Homily for Third Sunday of Advent (Year B)

The readings for Third Sunday of Advent (Year B) May be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121320.cfm

In this third week of Advent, we recognize Gaudette Sunday, when we wear pink and allow ourselves to celebrate a little, the joy and hope we have because of what God has done for us through Jesus.  Our color and our mood reflect - just a little - the bright light that is to come.

In today’s gospel we’re told that John was sent by God to testify to that light.

 

In all four gospels, John the Baptist appears at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry as one who prepares the way for Jesus.  

But that wasn’t the only reason that John stood out.

We know from scripture that John lived in the wilderness, wore camel hair clothing and fed himself on locusts and wild honey, like someone you might see on a survival program.  On those shows, the goal is to survive - to be resourceful and to prove yourself strong and worthy and to challenge yourself.

But John wasn’t living to prove anything about himself.  John came to testify to the light and to help others prepare for the coming of Jesus.  

Because of the way John lived, the way he carried himself, the message he shared - people wondered who he was - and the priests and Levites asked him directly, “Who are you?”  And his response couldn’t have been more clear.  He was sent by God to be a witness to testify to the light.  His whole purpose, his whole reason for being, much like the disciples yet to come, was to make Jesus known to the world.  

John’s voice was one of hope. 

Now, we may not think of it this way, I mean our clothes, grooming and food choices are different than John’s, thankfully, but we’re not supposed to be very different from him.  

We’ve been placed here by God just as John was - to testify to the light and to prepare the way for Jesus.  

Like John, our role - all of ours - is to bring people to Christ.  

Does that mean we need to stand on the street corner with a sign or go door to door or monopolize every conversation with talk of scripture, no.

What we’re called to do is to try and live our lives in a way that people will be able to know through us - that our faith in Christ makes all the difference.  

To express our faith in a joyful, grateful way.  To talk about our faith.  To invite others to learn more about our faith.  To live in a way that brings hope.

I once heard someone say that hope doesn’t make life easy - it makes life possible - and i think that’s true.

Especially in times like these, hope reminds us that it won’t always be like this.  There is light coming.

Now hope doesn’t just happen.  Hope takes practice.  Practice could mean to rejoice - especially when it’s hard; to pray without ceasing - especially when we don’t want to and to give thanks in all circumstances - especially when all we want to do is complain. 

Hope is a way of approaching our day and how we do things.  It’s a way of seeing and hearing and it allows us to know Christ better.   It also has a way of rubbing off on those around us. I mean, would you rather be around a hopeful, thankful person or a miserable person who only points out the bad?  

Hope might not change the circumstances of our life, but it does change us - and in the process changes everything.  

It makes us a better witness and it allows us to better testify to the light and to better prepare the way for Jesus as John did.

The fact is, we give a witness to the light, to our faith in Jesus Christ every single day in our actions and our words.  What kind of witness do we give? 

The pink candle on our Advent wreath is lit - only one purple one left.  Jesus is coming.

How well prepared will he find his way when he gets here?

Homily for Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A

The readings for the Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) May be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102520.cfm

All of our theology and preaching, in one way or another comes back to the same basic message of God’s love for us - in fact, love is why we were created in the first place.  

In today’s gospel, Jesus tells us that if we love God and our neighbor, everything else falls into place.

We know that as Catholics we are supposed to love God, but that doesn’t always happen.  We get busy.  We lose track of what’s really important.

As we race through our busy lives, do other people even know we’re Catholic?  I’m not talking about Mass or with church friends where we know how to speak, act, dress and look Catholic.  I’m talking about whether we live our lives in a way where it is obvious to people, by our actions that we are followers of Christ.

To live a life like that, God must be at the center of it.

God must be at the center, because we can only truly love and serve others when our relationship with God is right first.

The simple fact is that we can’t be Catholic if we don’t love God and love our neighbor.

