Today's Readings
St. Paul’s point is that anything we give God, we first received from him, plus it was always his anyway. All things exist in him and for him and through him. If we give him something we made, he is the creator of the earth and all materials. If we give him an hour, he is the creator of time. If we give him ourselves, he is our creator. There is nothing that we can give him that will put him in our debt.
Jesus’ point is that God is willing to be in debt to us. The poor are God’s investment bankers. If you make a deposit with them, God will pay the loan back with interest. We do not give the poor money: we loan the poor money, and then God pays it back, tenfold or hundredfold. In this economy, it would be foolish to put your money in Treasury bills or the stock market. The only sure bet in this world is in giving it to the poor.
The goods of this earth were given to Adam by God. Since we are all equally the sons and daughters of Adam, we have equally inherited the goods of this earth. Some people are managing a great deal of the shared goods of the earth. Some people are managing only a very little. It is right and proper that some people manage a lot of the world’s wealth, but it is wrong when that wealth is used wastefully. It is good when the wealth is used to make this world a better place by growing something useful or building something worthwhile or inventing something better or creating something beautiful.
No one owns anything. If a man has a million dollars, then he is managing a million dollars worth of the earth’s shared goods. It is his duty to see to it that this portion of the wealth of the earth is distributed in a useful and fair way. He begins with himself and his family as he distributes the goods, then he distributes to those families who do not have enough. Each one of us is in charge of a portion of the world. It may be a small portion, but it was made by God, given to humanity, and entrusted to you. If you do well with it, God will be in debt to you, not by necessity but by his own choice.
Daily Homilies
October 30, 2011 - Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
When the power goes out, we realize how powerless we are. We flip the light switches, but nothing happens. Really, that small movement of our fingers does not in reality create light, but we forget that, until the power goes out. Have any of you ever been driving a car when the power steering goes out? It quickly becomes obvious how hard it is to control a 2-ton car. Two fingers on the wheel is not going to get the job done. How much more so when the car runs out of gas! You can press the accelerator all you want, but that car is not going anywhere.
Health is sort of like this too. We are walking along, when we are suddenly hit by a cold or the flu or a headache. It slowly becomes clear how much we depend on health. When I have a headache or a stomachache, I cannot think straight; I can barely hold a conversation, let alone any kind of polite conversation. We seem so powerful and independent, but then we realize how much we depend on electricity and gasoline and good health and so many other factors just to get through the day.
This principle holds true for the spiritual life. We do not realize how much we depend on the grace of God to get through the day, but if that grace were cut off, just for a few hours, we would be more in the dark than when the electricity is gone. I cannot imagine how many times my guardian angel has saved my life. I notice it occasionally in the close calls, when I almost kill myself by my own stupidity, but I would guess that it is a couple of times each day, at least.
And the supreme grace of God is the Holy Spirit, who is himself God. We Christians do not realize how much the Holy Spirit changes our lives. We look at the world 2000 years ago, and it seems pretty bad: violent and brutal and short, and then we attribute the change to our more modern sensibilities. Where did ideas like human rights and scientific progress come from? It is no surprise that these have all appeared in the last 2000 years, since the Holy Spirit was sent.
It is not as if we modern people are beyond cruelty and war. We need only look at those parts of the world where the Holy Spirit has not filled the hearts of the faithful, or even look at those places where the Holy Spirit was rejected and denied such as Germany in the 1930’s. People are worried now about the impending economic crisis or the impending climate crisis. What about the impending spiritual crisis? An entire generation is being raised in Western Europe and Canada without baptism.
This is the essence of humility: realizing the truth about how weak we really are; realizing how much we depend on God. We are not so independent as we suppose. It is easy to sit in the comfort of our well-lit homes, eating food from the fridge and thinking how very independent we are. Then the electricity is cut out, the gas is turned off, and the farmer stops selling us food. Now we are shivering in our dark homes, eating nothing and thinking whether we will survive.
God has to keep us in a certain balance. If he withdrew his grace too much, we would just die, but if he gave us everything, we would begin to think that we are doing just fine without him. If we want more from God, we should learn humility. Like a child on their mother’s lap, even so our souls are entirely dependent on God, so we should learn to have the kind of trust in God that a toddler has in their mother.
