Motivational Speaker

Inspiring each other to holiness

Hebrews 10:24-25

 Brothers and sisters:  We must consider how to rouse one another  to love and good works. We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.

 

Mark 4:21

 Jesus said to his disciples, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?

             One of the perennial problems all people face is motivating others to action, to inspire people to do something they would not otherwise attempt.  For instance, a young man tries to inspire a young lady to fall in love with him (I gave up on that a long time ago!).  Parents must motivate their reluctant children to eat their broccoli.  And pastors have to get their congregations to come to church.  A recent Pew Research Poll said about 30% of Catholics attend Mass on Sunday; we’re doing much better here at I.C. – we’re up to 35%!!  In fact, there’s an entire industry of “motivational speakers” to address precisely this problem.  I always remember the Saturday Night Live parody of a motivational speaker by Chris Farley, who “lived in a van down by the river.”  Of course, his life and behavior completely undermined his self-improvement speech.  How do we motivate others?

             This is exactly the question that the Letter to the Hebrews poses.  It says, “We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works.”  In other words, motivation is also a Biblical motif.  In the gospel, Jesus gives us the best way to inspire others, namely, by our example.  He asks rhetorically, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?” That is, what matters most in motivating is our actions more than our words, and avoiding Chris Farley’s character who believed: “Do as I say, not as I do.”

            It’s kind of funny, but some people look at me as a motivational speaker!  A lady will come into the church office and ask, “Father John, can you come talk to my teenage son?  He’ll listen to you.”  Or, a man will come in and ask, “My wife is driving me crazy!  Will you come speak to her?”  I want to ask them: “Do I look like I live in a van down by the river???”  So, instead of trying to change the troubled teen or the wild wife, we talk about changing ourselves – both my visitor and me – so that we can be a lampstand giving light to all in the house.  You see, our example of patience, temperance, prayerfulness, cheerfulness, humility and courage do much more good than countless motivational speeches.

             I have a dear friend who doesn’t drink alcohol and she doesn’t drink coffee and she doesn’t watch Saturday Night Live.  She has motivated me to be more temperate than hundreds of theology books and thousands of fiery sermons.  Thank you for being my lampstand.  And not my motivational speaker.

            Praised be Jesus Christ!

Talk about Taxes

Avoiding arguing from authority

 Mark 4:1-8

 On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him  so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables,  and in the course of his instruction he said to them,  “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,  and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.  Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it  and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

             One thing I learned from studying St. Thomas Aquinas was that the argument from authority is the weakest form of reasoning.  Of course, that’s what I just did, isn’t it, by invoking the authority of St. Thomas for that statement!  One day, John Adams was preparing a speech and asked his wife, Abigail, to read it and see what she thought.  She noticed he quoted a lot of people in the speech, and observed: “You don’t have to quote great men to be a great man.”  In other words, state your case clearly and concisely and avoid arguing from authority.  Have you ever argued with your kids and in frustration finally blurted out: “Because I said so!”  How did that go over?  Like a lead balloon, I bet.  Even children know that the argument from authority is the weakest, especially your authority.

             In the gospel today, Jesus shows us another way to argue, really the best way to teach, namely, through parables based on people’s experience.  You remember the parables about sewing clothes, and herding sheep, and paying taxes – everyone has that experience!  So today, Jesus' point percolates through another parable, scattering seeds and waiting for the harvest.  At some point, we’ve all seen seeds either grow or not grow because of weather or predators.  You see, appealing to common human experience is the best way to persuade people, to teach them.  Now, to be clear, Jesus was the one Person who could have blurted out, “Because I said so!” -- Jesus is the source of all authority -- but he resorted to that only rarely.  Jesus preferred to preach and persuade through people’s experience, and avoided arguing from authority.

             When we take experience seriously – both our own and other people’s – we learn a great deal.  Experience is a wise teacher; sometimes she's brutal, but she's always the best.  This is the great appeal of Pope Francis.  His teaching is not so elevated and erudite that only philosophers and theologians can understand, but rather it’s accessible to all because he takes experience seriously.  He also wants to learn from other people’s experience – even from that of immigrants and divorcees and homosexuals – because there’s something we need to learn from their experience.  When you speak to your children, share your own experiences: of going to school, about dating, landing your first job, and of course about paying taxes!  And don’t worry if your experiences are successes or failures, some of the most important lessons we learn at the hands of defeat.  “You don’t have to quote great men in order to be a great man.”  That was said by Abigail Adams; it's okay to quote great women.

