Mk 10:17-30 Money and Happiness

Mk 10:17-30  Money and Happiness

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Peter began to say to [Jesus], “We have given up everything and followed you.”  Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age…”

 “Money does not make people happy.”   I agree.  But I know what you are thinking:  “Father, that’s easy for you to say since you don’t have much money.”  Okay.  I admit it.  But don’t take my word for it; take the word of those who had money and gave it all away. 

Millionaire gives away fortune that made him miserable.  That’s the newspaper title.  Mr. Rabeder, 49, an Austrian businessman, is more than just ready to give his money away.  He’s actually doing it, and doing it quickly.  What made him decide to do it; to give it all and rid himself of all his material wealth and luxuries?   

“For a long time I believed that more wealth and luxury automatically meant more happiness.  I came from a very poor family where the rules were to work more to achieve more material things, and I applied this for many years.  But more and more I heard the words:  ‘Stop what you are doing now – all this luxury and consumerism – and start your real life.’  I had the feeling that I was working as a slave for things that I did not wish for or need.” 

The tipping point came while he was on a three-week holiday with his wife to Hawaii.

“It was the biggest shock in my life, when I realized how horrible, soulless and without feeling the five star lifestyle is”, he said.  “In those three weeks, we spent all the money you could possibly spend.  But in all that time, we had the feeling we hadn’t met a single real person – that we were all just actors.  The staff played the role of being friendly and the guests played the role of being important and nobody was real.”

If you think he’s nuts, then I have another one for you.

“Kwik Save” tycoon gives up riches in “pact with God”.  Here’s another headline from a United Kingdom newspaper.  As a young boy, Albert Gubay, was a penniless orphan.  One day, he prayed to God saying, “Make me a millionaire and you can have half of my money.”  A devout Roman Catholic, Gubay became a multi-millionaire.  Just recently, he decided to fulfill his vow to God, but not exactly.  Instead of giving just half of it away, He has decided to give all his money to the Catholic Church.  In fact, he is only holding on to ten million dollars for him and his wife. 

Are they all nuts?  No.  They are not.  They are prudent.  They know a better deal when they see it.  They know the truth.  We should know it too by now.  Money does not make you happy.  Giving it away does!

How do I want people to remember me?  Do I want them to remember me for what I had or what I did?  Or do I want them to remember me for how I loved?  That is the million dollar question.  Actually, this is the rich young man’s question.  The Lord answers his question with an invitation:  Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven.”

Do you want people to treat you well because you have money?  Do you want people to love you because of what you have?  Or do you want to be loved for who you are and how you love?

Thank you very much!  Do you know the song, “Thank you very much!  Thank you very much!  That’s the nicest thing that anyone’s ever done for me.”  Do you remember what musical it comes from?  From Charles Dickens, “A Christmas Carol”, and it is sung by a man who owed Ebenezer Scrooge a lot of money.  He was thanking poor Ebenezer…for dying!

Price of Privilege.  I recently finished a book entitled, “The Price of Privilege” by Dr. Madeleine Levine, PhD.  Although I disagree with her on some of her recommendations, I cannot disagree with her on the statistical data and the clinical facts related to the problems she has seen. 

Many of Dr. Madeleine’s patients are teenagers from affluent households with excellent grades in school, extracurricular involvement and an appearance of thriving in their environment.  But they are suffering from debilitating neuroses, such as anxiety, depression, drug addiction, anorexia and self-harm.  In many affluent communities, external accomplishments such as prestige, power, and money for adults, or grades, clothes and electronics for kids, become more important than happiness.  Children in such communities are more likely to suffer from psychological problems then those who do not.

But money is not the problem; it's the problems that it creates.  And the problem is achievement pressures and emotional isolation from parents. 

Dr. Levine reports that a mother’s own happiness is the key to raising healthy kids, and found that there is an unexpectedly high rate of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, loneliness, and overall unhappiness among mothers of affluent households!  This is damaging to the children as well as to the mother.

How do I want my children to remember me?  For my drinking and drug-related problems? For how I "entertained" them and guests? For what I accomplished or had?  For how flawless I appeared before others? Or for how I loved them?   