St. Paul clearly knew this. In this section from Thessalonians, he is relating how hard he worked when he was among them. He did not take his share from the collection, as would have been his right. He worked as a tentmaker by day and preached the Gospel by night, and preached the Gospel by day and made tents at night. He says this not to build himself up but to remind the Thessalonians how much he loved them.
Then, having said all this, he thanks God that his work was fruitful. He thanks God unceasingly that when he had preached the word, it did not fall on deaf ears. He thanks “God who is also working in you believers.” He recognizes that he worked hard, but God worked harder. He preached the word, but God gave the conversion. He flipped the switch, but God turned on the lights.
The prophet Malachi is reminding the priests of this reality. He tells them that unless they begin following the straight and narrow way of God, he will turn their blessings into curses. What is it really when a priest blesses? A movement of the hands and a few words. The power is coming from somewhere else. The power is coming from God, and he can shut off that power.
God has unlimited power available, unlimited grace. We only survive because of that share of grace that he gives us, and he wants to give us more: he can give us the grace to pick up a mountain and cast it into the sea; he can give us the grace to fly up to heaven and hear the angels singing; he can exalt us above all the nations, if only we will humble ourselves.
What benefit would any of these graces be to us if we were not humble? The scribes and Pharisees wanted to impress human beings with their holiness; they wanted the place of honor at feasts and synagogues; they wanted titles and respectful salutations. The problem with the scribes and Pharisees was not that they wanted too much but that they wanted to little. God is holding out in his hands the grace to make us like gods, and the Pharisees want a nice chair and a little respect.
What sort of grace is God offering us? The grace to be the greatest: “The greatest of you will be your servant.” Who are the greatest people on earth? Servants like Blessed John Paul II, who spent his life serving the Church, and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who served the poorest of the poor, and St. Maximilian Kolbe, who offered to die for another man. Ambition is no bad thing, but have the right ambition! Do not play around with small toys like honorifics and chairs. Make it your ambition to serve others with the strength and power of God, and you will discover that that power is unlimited. Human respect and awards will mean nothing in comparison.
When the power goes out, we realize how powerless we are. We flip the light switches, but nothing happens. Really, that small movement of our fingers does not in reality create light, but we forget that, until the power goes out. Have any of you ever been driving a car when the power steering goes out? It quickly becomes obvious how hard it is to control a 2-ton car. Two fingers on the wheel is not going to get the job done. How much more so when the car runs out of gas! You can press the accelerator all you want, but that car is not going anywhere.
Health is sort of like this too. We are walking along, when we are suddenly hit by a cold or the flu or a headache. It slowly becomes clear how much we depend on health. When I have a headache or a stomachache, I cannot think straight; I can barely hold a conversation, let alone any kind of polite conversation. We seem so powerful and independent, but then we realize how much we depend on electricity and gasoline and good health and so many other factors just to get through the day.
This principle holds true for the spiritual life. We do not realize how much we depend on the grace of God to get through the day, but if that grace were cut off, just for a few hours, we would be more in the dark than when the electricity is gone. I cannot imagine how many times my guardian angel has saved my life. I notice it occasionally in the close calls, when I almost kill myself by my own stupidity, but I would guess that it is a couple of times each day, at least.
And the supreme grace of God is the Holy Spirit, who is himself God. We Christians do not realize how much the Holy Spirit changes our lives. We look at the world 2000 years ago, and it seems pretty bad: violent and brutal and short, and then we attribute the change to our more modern sensibilities. Where did ideas like human rights and scientific progress come from? It is no surprise that these have all appeared in the last 2000 years, since the Holy Spirit was sent.
It is not as if we modern people are beyond cruelty and war. We need only look at those parts of the world where the Holy Spirit has not filled the hearts of the faithful, or even look at those places where the Holy Spirit was rejected and denied such as Germany in the 1930’s. People are worried now about the impending economic crisis or the impending climate crisis. What about the impending spiritual crisis? An entire generation is being raised in Western Europe and Canada without baptism.
