic and He’s successful; and death seems a long way off.

This rich young man is admired by all, a powerful guy for his age. He is respected as a fair guy, a good guy who works hard and plays by the rules. But ... there is something missing.  There is a nagging question that all his success, prosperity and status do not seem to satisfy.

One of the interesting facets of this story is that for someone so esteemed, for a man of his pedigree, calling on a carpenter’s son for help must have been a little awkward. Jesus was kind of a country boy compared to the rich young man. But there was something true and genuine and powerfully attractive about Jesus, and the young man recognized it. Jesus had something he didn’t, the peace the rich young man lacked.

“Teacher,” the young man asks, “what good thing must I do to get eternal life?

Even his question tells us a lot about his view of life. It almost seems he thinks he can get eternal life as he “gets” everything else, by his own strength and talents. What must I do? He asks. What are the requirements, Jesus?  What’s the break-even point?  No need for chitchat – go straight for to the bottom line. How much do I need to invest to be certain of my return - to achieve eternal life?

Jesus says simply: “You know the commandments.”  And it almost seems as Jesus was listing them off the rich young man had his pencil out and was checking them off one by one.  At the end of the list he seems to say – "Great!  Piece of cake, I’ve done all of these." You can almost hear a bit of pridefulness in his response.   Then Jesus drops a bomb shell. "Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 

Not only did this answer send the young man reeling in confusion and disbelief, Jesus’ answer shell-shocks all the listener there that day. This young man represented what everyone thought was good with God, and Jesus says with man gaining eternal life by your own merit is impossible – impossible!

They were shocked by this statement because in that society, like in ours, you are told: You’ll be rewarded according to your performance. You get grades according to your study. You get money in response to your work. That’s why the rich young man thought heaven was just a payment away. It only made sense.  You work hard, you pay your dues, and ... zap ... your account is credited as paid in full.  

Jesus says ... 

That’s not how it works. What you want costs far more than what you can pay.             

You don’t need a system – you need a Savior.

You don’t need a resume – you need a Redeemer.

For what is impossible with men ... is possible with God!

In other words, you cannot save yourself. It is impossible for human beings to save themselves. Only God can do that. You see, it wasn’t the money that hindered the rich young man – it was the self-sufficiency. 

Jesus tells his disciples later: "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" But it’s not just the rich who have difficulty. Look how hard it is for the highly educated. The National Academy of Sciences asked their members if they believe in God, only 7% said “Yes.” It’s not money that hinders us from following Jesus it's self-sufficiency.  It’s thinking you have it all figured out and you can get there on your own. God doesn’t save us because of our accomplishments.  Only a heartless God would sell salvation to the highest earners.

Saint Paul tells us in the second reading how it is with God, he says:  

“No creature is concealed from him.”  We can’t fool God with our so call success.  Paul says, “Everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account.”  Paul said in his letter to the Romans everyone has sinned.  We all fall short of God's glorious standard.  And only a great God does for us what is impossible for us to do for ourselves.  God’s joy – God’s eternal life – is received upon surrender, not awarded upon conquest.

The first step to joy – to eternal life – is a plea for help, and admit our inward poverty. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” Jesus said. They ask God to do for them what they can’t do without him.

When we humble ourselves before God, when we acknowledge it is impossible for us to save ourselves, God does the impossible. He saves us – despite our shortcomings. God makes salvation possible. He makes eternal life possible.

It was a challenge for the young man to accept powerlessness, to let go of the treasures of this world, the things he felt he earned; the things he felt defined him and humbly follow Jesus.  Too bad, because it is when we consider everything we have as rubbish, as compared to a relationship with Jesus Christ, then we have eternal life.

The first reading (from the Book of Wisdom) said that when we receive the wisdom of God, after humbly praying for it, then all gold in view of this wisdom is a little sand; before this wisdom silver is to be accounted mire. Nothing is more valuable then a relationship with Jesus Christ. And when we live connected to Christ nothing is impossible for God.  None of us are beyond the saving power of God.

The real riches in life come when we surrender to the love of Jesus Christ and make that relationship with Him our true treasure. 

Coming Soon!  

Friday November 20 - 7 PM 

Night Watch.

St. Brigid Parish - Pacific Beach  

Night Watch is an evening of prayer in candlelight with music and Eucharistic adoration. In the beauty of the darkened church illuminated by candles enter the mystery of our Lord's presence. Following our hour of prayer we will go to the hall to sing.

It should be amazing.

Prayer of Teilhard de Chardin

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
that it is made by passing through
some stages of instability—
and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you;
your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
let them shape themselves, without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
as though you could be today what time
(that is to say, grace and circumstances
acting on your own good will)
will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit
gradually forming within you will be.
Give Our Lord the benefit of believing
that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
in suspense and incomplete.

—Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ
excerpted from Hearts on Fire

Homily Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

John - Chapter 6:  "I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

To be Catholic is to be a Eucharistic people …
To be Catholic is to be a Sacramental people ...

It’s what defines us.

We believe that Jesus left us sacraments, physical outward signs, to help us connect in our physical bodies with moments where we are literally saturated spiritually by God’s grace, by God’s love.

How awesome is that!

We pour water at baptism to help us connect with the infusion of God’s grace in that moment.  The bishop physically lays his hands on those being confirmed and on priests and deacons when they are being ordained. That physical touch is a sign for the outpouring of God’s grace through those sacraments – in that moment. When a woman and man speak their vows to each other on their wedding day, we believe God is pouring his grace on them in that moment. When the priest speaks the words of absolution in confession, we believe God is pouring out his forgiving grace on us – flooding us with his love. The words and touch are important to Catholics as outward and visible signs of an inner grace – of a spiritual energy – we receive in the sacraments

Because of the message we read in the Gospel of John chapter 6, which the church calls The Bread of Life Discourse; we believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist – physically present! Because of his physical presence in this sacrament the church calls this belief – “the summit of our faith." Receiving the Eucharist is closest we can get to Jesus Christ in this life.

It is so important for us to embrace this truth of our faith.

A young priest who gives tours of St. Peter’s at the Vatican told an interesting story about this belief. He was leading a group of Japanese tourists one day who knew absolutely nothing of our faith. With particular care he explained the great masterpieces of art, sculpture and architecture.  He finally concluded at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel trying his best to explain quickly what it was.  As the group dispersed an elderly man who had been particularly attentive stayed behind and said, “Pardon me. Would you explain again this ‘Blessed Sacrament?’ The young priest did, after which the man exclaimed: “Ah, if this is so, what is in this chapel is a greater work of art than anything else in this basilica.”

How blessed we are to believe in Christ’s true presence among us.

All of our great symbols and actions are connected to ours being a sacramental church. Ours is a sensual faith experience.   This is why we use color and vestments.  We love holy water, candles and incenses.  We bless ourselves. We share a physical sign of peace at Mass.  So much of our faith experience is physical because of this sacramental character of our faith experience. And we believe the sacraments are powerful!  We don’t always see this in our world, but every once in a while you do.

I was reading a book a while back by a Catholic priest called ...The Gift of Miracles

In this book, Father Robert De Grandis recounts dozens of miracles from his many years of ministry.  He tells the story of Father Richard Woldum who was assigned as hospital chaplain for one year.  I want to share Fr. Woldum’s story in his own words.

One morning I received a call to come to the emergency room to see an 11-year old boy named Johnny who was dying. I found him on a breathing machine, his head swollen very large. Johnny’s parents told me that he had been riding his bike on a gravel road near his home when a truck came flying over the hill and hit him head-on.

The collision caused him to be thrown into the nearby field. When the ambulance arrived the medics found his head cut wide open with half his brains scattered in the field. They literally picked up the pieces of his brain, shoved them into his head, and took him to the hospital.

When I asked Johnny’s parents if he had been baptized, they said, ‘No.’ They informed me they attended no church but prayed at home as a family. I asked them if they would like me to baptize Johnny. They glanced at each other as if to say, ‘It couldn’t cause any harm,’ then said to me, ‘Go ahead.’  They also said if I wanted to I could baptize him into the Catholic faith.  That night, with the parents and two nurses as witnesses, I baptized Johnny.

The next morning I was doing communion rounds when my beeper went off. Johnny’s doctor wanted me in the intensive care unit. ‘What you do last night?’ he asked in broken English, as I met him outside Johnny’s room. I explained to the doctor, a Buddhist, that I had baptized Johnny (with the permission of his parents) so that he could go to heaven.

When I asked him why he was so concerned, he informed me that the boy’s swelling had disappeared. The doctor was still convinced that the boy would die, however; or if he lived, remain a vegetable, never moving, talking or even moving his eyes.

That night Johnny’s parents thanked me for baptizing him. I then explained about the anointing of the sick and asked if they would like Johnny to receive that sacrament. With their agreement and in their presence I anointed Johnny.

The next morning during communion rounds the doctor again paged me on my beeper. He met me at the door of intensive care and directed me to Johnny’s room explaining on the way that he had heard from the nurses that I had again prayed for Johnny. Then he pointed to Johnny’s eyes and asked, ‘What you do?’ I saw that Johnny’s eyes were moving. ‘It is just the power of Jesus through prayers for the sick,’ I responded. He gave a faintly sarcastic grin and said,‘It no matter. Boy no talk or move. He remain vegetable.’

