World’s Oldest Profession

Letting the Good Shepherd take on the smell of his sheep

11/26/2017

Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

        Do you know what the “world’s oldest profession” is? The world’s oldest profession is shepherding, of course. What were YOU thinking it was? Shepherding goes back at least 5,000 years to the time before there was stable farming, to when people were nomadic, and therefore they lived with their livestock that traveled with them. Of course, we know that shepherding is a great Biblical motif for Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In the seminary, this motif taught us the difference between priests and deacons. One professor explained: “Well, if the priest is the shepherd and the people are like the sheep, then the deacon is like the sheepdog.” Sorry, Dc. Mike, I love you man!

         In 2013, Pope Francis said something surprising to us priests about shepherding the sheep. He wrote in his Holy Thursday Letter that year: “This I ask of you (meaning us priests): be shepherds, with the ‘odour of the sheep’” (“Chrism Mass Homily,” March 28, 2013). What did he mean by having the odour of the sheep? In ancient times and even today, the shepherds often slept with their sheep in small huts, they shared their own food with them, and they would carry the lame ones around on their shoulders. In other words, the good shepherds always smelled like the sheep they loved because they were so close to them. That intimacy shared by shepherd and sheep allowed them to recognize each other not only by “sight” and not only by the “sound” of their voice, but also by “smell,” and I would go so far as to say by their spirit. I once heard a theologian describe “intimacy” as “in-to-me-see,” to see not only the body of the one you love, but to see their soul. Going back to priests and people: human shepherds and human sheep share intimacy in the sense they see and love each other’s souls.

         In the gospel today, Jesus describes his “Parousia,” his Second Coming on the clouds, flanked by his angels, when he will balance the scales of justice; everyone gets their just desserts, and chickens come home to roost. And what visual motif does Jesus use to describe the return of Christ as Judge? He uses the “world’s oldest profession,” of course. That is, Jesus will return as a shepherd. We read: “And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” But the Good Shepherd will not judge his sheep and goats (that means me and you) by external standards – if they are tall or short, handsome or homely, rich or poor, intelligent or slow witted, etc. None of that will matter. Rather, the shepherd knows our souls; he can “in-to-me-see,” and I cannot hide any imperfections from his loving gaze. Indeed, the shepherd will be able to tell his sheep not only by sight, but by their smell. In other words, at the Judgment Jesus will be able to separate the sheep from the goats with his eyes closed. That’s how well he will know us.

         My friends, let me take Pope Francis’ exhortation to the shepherds to have the odour of the sheep and turn it around. Let me ask you as the sheep – and here I need to include myself because I am also a sheep of Jesus’ flock – has our odour rubbed off on the Good Shepherd? That is, have we share intimacy – in-to-me-see – with him because we have shared our whole lives with him?

         Let me suggest three areas where it’s not very easy to share our lives with the Good Shepherd. We try to hide our odour from him. The first area is in sexual intimacy. I gotta tell you, when it comes to sex, Catholics have very little intimacy with Christ and his Church. I’m afraid there’s been a whole-sale abandoning of the Church’s teaching on contraception, and open questioning and criticism of her teaching on the whole array of issues dealing with human sexuality. When it comes to sex, we don’t want Jesus or the Church to “in-to-me-see,” and certainly not see into our bedrooms. The Good Shepherd cannot tell our smell.

         The second area that’s hard to share with the Good Shepherd is our finances. I don’t mean you have to give all your money in the collection – but I wouldn’t complain if you did. But do you give any money at all? I once heard a statistic that if everyone in a parish gave $5 a week in the collection, a church would never have any money problems or have to take up a second collection. But some people give nothing. How hard it is to share that aspect of our lives with Jesus the Good Shepherd; we don’t want Jesus to smell our money.

          And the third area off limits to Jesus is our politics, political power. Naturally, there needs to be a healthy separation of church and state, and frankly, I’m glad priests are not allowed to take sides in politics. But when we vote at the polls, do we make choices based on Christian principles or on personal biases and preferences?  I know the political landscape has gotten very messy and it’s true that conscientious Christians can end up on opposites of contentious issues. Do you vote more first and foremost as a Christian or as a Republican or a Democrat? Do you share your politics with Jesus; would your vote pass Jesus’ smell test?