It’s easy for us to love those neighbors who think like we do, look like we do and who do the things we agree with, but what about the ones we may not know or who find fault in everything or never have a good word to say about anyone?  Is that the one we must love?  Is that our neighbor?  We may not want to hear this, but the answer is yes.

Having a love for our neighbor is based on our love for God.  If we say we love God and don’t love our neighbor, we‘ve got it wrong.  

Now, you might say, “How can I love my neighbor when they do the things they do?”  Their front yard could be filled with political signs.  They may refuse to wear a mask or imagine this, they may fly a New York Yankees flag or something else that we find disagreeable.

The answer is we can only love them as God loves us, wanting better for them and expecting nothing in return. 

The great Cristian writer, C.S. Lewis’ words about humility capture what it’s like to love with the love of God when he wrote, “it is not about thinking less of yourself, it is about thinking of yourself less.” 

To truly love others, we need to see the image of God in them. We must get it through our head that each person is valuable in God’s sight, no matter how they look, no matter who they are, regardless of whether or not we agree with what they do.

When we treat each other with that same kind of love, when we see the potential rather than what’s superficial, when we give the benefit of the doubt rather than assuming the worst possible motives, we are loving like Jesus does.

Now, this isn’t always easy. Sometimes people are hard to love. 

The good news is that we know Jesus perfectly kept the Law on our behalf, and died for us to show God’s love. He knew that the greatest command of all is love. He loved others, and still loves us. Because of that, we can share His love with those around us, no matter what they might say or do to us. And when that seems hard, we can ask God to help us. 

Let’s do that now.

Dear God,

Thank you for your commandments,

Help us to remember that to love you and our neighbor is your greatest command,

Help us to share your love with those around us and to love like you do, especially when it is hard to do it,

And thank you for your love, Amen.

Homily for Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time - Year A

 

The readings for the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) May be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082320.cfm

What’s the most important question in life?

If you’re a student and you just finished an important exam, that question might be “Did I pass?”

If you’re single and in love, the most important question in your life might be “Will you marry me?”

If you’re doing a Keto diet, that question might be, “Are there many carbs in that?”

If you’re very sick and just got test results back, the most important question might be, “Doctor, am I going to live?” Or “Doctor, how much time do I have left?”

There are lots of important questions.

In today’s gospel, the first question Jesus asks is “Who do the crowds say I am?”  Or to paraphrase, who does the world say I am?

We might answer, “Well, Lord, they think you’re a great guy and teacher, a good model for us, a healer, a reformer, an optimist, a very spiritual person right up there up there with Abraham, Moses, Muhammad, Confucius and Buddha.”

You can almost imagine Jesus smiling compassionately at this.  

When it comes to our eternal souls, it really doesn’t matter who the world says Jesus is, does it?

The world’s opinion doesn’t count.  It might apply some peer pressure, but it just doesn’t matter.

Then comes the most important question in life - the most important question of all.  

Jesus asks, “Who do you say I am?  Talk about being put on the spot.

Six simple words, not one of them having more than three letters.

But on the answer to that question “Who do you say I am?” hangs everything - 

the direction of our life, our attitude towards life, how we act, what we say, what we hope for, how we love and the salvation of our souls.

If Jesus were to ask us,  “Who do you say I am?”  

How would we respond?  

We might say, “Lord, I’ve never really thought about it.” 

If we are Christian, Catholic, if we gather around His table, that can’t be our answer.

We might answer, “Lord, I think lots of things about you, but you’ve kind of put me on the spot here, can I have a bit of a think and get back to you?” 

Really?  Especially, since Jesus has already revealed to us who He is and who we are as members of His Church.

Or - We can give the right answer, the one given by Peter.

We can answer, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God

You are my Lord and Savior 

You are the way, the truth, and the life

You are God from God, light from light, true God from true God, 

begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father, from whom all good things come.

You know me better than I know myself, 

you love me so much that you died for me, 

you rose from the dead and want to spend eternity with me,

That’s who you are, Jesus, my Lord, my God, my all.