            Praised be Jesus Christ!

Reign in Hell

Choosing to gaze upon Jesus

Hebrews 10:1-2

Brothers and sisters: Since the law has only a shadow of the good things to come,  and not the very image of them, it can never make perfect  those who come to worship by the same sacrifices that they offer continually each year.

 Mark 3:31-35

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house. Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him. A crowd seated around him told him, “Your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside asking for you.” But he said to them in reply, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking around at those seated in the circle he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

             Joyce Kilmer, the American poet, is only remembered for one poem – he was a one hit wonder, like people who only write one book.  The poem was called “Trees,” and many students memorized it in grade school.  Can you recite it with me?  “I think that I shall never see, A poem as lovely as a tree.  A tree whose hungry mouth is prest, Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast; A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray.  Upon whose bosom snow has lain, Who intimately lives with rain.  Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.”  Catchy, ain’t it?  Kilmer wants to contrast poems, which are just clever conjurings of our contemplation (our imagination), with trees, which are real and true and solid.  The difference between a poem and a tree is the same as the difference between a shadow and the tree that casts it.  Maybe that’s why Kilmer wasn’t very good at poems: why stare at the shadow when you can gaze upon the real thing?

             Today’s Scriptures also caution us about confusing the shadow with the reality.  Hebrews says, “The law has only a shadow of the good things to come and…cannot make [us] perfect.”  That is, the law is like a shadow, but Jesus is the Law on two legs, the Law-giver himself, the reality, who alone can make us perfect.  Stop staring at the shadow and gaze upon the real thing.  In the gospel, Jesus’ family stands outside the house waiting for him, and he asks, “Who are my mother and brothers?” And he answers his own question, like I do at school Mass because I’m afraid of what the kids might say!  He says, “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”  In other words, human families are like a shadow of the divine family – those who do God’s will.  Don’t confuse one with the other; keep your eyes on what’s real, not its shadow.

             Joyce Kilmer is not the only one tempted to write poems instead of look at real trees – we all tend to live in the make-believe world of our minds instead of in reality.  Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “We all begin to believe our newspaper clippings,” and think we’re smarter or holier or more beautiful than we really are.  And if we don’t believe that about ourselves, we certainly think that about our children!  We take the shadow over the reality.  Satan, the tragic hero of Milton’s Paradise Lost, said, “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, and a hell of heaven.”  And he would boldly go on to declare: “Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven!”  He preferred the shadowy hollows of hell to the sunlit heights of heaven.  Ask yourself today and everyday: “Do I choose to stumble in the shadowlands of my imagination, or rather choose to gaze upon Jesus, he who alone is the way, the truth and the life?"  It’s a choice we face every day.

             “Poems are made by fools like me, But only God can make a tree.”  Be careful: you may be a poet and don’t even know it.

             Praised be Jesus Christ!

A High Premium

Welcome and Invocation at Grandparents’ Day

            My parents taught me to place a high premium on making other people feel welcome.  When someone comes into your home, they said, you put them at ease and relaxed, rather than make them feel uncomfortable or awkward.  We found this same warm welcome when we first arrived in the U.S. at the local Catholic school, St. Theresa’s in Little Rock.  I started there in 5th grade and immediately felt like part of the school family, even though “I probably talked with an Indian accent like this," like the guy "Raj" from Big Bang Theory.  Even though I’ve lost my accent, I haven’t lost the friends I made at that Catholic school; they are still my best friends today.

             You will find that same warm welcome at every Catholic school, especially here at I.C.  The original meaning of the word “catholic” is “universal,” or put more practically, it means “where everyone is welcome.”  Yesterday at brunch, I sat with our new family from Japan, Mr. and Mrs. Kurihama.  The dad, Ryuuichiro, explained that his name, “Ichiro” means “first born son.”  Then he asked me, “Do you know the New York Yankees?  They have a player named ‘Ichiro.’  But the funny thing is that he’s the second son in that family, not the first.  We don’t think he’s really Japanese!”  So, now you can impress your friends at cocktail parties – and that’s just another benefit of Catholic schools!  I hope the Kurihama’s feel like family in this Catholic school in Fort Smith, just like the Antony’s felt like family in that Catholic school in Little Rock.