This is the essence of humility: realizing the truth about how weak we really are; realizing how much we depend on God. We are not so independent as we suppose. It is easy to sit in the comfort of our well-lit homes, eating food from the fridge and thinking how very independent we are. Then the electricity is cut out, the gas is turned off, and the farmer stops selling us food. Now we are shivering in our dark homes, eating nothing and thinking whether we will survive.
God has to keep us in a certain balance. If he withdrew his grace too much, we would just die, but if he gave us everything, we would begin to think that we are doing just fine without him. If we want more from God, we should learn humility. Like a child on their mother’s lap, even so our souls are entirely dependent on God, so we should learn to have the kind of trust in God that a toddler has in their mother.
St. Paul clearly knew this. In this section from Thessalonians, he is relating how hard he worked when he was among them. He did not take his share from the collection, as would have been his right. He worked as a tentmaker by day and preached the Gospel by night, and preached the Gospel by day and made tents at night. He says this not to build himself up but to remind the Thessalonians how much he loved them.
Then, having said all this, he thanks God that his work was fruitful. He thanks God unceasingly that when he had preached the word, it did not fall on deaf ears. He thanks “God who is also working in you believers.” He recognizes that he worked hard, but God worked harder. He preached the word, but God gave the conversion. He flipped the switch, but God turned on the lights.
The prophet Malachi is reminding the priests of this reality. He tells them that unless they begin following the straight and narrow way of God, he will turn their blessings into curses. What is it really when a priest blesses? A movement of the hands and a few words. The power is coming from somewhere else. The power is coming from God, and he can shut off that power.
God has unlimited power available, unlimited grace. We only survive because of that share of grace that he gives us, and he wants to give us more: he can give us the grace to pick up a mountain and cast it into the sea; he can give us the grace to fly up to heaven and hear the angels singing; he can exalt us above all the nations, if only we will humble ourselves.
What benefit would any of these graces be to us if we were not humble? The scribes and Pharisees wanted to impress human beings with their holiness; they wanted the place of honor at feasts and synagogues; they wanted titles and respectful salutations. The problem with the scribes and Pharisees was not that they wanted too much but that they wanted to little. God is holding out in his hands the grace to make us like gods, and the Pharisees want a nice chair and a little respect.
What sort of grace is God offering us? The grace to be the greatest: “The greatest of you will be your servant.” Who are the greatest people on earth? Servants like Blessed John Paul II, who spent his life serving the Church, and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who served the poorest of the poor, and St. Maximilian Kolbe, who offered to die for another man. Ambition is no bad thing, but have the right ambition! Do not play around with small toys like honorifics and chairs. Make it your ambition to serve others with the strength and power of God, and you will discover that that power is unlimited. Human respect and awards will mean nothing in comparison.
October 29, 2011 - Saturday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
Jesus advice might not work. We could take the lowest spot, over in the corner, but what if no one ever comes to move us up? Also, it could lead to the same kind of hypocrisy as the Pharisees, worse even. Whereas the Pharisees wanted to sit in the best spot and were very explicit about this, Christians could fight for the lowest spot because it is the highest spot. We all want to be caught being humble when no one is looking so that we can be complimented on our humility.
Prescinding, then, from the question of whether this is actually good advice for a wedding banquet, we should consider it as advice for The Wedding Banquet: heaven. St. Luke calls it a parable, after all. What does it mean to take the lowest spot in the heaven? Well, there are two reasons for attending a wedding reception: to honor the couple being married and to enjoy the party. At one end of the spectrum is a wedding crasher, whether invited or not, who does not care about the couple at all. At the other end is someone, perhaps a saintly great-aunt, who attends purely to honor the couple. Most of us fall in the middle: we attend the wedding to honor the couple, but we are disappointed if the food is bad and the music unpleasant and the conversation boring.
So it is with heaven: do we want to go to heaven so that we can praise God forever or so that we can enjoy the delights of heaven? Saints do not want to go to heaven for their own sake, but many people do. For many people, heaven is a reward for having lived this life properly, but for a saint, heaven is where we finally begin to live properly.
One of the important first steps in spiritual maturity is realizing that not I but God is the most important being in existence. I hope heaven will be wonderful, and I know it will be, since God knows how to throw a party and he is very wealthy, but I want to go to heaven not because it will be great for me but because there I will finally praise God perfectly. I do not look forward, primarily, to the good food, and good music, and good company of heaven. I look forward to the good prayer and the good love. That is the lowest place, where there is no self-interest anymore. I want that, or, at least, I want to want that.