           By the way, in case you don’t know what the so-called “world’s oldest profession” is, it’s prostitution. And it’s the embodiment of money, sex and power: the three areas of our lives we find hardest to share with the Good Shepherd.  Prostitution is the polar opposite of shepherding. Why? Well, because every shepherd, and especially the Good Shepherd, must be poor, chaste and powerless or obedient. This is what is at stake, my friends, for all of us: drawing near to one profession (because of its allure of money, sex and power) means distancing ourselves from the other. We’re always leaning one way or the other. Pope Francis told priests that they need to smell like the sheep. May the Good Shepherd smell like the sheep, and may the sheep smell like the Good Shepherd.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Final Flatulence

Looking forward to marriage with Jesus and perfect love

11/25/2017

Luke 20:27-40 Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone's brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. Then the second and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless.  Finally the woman also died. Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her." Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.

       The past couple of weeks I’ve had people ask me questions about life after death. What will it be like in the next life? And this should not surprise us because our Scriptures the last couple of weeks of Ordinary Time are inviting us to pray and ponder over these final stages of human existence: heaven and hell, purgatory and judgment. I’d like to address three of these questions people have asked me. First, will we know our loved ones in heaven; will we recognize our family and friends there? Second, is purgatory really a fire that will burn and scorch us? And third, will there be marriage in heaven, and will I be married to my spouse in heaven?

         These are not easy or simple questions to answer, and as always, we turn to the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church for answers. Why turn there? Well, because there the Holy Spirit speaks to us. The Holy Spirit inspired the human authors of Sacred Scripture, and the Holy Spirit guides the Magisterium (pope and bishops) and the Tradition (saints and scholars) to speak to us through the Catechism. When we turn to the Bible and the Catechism, therefore, we turn to the Holy Spirit’s wisdom. But I also highly recommend you read a book by Scott Hahn called The Lamb’s Supper for reliable answers to really tough questions like these.

        First question: will we be able to know and recognize people in heaven, especially our loved ones? Some Protestant preachers teach we will not recognize them because it might diminish the happiness of heaven and distract us from Jesus. That explanation is understandable, but unnecessary. Why? Well, because when we love perfectly, we can love the unlovable, even those people who are hard to love will become easy to love. Scott Hahn observed: “Loving difficult people will refine us. Perhaps only in heaven will our love be so perfected that we can actually like these people, too.” Hahn continued: “St. Augustine spoke of a man who, on earth, had chronic gas problems; in heaven, his flatulence became perfect music” (The Lamb’s Supper, 154). So, you can look forward to that.

        Secondly, will there really be fire in purgatory that will burn and scorch our skin like an over cooked hotdog? The Catechism is clear on this point, teaching: “The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire” (Catechism, 1031). But I don’t think this means fire in a literal sense, but in a figurative, metaphorical sense. Hebrews 12:29 says, “Our God is a consuming fire,” but that doesn’t mean God is a huge bonfire and we can roast marsh mellows on his flames. Rather, God is a fire burning with love, a fire of love. Like the Doors sang, “Come on, baby, light my fire,” a fire of love. The fires of purgatory, therefore, are the fires of love that purify our love.

       And thirdly, will there be marriage in heaven? This was precisely the predicament the Sadducees raised with Jesus in the gospel today. A woman marries 7 brothers and after all die, whose wife will she be in heaven? She married them all. Jesus replies: “The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age…neither marry nor are given in marriage.” So Jesus clear says “there will be no marriage in heaven,” right? Not so fast. Virtually the last lines of the Bible speak about the so-called “marriage supper of the Lamb,” that is, the marriage of Jesus. Revelation 22:17 reads: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come, [Lord Jesus]’.” If there is a bride, there must be a Bridegroom; and if there’s both bride and Bridegroom, there must be marriage. In other words, we won’t be married to each other in heaven; we will all be married to Jesus.

       

        With all due respect to Randy Travis, who sang, “I’m going to love you forever and ever, forever and ever. Amen,” that’s not exactly true. In heaven we will love Jesus first and foremost, and we will love each other (even our spouses) secondly. We will even love each other’s flatulence.

 Praised be Jesus Christ!