             We’re happy to kick off Catholic schools week by welcoming our grandparents: we want you to feel at ease and relaxed.  You’ll be pleased to know that your grandchildren attend a school that places a high premium on people feeling welcome.  “Catholic” doesn’t mean cookie-cutter conformity, where everyone looks and acts the same, but rather a rich diversity, as wide as the whole world itself, welcoming Indians and Japanese and Japanese wanna-be’s.  Let’s pray:

             Heavenly Father, you sent your Son into the world not to save a few people, but to save many.  Indeed, “you desire that all men and women be saved,” (1 Timothy 2: 4).  Bless all Catholic schools that they be a concrete expression of your universal love, where everyone feels warmly welcome.  We ask this through Christ, our Lord.  Amen.”

The Good Stuff

Finding the good stuff in church

Hebrews 9:11-14

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,  passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands,  that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary,  not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own Blood,  thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes  can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed,  how much more will the Blood of Christ,  who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

             Where do you find the proverbial “good stuff,” where you live life at its fullest and finest?  Some suppose it’s found on a quiet beach, watching the waves, others at a Disney vacation, wearing Mickey ears, still others say it’s when you bag a 10-point buck.  Kenny Chesney sings about a man who walks into bar and says, “I’ll have the good stuff.”  But surprisingly, the bartender doesn’t reach for the whiskey or gin, and replies, “You can’t find that here.”  He explains, “Cause it’s the long first kiss on a second date, Momma’s all worried when you get home late, And droppin’ the ring in the spaghetti plate, Cause your hands are shakin so much.  And it’s the way that she looks with the rice in her hair. Eatin burnt suppers the whole first year, And askin for seconds to keep her from tearin up.  Yeah, man that’s the good stuff.”  In other words, you don’t find the good stuff at the bottom of a bottle, but at the bottom of your heart, when you fall in love.  Love is the good stuff.

             The first reading from Hebrews also answers the question about where you find the good stuff.  Hebrews says, “Christ came as the high priest of the good things that have come to be.”  Jesus is the high priest of the “good things,” that is, of the really good stuff.  And I’m sure there’s some Protestant church out there called, “The Church of the Good Stuff.”  Protestants have all the catchy names!  But Hebrews goes on to explain that this spiritual good stuff is really Jesus’ Blood, that “cleanses our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.”  The good stuff – really the best stuff – is Jesus’ Blood, always waiting for us in the Eucharist, where we worship the living God, under the form of bread and wine.  You see, Catholics find the good stuff not in a local bar, but in their local parish, where they walk into Mass every Sunday and say, “Give me the good stuff.”

            My favorite line in the Mass comes at the end of the 3rd Eucharistic Prayer.  Yes, there are 4 different Eucharistic Prayers, some shorter, some longer.  It’s not always the priest’s fault when Mass goes long!  The last line of the 3rd Eucharistic Prayer reads, “May we praise and glorify you for ever through him from whom all good things come.”  At that moment in the Mass the good things, the good stuff, sits at my finger tips.  I have a dear friend who started going to Adoration for an hour a week when her life was most hectic.  Her husband complained, “How can you go to Adoration now when you don’t have any time?!”  She replied, “Now is when I need to go to Adoration more than ever!”  She knew where to find the good stuff.  In the early Church, Christians were accused of being drunkards because people smelled wine on their breath early in the morning.  Those accusations were exactly true: they had gone to Mass and received the Body and Blood of Christ, and were drunk on the Holy Spirit.   They knew where to find the good stuff.

            Chesney ends his song like this: “When you get home she’ll start to cry.  When she say, ‘I’m sorry,’ say ‘So am I.’ And look into those eyes so deep in love. And drink it up.  Cause that’s the good stuff.”  You know, we drink some pretty good stuff at home, but we drink the best stuff here at Mass.

            Praised be Jesus Christ!

Flash and Hulk

Treating names with love and respect

Mark 3:13-19

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles, that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons:

He appointed the Twelve: Simon, whom he named Peter; James, son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder; Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

            When I was in grade school, we used this little saying a lot.  We said: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”  What do you think that means?  It means that if you call me a name that doesn’t hurt as much as hitting me with a stick or throwing a stone at me.  But is that true?  Does it hurt when someone calls you a name?  Of course it does, it hurts me, too.  And calling someone a name can hurt more than breaking their bones.  We should always be very careful with the names we call people.