That’s the right answer.  That’s how Peter answered. 

That’s how Peter answered and the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church was founded on the rock of his faith.

Now the answer we give - matters.  It matters big time in our lives, both now and for all eternity.  

How we live, what we say, what we choose, how we treat ourselves and how we treat others. 

“Who do you say I am?” The most important question of all. 

Lord Jesus, please give us your grace and strengthen our faith and help us to answer with certainty, without hesitation and as confidently as Saint Peter did. 

Homily for Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

The readings for the Seventeenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year A) May be found at:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/072620.cfm

Behind the altar, there’s a little room called the Sacristy.  And in that room, there’s a needlepoint in a little frame hanging on the wall.  Now for those of us that aren’t familiar with needlepoint, it’s a kind of art made by stitching yarn through a stiff open wave piece of canvas.  

Yep, I totally had to look that up.  Anyways.

Needlepoint can show an artistic scene, some kind of design or sometimes, show meaningful words or a quote.  

Needlepoint is a labor of love.  

It’s not easy to make and it’s hard to see what the end result will be while it’s being made.

But if done right, it’s beautiful when it’s done.

This one, in particular, has words on it.

The words say,  “Work for the Lord.  The pay isn’t great, but the retirement plan is out of this world.”

As I reflected on today’s gospel, I kept seeing that needlepoint.

Jesus again is using one of his parables, his way of hiding treasure and making you search for it.  

He teaches about a man who becomes aware of a hidden treasure, buried in a field that doesn’t belong to him.  The treasure was earned by someone else.

But after this man stumbles across it, he recognizes its great value and he decides he has to have it and joyfully goes after what he wants.

Likewise, Heaven, Faith, a right relationship with God are treasures whose values we can’t even begin to understand, much less put a value on.  

And they’re hidden to many of us most of the time to be honest.  This world doesn’t make it easy for us to keep our focus where it should be.

Now, this treasure is not something we can earn, heaven, especially.  It was earned by someone else.  Salvation is a gift, pure and simple, that was made available to us because of the great cost Jesus paid for us when he suffered and died on the cross.

The kingdom of God, that incredible treasure is possible because our Lord gave everything to save us.  

We may not have earned it, but it’s right there for the taking.  

But it costs.  A lot. 

And we can’t cover the cost with forty five minutes a week on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday.

Getting our hands on that treasure, requires us to make a choice...to make many little choices each day and to do so joyfully and with love in order to get it.

But do we make those choices? 

Do we take time to pray each day?  Do we pray when we wake up?  Even a simple prayer to thank God for another day, for the breath in our lungs. 

Do we go to a regular sacramental confession?  Yes, this means telling your sins to Jesus in the presence of a priest and being sorry for your sins and intending not to do them again.  

Do we love people?  Do we do it only when it’s easy or when we want something from them in return?  Or do we love selflessly and sacrificially?

This doesn’t mean we have to give our literal life like Jesus did, but it often does mean that we need to die to our own wants and needs sometimes for love of other people - especially those in need and those that at times, can’t give us anything in return.

Do people know we are Christians?  Do they know it because of our license plate or because we wear a cross or because we shake our fingers at them, scolding them about something they shouldn’t be doing.  

Above all, do we have a  personal relationship with Jesus and do we try to strengthen it on a daily basis?  Do we talk to Him?  If so, what do we say to Him?  Do we stop talking and turn off the noise so we can listen to what he has to say to us?

God wants us to be happy.  He wants us to have nice things.  What he doesn’t want is for those things to get in the way of our relationship with him.  Much like the treasure that was buried in the field - hidden to keep it safe, that is exactly what we cannot do with our faith and our relationship with Jesus.  It is not meant to be hidden.  We are meant to go after them with great joy.

Being a Christian is not always easy, in fact, sometimes it can be really hard.  The pay may not always seem like much when we work for the Lord.

But If we live in a right relationship with God and we do so with joy, the retirement plan is out of this world - literally.

