Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 14 is Columbus Day; it’s also Indigenous Peoples Day. Christopher Columbus symbolizes, for me, perseverance. This sailor and explorer surmised if the world was round, you can reach the east by sailing west. It took a long time to convince Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to fund this exploration.

Columbus' voyages connected the so-called Old and New Worlds. Thus, began the age of great discovery with its triumphs and tragedies.

A person of vision, Columbus never gave up on his dream. And we have our dreams too. Not all dreams come true, but some will if we persevere. 

The word of God takes us back to the wisdom literature of ancient Israel. The author pleads, not for wealth or power or fame or beauty, but for true wisdom.

That enables us to distinguish what’s important in life, to answer those fundamental questions: Why am I here? What is my purpose? Today we might ask God to grace us anew with true wisdom.

The Letter to the Hebrews speaks about the word of God which, like a surgical knife, can open us up and reveal our true purpose: living an other-centered, God-centered life. The author may be asking you and me: what drives us? God and service to our fellow human beings? Or our own self-concerns?

In the Gospel, we have the story of the well-to-do young man who is not content with his life. He’s looking for something more. He wants eternal life. 

Oh, yes, he has observed all the commandments. But he wants to know: what else should he do? And Jesus recognizes the potential for spiritual greatness within him and says: Go, sell what you have and follow me.

Sadly, this person couldn’t give up what he had. He couldn’t see the spiritual potential within himself to follow Jesus.

Yes, the young man was searching for fuller and deeper meaning. The so-called “good life” didn’t seem to satisfy him. 

Wanting to live for something more, greater than oneself, motivates many people.

A well-known twentieth century author of 60 books, Viktor Frankl, was imprisoned in four Nazi concentration camps in WW II. Among the books he wrote is the classic “Man’s Search for Meaning.”

In prewar Vienna, Frankl had a wife, two children, a good psychiatric profession and a comfortable home. But he lost all of these because he was Jewish. In these concentration camps, he lost every earthly thing he treasured – parents, wife, children, profession, home. And these losses brought him face-to-face with the fundamental questions of life: What should I be living for? What is my purpose?

Frankl discovered that people could put up with incredible hardships, cruelties and sufferings, without losing their serenity and respect for others, provided they saw that these hardships had some ultimate meaning.

In their hearts, people yearn for something or someone that can bring greater value to their lives.

This can take different forms: such as family, a profession, a passion for human rights, the greater common good, and so forth. When a person finds something with transcendent meaning, that meaning awakens new energies within. People see more, perform better and, in short, they become men and women of faith.

Every person of faith has someone or something to whom he or she gives their ultimate allegiance. That objective may be something quite finite -- wealth or power as in today’s Gospel -- or it may be God himself, the absolute good.

The 19th century Russian novelist Fydor Dostoevsky in his classic “Brothers Karamozov” wrote: “Every man, every woman, must bend his or her knee before some god.”

You and I profess to find the ultimate purpose of life in a relationship with God, a God who:

--by the power of the Spirit became one of us in Jesus;

--transformed the crucified Jesus into a new heavenly reality; and is alive among us today especially in the sacramental life of our global faith community;

--challenges us to reach out compassionately to his image in our fellow human beings; and eventually to let go of our earthly life so that God can transform us into a new kind of spiritual embodiment, as God transformed Jesus into a new heavenly reality.

Jesus in the Gospel recognized the potential for spiritual greatness in the young man, and when asked, gave him a pathway. But the man walked away.

What obstacles might be within ourself, that keep us from experiencing the fullness of life in God's kingdom? How can we roll away those stumbling blocks that prevent us from following Jesus?

There’s a saying “You don’t know what you have until you lose it.” Challenging times, like hurricanes Helene and Milton, make us aware of our gifts, including the gift of the comfort of home. Let us pray to persevere, to see the potential within one another, to help one another, to realize the incredible ability for goodness that we all have. Amen.

 

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

On Friday, October 4, we celebrated the feast day of Francis of Assisi. He’s beloved as patron of animals. 

