Sex, Stuff, and Status: What's Really Keeping Christ Out This Christmas

 

We’re Going to Rome!

I have to say I’m so excited for these children that are going to be going to Rome. You know, when people ask me, “Are you excited? Are you happy?” I say, “I’m excited because I know they will be excited.”

And so this is the first time that they’re going to be singing in Latin and Greek. The Kyrie was in Greek. But before we head off to Rome on the 29th of December, so they’ll have three opportunities to see the pope. Three opportunities. And God willing, in each one of them, he’ll have an opportunity to maybe shake their hands or give them a blessing or something. So keep them in your prayers because you made it possible. You made it a reality. We raised enough money for every single child that wanted to go could go. And so because of you, that is just a tremendous blessing for their families and for our community, our parish. You were a big part of it.

The King of Advent

In this fourth Sunday of Advent, there is a character that is a king, a king. And you have to understand that if the church wanted to use these readings for the last Sunday before Christmas, there’s a reason for it. And that is because we need to highlight what it takes for Christ to come into this world.

See, because many times when we think of Christmas, we think of God coming from heaven to earth. And that is, of course, a big part of Christmas. But there is also another part. And that is you’ve got to find room for him. You have to find a place for him in your life.

Humble Yourself

And in these readings, we begin with the book of the prophet Isaiah. Then Isaiah said, “Listen, O house of David.” After another prophet, Ahaz, said, “I’m not going to ask the Lord for a sign. I’m not going to do it.”

At first, you know, you think that he would say, “I’m going to ask the Lord. I want a sign. I want a sign. Before I open up my mouth, I want a sign. I want a sign. I want to be able to see first before I open up my mouth.”

And then all of a sudden, he says, “No, no, no, forget it. Forget it. I don’t want a sign.”

And as soon as he says that, he receives a sign. Because you have to be willing to trust in God or be humble enough to place your life before the Lord. And because he’s asked for no sign, “I will not ask. I will not tempt the Lord,” then all of a sudden, he received the sign. “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.”

In the responsorial psalm, “Let the Lord enter.” How do I let the Lord enter? What must I do or what must I avoid doing in order for the Lord to enter? Let the Lord enter. He is the king of glory.

Your Obedient Slave

And in the second reading from the letter to the Romans, Paul—remember, the Romans, the Romans, the Romans were the top. The Romans were the kings. The Romans were at the top of the pyramid. They were at the top of the food chain. They owned everything. They were the masters. And Paul was Roman. He was a Jew and he was Roman. And he purposely says, “Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ.”

Why would you ever want to be a slave of anyone? No one, except one: Jesus Christ. That humility that is required to do great things. “To all the beloved God in Rome called to be holy.” You have been called to be holy, not to be great, not to be rich, not to be powerful. You’ve been called to be holy.

And then in the gospel today, in the gospel, who is the king in the gospel? In this particular passage, it is Joseph. Can you imagine the church waits until the last Sunday of Advent to be able to highlight Joseph? Joseph is the king. Joseph is so important. And he never says a word. He just does it. He just gets it done.

And what does he do? Well, my dear brothers and sisters, he flies in the face of this world, of our culture. 

Sex, Stuff, and Status

What are the three things in this world that we are all constantly bombarded with? Sex, stuff, and status. Those are the three things that we are constantly bombarded with. Sex, status, and stuff.

And when we talk about sex, what are we talking about? We’re talking about pleasure, self-gratification. “I want to feel good. I want to feel good.” And Joseph, he flies in the face of that.

When it comes to status, what are we all looking for? We want a name for ourselves. We want recognition. You know what? Let me tell you something, folks. When people from this parish come up to me and they say, “Father, I’m going to pray that one day you are pope”—me, me, me—and I say, “You’re crazy. If you want the church to be destroyed, go for it, right?” Or “I had a dream that you were in hell.” Guys, stop. Stop. You didn’t have a dream. It was a nightmare. It was a nightmare.

Words Are Cheap

You know, it’s easy to preach. It’s easy to preach. It’s another thing to get it done. You know, every time people read from the Bible, all our lectors, they read. They read things that are hard to do. And they read it as if it were nothing. No, there is a big difference between preaching and doing. Don’t forget that.

You know why? Even me, I know what’s right. I know what I have to do. I know. Everybody here knows what they have to do. Everybody here has a good heart. You don’t want to offend the Lord. So what’s the problem? This, the muscle. That’s the problem. It’s not like you’re ignorant. No, we all know what’s right and what’s wrong. We all know. Who wants to offend the Lord? Who wants to offend the Lord? Everybody has a good heart. Get it done. Do it. That’s the tough part. That’s the tough part.

The status. How do you know that that’s being? Go on Instagram all the time. It’s always people. It’s not always. There’s a lot of good stuff on social media. But there’s also a lot of “Look at me. Look at where I am. Look at what I’m doing. Look at all this. Look at all that. Look how many followers. Thank you for the 10,000. Thank you for the one million. Thank you for...” Status is a big thing.

And Joseph, “I love you. You love me. I’m here to help.” That’s it. “I’m here to help.”