Reflecting On One Year As A Deacon

On May 18, 2019, I was ordained as a Permanent Deacon for the Diocese of Fall River along with eight classmates.  After being ordained at Holy Mass, each of us knelt before the bishop who placed the Book of the Gospels in our hands while speaking these words, “Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe, and practice what you teach.”  As I reflect on my first year as a deacon in the Catholic Church, I ponder these words and reflect on the challenges, surprises and blessings that this year has brought.

The challenges of this first year have come as I have tried to meld my life as a deacon with that of husband, father, brother, son and executive.   The free time is there, but am I spending it in the right place and on the right things?  Answering that question thoughtfully, is often a challenge for me.  

Further challenges were brought as I was assigned to a parish different than the one my family had known and loved for many years.  This assignment then expanded within one month of my arrival, when my new parish was combined with two other parishes as a collaborative, neither of which had a deacon.  The parishioners of the collaborative were welcoming and wonderful, if a bit mistrusting in what the new collaborative structure would mean for them and their home parishes.  Next came the unexpected departure of a beloved pastor, who was also the moderator of our collaborative, followed by a continued uncertainty as to whether he would return.  Next came the pandemic which changed all of our lives and how we worship, if only temporarily.  I am currently awaiting the arrival of the locusts, though I am told they are not expected until next year.  When I reflect on these challenges, it seems unbelievable that they all would have taken place in the first year of my diaconate journey.

As for surprises, I could not be more humbled with the vulnerability, strength, faith, appreciation, selflessness, sense of service and love shown by the people of our collaborative.  To be able to share in their joy, their sadness, their lives and to see how quickly they would accept me into them has been surprising and rewarding and I am so grateful for that.  One thing I did not learn in formation, but certainly did in my first year as a deacon was that people will say things to you, that they will not just say to anyone and in some cases may not say to anyone else in their lives.  The request for a blessing, the request for a prayer, the chance to share a hurt, a regret, a long pondered, troubling question, a complaint that they prefer not to communicate directly to father, the list goes on.  I am continually surprised by the trust and great care they show to me.

In terms of blessings, it has been a source of great joy to welcome many new children into the church through the Sacrament of Baptism.  It has been fulfilling to reflect on the Gospel and preach on a regular basis, in a voice sympatico with our priests, but with the tone of a deacon, with one leg in the world and one leg in the church.  Presiding over wake services and Funerals outside of Mass has been a tremendous blessing.  To serve as an emissary of Christ, to bring comfort and peace to a  family in this context may very well be our most rewarding service as a deacon. To serve regularly at Holy Mass, to pray, preach and act as an Ordinary Minister of Communion and to preside at Holy Hours have also been tremendous blessings.

Reflecting on the words of the bishop from last May, I pray that I can become an even better, more useful herald of the Lord.  I commit myself to love people to the best of my ability and to be the person God’s people need me to be, praying with and for them through challenges, recognizing the surprises that this life brings to all of us and cherishing the blessings our God so desperately wants us to have.  I am grateful to serve as a deacon and ask for your prayers for me to be more closely aligned to Christ the servant as this journey continues.

Homily for First Sunday of Lent - Year A

The readings for the First Sunday of Lent (Year A) may be found at:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/030120.cfm

Temptations are all around us, aren’t they?  

As we heard in today’s gospel, even Jesus was tempted. 

Now, these temptations took place in what was a time of preparation for Jesus.  

His forty days in the wilderness happened right after he was baptized by John The Baptist in the Jordan, when the Spirit came upon Him and God’s voice was heard saying, this is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased.  

This time of preparation is what we hear about as we celebrate the First Sunday of Lent.  

Lent is a preparation for what God calls us to – holiness – to love Him and to love others and to do it in a public, sacrificial way.  In this time, we will be tempted.

Thankfully, we have a savior that knows what it is like to be tempted. 

He was tempted by the devil, just like we are.

But what is temptation?  Is temptation, sin?  No.  Temptation is not sin.  