In New York, a fellow once asked if I would celebrate a liturgy for his Maltese dog who died. I replied: I’m afraid we don’t have liturgies for them. I then added that a “non-denominational” chapel might.

He asked: do you think $5,000 would be enough for a service? I quickly said: why didn’t you tell me the dog was Catholic. I’ll do it. It’s amazing how one piece of information can change things.

The word of God takes us back to the beginnings of the human family. The Book of Genesis tells a story about how God created man and woman to be in relationship as best friends, soulmates. The first human family later became our first dysfunctional family in “the fall from grace.” Genesis then highlights our common bond as human beings. But why do human beings do violence to one another?

The Letter to the Hebrews describes our spiritual family. God became human in Jesus. Through Jesus’s death and resurrection, God gifts us with his divine life; so, we are all brothers and sisters to one another and sons and daughters of God. Our faith proclaims that if we are true to our inner best self, God will transfigure us one day into a new heavenly life, just as God already transfigured Jesus into a new reality on Easter.

In the Gospel, Jesus explains, among other things, the sacred relationship of marriage. Jesus reaffirms that marriage is a commitment of a husband to a wife and vice versa in love for life and in service of further life. Today, as in Jesus's day, it is more a hope than a sure thing. Like anything, it takes prayer and hard work. It demands love, understanding, patience, compassion, humor, forgiveness, faithfulness and generosity. St. Paul’s ode to love sums it up. Here's a paraphrase:

Love never gives up; it's always patient. Love cares more for others than for self. Doesn’t keep score about the wrongs done them by others, Love trusts in God always, Always looks for the good in other people, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.

In light of those qualities, I think of St. Francis, an extraordinary person of faith, a model for us all. This thirteenth-century founder of the Franciscan movement has been described as a lover of animals, a caring healer, an environmentalist, a peacemaker, a mystic, a poet, a reformer.

Francis came from a middle-class Italian family in Assisi. Twice he went off to the wars in that region and failed miserably. Back home he began to wrestle with fundamental questions: Who am I? What is the ultimate purpose of my life? He yearned for something greater than himself. In silence and in prayer, Francis asked “Who are you, oh Lord, and who am I?” 

Eventually, Francis gave up every “thing.” He experienced his own creaturehood in the presence of an awesome Creator: An all-good and compassionate God; a God who became one of us in Jesus; a God alive in our midst by the power of the Spirit. Francis began to pursue the Gospel in a literal fashion, and eventually men and women began to gather to form what we know today as the world-wide Franciscan family.

Does the thirteenth-century Francis have anything to say to us in the twenty-first century? I believe we can capture his message in three incidents.

One took place at La Verna, near Florence, Italy. Francis was praying, and he experienced the stigmata or marks of the crucified Jesus in his hands, feet and side. This incident captures the depth of his relationship with God.

Francis encourages us to deepen our own relationship with God.

Another incident occurred as Francis prayed before the crucifix in the tumbledown chapel of San Damiano. He heard the crucified Jesus tell him, “Francis, rebuild my house which you see is falling into ruins.”

Francis at San Damiano challenges us to build up our family life. Jesus “sanctified” family life in the Mary/Joseph household. Holiness in families comes from learning to forgive, learning to face challenges. Time together as a family is important. 

The third incident that captures Francis' message was this: As he rode on horseback, out stepped a man with so-called leprosy. Francis started to ride away. But no! Francis slowly dismounted and embraced the leper. Francis saw in him the brokenness of human beings. 

A leper can be described as someone who lacks wholeness. We experience something of this in our lives. We cry for a healer, a reconciler.

This planet, in some ways, hasn’t changed much since the times of Francis. He focused upon the essential: life with God and one another.  

May Francis inspire us to intensify our life of prayer, to build up one another, and to reach out with a healing hand to those whose lives have been broken.