The sex, in other words, pleasure, looking for pleasure. We know that sometimes to do the right thing is going to be uncomfortable. “I love you. You love me. God has given us a mission. I accept the mission. Our relationship is not going to be like everybody’s relationship. Our relationship is going to be different. Why? For the mission. For the mission.” The mission comes first.

And like I said, it’s easy to preach. It’s another thing to do it, to do it. And Joseph did it. Joseph did it.

Harvard & Success

You know, I showed the kids on Friday at school mass, the Harvard Business Review, a magazine. Does anybody remember what the cover was? I’m so proud. I did this at 7:30. Nobody. What was the cover? Does anybody remember? Yes. Anybody remember? Diesel. Oh, go to the microphone. Nobody can hear you. No, no. Just go. Yeah. Yeah, a picture of a foot tied to a brick. Right? See? A picture of a foot tied to a brick.

And they say, “Stop holding yourself back.” Harvard Business Review, boom, big people, big people, CEOs, leaders. And they’re telling them, “Stop holding yourself back.”

Because this is something about all of us, our pride, our vanity, our sensuality. They talk about ten things. First of all, let me tell you about the picture. The picture is not original. Actually, it’s based on, I think, on a story of the elephant and the pole. If you’re old enough, you remember a story as a child of the elephant and the pole, where a little pole and a little rope ties a huge elephant that could easily break from the pole, easily. But it doesn’t believe it can. It’s been trained to believe that it doesn’t have the power to do it.

And everything in this story, they give you ten reasons. You know what? Again, not original. I could, if they had asked me, I would tell you, “You know what you just described?” Look at this. These ten:

“I need to be involved.” “I know I’m right.” “If I can do it, so can you.” “I can’t say no.”

The Real Problems

You know what these are? Pride, vanity, sensuality. “I need to be involved,” sensuality. “I can’t let go. I can’t let go. I got to be involved.” And it’s more uncomfortable to let go than to think that you’re needed in everything. And our pride, right? “I can’t be wrong. Can’t make a mistake.”

Well, of course, if you can’t make a mistake, then you’re going to be tied. You’re going to be tied down. Because you’re afraid of what vanity, what other people are going to think about you.

My dear brothers and sisters, if we want the full benefit of Christmas, of God coming down from heaven to earth, open the door. Open the door. Remove the pride, remove the vanity, and remove the sensuality that holds us down. Holds us down. These three root sins hold us down.

In the end, Saint Joseph, his philosophy of life was this: If you’re a loving person, you care about others. That’s it. If you’re a loving person, you care about others.

Amen?

Amen.

Why God Makes You Wait - The Suffering that Sparks Transformation

 

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It’s Rose, Not Pink

My dear brothers and sisters, why do we wear rose on the third Sunday of Advent? From a little bit of a gloomy, or not as festive, period of time during Advent, why do we suddenly have this joy? It’s because now we’re getting closer to Christmas. 

It’s past time we ask ourselves, what is the purpose of Advent? 

From Desert to Exaltation

In these readings, you get a very good idea of what it’s about.

In the first reading: “The desert and the parched land will exalt.” From desert to exaltation. “They will bloom with abundant flowers.” From nothing to life. A transformation.

“Lord, it is the Lord who preserves fidelity forever,” says the responsorial psalm. “Who does justice to those who are oppressed.” So from oppression we go to justice. A transformation.

In the second reading today: “Be patient, brothers and sisters. Be patient.” Why? Because the Lord is coming. There’s going to be a change. And here Saint James uses the analogy of a farmer: “See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains.” Steady. Steady. Hold tight. Steady. Don’t give up. Don’t let go. Don’t walk away. Stay the course. 

John the Baptist’s Final Hope

And then in the Gospel today, when John the Baptist was in prison, he asked his disciples to go and speak to Jesus and say, “Are you the Messiah? Are you the one?” Why? Because John the Baptist was in prison and he was scared. And so he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one?”

And Jesus says, “Go tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain sight”—from blindness to sight—”the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear.” And in the Old Testament it said the prisoners shall be freed. That’s the one John the Baptist was waiting for: “The prisoners will be freed.”

Instead, Jesus changed it. He said, “The dead shall rise. The dead shall be raised.”

And you can imagine John the Baptist thinking, “So I’m not leaving. I won’t be freed. This is where it ends for me.”

John the Baptist understood perfectly well. His hope now rested entirely on the fact that Jesus was God.

What Are You Seeking This Advent?

Brothers and sisters, what is Advent for us?

Of course, it is for us to be able to have Christ come into our life again. But we can expand upon that and say that love comes back into my life again. That understanding comes back into my life again. That mercy comes back into my life. That I am healed—physically, spiritually, emotionally—that healing comes back into my life.

What is it that you are seeking during this Advent?

Of course, all of those things: love, understanding, mercy, compassion, healing. You can put them in one word: Jesus. Come, Lord Jesus, into my life.

But if there’s something in particular that you’re looking for, then Advent is the time to reflect and to ask yourself: What must I do in order to prepare the way for Christ to come into my life? What must I do? How can I prepare for God to come into my life so that I truly appreciate it?