The Lord invited the rich young man to follow him and to be happy.  Instead, the poor man decided to walk away sad…“for he had many possessions.”

How many of you feel as though people like you just because of the influence you have or for what you have?  I am sure the rich young man was surrounded by people who were looking to get something out of him:  special favors, privileges, acknowledgments, positions, money, etc. But unlike the people surrounding him, the Lord was not looking to get something from him.  In fact, He didn't want anything from him.  He just wanted him.   

The same goes for us as well.

Luke 7:11-17 Whatever!

Luke 7:11-17  Whatever!

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Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.  As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow…When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, “Do not weep.”  He stepped forward and touched the coffin and said, “Young man.  I tell you, arise!”  The dead man sat up…and Jesus gave to him his mother.

One of the toughest assignments for a priest (for anyone) is to tell a family that their loved one has passed away.  It is always a difficult assignment, but it is even tougher when you know the family. 

This Friday will mark the one year anniversary of the unexpected and sudden death of a father of four small children.  I will never forget that day. 

After a normal day of school, the children were brought to their grandparent’s home.  As I looked out the window, I could see they were excited because they had noticed my car parked out front.  They ran up to the door and opened it.  With the biggest smiles on their faces, they greeted me and were wondering why I was visiting.  Little did they know the sad reason for my unexpected visit. 

“Your daddy went to heaven today.”  Their mom, grandma and grandpa were there to comfort them.  But as the news sunk in, the color in their fair skin went away.  It was the direct result of a broken heart.  They could not be consoled.    

Why did the Lord raise this young man from the dead?  Why did He bring him back to life?  After all, his resurrection would only temporary, not final.  One day, he would return to the grave.  So, why did the Lord perform this miracle?  Was it for him?  Maybe.  Was it for her?  Could be.  But most likely, I think it was for both of them.  Most likely, it was an answer to one final wish and prayer:  “Oh Lord, if I only had the chance to tell him/her, one last time, how much I loved him/her…”

They may have had some unfinished business to attend to.  After living together for years, they may have gotten too comfortable, too used, to each other.  Maybe she had said some things to him that she regretted.  Maybe he had wished she would go away.  Or maybe they had taken the other for granted too often and for far too long. 

Thank God for death!  Thank God!  Otherwise, I fear we would never appreciate anyone in our life.  Thank God for difficulties.  Thank God.  Otherwise we would take everything for granted.  What do people call children that take everyone and everything for granted?  We call them spoiled.  And you can see a spoiled child from a mile away.  They never smile.   The one word on their lips is:  “WHATE-V-E-R!!!”

I really try never to take anyone or anything for granted.  I’ve learned that as a priest.  Yes, there are plenty of things to cry about, but there are really plenty more things to smile at and to laugh about. 

A few weeks ago, a mom told me that her daughter was struggling.  It turned out that last year she had not been invited to a single birthday party.  Yes, she’s a little shy.  Yes, she’s a little reserved.  But no one, absolutely no one from her class, had invited her to a birthday party. 

Now I know that many moms invite just their children’s best friends in order to throw an over-the-top birthday party.  I know that it can be very expensive.  But why not try something different.  Why not try to invite everyone from the class and make it a less than over-the-top party?  Why not keep our priorities in place:  First the lessons, then the party; first the kids, then the presents; first love, then friends.

This past Friday was a tough day for me.  I had a ton of things to do and then I remembered that I had Mass at Ursuline.  Although it was still morning, I felt like I was running on fumes.  I was exhausted and upset about something.  As we all sat down to hear the first reading, one young student got up and said: “A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippines.” 

Did I just hear what I thought I heard?  I looked up and glanced over at the nun.  She was smiling.  Then I looked at the youth Minister and she was giggling.  That was it.  I then burst laughing.  I couldn’t even contain myself while I was reading the Gospel. 

Although life is full of disappointments and pain, there are plenty of things to smile and laugh about as well.  It is so much easier to laugh than it is to cry.  And even when you cry, it could mean you are laughing!

May the Lord give us the grace NEVER to take our life, our family, our friends, our gifts and talents, our difficulties and trials for granted.  Of course it is not an easy thing to do, but it is the better thing to do. 