Gratitude with Promptitude

Adjusting our attitude of gratitude with
promptness

11/23/2017

Luke 17:11-19 As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten persons with leprosy met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

        In the seminary our rector – the priest in charge of the seminary – taught us two rules of etiquette that we should following religiously. Unfortunately, I have failed miserably at keeping both of them. The first was a rule about correspondence. He said: “Never let the same letter hit your desk twice.” Now, you have to remember that I went to seminary in the last millennium, when people actually wrote hand-written letters to one another. But I would let these letters pile up on my desk for weeks. Why? Well, I was afraid to touch them a second time because I knew I would have to reply. So, my solution was just not to pick them up a second time.  Not a good solution.

         The second rule was hard, too. He said: “When you return from dinner at a parishioner’s home, write the thank you note that same night before you go to bed.” Well, I’m always worried what I might write after a martini or two – in vino veritas! – so I put off the thank you note until later, and sometimes I just never get to it, as life interrupts what’s truly important. In other words, nothing says “gratitude” like “promptitude” – saying thank you promptly and sincerely.

         In the gospel today, Jesus meets ten lepers who also need to learn the lesson of gratitude with promptitude. Jesus travels through Samaria – a non-Jewish area – on his way to Galilee and comes across ten people with leprosy. He cures all ten of the people, but only one returns promptly to say thank you. To add insult to injury, it was the Samaritan who showed gratitude, while the other nine - presumably Jews - failed to say thanks. The Jews should have been the most grateful. But the other nine thought like me after the gift of a great dinner, “I can say thank you later,” but later never comes. Sometimes, if there is not gratitude with promptitude, there is no gratitude at all. And sadly, that was the case with the other nine lepers.

           My friends, may I suggest two people with whom you should practice gratitude with promptitude and not be negligent like the nine? First of all, give thanks to God. And by the way, this is the fundamental reason we come to Mass every Sunday. We shouldn’t go to Mass just when we need something: a miracle from Miracle Max (remember him from “Princess Bride”?). But rather, we go to Mass to say “Thank you, God!” for all the miracles we have received the previous week: the miracle of life, the miracle of breathing, the miracle of food, the miracle of friends, and mostly the miracle of faith. Everything is a miracle and a grace, meaning it is completely undeserved and totally unmerited, flowing freely from the generous hands of God. But most of put off saying thanks, thinking: “We’ll start going to church more when we’re retired.” And I’m glad you go to church after retirement, but isn’t that a little like the negligent nine lepers? St. Augustine regretfully wrote in his Confessions, “Late have I loved Thee, O Beauty, ever ancient, ever new. Late have I loved, Thee.” We love the Lord late in life, and we thank him even later.

        The second is a pair of persons to thank promptly, namely, your mom and dad. Do you know when we finally get around to saying “thank you” to mom and dad? It’s when we’re forty years old, and our children have become teenagers. Why? Well, we finally realize what we put our parents through when we were teenagers, and we are profoundly grateful they didn’t kill us. It’s easy to see what a gift our children are; but it takes a years to see what a blessing our parents are. We, too, are like the negligent nine lepers and often fail to say “thank you” to the two people without whom we simply would not exist.

          This Thanksgiving, don’t just worry about injecting your turkey with beer and butter; but also inject your gratitude with some promptitude. Thank Almighty God, whose miracles are measureless, and thank the parents whose patience is limitless. And do that today.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Feeling the Faith

Using the sense of touch to reach Jesus and others

11/20/2017

Luke 18:35-43 As Jesus approached Jericho a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging, and hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." He shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" The people walking in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent, but he kept calling out all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me!" Then Jesus stopped and ordered that he be brought to him; and when he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" He replied, "Lord, please let me see." Jesus told him, "Have sight; your faith has saved you." He immediately received his sight and followed him, giving glory to God. When they saw this, all the people gave praise to God.

        Let me tell you a little about the life of Helen Keller. Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard of her. She has an amazing story of overcoming insurmountable odds. She was born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, AL. She was born with the ability to see and hear like you can, but at 19 months old, she contracted a rare illness that left her both blind and deaf.

          I want you to step into the world of Helen Keller by doing two things this morning. First of all, stand up and close your eyes; no peeking! Can you see the darkness? You can still hear the sound of my voice, but all colors and people and places are vanishing. Touch the pew in front of you to steady yourself. That’s how blind people experience the world. Keep your eyes closed and now the second thing I want you to do is take your two hands and cover your ears. Don’t just cup your ears, but press down on your ears so you shut out all sounds as much as possible. You might not be able to hear my voice very well, and can probably hear the sound of your own breathing.  Can you image how scary the world would be to someone who could neither see nor hear? That was Helen Keller’s world. Okay, you can uncover your ears and have a seat.