Jesus advice might not work. We could take the lowest spot, over in the corner, but what if no one ever comes to move us up? Also, it could lead to the same kind of hypocrisy as the Pharisees, worse even. Whereas the Pharisees wanted to sit in the best spot and were very explicit about this, Christians could fight for the lowest spot because it is the highest spot. We all want to be caught being humble when no one is looking so that we can be complimented on our humility.
Prescinding, then, from the question of whether this is actually good advice for a wedding banquet, we should consider it as advice for The Wedding Banquet: heaven. St. Luke calls it a parable, after all. What does it mean to take the lowest spot in the heaven? Well, there are two reasons for attending a wedding reception: to honor the couple being married and to enjoy the party. At one end of the spectrum is a wedding crasher, whether invited or not, who does not care about the couple at all. At the other end is someone, perhaps a saintly great-aunt, who attends purely to honor the couple. Most of us fall in the middle: we attend the wedding to honor the couple, but we are disappointed if the food is bad and the music unpleasant and the conversation boring.
So it is with heaven: do we want to go to heaven so that we can praise God forever or so that we can enjoy the delights of heaven? Saints do not want to go to heaven for their own sake, but many people do. For many people, heaven is a reward for having lived this life properly, but for a saint, heaven is where we finally begin to live properly.
One of the important first steps in spiritual maturity is realizing that not I but God is the most important being in existence. I hope heaven will be wonderful, and I know it will be, since God knows how to throw a party and he is very wealthy, but I want to go to heaven not because it will be great for me but because there I will finally praise God perfectly. I do not look forward, primarily, to the good food, and good music, and good company of heaven. I look forward to the good prayer and the good love. That is the lowest place, where there is no self-interest anymore. I want that, or, at least, I want to want that.
October 28, 2011 - Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles
Today's Readings
The manager of a professional sports team, whatever sport, chooses each player for some talent, something that person has to offer. This is true of every team, but how much more so of the All-Star team where salary and other considerations do not matter. The Apostles are Jesus’ All-Star team.
Today we celebrate the feast of Ss. Simon and Jude, about whom we know nothing except that Jesus chose them after spending the night in prayer. This would seem to be a resounding endorsement, except that Judas Iscariot also was chosen on that same day. It is a mystery why Jesus chose someone whom he knew would betray him, but it is also a mystery why he chose the other eleven. Why did he choose St. Peter, the uneducated fisherman, who would deny him? Why did he choose Thomas who would not believe until he saw? Why did he choose Andrew or James or John or Philip or Bartholomew or Matthew or the other James? Why did he choose Simon and Jude?
Though we know only Peter’s betrayal, that is because he is the head of the Apostles. All except John abandoned Jesus in his greatest time of need; all, including John, were sinners. Jesus chose to make use of these men, not because they were the best but because they were the right ones to lay a solid foundation for the Church. They did this, and for 2000 years the Church has survived and flourished.
And we are members of the household of God, the Church, built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the keystone, holding it all together. This is our image of the Church, not some organization or institution composed of human beings, fallen human beings. It is a work of art, the work of God’s own hands. It is built up through human beings, but it does not depend on any man. For every Judas, there is a Matthias ready to replace him. The Church does not need any member, no matter how important, except Jesus.
The Church is not a club we belong to; she is the instrument of our salvation. Not even the incompetence and sinfulness and wickedness of those who have been trusted with leadership in the Church weakens her. The strength of the Church is not in numbers or popularity. The strength of the Church is Jesus. Forming part of the Church, the small part that you and I each have, is a privilege.
The manager of a professional sports team, whatever sport, chooses each player for some talent, something that person has to offer. This is true of every team, but how much more so of the All-Star team where salary and other considerations do not matter. The Apostles are Jesus’ All-Star team.