Live today as if it were your last.  One day you will be right.

Luke 6:20-26 Is There Ever A Dull Moment?

Luke 6:20-26  Is There Ever A Dull Moment?

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Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours…Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 

Life is amazing!  It is full of surprises.  But we often forget that the same surprise can be both good and bad; a blessing and a curse; sweet and bitter. 

Beauty is a gift.  But it is also a curse.  Wealth brings people together.  It can also keep them apart.  Love is joyful.  But it is also painful.  Poverty can be a blessing just as much as plenty can be a curse!  Friends can keep me all together.  But they can also tear me apart.  Being much talked about can quickly turn into being much gossiped about!

Is there ever a dull moment?

Sometimes it just feels like you can’t win!  I went to a birthday party and was surprised by the reaction of a seven-year-old when his uncle handed him a five dollar bill.  The child looked at it and then turned to him and said, “But I already have one!!!”   I thought to myself, “Boy, at that age, I may not have been able to add apples together, but I definitely knew how to add money together!”

It seems like there’s no winning, ever. 

How quickly peace can elude us.  How quickly a dark thought can invade us.   

Today’s Gospel paints an even bleaker picture of life.  If you are poor, then you are blessed.  If you are rich, then beware!  What is going on?  Is there ever a peaceful moment? 

There is.  But it takes faith.  It takes realism.  It takes preparation.  It takes vision.

The world took billions of years to establish itself.  And now that it has, it is gradually dying a slow and decaying death.  It took years for us to grow up. And now that we have, we are gradually dying a slow and decaying death.

Poverty is not an illness.  Misery is an illness.  And the miserable (Les Miserable) can be anyone:  King and peasant; young and old; rich and poor; beautiful and ugly; employed and unemployed. 

But no faithful are miserable.  A faithful person may be a poor person, rich person, young person, elderly person, beautiful person, ugly person, employed person, unemployed person.  But they are not a miserable person.   In fact, they are a loving person.

The reason why poverty is with us and is here to stay is the same reason why death is with us and is here to stay.  It is a part of the plan:  part creation, part sin, part life and part human.  It is a part of our falling down and growing up.  Think about it.  Why does the world give us a sense of beauty?  To watch it fade away?  Why is strength and health a thing to marvel at?  To experience weakness and illness?  Why does man begin to walk? To crawl again?  Why climb up a mountain if tomorrow I will be crawling out of bed!  Why does my body insist on being taken care of,  while at the same time making the necessary preparations to put itself to an end?  

Our world was created with both ends tying a knot and settling a score.  We are born into this world with nothing.  We die to this world empty handed.  We are placed in a womb.  We die and are placed in a hole. 

Yes, all things pass away, but not out of tragedy; rather, for an entirely different reason.  It is not to give birth to tragedy; it is to give birth to life and love.

Why is it that “We don’t know what we have until it is gone?”  Why must this be the prelude, the necessary opening act, to living and loving?  It doesn’t have to be!   But if I do not ever give myself, then I will never find myself.  Only if I give myself, will I find myself.  Only if I give myself, will I experience love.  Only when all “things” pass, will I witness heavenly things. 

When the music stops, why do we stop singing?  When the music stops, why do we stop dancing?  The lover does not wait for the beloved to love.  He does not wait for words of love before he gives a kiss.  The lover loves before the other.  Why give so much importance to what is given when I can give what must be given?  I do not need to have money to loved or loving.  I do not need to have music in order to sing a lullaby.  I do not need to be beautiful to be wonderful.   I do not need to be loved in order to love. 

The Lord came into the world to remind us of many things.  One being… that there is never a dull moment in life and love.

Luke 5:1-11 Peter’s Hell

Luke 5:1-11  Peter’s Hell

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Simon said to Jesus, "Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”  When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing…When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”  Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

Do not be afraid.  Here are those words again.  Why do I fear so much?  When do I fear so much?  I know when:  every time I lose control or when someone else takes control.  I am a control freak!  I want to control everybody and everything:  my day, my job, my boss, my friends, my destiny, my wife, my husband, my children, my life and my death.  But imagine for a moment a dog trying to control its master.  Looks pretty silly.  This is how it must look every time I try to control God.  Pretty silly.