Mindful of suffering in the world today, I close with a sort of maxim from a Peanuts cartoon. Charlie Brown and his canine companion are sitting contemplating. Charlie says, “We only live once Snoopy.” His pal replies, “Wrong! We only die once. We live every day!” 

Think about it. Kindness can save a life. Each life matters. God made us for a purpose. Every day!

Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. 

We also were to celebrate the School’s Diamond Jubilee but hurricane Helene changed the date until October 20. Sixty years ago, St. Raphael opened its doors to young students as an integral part of our parish life. A prize-winning teacher wrote: Anyone who embraces teaching as a vocation exercises considerable power to transform souls, to turn psyches away from the dark and toward the light. So our thanks to our teachers, administrators and staff.  Yes, all of us are teachers, parents and singles, young and old. All have the power to transform souls by what they say and do, by how they live.

Today’s readings are from the Feast of the Archangels. But first a story. Not long ago, I was flying when the airplane hit heavy turbulence. I happened to be wearing my black suit with a white shirt and the person next to me grabbed my arm and asked: are you a priest? I said, yes. She then asked: you do believe in God?  Of course. She sighed with relief. Thank God, she said, I’m sitting with someone in touch with the central office upstairs. And I replied, “Wait a minute.” I’m only in sales, not management.

That said, as we weather another hurricane, please remember those families who were especially affected by storm surges, high winds and power outages.

The Word of God highlights the role and significance of the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael in the story of our salvation. 

In the Book of Tobit, probably written in the 2nd century BC, Raphael reveals himself as Tobias’ guide to Sarah, and a healer of Tobit’s blindness. "I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand and serve before the glory of the Lord." We might pray to Raphael for guidance and healing in our lives. 

Turning to Revelation, the narrative shifts to a cosmic battle of Michael and his angels against the dragon and his angels. Angelic warfare highlights the ongoing struggle between good and evil. The victory of Michael reassures us of God's ultimate triumph over evil. It’s not always easy to remember that with so much global violence.

In John, the focus shifts again to Jesus as the true light. This passage underscores the connection between the archangels and Christ, as they serve to point us toward Christ. The archangel's actions reflect the divine light that dispels darkness, echoing the message of hope and salvation.

What especially caught my eye in John’s Gospel was Nathaniel. “There was no duplicity in him.”  He was a man of good character.

Mahatma Gandhi, the great liberator of India in 1947, put it another way when he urged all to beware the danger of indifference to others, and especially the danger of “education without character.” 

Yes, academic excellence is an essential ingredient of an education; and so too is moral character.  

There is a difference between personality and character.  Our personality on the surface puts us in a category – e.g. cheerful, or moody, or excitable, etc.  Character, by contrast, is singular and defines who we are at the core of our inmost self.

Personality is emotional.  Character is ethical.  Personality is neither good nor evil.  Character, by definition, is either good or evil. By character, one stands out from the crowd.  At the same time, people of good character can attract others of good will and courage. 

Few of us will be called to the courage involved in, say, rescuing a human being from a life-threatening situation. However, there is an everyday level of courage, to which all of us are called.  

It manifests itself in the choices that each of us must make about the fundamental intellectual, moral and spiritual values by which we live.

I think of Paul Tillich’s book titled “The Courage to Be.”  If we have the courage to find meaning in life, if we see ourselves and others as blessed briefly by earthly life and promised eternal life if true to our inner, best selves, we can overcome moments of anxiety that sneak up on us from time to time. 

If we strive to choose excellence and quality over what is just enough to do a job, if we strive in our decisions, small and great, that affect our work, family and social life, even our leisure time, to choose on the basis of life’s lasting values, then ours will be truly a wonderful life.  

May our prayer be to have the courage to stand on principle and an informed conscience. And remember: as Aristotle put it: “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

A former student emailed to me a great “List to live by.”  Here are seven tips:

The greatest joy............................................ Giving

The greatest "shot in the arm" ..................... Encouragement

The most contagious spirit........................... Enthusiasm

The two most power-filled words................ "I Can"

The greatest asset......................................... Faith

The most prized possession......................... Integrity

The most powerful communication............    Prayer

This is truly a list with heart!