        In 1887, Anne Sullivan was hired by Helen’s parents to tutor her, and Helen was only 7 years old, living in a world without sight or sound. So, can you guess how Anne Sullivan taught her? Helen couldn’t see a smart board, nor could she hear Anne’s voice talking to her. So, Anne used Helen’s sense of touch and feeling. For example, to teach her about water and its name, Anne would run cold water over Helen’s left hand and spell the word “w-a-t-e-r” in Helen’s right hand with her finger, and suddenly Helen made the connection between the “word” and the “world.” In other words, the things in the world have names.  The word in her right hand referred to the reality in her left hand.

        By the way, have you ever noticed how in the National Scripps Spelling Bee, all the smart Indian kids spell the word in the palm of their hands? They not only hear the word the announcer says, and they not only see the letters of the word in their hand, but they can also feel the word in the palm of their hands. They engage 3 senses – sight, sound and touch – to spell better. And that’s why the Indian kids always win!

        It was through her feelings, therefore, that Helen Keller found the world. But her sense of touch and her feelings helped Helen do more than that.  Helen could also feel her faith as a Christian. She once said: “I knew Jesus was always present; I just never knew his name!” She could finally feel his name written in the palm of her hand. Boys and girls, spell the word “J-e-s-u-s” in the palm of your hand. That’s the feeling of faith. Can you feel the faith?

         In the gospel today, a blind man also experiences the feeling of faith. To enter into his world, I want you to close your eyes, so you can feel what he felt: blindness. For a few minutes, just listen to the sound of my voice, but don’t fall asleep! He is sitting by the roadside begging when he hears a commotion of people passing by. He asks who it is and they tell him it’s Jesus. He yells out, “Jesus, Son of David,” have pity on me!” And when Jesus approaches, he asks him to heal his blindness. In most cases, Jesus touched the person he healed. Why would Jesus do that? Well, like Helen Keller and the National Spelling Bee champions, Jesus wanted people to feel the faith. It’s almost like Jesus knelt down and spelled his name in the palm of the hand of the blind man. The blind man could say like Helen Keller, “I knew he was always there; now I know his name.” Sometimes we have to feel the faith. Now you can open your eyes again.

        Boys and girls, we’ve talked a lot about family in this retreat, and I hope you have experienced being a Trinity family today. But more than seeing family or hearing about family, I hope you started feeling like family: that you are truly brothers and sisters to each other. I want you to write the word “T-r-i-n-i-t-y” in the palm of your hand, and feel the word Trinity. Sometimes a feeling - a feeling in the palm of your hand - gets you closer to the reality than sight and sound do, like it did for Helen Keller.

        Do you know who feels the most like family at Trinity? It’s our graduates, our alumni. Have you noticed Northside and Southside students at Trinity football games? They love to come back and watch you compete. Do you see them at in the stands at basketball and volleyball games?   They cheer the loudest.  Did you see how they loved to return for Quiz Bowl tournaments? They really feel like family at Trinity, and they see you as their little brothers and sisters, and they love to spend time with you.

         Boys and girls, you know how much it hurts when families separate and divorce. Some of you know that personally and painfully.  Well, try to avoid doing those things here at Trinity that hurt our family unity, like forming clicks or making people feel like they don’t belong. Some students may find it hard to spell “Trinity” or “family” in the palm of their hands because they don’t feel like part of our family. They don’t feel like siblings, but more like strangers.Just like you have to feel the faith, so you also have to feel like family.

         Now, I want you to do one final exercise. Take you left hand and extend it to the person sitting on your left. If you’re at the left end of the pew, you don’t have to do that. Now, take your right hand and with your pointer finger write the word “family” in the palm of your brother or sister’s hand that’s extended toward you. I pray you will always feel like family here at Trinity. Now, hold that hand, and let’s pray our family prayer, the Our Father, in Latin. Pater noster, qui es en caelis...