And worse: control often leads to the fine art of manipulation.  Friends get burned.  I get burned.  Control freaks come to an end just like a power outage!  

Depart from me.  Peter loved the Lord.  But his love was elementary, far too simplistic; too black and white.  “Depart from me, Lord”.  I am no good for you.  Peter was afraid because he could not control the situation.  He understood the situation.  If he could not control the catch, he wouldn't be able to control the Lord.  And if he couldn’t control the Lord, he wouldn't be able to protect the Lord.  He felt like the burden was too much.  He felt the pressure to high.  Depart from me Lord.  I am a weak and sinful man.  

Peter understood the situation.  What he didn't understand was the Lord. 

We know not what we ask for. But what Peter was asking for is what many of us ask for:  to be left alone.  When Peter told the Lord to leave him, he was basically asking the Lord to send him to hell.  Oh, the heartfelt and confusing things we say!  Of course Peter knew not what he was asking for.  But every time we ask the Lord to depart from us, we are asking Him to send us to hell.

It’s time we exit the illusion of self-sufficiency and discover and accept one’s own needs:  need of others and God – His forgiveness and friendship. (Pope Benedict XVI) 

A while back, at a retreat in Lubbock, a young lady told me they were seeking evil upon God!  I asked, “Are you sure you know what you are asking for?”    She stood there unresponsive.  I continued, “Did you ever ask yourself why every time you wished evil upon the Lord, evils fell upon you?”   This individual had suffered greatly for her sins.  She knew what I was talking about.  “Have you figured it out yet that every time you try to crucify the Lord, you end up crucifying yourself?  Do you know why?  It’s because you were created in the image and likeness of God.  What you do to Him, you end up doing to yourself.” 

I am a sinful man.  Why should I not be afraid of the Lord when I feel like my sins have taken control of me?  How can you say I should be at peace and my rest tranquil when my life is falling apart?  How can I not worry? Why should I not be filled with stress, or anxiety or even panic attacks?  Why should I feel confident in God when I feel no love?  Be still.  Be silent.  Our peace comes from the Lord’s response to Peter’s insistence.  Peter is no different than me.  He was a sinful man.  I am a sinful man.  He was a useless man.  I am a useless man.  Peter was a simpleton.  I am a simpleton.  He was a control freak.  I am a control freak.  And still…the Lord made one thing very clear to him and that He would like to make very clear to me:  There are many things that I will do.  But I will never depart from you!

Departing from a bad situation is not something the Lord does well.  Love is very different from manipulation.  It asks for nothing in return and get’s more than it ever bargained for.

With a little faith, Peter’s hell turned into Peter’s glory.  He even stopped failing as a fisherman.

Lk 4:31-37 Pushing And Pulling

Lk 4:31-37  Pushing And Pulling

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Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee…In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon… Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet!  Come out of him!”  Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm… News of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

This morning I celebrated Mass at St. Monica and Ursuline Academy.  I was surprised to see that most of the smiles on the children’s faces had already vanished.  They haven’t been in school for more than two weeks and already the enthusiasm and joy have dimmed away.

School can be a very violent place.  Teachers can be very violent.  What teachers do to their students is very similar to what people do to doors?  They push and pull at them ALL DAY LONG.

Teachers, like coaches, are constantly pushing, slamming or jamming stuff into children’s brains and then demanding they give it back.  Coaches love to explain new plays and tactics to their players only to challenge them to give it all they got!

But what teachers do is nothing less than what we are expected to do throughout our life.  Our entire live may be summed up as pushing and pulling.  Or, in more familiar words:  giving and receiving. 

This is the meaning of life.  This even explains how we got here.  Doesn't the doctor's tell every mother:  "Push!!!" while he pulled?  This is the reason why we are here, and this is what we do…ALL THE TIME.   Even breathing consists of pulling in and pushing out.  It’s not only to our benefit; it is to the benefit of all.  It is what all living beings do.  Even God does it!  He is constantly giving and receiving. 

Christ came into the world to give himself to the world.  He came to give, to give himself, and he expects us to give back as well. 