It was now the third night, counting the night of the accident. I suggested to the parents that they permit me to give Johnny the sacrament of confirmation. They agreed.

The following morning his legs and arms were moving. The doctor said to me in front of the parents, ‘I no longer in control.’ He was simply unable to explain what was happening.

That evening when I explained to them about the Eucharist, they said they wanted this for Johnny too. I gave him some Precious Blood with an eye dropper. The next morning he was making sounds.

Fr Woldum was away for the weekend and when he returned he continues his account:
When I checked in on Johnny upon my return I learned he had been transferred to the third floor, which was the surgery unit. I went upstairs to see him, fearing that he had gone back to surgery. He was sitting on his bed, talking to his mother.

After his recovery they took another x-ray of his head and found that the part of his brain that had spilled out in to the field had grown back. When I eventually talked to Johnny’s parents about becoming Catholics, they informed me they would continue praying at home. The doctor in the case started looking into Christianity. Three nurses converted to Catholicism.

There is a power in our sacramental experience that we need to embrace.

When Jesus said ...

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”

What he was telling us is we need to leave room for mystery in our lives. We need to be open to his power and work in ways unexpected.

Is his presence in the Eucharist a great mystery? – Of course it is!
But it is a mystery that brings LIFE.

We humans have come to think we have it all figured out, but the truth is God’s GRACE is flowing into us through our sacraments in ways we can’t even imagine.

When you come to communion – celebrate this great faith we have as Catholics, and encounter Jesus who is truly present in a powerful, life giving way to you ... today ... in the Eucharist.

Trust God to Provide - Homily 15th Sunday Ordinary Time

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts.      Mark 6:7-8

If Jesus were giving his instructions today to his disciples, instructions like take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in your belts. Do you think he would include our smart phones on the list? How many of us could imagine setting out for even one day taking nothing with us: No food - no purse - or wallet - no change of clothes - no phone - no money – no check book or credit cards. Can you imagine it? Can you imagine the trust those disciples had that God would provide. It was incredible! They left Jesus that day taking nothing with them.

Could we set out for just one day taking nothing with us? Not me! 

What do you think the point was? 

You have to believe he was telling them, and he is telling us - "Don’t let possessions so clutter your life that they get in the way of doing what is really important to God - sharing your faith with others."

Every once in a while you see an example of someone who seems to have their priorities right. For some odd reason this message made me think of Manute Bol. Now you have to be a serious sports fan to remember Manute Bol. Manute was a Sudanese immigrant who just happened to be 7 feet 7 inches tall. Manute was recruited to play professional basketball in the United States in the 80s.

Manute weighed just a little over 200 pounds which made him both the tallest and thinnest player in the NBA. He was quite a sight. If you ever saw him play with the Washington Bullets you know he really wasn’t a great player. But as it turns out he was a great human being; and a missionary in the spirit of the disciples, in the spirit of today’s reading. The reason he came to mind today is because Manute was a Christian and he believed his life was a gift from God. And, like the apostles, he allowed Jesus to lead him, to send him out, in the service of others. He once told an interviewer: “God guided me to America and gave me a good job. But he also gave me a heart so I would look back.”

In many ways, Manute’s trust in God and sense he had a mission in the world embodies the message Jesus gave to the disciples that day. Manute gave away his entire NBA fortune to Sudanese charities and trusted that God would provide for his needs. While most pro athletes go broke on cars, jewelry and groupies; Manute Bol went broke building hospitals. I think that was Jesus’ point. I think Manute “got it.” He trusted God to provide, and then spent his life sharing what he had with others. He simply trusted that God would make it work. Like the apostles, and like Manute, we are all called to be missionaries in some way.

Some years ago, a number of young Christians were attending an international summer camp. They came from many nations around the world. One project assigned them was to come up with effective ways to preach the Gospel in our modern world. After the young people talked about using television, radio, the Internet and rock concerts an African girl said something that touched the heart of everyone. She said: When Christians in my country think a pagan village is ready for Christianity they don’t send books or missionaries. They send a good Christian family. And the example of the family converts the village.

I think that’s what the Gospel is saying today. Have such radical trust in God - in me - that it changes the people you come in contact with. Like this young African woman’s example God wants us in our homes, in our work places and in our communities to preach the Gospel by living a life that trusts God will provide what we need. The way we can be missionaries to our world is by our presence and by our example more than by our words.

The poet Edgar Guest had it right when he said years ago:

       
          It is all in vain to preach the truth, 

          To the eager ears of trusting youth.
          Fine words may grace the advice you give,
          But youth will learn from the way you live.