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Feminine Fascination

Holding womanly hands to learn the feminine genius

11/19/2017

Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30 When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls. Her husband, entrusting his heart to her, has an unfailing prize. She brings him good, and not evil, all the days of her life. She obtains wool and flax and works with loving hands. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle. She reaches out her hands to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

      Let me tell you the story about a young bishop who lived in Rome many years ago. This bishop had the unusual habit of walking around the Vatican with a rosary wrapped around his hand. Whenever people saw him, his rosary was wrapped around his hand. One day an archbishop’s curiosity got the better of him and he stopped the young bishop and asked him about his habit. It takes an archbishop to question a bishop. The young bishop smiled and said: “The rosary makes me feel like the Blessed Virgin Mary is holding my hand and guiding me and leading me through life.” Later that young bishop became an archbishop himself, and a little later he was promoted to cardinal. In 1978 he was actually elected as the pope, and took the name “John Paul II.” On his papal coat of arms, John Paul had the golden letter “M” for Mary in the bottom corner. She was still guiding him through life, even though he was the pope!

        Pope John Paul II had a tender love not only for Mary, but for all women, because he believed they possessed a particular “feminine genius.” Think of it like woman’s intuition on steroids. He explained this once saying: “Perhaps more than men, women acknowledge the person, because they see persons with their hearts. They see them independently of various ideological or political systems. They see others in their greatness and limitations; they try to go out to them and help them” (Letter to Women, no. 12). By the way, that’s why women are adept at remembering birthdays and anniversaries, and they know who is related to whom in Fort Smith, and they watch soap operas, because all those things highlight persons and their inter-relationships. Many men, on the other hand, just see people as cogs in a machine to make money, whether they’re a good head football coach or not. Women immediately and instinctively see the spiritual side of a person, and that’s their feminine genius.

        The first reading today is a kind of “ode to women” taken from Proverbs 31, the great chapter describing the “ideal wife.” I believe Proverbs 31 could easily have been written by Pope John Paul II because both the pope and Proverbs are fascinated with the feminine. The lines I like the best from this chapter read: “She reaches out her hand to the poor, and extends her arms to the needy. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.” Notice how the ideal wife-woman “reaches out her hand,” which is how John Paul II imagined the Blessed Virgin Mary reaching out her hand to guide him through life when he held the rosary. And when the Proverbs wife-woman takes us by the hand, she teaches us not to be deceived by external charm or beauty but to see the spiritual side of people. That’s the genius of women.

       My friends, let me suggest three areas where we, like John Paul II, need the feminine genius to lead us by the hand. First of all, in not putting an inordinate emphasis on physical beauty and appearance. Obviously, we need to take care of our bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit, but we shouldn’t obsess over them. How many teenage girls suffer from bulimia or anorexia believing they are overweight when in reality they are underweight? Have you ever heard the expression, “He has a face only a mother could love”? Maybe so.  But if so, then we need a mother with her feminine genius to “reach out her hand” and teach us how to love all faces, not just the charming ones or the beautiful ones.

         Secondly, let the Church provide her feminine genius when you are facing complicated issues in life. How do we understand or think about same-sex marriage, or capital punishment, or immigration, or pro-life, or racism, or any number of other issues deeply divisive and difficult to discern? Turn to Holy Mother Church, to the feminine. Do you know what pronoun is used throughout the Mass to refer to the Church? The Church is not referred to as an “It” and it’s not “He,” and it’s not “They” and it’s not “All of y’all.” Rather, the Church is always “She” and “Her.” Why? Well, because the Church is the Bride of Christ, and she longs to teach us her feminine genius that she has learned from the Holy Spirit. Read what Pope Francis and Bishop Taylor write on these issues, and you will learn the feminine genius of the Church.

          And thirdly, do what that young bishop did walking around Rome: pray the rosary and hold Mother Mary’s hand. I’ve gotten into the habit of walking around the church offices while I pray the rosary each day. Sometimes I startle the staff as I suddenly appear around the corner, but I tell them, “Don’t worry, I’m praying for you.” By the way, I don’t suggest you pray the rosary while driving your car because it may cause drowsiness and a wreck. Some people pray the rosary while lying in bed, and if they fall asleep, their Guardian Angel finishes it for them. The important thing, though, is to see in Mary the epitome of the feminine genius, and let her “reach out her hand” to take yours and guide you. This should be the root of all sound Marian devotion.