At every Mass, we receive the body, blood, soul and divinity of the Lord in the Eucharist.  He gives Himself to us because He expects us to be givers like Himself to others.    This is the only reason why He allows us to receive Him:  for our benefit and for the benefit of others. 

The Lord went to Capernaum to heal a man who was sick; a man who was being tormented by an evil spirit.  What this evil spirit consisted of could have been anything:  a fear, a thought, a past event, a recurring nightmare.  Regardless, this man was living hell on earth.  The Lord came to Him and pulled out of him whatever was in him, and gave him back his life.  In return, word spread like wildfire throughout the region of what the Lord had done.  The healed man was giving to others what he had received.

Why are we here?  Why do we breathe?  This morning a small child wrapped in his mother's arms said, "To be happy!"  Amen to that!  But what makes us happy?  Is it just receiving?  Is it just giving?  The answer is giving and receiving; loving and being loved.  It’s that simple.  It's that remarkable.  And what is even more remarkable is the following:  the deeper you breathe in, the more you breathe out.  When you receive more, you must give more. 

In order to live, we must breathe in and breathe out.  In order to live happily ever after, we must give and receive.  Let’s all take a deep breath today.  Let’s give more than just ourselves.  Let’s give the Lord, the source of all blessings, of all life, of all meaning and purpose, to those around us. 

Get rid of the devil and allow the Lord to come in.

Mt 11:25-27 Childlike Wonder

Mt 11:25-27  Childlike Wonder

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At that time Jesus exclaimed:  “I give praise to you, Father, of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” 

Peter Keller was bored.  That’s the reason he gave for killing his wife, his child, and eventually himself.  He was bored…with life.      

But life is not boring; people are boring, and people, like Peter Keller, are boring when they don’t know how to live.  Peter Keller was selfish and selfish people are boring.  Mother Teresa was giving and giving people are surprising.  When you give, you create.  That never gets boring.  When you are selfish, you destroy.  That gets boring, and fast.

What should be our attitude towards life?  If I only had one word to sum it all up, the word would be:  wonder.

Every day we should have the facial expression of a dead person.  Yes, every day we should keep our eyes, as well as our mouths, wide open.  After all, the happiest people are surprised people, and surprised people imitate dead people. They don’t look like they have seen a ghost.  They look like they have seen God.  And hopefully, most dead people see God.

We consider it the stuff of science that an apple tree should grow an apple, and consider it the stuff of fairy tales that an apple tree would grow a peach.  But why?  Why is one not as much of a fairy-tale as the other?  Don’t both deserve our sense of wonder?

Is it so obvious that we should share a sun with other planets, but have just one moon to ourselves, and one planet to call home?  Just because we can explain what has already happened does not mean it had to happen.  Instead of complaining that the days are boring because they begin and end the same way, we should shout “Bravo!” and ask for an encore as appreciative audience does in the opera house.  We should be childlike and say “Do it again!” at the slightest hint of pleasure and the simplest sense of wonder.

A year ago I heard a talk given by a Catholic author named Joseph Pearce.  He mentioned how he was shocked that his favorite rock band, The Rolling Stones, would sing, “I can’t get no satisfaction.”  Wait a minute!  Didn’t these guys have everything the world could offer them?  Didn’t they have tons of money; tons of drugs; and tons of women at their disposal?  Why would they be singing “I can’t get no satisfaction”??? 

Whoa, something is wrong here!  No.  Nothing is wrong.  It is the truth.  Christ is the only one that satisfies the mind, heart, body and soul.  It’s time we give him a chance. 