            Sometimes, we can use nicknames in good humor and in fun.  You may know that Fr. Jason Sharbaugh, the pastor of St. Boniface Church, lives at the rectory with me.  He’s a good friend of mine, and we have nicknames for each other.  He calls me “Flash” because I like to run on the treadmill a lot, and I call him “Hulk” because he likes to lift weights a lot.  You don’t want to see him when he gets angry.  Sometimes, we sit around and wonder who’d win if Flash ever got into a fight with the Hulk.  How many of you think Flash would win?  How many of you think that Hulk would win?  Of course Flash would win!  Flash could punch Hulk in the nose and run away before Hulk knew who hit him!  But we should always use nicknames with love and respect, never as a way to hurt someone.  Our nicknames show that we are good friends.

             In the gospel today, Jesus calls his 12 apostles, and gives some of them nicknames.  Do you know how many apostles Jesus gave nicknames to?  Only to three of them: Simon, James and John.  What was Simon’s nickname?  It was Peter, which in Greek means “Rock.”  Jesus would build his Church on the rock of St. Peter.  Jesus gave Simon that nickname as a sign of his love for him.  What nickname did Jesus give to James and John?  They were called “Sons of Thunder” because of their impetuous personalities, and because Jesus loved them.  Jesus did not give nicknames to the other 9 apostles.  These three – Peter, James and John – would be Jesus’ very closest friends, and those nicknames were a sign of his love and affection for these three apostles.

            Boys and girls, the names we use for other people are precious and we should treat their names and nicknames like we’re holding gold in our hands.  For example, one way you show respect to adults is by calling them by their last name: “Mr. Mondier,” “Mrs. Frala,” “Mrs. Blentlinger,” “Fr. Antony.”  To call an adult by their first name is disrespectful and hurtful.  I sometimes mention people’s names in my homilies, but I always do something before I use their name.  Do you know what it is?  I ask their permission. A person’s name is precious and I should treat it like gold.  I asked Fr. Jason Sharbaugh if I could talk about him this morning before Mass started.  He said to tell you that Hulk would definitely beat Flash in a fight!  Always treat people’s names with love and affection, even their nicknames.

            “Sticks and stone may break my bones, but names will never hurt me.”  That’s a catchy grade school saying.  But it’s not true.

            Praised be Jesus Christ!

Apologia Mafioso

Praying for an end to abortion

Hebrews 7:25—8:3

          Jesus is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them. It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:  holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.

            I’m going out on a limb here, and want to suggest there’s something we can learn from mafia movies. If you can see beyond all the money-laundering, and murders, and mafia hit men – and that’s not easy to do! – you find a hidden treasure, namely, an unbreakable and beautiful family bond. That’s why Luca Brasi paid Don Corleone a touching compliment when he said: “Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your home on the wedding day of your daughter. And may their first child be a masculine child.” I wish I had a better Sicilian accent! And that’s why the worst sin that Michael Corleone ever committed was the execution of his brother, Fredo. Michael even has to go to the pope to seek forgiveness. You see, in the world of the mafia, they get a lot of things wrong – pretty much everything – but they do get one thing right: family always comes first. To care for your family is noble; to harm your family is unforgiveable.

            In the first reading, the Letter to the Hebrews says that for God, too, family always comes first. Listen to this line: ‘For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.” In other words, there’s something higher than human laws (and even higher than Old Testament Levitical laws), and that is family life. And Jesus comes to teach us that family always comes first, not only on earth but also in heaven, where he is the eternally begotten Son of God. As Luca Brasi wished, “May your first child be a masculine child.” Scott Hahn went so far as to say God is the truest family, while our human families are like shadows of the divine family. He wrote, “God is not ‘like’ a family. He ‘is’ a family. From eternity God alone possesses the essential attributes of a family, and the Trinity alone possesses them in their perfection” (First Comes Love, 43). In other words, family comes first on earth, but even far more so, Family comes first in heaven.

            This is why the Church has designated today, January 22, as a Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. As you know abortion became legal in the U.S. on January 22, 1973 with the Supreme Court decision “Roe vs. Wade.” This past Sunday prolifers gathered in state capitals to pray for respect for life, especially that of unborn babies. My friends, I am convinced that protection of the unborn is not just one issue among others of equal weight and moment, but rather THE foundational issue facing our country and our culture. Why? Put simply: we have not made family come first. We have created human laws that can trump a higher law, namely, that unbreakable and beautiful family bond. But what's worse is that abortion strikes not only at the heart of humanity, but also highly offends heaven, where Family always comes first. Today, we pray fervently for the repeal of laws that allow abortion, and heaven prays for that, too, and so does Luca Brasi.

Praised be Jesus Christ