          When our school children cross Rogers Avenue on the way to Mass, we teach them to hold hands, because it’s dangerous. My friends, we cannot make it through life without holding other people’s hands as well, because life is dangerous. But when you hold the hand of a woman, you also begin to learn their feminine genius, whether that woman is your wife, or Holy Mother Church, or the Blessed Virgin Mary. A woman’s hand can help you across Rogers, and across the Vatican, and across life, and she will guide you all the way to heaven.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Unknown Prometheus

Praying for wisdom in order to obtain divine friendship

11/16/2017

Wisdom 7:22B–8:1 In Wisdom is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, Manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain, Not baneful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly,Firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing, And pervading all spirits, though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle. For Wisdom is mobile beyond all motion, and she penetrates and pervades all things by reason of her purity. For she is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nought that is sullied enters into her. For she is the refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the image of his goodness. And she, who is one, can do all things, and renews everything while herself perduring; And passing into holy souls from age to age, she produces friends of God and prophets.

       If God miraculously appeared to you one day and surprisingly said: “Ask of me anything and I will do it for you,” what would you say? Imagine a divine genie popping out of magic lamp, like in the story of Aladdin. Some of us would say “I want to be rich and win the lottery,” which, by the way, really makes Uncle Sam rich. Others might say “I want to marry the most beautiful woman in the world.” Or would you ask for power and prestige? Or perhaps you’d ask for “world peace” like beauty pageant contestants commonly do.

        Well, someone was once given precisely this choice by God. Do you remember who that was, and on what occasion, and what he asked for? It was King Solomon on the night before his coronation as King of Israel. 2 Chronicles 1 records what Solomon wished; he said: “Give me, therefore, wisdom and knowledge to govern this people.” And God was exceedingly pleased with that answer and said: “Because this has been your wish – you did not ask for riches, treasures, and glory, for the life of those who hate you, or even for a long life for yourself, but you have asked for wisdom and knowledge in order to rule my people over whom I have made you king – wisdom and knowledge will be given you.” Then, suddenly, God goes on to give Solomon all those others things he had not asked for, too. How many people would ask for wisdom instead of wealth and women and the wonders of the world? The answer is obvious: what do most people spend their lives pursuing?

         The first reading today presents a virtual “ode to wisdom.” It’s reminiscent of a similar “ode to love” in 1 Corinthians 13, where St. Paul extols the wonders of love, saying, “Love is patient, love is kind, etc.” Scripture scholars traditionally ascribe the authorship of the book of Wisdom to Solomon. After all, God gave Solomon the great gift of wisdom, so he was eminently qualified to write such a book. My favorite part of this ode, is where Solomon says: “And passing into holy souls from age to age, she (Wisdom) produces friends of god and prophets.” In other words, wisdom helps us desire friendship with God above all natural, earthly goods. Because Solomon was wise, he was God’s friend. Divine friendship is the first and best effect of wisdom.

         So, you might be wondering: how do you get some of this wisdom? It’s simple: you ask for it like Solomon did. That is, pray for it. I like to pray with our Confirmation candidates every year before they receive the sacrament of Confirmation. I encourage them by saying: “Lots of people will give you gifts today because they are proud of you for taking this next step in your journey of faith with Jesus. Well, God, too, is proud of you, and He wants to give you a gift, a moment evocative of King Solomon’s coronation day. May I suggest you ask what that ancient king asked for, namely, wisdom?” Now, I’m not sure what they actually ask for, maybe they ask for no more acne on their faces, or to win the state football championship, or to get into medical school, or for world peace.

          One of the wisest philosophers of the last century, in my opinion, was Josef Pieper. He explained how the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, said wisdom must be sought first and foremost from God. Pieper opined: “[Plato] is also convinced that the ‘wisdom of the ancients’ is ultimately of divine origin: ‘Knowledge came down to us like a flame of light, as a gift from the gods, I am convinced, brought to us by the hand of some unknown Prometheus from a divine source – and the ancients, being better than we are, and nearer to the gods, handed this tradition down to us” (The Philosophical Act, included in Leisure the Basis of Culture, 129). Plato’s description of wisdom sounds strikingly similar to that of Solomon in the book of Wisdom. Both men sought wisdom and both enjoyed friendship with God.

          Next time someone asks you if you could have anything that your hearts desires, I hope you will now ask for wisdom before you ask for anything else. Indeed, if you listen very carefully, you’ll hear God is asking us this question all the time.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Midst of Misery

Being grateful even when you don’t feel like it

11/15/2017

Luke 17:11-19 As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, "Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!" And when he saw them, he said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan. Jesus said in reply, "Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?" Then he said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."