I worry about our kids.  They are growing up way too fast.  They are losing their childlike heart at an alarming age and rate.  They have become rational and logical far too early in life.  Someone has been poisoning them.  I’m not exaggerating.  I will never forget going to a High School production of Peter Pan.  I was sitting next to a child.  When Peter Pan suddenly appeared, flying across the stage, I looked at the child and said, “Isn’t it amazing how Peter Pan is flying in the air?”  The child looked at me and said, “It’s the wires.”  I looked at him and said, “What?  What did you say?”  Again, he repeated himself, “It’s the wires.”  I told him, “The wires?  It’s not the wires, it’s the fairy dust!”  He shook his head in disagreement and stared at me as if I were some idiot and said, “I wasn’t born yesterday.  It’s not the fairy dust.  It’s the wires.”  I told him he was wrong.  When he nudged at his mother to get involved in the debate, she waved both hands at me as if to tell me, “This is your problem.”  He asked for an explanation.   I gave it to him.  I told him, “When Peter Pan wants to fly, he throws the fairy dust.  If he doesn’t throw the fairy dust, he doesn’t fly.  It’s the dust that gives the guys in the back the signal to pull the strings and help Peter Pan fly.  Get it!!!  It’s the fairy dust that makes him fly.  Don’t make me repeat myself again!” 

How sad it is when a child loses his sense of wonder.  How sad it is when an adult can't figure out that there is Someone hidden pulling all the strings.

Mt 10:1-7 Some of the Luckiest People In The World

Mt 10:1-7  Some of the Luckiest People In The World

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Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness…He sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.  Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Their names are listed for all the world to see:  Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon and Judas Iscariot.    But what’s in a name, if it isn’t backed by another name?  What makes their names “special” if they are not backed by the only name in which there is salvation, Jesus Christ?  For this reason alone Peter is The Rock and Judas is The Betrayer.

Their names are forever remembered because they are forever associated with the Eternal One.

They came from nowhere.  Most of them lived in extreme poverty.  Almost all of them had no formal education.   And yet, we often think of the Twelve has having been privileged; as if they had received an additional Sacrament, a secret Sacrament, that no others had received.  But that is wishful thinking.  It’s convenient for me to think this way; it allows me to lower the bar; keep the expectations to a minimum.

  Who needs expectations?  After all, they can only disappoint. 

Sean Covey wrote the book, “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.”  The book was highly effective…for him.  When we think of highly effective people, we think of successful people.  And when we think of successful people, we think of money.  What we should think of is holiness.  What we should think of are the “Seven Sacraments of Highly Effective People” by Jesus Christ.

What the Apostles received, I received.  Of course these men were blessed.  They walked with the Lord; they talked to him.  They actually saw miracles take place by Him.   But so did Judas. 

What the Apostles received, I received.  But what they did with it makes all the difference in the world.  They took it and ran with it!

Go to the lost sheep of Israel.    This was their first assignment.  They were asked to go rescue those caught up in the hurricane.  The Lord wanted to shock his Apostles and to shock his people.  They went for maximum exposure.  They went straight into action and right at the problem: the lost sheep of Israel; the Jews who were lost and needed to be found.  Today, we would call them fallen away Catholics who are lost and need to be found.

Often I am asked by hot headed yet well intended Catholics to pound hard and drive home in my homilies hot button issues to Sunday Catholics.  But if their heavy handed tactics don’t make much of an impression on me, it will definitely not impress many of them. 

My homilies are nothing like my blog.  Why?  Because they are not the place or the way to go about discussing hot button issues to fallen away Catholics.   Most people will think it is out of fear.  They insult me.  But what is there to fear?  That we are rejected?  We already are!  The reason why you won’t hear priests discuss contraceptives or gay-marriage directly from the pulpit is because it is not effective.  Since our Catholic schools failed to teach our children these issues; since CCD failed to teach them anything; since families failed to teach them the faith, then everyone thinks it’s the priest that must clean up the mess in Mass!  So now, after all this failure, well intended Catholics want us to discuss all the things that should have been taught at home, on the weekends and in our schools should now be taught in Mass, en masse!  No! 

There are some priests that try to do it.  It looks like it works.  But it does it from the pulpit?  Are they successful in filling the pews by attracting the faithful from all over?  Have they brought the unchurched to church?  Have they found the lost?  What we know that works is one-to-one relationships.  What we know is successful are Catholic families that teach the faith to their children; Catholic schools that teach the faith to their students; Catholic ministries that bring the faith to others. 

What must the priests do for the lost sheep of Rome?  They must have a child-like heart. 