Twenty-Five Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 22 is the equinox, when daylight and nighttime are equal. While we in the South don’t experience the fall foliage, others do. Still all of us can see autumn as a season to harvest good memories and savor God’s blessings.

The word of God takes us back to the wisdom literature of ancient Israel. The author speaks about a person who always tries to do the right thing. Yet some evildoers want to murder him. So we might ask: why do bad things happen to good people? 

The author of the letter of James asks: why do some people choose evil? Yes, why do some people at times choose wrong over right. Christianity calls this human condition “original sin,” the fall from grace described graphically in Genesis, chapter 3. Thus began the story of our salvation.

God so loved us that he sent his only Son so everyone who believes in him might have eternal life. In baptism, we become by grace what Jesus is by nature: sons and daughters of God our Father, called to live a life worthy of that status. 

In the Gospel, Jesus speaks about his mortality. He challenges us to be servant leaders: serve one another even if it costs us dearly.  Then Jesus predicts his own passion and death and resurrection. This mystery reveals our true destiny: to be in relationship with God in glory forever in a new, transformative life.

Jesus here brings us face to face with his and our own dying. The experience of death today is different from 100 years ago when people may have died in their 40s or 50s, often in their homes and surrounded with family and friends. Today some people may die in their 90s or 100s in hospitals or nursing homes, and perhaps alone.

A best seller “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End” questions whether employing medical technology to lengthen life at the expense of quality of life is the right thing to do.

The author, a surgeon, describes three general patterns of decline. With an incurable disease where treatments may lengthen life but eventually the body wastes away; a chronic disease, such as emphysema, which is treatable but repeated relapses eventually siphon the life out of a person; and finally, there’s the pattern of old age called “frailty”: no life-threatening disease but a gradual decline in mental acuity and physical well-being.

The question for the doctor becomes when to “let go,” when to stop offering treatments that likely don’t work. The doctor asks: why submit the dying to the full panoply of medical procedures only to see them merely exist in institutions and lose their independence.

Some may recognize five stages through which dying loved ones seem to be passing through. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross defined them:

-Denial: “No, not me.” A typical response if one is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness.

-Anger: “Why me?” God may be a target for anger especially if one is young. But it's ok, God can take it.

-Bargaining: “Yes me, but.” The patient bargains. I'll do this or that, God, if you lengthen my life.

-Depression: “Yes, me.” The person realizes he or she is not getting better; and there are regrets for things done or not done.

And finally, acceptance: “My time is running out but it’s all right.”

These stages are not absolute but can be a guide. And similar stages can apply to major life changes like job loss, divorce, the death of a loved one.

Dr. Kubler-Ross wrote another book titled “Death: The Final Stage of Growth.” The title segues into the Christian understanding of death. The foundation is Good Friday/Easter. The story of Jesus did not end in the tragedy of the cross but in the triumph of the Resurrection. Our faith challenges us to remember that the light of our resurrection will shatter the darkness of our own death. God will transform us into a new kind of spiritual embodiment.

Let’s be honest. Most of us do not long with St. Paul “to be free from this earthly life so that we can be with the Risen Christ.” But death is a fact of life.

We've heard often enough the motto “be prepared." The Beatitudes especially in Chapter 5 of Matthew  can be our guide in making that motto our own. Here’s one paraphrase of the beatitudes:

“If you look for God in your daily life; 

if you readily spend time listening to and consoling others who seek your guidance; 

if you manage to heal wounds and build bridges among people; 

if others see in you goodness, graciousness, joy, and serenity; 

and if you can see the good in everyone and seek the good for everyone, blessed are you."

Pope Francis has urged young people—and it holds true for all of us: “Do not be like superficial sightseers…never discovering the meaning of the roads you take…be like Pilgrims, who immerse themselves fully in their daily encounters, listen to the messages these encounters communicate, and make them a part of their quest for happiness and fulfillment.” Amen.