Thursday, May 29, 2014

The Dove's Love

Loving like the Holy Spirit
 John 14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him, because he remains with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. In a little while the world will no longer see  me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

            This summer we will celebrate a number of big anniversaries.  Gene and Ruth Bruick will complete 60 years of wedded bliss, Ed and Lona Seiter also thank God for 60 years, and Leo and Barbara Anhalt will only have been married for 50 years, just spring chickens!  When you get to such milestones, people always want to know the secret of your success.  Well, I’ve figured it out.  Here it is:

             Everybody on earth dies and goes to heaven.  God comes and says, “I want the men to form two queues: one line for men that dominated their wives on earth, and the other line for the men who were dominated by their wives.  Also, I want all the women to go with St. Peter.”  The next time God looked, the women are gone, and there are two lines.  The line for the men who were dominated by their wives was 100 miles long, and in the line of men who dominated their women, there was only one man.  God got mad and said, “You men should be ashamed of yourselves.  I created you in my image, and you were all whipped by your mates.  Look at the only one of my sons who stood up and made me proud.  Learn from Him!  Tell them, my son, how did you manage to be the only one in this line?”  The man replied, “I don’t know.  My wife told me to stand here.”  See what I missed out on by becoming a priest?  Now which one of us made the real sacrifice?  What a great question: How do people stay married for 40, 50 and 60 years?

             People have been trying to answer that question since the time of Adam and Eve, the first married couple.  You’ll probably get a different answer depending on which couple you ask.  But if you push and probe far enough, I think any couple will admit that besides patience and kindness and forgiveness and good communication, something else is needed.  They perceive a certain (as the French say) “je ne sais quoi,” (literally, “I don’t know what”) something you can’t put your finger on, an intangible but real presence in their marriage.  And I believe that is the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit is exactly that extra something – really that extra Someone – who helps you go the long-distance in love.

            Catholic theology teaches that the Holy Spirit is the love exchanged between the Father and the Son in heaven: it binds them together and makes them one for eternity in heaven.  Now, when a couple stays married that long, they mysteriously invite the Spirit to be a full partner in their marriage.  When a spouse dies after a long and loving marriage the widow or widower not only misses the spouse but also the Holy Spirit they shared.  That’s why their ache of loss is so deep.  You see, marriage isn’t about who dominates whom, but about both being dominated by the Spirit of love.

             This is what Jesus promises the disciples in the gospel today: he will send them the Spirit.  The scene is the Last Supper and Jesus shares his most intimate thoughts and hopes with his closest friends.  He says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth.”  In other words, the same Spirit that binds the Father and the Son in heaven will be poured into the hearts of the disciples at Pentecost.  Why?  So they will love like Jesus: the Jesus who washes feet, the Jesus who forgives the woman caught in adultery, the Jesus who prayed for his executioners from the Cross.  That’s superhuman love, the love of anniversaries that last 40, 50 and 60 years.  Scott Hahn once made this staggering statement, see if you can catch his logic.  He said, “What Jesus did for 33 years on earth is exactly what he had done for eternity in heaven, he loved his Father.  It’s just that on earth, that love looks like the Cross.”  Let me repeat that: “What Jesus did for 33 years on earth is exactly what he had done for eternity in heaven, he loved his Father.  It’s just that on earth, that love looks like the Cross.”  Jesus did not dominate others, nor was he dominated by others; he was filled with the Holy Spirit of love.

             This weekend I am also celebrating my ordination anniversary.  I was ordained on May 25, 1996 and have been a priest for 18 years.  Do you know how many parishes I’ve served in as a priest?  15!  I’m not sure I want to highlight that on my resume: apparently, I can’t hold down a steady job!  Even though I am not married, I have tried to love the parishes I’ve served with the love that the Father and Son share, the love of the Holy Spirit.  You see, it’s still love.  Being a pastor is not about dominating the parish, bossing others around.  It’s also not about being dominated by others and showing no backbone in preaching the hard messages.  It’s about loving like Jesus did, inspired by the Spirit. If I invite that Spirit to flood my heart, I might also one day celebrate 40, or 50 or even 60 years as a priest.  You’ll be pleased to know that one of our former pastors, Msgr. John O’Donnell is celebrating 60 years as a priest this year.  He was helped not only by the Holy Spirit but also a lot of Irish blarney!

             Today I want to remember in a special way all those who struggle to experience a long-lasting love: those who were widowed at an early age, those who have suffered a divorce, those who have never married.  We all long for a love that lasts 50, 60, 75 years, and only the Holy Spirit can make human love last that long.  You see, true love has little to do with butterflies in your stomach, but everything to do with a dove in your soul (a dove symbolizes the Spirit).  Bring the Spirit into your marriage by attending church together, praying together before bed, and especially receiving the sacraments together.

            What is the secret to a long-lasting love on earth?  It’s the same secret to a long-lasting love in heaven.  That secret is the Holy Spirit.  May Jesus give each of us an abundant share of his Spirit today!

            Praised be Jesus Christ!



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