Express hope in sadness.  Share a laugh with the truth.  Teach the truth and show mercy and forgiveness.  Write your thoughts down and share them with others.  Pope Benedict’s homilies are not the same as Pope Benedict’s encyclicals.  John Paul’s mega gatherings full of laughter and smiles were not the same as John Paul’s staff meetings full of agendas and concerns.  We must always be Christ-like to others.  Know where is the best place, when is the best time and best way to give Jesus Christ.  Know when to be Christ-like by being child-like.  Know when to be Christ-like by being martyr.  Know when to be Christ-like by being a leader!

Joy is essential in converting the hearts and minds of fallen away Catholics.  If I look sad, gloomy, cheerless and distressed over issues the Church faces, then I have given more power, more authority and more weight to the bad news than to the Good News; more ammunition to my enemies than to my best friend, Jesus Christ; more credibility to the devil than to our Savior.  No one in their right mind will ever be convinced of my faith by the gloom on my face!  Instead, look at Jesus:  determined in his distress; cool under duress; loving and forgiving when we transgress; joyful and peaceful in his success.    

“Glorify the Lord with me, let us together extol his name.  I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears…Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and you faces may not blush with shame.  When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him.”  (Ps. 34:2-7)

The luckiest people in the world are the holiest!  Let's show it.

Mt 9:9-13 Smiles and Mercy

Mt 9:9-13  Smiles and Mercy

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The Pharisees asked Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.  Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice.  I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.” 

While I was in Hawaii, I saw a man standing at the corner preaching Hell and the end of the world.  Near to him was a little girl singing "Soul Sister".  The man had a crowd of two listening to him.  The little girl had a crowd of nearly a thousand listening to her.  The difference did not go unnoticed to me.  I was standing next to the little girl who was singing to me.

There is no mention in scripture of the Lord ever laughing.  And there is hardly any mention of him ever smiling.  Since we tend to write what we remember (and what we most remember is what we find most unique and shocking), this tells me that the Lord did an awful lot of laughing and smiling. 

Scripture does not retell the obvious; it shares with us the unique and mysterious.  For example, it does not remind us that the Lord breathed, that’s obvious.  Rather, it reminds us of the time when the Lord stopped breathing.  The Evangelists did not wish to share with us that people were dying to see the Lord.  Instead, they recount to us those who were raised from the dead.  We know, for instance, that the Apostles often traveled without food.   They often point this out and in detail. 

I suspect that the Lord did not speak often.  Why?  Because the Apostles recorded every single parable he said; every single encounter he had; and every single point he made.  This is something we do not do easily, especially with those who lecture us.  What is obvious is who often went missing.  The Lord valued solitude.

I believe the Lord smiled and laughed very often; which means he cried very little.  No wonder, the Apostles were shocked to see the Lord cry at the death of his close friend.  No wonder why it was a memorable moment.  The Lord’s laughter was seen by all, but not his crying.  It must have gotten to the point that his smile and laughter was so common that it was taken for granted.  His crying must have  been shocking.

Many of us can remember the day our father cried.  Not many of us can remember the day he laughed or smiled. 

Mother Teresa laughed and smiled so much that we could hardly tell that she worked with the poorest of the poor.  But when she did cry, it did not go unnoticed.  In fact, it sent shockwaves throughout the faithful.  Why?  Because she didn’t do it often.   

Holy people know how to smile and laugh.  This is important.  And the reason why they know how to smile and laugh is because they do it often.  It becomes such a habit that it hardly gets noticed…like their habit!  The Saints know how to laugh because they know how to love.  And to love means to know how to sacrifice. 

I desire mercy, not sacrifice.  Doesn’t the Lord ask us to make sacrifices?  But now he's telling us that he doesn’t want our sacrifices!  I’m so confused!!!  Which one is it??? 

To show mercy is to show love.  To love requires sacrifice.  It isn’t a question of either or, it is a question of which comes first.  Love always comes first in everything we do.  Mercy is required before an honest-to-God sacrifice can be made!  There is no other way.  If we follow the commandments out of fear of the Lord, then we will never convince a living soul to follow the Lord.  But if we follow the commandments out of love for the Lord, then we will convince all the souls around us.  How will they really know the difference?  By the smile on your face!   

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul…and my lips!