Today we celebrate the feast of Ss. Simon and Jude, about whom we know nothing except that Jesus chose them after spending the night in prayer. This would seem to be a resounding endorsement, except that Judas Iscariot also was chosen on that same day. It is a mystery why Jesus chose someone whom he knew would betray him, but it is also a mystery why he chose the other eleven. Why did he choose St. Peter, the uneducated fisherman, who would deny him? Why did he choose Thomas who would not believe until he saw? Why did he choose Andrew or James or John or Philip or Bartholomew or Matthew or the other James? Why did he choose Simon and Jude?
Though we know only Peter’s betrayal, that is because he is the head of the Apostles. All except John abandoned Jesus in his greatest time of need; all, including John, were sinners. Jesus chose to make use of these men, not because they were the best but because they were the right ones to lay a solid foundation for the Church. They did this, and for 2000 years the Church has survived and flourished.
And we are members of the household of God, the Church, built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the keystone, holding it all together. This is our image of the Church, not some organization or institution composed of human beings, fallen human beings. It is a work of art, the work of God’s own hands. It is built up through human beings, but it does not depend on any man. For every Judas, there is a Matthias ready to replace him. The Church does not need any member, no matter how important, except Jesus.
The Church is not a club we belong to; she is the instrument of our salvation. Not even the incompetence and sinfulness and wickedness of those who have been trusted with leadership in the Church weakens her. The strength of the Church is not in numbers or popularity. The strength of the Church is Jesus. Forming part of the Church, the small part that you and I each have, is a privilege.
October 27, 2011 - Thursday of the Thirtieth week of Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
What does Jesus mean when he says that "it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem"? Many prophets died outside of Jerusalem throughout history. The translation could be improved to "it is not permitted that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem."
The first change from "impossible" to "not permitted" stresses that this is part of Jesus' mission. The Pharisees warn him to get out of town before King Herod kills him; Jesus is going to leave and go to Jerusalem, but because this is the will of the Father, not because King Herod wants to get rid of him. Jesus is telling them that he will leave town, but not because he is afraid. He is compelled to keep going until he reaches Jerusalem.
The second change from "die" to "perish" emphasizes that Jesus is speaking about being killed. Only Jerusalem is religious enough to kill a prophet. In another town, Jesus would have been welcomed or feared. Only Jerusalem has the capability to really understand his teaching and actually reject it. The Pharisees warn Jesus to leave before Herod kills him. Jesus will leave, not to escape death but to meet death on his own terms.
A third point, not an issue of translation but of nuance, is the use of "a prophet". Greek has no word for "a" so the text merely says "prophet". In English, the the sentence sounds like a general rule for prophets, but the original is open to something different.
Moses promised the Israelites that someday a prophet like him would come to teach them the will of God, to complete the work of Moses. None of the prophets of Israel had ever fulfilled this role. Not even the greatest, not Elijah or Elisha or Jeremiah nor any other prophet spoke with the authority of Moses as a man directly passing on the will of God.
The Torah ends by saying that this promise has never been fulfilled, that the Lord never raised up a prophet like Moses to whom he spoke face to face. Now Jesus is saying that he must go to Jerusalem because a prophet is not allowed to perish elsewhere. This is no general rule. Jesus is telling the Pharisees that he is the prophet promised by Moses, so he must go to Jerusalem to die.
Jesus is the prophet promised by Moses; he is the king promised to David; he is the priest promised in the psalms; he is the Son of Man revealed to Daniel; he is the son promised to Eve; he is the suffering servant spoken of in Isaiah; he is the just man prophesied in the book of Wisdom; he is the Lamb of God pointed out by John. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the New Testament is a covenant in his blood. He is not afraid of Herod. He is going to Jerusalem to die because that is the will of God. He going to Jerusalem to die because that was what we needed.
What does Jesus mean when he says that "it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem"? Many prophets died outside of Jerusalem throughout history. The translation could be improved to "it is not permitted that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem."
The first change from "impossible" to "not permitted" stresses that this is part of Jesus' mission. The Pharisees warn him to get out of town before King Herod kills him; Jesus is going to leave and go to Jerusalem, but because this is the will of the Father, not because King Herod wants to get rid of him. Jesus is telling them that he will leave town, but not because he is afraid. He is compelled to keep going until he reaches Jerusalem.