With all the noise, with all the things that we have to do, meditation can be taken out of the picture immediately. However, there is healing that has to take place in my life. Now what do I need to do for that to happen?

Sick as a Dog at Ten Years Old

I will tell you: many years ago, when I was nine or ten years old, I had asthma as a child. And so I got the worst bronchitis, pneumonia—whatever it was—that I’ve ever had. I was sick as a dog.

And thank God—thank God—I didn’t have any electronics. Nothing. No TV in my room. No PlayStation. No Xbox. Nothing. 

Thank God. You know why? I spent a lot of time thinking.

You ask a little kid today, “What do you think about this?” They’ll say, “I don’t know.” You ask a teenager what they think about something, they’ll say, “Sorry, I wasn’t listening.” You have to wait until you’re twenty to begin to reflect and to meditate, right?

At ten years old, I will never forget: while I was sick as a dog in my room, I could hear outside in the neighborhood my friends playing. Laughing. Giggling. Screaming. Having a ball without me. As if I were dead. As if I had never existed.

Not one single neighborhood kid called. Wrote me a card. No one.

You know who did? This one girl in school that liked me—and I did not like her. She liked me, and I didn’t like her. And she would call my house: “How’s Al doing?” 

My grandmother would say, “Oh, let me put him on.” 

“No, no, no!” I’d cry. Just the stupidity of a ten-year-old, right?

And I liked another girl that, of course, didn’t like me.

There’s an old saying: People are like books. They deceive you by their cover and they surprise you by their content.

Well, it turned out later on, when I grew up, that this girl that liked me liked everybody. She was just a kind girl. She was a nice person.

The Greatest Gift God Has Given Us

If you take time to reflect, you see, time is a gift from God. Remember the analogy of the farmer: you plant, give it time, and it will grow.

But time isn’t the greatest gift that God has given us.

Reflection—the ability to reflect and to meditate—is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us. It can change the course and direction of your life.

You will be able to receive what you’re looking for.

You’re looking for love? Stop looking for love in all the wrong places.

You’re looking for understanding? Try to look at the other person’s perspective and not just yourself. This person was kind. Stop thinking only about yourself.

You’re looking for healing? Not merely physical healing. When you have an operation, when you have a sickness, you’re not just looking to be healed physically. You also want to be healed emotionally and spiritually. There’s so much more healing that can happen when you have to sit down and stop what you’re doing.

Isn’t silence the greatest sound? 

Many times we reject it, filling our heads with noise.

Truths That Never Change

During Advent, there are certain things that you’re looking for. “Come, Lord...” What is it that you’re asking the Lord to bring into your life? What does it take for that to happen, to be a part of my life?

There are some axioms, right? Truths. Never changing.

If you want to trust God, then you have to let go. You have to stop pretending that you’re in control of everything. And when you let go, then God can direct your life in ways that will surprise you.

If you want to experience lasting results in your life, then respect the process that’s required for that to happen.

If you want to grow—physically, spiritually, emotionally—then you have to take the risk of failure.

The Inspiration of a No

Recently I realized being told no only makes me work harder. 

Our kids are going to Rome to sing for the Pope. Thank you to the parish for making that possible. We were able to raise the money for all the kids to go at no expense to their parents. 

I will tell you what: I worked hard for that.

I wrote a message, a letter, to the Apostolic Nuncio for the United States of America, representing the Holy See—in other words, the ambassador from the Holy See to the United States. I wrote to him. I said, “Cardinal, would you be willing to come to Mary Immaculate, talk to our kids? We’ll pay for everything. You just come. We’ll take care of everything.”

He wrote back and said no. 

Then I said, “Would you be willing to do a Zoom so that our kids could see you, and they could get to know you, and you could talk to them?”

“Oh, thank you so much. No.”

Then I asked, “Would you be willing to write a letter and let the kids know you’re thinking of them?”

“Yes, I can do that.”

If you want to grow, then you have to open yourself up to failure. How many times do we stop trying only because we hear no? We need failure. It will teach you lessons so that you won’t make the same mistake twice.

Love Requires Sacrifice

If you want to experience love, then let me tell you: get ready to offer up some sacrifices.

Because when you love someone, you put in a hundred percent. You will get twenty percent back in return now.

But when you are gone, they will never forget you for what you did for them. Never.

Every mom and dad knows that experience. Everybody who has put in their heart, mind, body, soul, blood, sweat, and tears knows exactly what I’m talking about.

In this world, you may not get a lot.

Like Vincent van Gogh... I don’t know if it’s true, but I read just recently: can you imagine? The famous artist never sold a single painting while he was alive. Never.1 And now his paintings are worth millions.

If you want to experience love, then our Lord has taught us: you have to be willing to put in what it takes. The sacrifices. 

Little by Little

Little by little.

You know what “little by little” means? More and more.

During this Advent season, little by little, work your way towards Jesus Christ.

1

Sources vary, but it is generally accepted he sold at least one, The Red Vineyard.