Think of it this way, temptation is like a bridge that leads to sin. 

Whether we sin or not comes down to whether we cross that bridge of temptation or not.

But the bridges that lead to sin are everywhere, aren’t they?  

Gluttony, pornography, illicit sex, masturbation, pride, profanity, materialism, hurting others for our own benefit, the list goes on and on.

We live in a culture where we’re told we can get what we want when we want it. And the devil knows this.  He knows our weaknesses and he uses them. 

It was no different with Jesus.

The devil said to Him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

The devil begins by using the word “If” – If you are the son of God.

The devil knew Jesus was God’s Son. 

But he starts by planting seeds of doubt.

If he can make us doubt our relationship with God, then maybe, we’ll act as if we have none. 

And then comes the temptation.

Was the devil’s first temptation of Jesus really about eating bread?  Not really.  

The devil could have said, “Aren’t you his beloved son in whom He is well pleased? If that’s true, why would He starve you in the wilderness?  Why should you be hungry?”

The point of this temptation is not about hunger - it’s about trying to get Jesus to distrust His Father.  And so it is with us.

The devil says, take this into your own hands.  You can fill your emptiness - you deserve it.

Instead, Jesus shows His absolute confidence in God. 

That’s the lesson. Trust in God.  God will not fail me. I will trust Him. I won’t grab my own satisfaction, I won’t fulfill my selfish desires. I will wait for God. 

The devil hears Jesus’ response and uses it against him – the devil is tricky – he does that.  So, you trust God do you?  The devil take Jesus to the holy city and says “If you are the Son of God throw yourself down” – let’s prove that God will not fail you.

But the devil wasn’t done.  The devil takes Jesus to a high mountain and  gives Him a view of all the world’s kingdoms. 

Essentially, he says, I’m offering you what God offers you - only better.  The world is your oyster and you can have it all without the pain of the cross.  Just compromise yourself.

The devil whispers this to us all the time.  You know what you want, hey, you’re a good person, you work hard, you sacrifice, you deserve it and too often, we cross that bridge from temptation to sin and turn our back on God.

The devil tells us to get while the getting is good.

But for Jesus it was clear; submitting to sin and the easy path, without the cross was turning away from God, the one who wants what’s best for us.  

We have that same choice. 

One of the blessings of having Jesus as our Savior is His ability to comfort and aid us when we are tempted.  

He knows what it’s like.  

He’s sympathetic, and can provide mercy and grace to help, 

if we pray to him, 

if we find quiet time to listen to him, 

if we seek him out in adoration, 

if we follow his path in the Stations of the Cross, 

if we are properly disposed to be in communion with Him in the Eucharist.

In this time of Lent, this time of preparation.  

Let us be mindful of the path that we are on, 

the cross that we must bear 

and the glorious salvation that awaits us 

if we don’t give into temptation and stay true to God,

Choosing Him over what is quick and easy and short lived.

Applying Sacramental Grace & Charity to our personal relationship with God

A few minutes ago, we talked about how to nurture charity through the sacraments.  To review quickly, what we talked about.

God calls us to Charity.  

In order to nurture that charity that God calls us to - we need Grace.

Grace is a free gift from God.  

Jesus instituted the sacraments to give us a special kind of grace called sacramental grace that we need in order to nurture Charity.  

This is power that comes directly to us from Jesus Christ.  Just like when He asked in the scriptures while in a large crowd of people, “Who touched me?  I have felt my power leave from me.” His power comes through to us in the sacraments.

While all sacraments give us sacramental grace, there are two in particular that we should participate in regularly in order to be able to grow in the virtue of Charity.

These sacraments are the Eucharist and Penance.

Doing so, when properly disposed helps us to grow in the theological virtue of charity.

As a reminder, we’ll go back to the Catechism for a definition of charity.  It says, “charity" is "the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God". 

We all caught up - I think that’s where we left off last.

Charity is all about love for God - not because of what he can give us - but because of who He is and to love those around us - whether they love us or not because that is what God calls us to do.  