       Next week our nation celebrates Thanksgiving. I’d like to say a word about the origin of this national holiday because I believe it holds a powerful lesson for everyone, but especially for us Christians, and in particular for us here at Trinity Junior High, namely, giving thanks in the midst of misery. President Abraham Lincoln officially made Thanksgiving a fixed and perennial national holiday in 1863. But did you know that it wasn’t originally his idea? A lady named Sarah Hale, a 74 year old magazine editor wrote to President Lincoln saying, “You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have Thanksgiving held on the same day in all States; it now needs National recognition and authoritative fixation, only, to become permanently an American custom and institution.”

      But that’s not the really remarkable part of this holiday; rather, it’s even more amazing when this proclamation occurred, in 1863. Do you remember what ordeal the United States was undergoing from 1861 to 1865? Everyone in Mr. Jones and Mr. Bruce’s U.S. history classes better know the answer. Of course, the bloodiest war on American soil, the Civil War. What’s amazing to me is that even in the midst of misery, we stopped to give God thanks, not waiting until it was all over. Lincoln proclaimed: “We are prone to forget the source from which [blessings] come…No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gift of God Most High.” In other words, even though brother is killing brother in Appomattox, and Antietam and Gettysburg, we should still stop and thank God for his blessings, and beg him to bless us with peace and an end to war. It’s easy to give thanks when all’s going great; how hard to give thanks in the midst of misery.

       In the gospel today, it’s a Samaritan who sees the need to give thanks like Sarah Hale. There are actually ten lepers outside a village – they were forbidden from entering populated areas for fear of their contagious disease. All ten beg for mercy and healing and all ten are actually cleansed. But how many return to say thanks? Only one. In the midst of their misery they receive a blessing (although they don’t realize it until later on their way to see the priests) and only one stops to say thank you. The Samaritan realizes that God is with him, even when he’s hurting and helpless, and his heart is filled with gratitude. That’s what Sarah Hale tried to tell Lincoln: even in the midst of our national misery and our civil strife, we need to stop and say thanks to God. Why?  Well, because as Lincoln said, “we are prone to forget the source from which our blessings flow” like the other nine lepers did.

        I know some of you may feel you are in the midst of misery here at Trinity Junior High, with all our homework and uniforms and rules about socks and cellphones and tough teachers. Man, this is worse than the civil war or the lesions of leprosy! Even though some of you may be suffering, I’d like to give you the same advice that Sarah Hale gave to Lincoln: stop and give thanks. And I’d like you to say thanks to three people in particular.

         First, say thanks to your parents. Many of your parents are only able to send you to a Catholic school by making great personal sacrifices. Because everyone has to pay tuition, many parents have to work overtime, or two jobs, or they don’t take vacations, or they don’t buy new clothes or new cars. That’s what my parents had to do – and they reminded me about it regularly! I felt bad when they told me that, so I studied hard, knowing the sacrifices they were making for me. But do you know what I never did? I didn’t tell them thank you for sending me to a Catholic school, in the midst of my misery. But I should have. That would have meant the world to them that I appreciated their sacrifices, instead of being just a snot-nosed and selfish teenager, which is what I was.

        Secondly, say thank you to your teachers. And don’t just say thanks to the ones you like, the easy ones like Coach Meares or Mrs. Newman. That’s easy to say thanks to them. But also say thank you to the tough ones, like Mr. Bruce and Mrs. Marsh. Boys and girls, it’s a truism to say that you learn and grow the most when you struggle the mightiest. Thank those tough teachers in the midst of your misery; they are teaching you more than you realize.

         And thirdly, thank God. I’m afraid Lincoln was right when he wrote: “We are prone to forget the source from which blessings come,” and unfortunately, Thanksgiving today only means family and football and Friday shopping. But Thanksgiving should also mean faith, and taking time to say thank you to God. That’s one reason you come to Mass every week here at Trinity: to be like the Samaritan who knew God was with him in the midst of misery and said thank you. As you know by now, the word “Eucharist” comes from the Greek word meaning “thanksgiving.” In the midst of your misery here at Trinity, we stop and say “thank you” to God.  You will be like the Samaritan and Sarah Hale.

Praised be Jesus Christ!