The second change from "die" to "perish" emphasizes that Jesus is speaking about being killed. Only Jerusalem is religious enough to kill a prophet. In another town, Jesus would have been welcomed or feared. Only Jerusalem has the capability to really understand his teaching and actually reject it. The Pharisees warn Jesus to leave before Herod kills him. Jesus will leave, not to escape death but to meet death on his own terms.
A third point, not an issue of translation but of nuance, is the use of "a prophet". Greek has no word for "a" so the text merely says "prophet". In English, the the sentence sounds like a general rule for prophets, but the original is open to something different.
Moses promised the Israelites that someday a prophet like him would come to teach them the will of God, to complete the work of Moses. None of the prophets of Israel had ever fulfilled this role. Not even the greatest, not Elijah or Elisha or Jeremiah nor any other prophet spoke with the authority of Moses as a man directly passing on the will of God.
The Torah ends by saying that this promise has never been fulfilled, that the Lord never raised up a prophet like Moses to whom he spoke face to face. Now Jesus is saying that he must go to Jerusalem because a prophet is not allowed to perish elsewhere. This is no general rule. Jesus is telling the Pharisees that he is the prophet promised by Moses, so he must go to Jerusalem to die.
Jesus is the prophet promised by Moses; he is the king promised to David; he is the priest promised in the psalms; he is the Son of Man revealed to Daniel; he is the son promised to Eve; he is the suffering servant spoken of in Isaiah; he is the just man prophesied in the book of Wisdom; he is the Lamb of God pointed out by John. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the New Testament is a covenant in his blood. He is not afraid of Herod. He is going to Jerusalem to die because that is the will of God. He going to Jerusalem to die because that was what we needed.
October 26, 2011 - Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
Jesus was asked a direct question, “Will only a few people be saved?” The question is central to our existence. Is heaven just for the few really good people, while the mass of humanity is damned to hell, or is hell just for the few really bad people, while the mass of humanity makes it to heaven? We are inclined now to believe that the vast majority make it to heaven. Some have even been so bold as to suggest that perhaps everyone makes it to heaven.
There is really no reason for favoring the optimistic or the pessimistic view of salvation. As for Jesus, he chose not to answer the question. He simply instructs the one asking to “strive”. Perhaps, if he had answered, we would give up trying either way. If he said that nearly everyone makes it to heaven, people would not try very hard to get in. If he said that almost no one makes it, then most of us would not even bother trying.
Instead he simply tells us to strive. We should not feel that salvation is either easy or impossible. Each person should consider that getting into heaven will be difficult, but never completely out of reach. Jesus then goes on to emphasize that no matter how hard it is to get into heaven, the alternative is worse. No one in heaven will ever say, I wish I had not tried so hard, but many who do not make it will wish they had put in the extra effort.
It is not so hard, after all, to be good. It easier for us to be bad, to follow the path of least resistance, but it really is not that difficult to be good, or rather, it is impossible to be good, but it is not that difficult to try. If we try, really try, then the Holy Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. If we try to pray, the Holy Spirit will pray within us. If we try to be good, the Holy Spirit will be good within us. If we try to love God and our neighbor, the Holy Spirit will love within us. If we try to get to heaven, the Holy Spirit will make it happen. If we do not try to get to heaven, we probably should not expect to go there.
Jesus was asked a direct question, “Will only a few people be saved?” The question is central to our existence. Is heaven just for the few really good people, while the mass of humanity is damned to hell, or is hell just for the few really bad people, while the mass of humanity makes it to heaven? We are inclined now to believe that the vast majority make it to heaven. Some have even been so bold as to suggest that perhaps everyone makes it to heaven.
There is really no reason for favoring the optimistic or the pessimistic view of salvation. As for Jesus, he chose not to answer the question. He simply instructs the one asking to “strive”. Perhaps, if he had answered, we would give up trying either way. If he said that nearly everyone makes it to heaven, people would not try very hard to get in. If he said that almost no one makes it, then most of us would not even bother trying.
Instead he simply tells us to strive. We should not feel that salvation is either easy or impossible. Each person should consider that getting into heaven will be difficult, but never completely out of reach. Jesus then goes on to emphasize that no matter how hard it is to get into heaven, the alternative is worse. No one in heaven will ever say, I wish I had not tried so hard, but many who do not make it will wish they had put in the extra effort.