Saying we are called to evangelize and be a missionary scares us a bit. But it shouldn’t. We are all called to evangelize, to share our faith with others; we are all called to missionary work in our homes and families, our social groups, at work and in our neighborhoods. Not necessarily with words so much as with our actions, with our example, with the way we display our trust in God to provide.

St. Francis Assisi once said: "Preach the Gospel and sometimes use words."

Our call as disciples in our modern world is to be like the African family who by their example converts the village. Today’s Gospel message is all about trusting God and then showing our faith to others by the way we live. At the end of Mass we say: “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.” 

Let’s vow today to be that family, that person, that converts our village by our example.

Homily Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus visits his home town - Mark 6: 1-6

What a tragic loss for us!

One of the problems we have with reading the bible is it’s hard to get tone of voice and attitude. Today’s Gospel reading sounds like the people had some attitude:

• “Where did this man get all this?" 
• "What kind of wisdom has been given him?" 
• "What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!" 
• "Isn’t he a carpenter ... Mary’s kid?”

The people in Jesus’ home town just could not imagine Jesus was anything special. To them, Jesus was just another young man who grew up in Nazareth. He didn’t deserve their respect. They saw Him as a common man!  Their familiarity with him blinded them to who he really was. It’s very sad really. Jesus, the Christ, the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity, God himself was living in their village and they didn’t recognize him.

What a tragic loss for them!

But the truth is don’t you think the same tragically sad thing is happening again today.
We are living in Nazareth.                                                                                                                                            
We live in a Christian country where you can’t drive a few blocks in any city without seeing a church. Even the smallest towns in America have a church, or more likely several churches. Christianity is everywhere in America. Yet in America church attendance is dropping every year. We have become a lot like the people of Nazareth. We are so familiar with the things of God - the crucifixion of Jesus - the burial - the resurrection - that we are no longer moved by them. We are reminded of what Jesus did for us and we say: “So what?!” We talk about the cross and people say: “Oh Jesus, I know all about him. He’s no big deal." It’s very sad really. Jesus, the Christ, the 2nd Person of the Holy Trinity, God himself is living in our cities and towns and we don’t recognize him.

What a tragic loss for us!

Even we can be blind because of our familiarity - blinded by our image of Jesus. The same blindness, that prevented the people of Jesus hometown from seeing who he really was, often exists in us. We too can be blinded by our routine from seeing the power and the love that Jesus has to offer us. So many of us come to church, and in truth, we have little or no faith in the ability of Jesus to create miracles in our lives, to heal us, to forgive us. Like the people of Nazareth, we often lack faith in the power of Jesus to transform our lives for the better.  Like them, we think we know everything there is to know ABOUT Jesus; and yet, we don’t really KNOW Jesus on a personal level.

This Gospel passage can be a true gift to us. It can shake us out of our routine and challenge us to take a fresh look at Him, and then get to know him. This passage is a gift because it helps us to let go of the impressions we have of Jesus and really look at the person. Jesus was born and grew up in very normal and humble circumstances. Not by accident but by design.  This passage helps us see how normal Jesus’ life was; how much his life is like our own.                              

Many of us protest that we are just too ordinary to be holy; to be part of the mission of the Church. We think the mission of spreading the faith was given only to the priests and deacons. Our lives feel far from the extraordinary life of Jesus.  And so we speak of our lives as ... “just” ... this or that. I’m just a student.  I’m just a businessperson.  I’m just a mom ... just a nurse ... just a teacher ... just a soldier.  We forget that for most of his life Jesus was ... just ... a carpenter in a little nowhere town.  

What makes this Gospel passage such a gift to us is that we see that Jesus’ life growing up in Nazareth was so much like ours. It helps us to know him, really know him. And in knowing him, it can give our lives such meaning and worth - our ordinary times - our ordinary lives. Jesus lived a simple life and because of that he understands from first-hand experience our everyday life.

  •  He understands family life.
•  He understands hard work.  Carpentry in his day was seriously hard work.
•  Jesus understands human life — all the messy physical realities of being human.

We see today that there was a time when Jesus was as ordinary as any one of us. And God used his time in Nazareth to fashion and mold and form him into the instrument God needed, and would use, to save the world.

This passage can help us see that God uses the ordinariness of our lives to fashion and mold and form us into the instruments God needs, and will use, to continue to save the world.

We learn today that Jesus is ... like us!  And we are called to be ... like Jesus! 

People all around us are looking for something to give them hope but they cannot quite put their fingers on what that might be. And maybe that’s because Jesus is just too familiar to them.  They don’t see his power and how he can give meaning and purpose to their lives. Unless we tell them!

The question this passage should make us all ask ourselves is:

How is God fashioning me in my ordinary life to serve, to save, to heal?