It is not so hard, after all, to be good. It easier for us to be bad, to follow the path of least resistance, but it really is not that difficult to be good, or rather, it is impossible to be good, but it is not that difficult to try. If we try, really try, then the Holy Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness. If we try to pray, the Holy Spirit will pray within us. If we try to be good, the Holy Spirit will be good within us. If we try to love God and our neighbor, the Holy Spirit will love within us. If we try to get to heaven, the Holy Spirit will make it happen. If we do not try to get to heaven, we probably should not expect to go there.
October 25, 2011 - Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
“Brothers and sisters: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.” I have no trouble believing that the little ways I have suffered in my life will be forgotten in the face of the glory of heaven. My sufferings are largely forgotten in the face of a bowl of ice cream. Honestly, like all people, I live on the razor’s edge: everything could go wrong tomorrow, but for now, in this moment, I live a very pleasant life.
But then I consider these words being read in the lives of other people in this world and other times. I consider how these words sound to a child growing up in Somalia right now. I consider how these words sounded when read in Auschwitz. I consider how these words sounded in a medieval town where nearly everyone had died of the Black Plague. How can those sufferings be nothing compared to the glory that is to come?
For the sufferings of the present life to be nothing, the successes also must be nothing, this whole life must be nothing when compared to the life to come. It is like a video game where the character suffers and dies, and that is nothing, because winning is also nothing, because a video game is nothing compared to real life. It is like a 6th grader who breaks up with her boyfriend and cries and screams and experiences real suffering, and that is nothing, because the relationship really was nothing compared to what was coming in her life.
Truly, the girl experiences real suffering. It is not something to be laughed off. Truly, the person who lost the video game might be really upset. The authenticity of the emotions and the experience is not the question. It is a question of perspective: video games do not matter; dating in middle school does not matter. For St. Paul’s statement to be true, the glory to come has to be such that the life we are living now does not matter, in perspective.
I cannot see this glory now. I can only grasp it with hope. Hope tells me that this life, with its sufferings and successes, is really nothing, an illusion, like a video game or middle school. This life only matters because how I live determines whether I ever see that glory.
There is an ad campaign now about bullying, by adults, telling middle school and high school students that “it gets better”, which is true and false. Can you imagine if the Saints in heaven ran an ad campaign telling us, “it gets better”? It is, kind of, what Jesus did.
“Brothers and sisters: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.” I have no trouble believing that the little ways I have suffered in my life will be forgotten in the face of the glory of heaven. My sufferings are largely forgotten in the face of a bowl of ice cream. Honestly, like all people, I live on the razor’s edge: everything could go wrong tomorrow, but for now, in this moment, I live a very pleasant life.
But then I consider these words being read in the lives of other people in this world and other times. I consider how these words sound to a child growing up in Somalia right now. I consider how these words sounded when read in Auschwitz. I consider how these words sounded in a medieval town where nearly everyone had died of the Black Plague. How can those sufferings be nothing compared to the glory that is to come?
For the sufferings of the present life to be nothing, the successes also must be nothing, this whole life must be nothing when compared to the life to come. It is like a video game where the character suffers and dies, and that is nothing, because winning is also nothing, because a video game is nothing compared to real life. It is like a 6th grader who breaks up with her boyfriend and cries and screams and experiences real suffering, and that is nothing, because the relationship really was nothing compared to what was coming in her life.
Truly, the girl experiences real suffering. It is not something to be laughed off. Truly, the person who lost the video game might be really upset. The authenticity of the emotions and the experience is not the question. It is a question of perspective: video games do not matter; dating in middle school does not matter. For St. Paul’s statement to be true, the glory to come has to be such that the life we are living now does not matter, in perspective.
I cannot see this glory now. I can only grasp it with hope. Hope tells me that this life, with its sufferings and successes, is really nothing, an illusion, like a video game or middle school. This life only matters because how I live determines whether I ever see that glory.
There is an ad campaign now about bullying, by adults, telling middle school and high school students that “it gets better”, which is true and false. Can you imagine if the Saints in heaven ran an ad campaign telling us, “it gets better”? It is, kind of, what Jesus did.
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