We are the body of Christ.  

We are His hands and feet and we can affect people in a positive way for Him, if we love him enough.  

He doesn’t expect us to do this on our own - remember, he doesn’t give us something he wants to do without giving us the tools we need to do it.

It doesn’t mean it’s easy, but it does mean that he knows what’s best for us and gives us what we need to give the best for us and for his children.

Now, if a critical part of the theological virtue of Charity is to love God above all things for His own sake - and that’s not easy to do because of the way we’re wired as human beings to seek comfort - to always be on the lookout for what we want - not necessarily what he wants for us - in order to love God above all things for his own sake, we need to cultivate a close, personal relationship with God.  We need grace to do this - but grace can’t do it alone - we need to make an effort too.

As human beings, we’re wired to seek love and to be in relationship.  And many of us have many relationships that we’re in.  

Some are business relationships, some are personal relationships, some are familial relationships, some are romantic relationships.  In all relationships, most of us want to have a closer relationship with people. Some are good - some are not so good.

Sometimes, we struggle to get into a close relationship with people and relationships can be messy - especially people who we may not always get along with or who don’t care for us very much.  

But God calls us to be in relationship with people.  

The definition of Charity says, we need to love our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God - it doesn’t say to love the neighbors who love us - it says to love our neighbors - for the love of God - not because we are good but because God is good and we are called to love him above all things.  Not easy to do.

Now in most close relationships that we’re in - we spend time together, we do things together, we talk, we listen and we get something from these relationships.  We crave closer relationships. And we want a closer relationship with God, don’t we? I think we do.  

And in pursuing a closer relationship with God, if we’re honest, I think we can agree that it can be a little frustrating - that’s right - I said, it - it can be a little frustrating to be in relationship with God.

Why?  Because we want something back from our relationships, we want it to be tangible, we want it to be immediate, we want to do something and see its results, we want something back, we want the person we are in relationship to reciprocate - usually, right there and then.

We want someone to listen, but we want someone to talk to as well and it can be hard because we can get frustrated with what we see as God’s silence.  

I think that we expect, if we are in relationship with God is that he will do something dramatic in our lives in response to the attention that we show Him.  

Something like speaking from a cloud, or showing us a sign that he is listening or answering our prayers on the spot - almost to prove his credentials to us - like - if you loved me I would see you do this or that.  We’ve been in relationships with people like that - maybe we’ve even been that person. In Latin they call that Quid Pro Quo.

But God typically doesn’t work that way.  God wants to be loved and even in a sense “courted” – which means that we can’t be passive partners in the relationship.  We need to pursue God as we would the people we love.

So as we make our way through these last weeks of ordinary time before Lent, yep - Lent is coming, fast and furious, I share a few steps or actions we can take – in no particular order – that can help us maximize the the grace we receive to draw closer to God.

Does that sound ok?  OK, so let’s start his list - there happens to be 10 of them.  There probably should be more of them, but 10 seems like a popular number for a list - so, here we go.

In order to draw closer in relationship to God, we first need to start by listening to him.  Faith, Hope and especially charity isn’t a 12-step method to get a certain result. It’s not an algebra problem that needs to be “solved.”  It’s a love affair. As with a spouse or anyone we are in relationship with - the most important thing we can do is to be present and listen.  This requires an investment of time and focus. And that’s something we struggle with sometimes - investing time and focus for the benefit of another - not ourselves.  

Being impatient or pretending to listen definitely doesn’t work with your spouse or the person you are in relationship with - so, if it doesn’t work with another human, why would it work with God?  

God calls us to love him above all.  We can’t fake it - we have to listen - we have to respond - we have to be in it.  And that’s not easy to do sometime. But if we want to be in closer relationship with God we need to be present and listen.

If we want to be closer to God, the second thing we can do is to cultivate silence.  Yep, that’s right I said silence. Silence is something that can really make us uncomfortable sometimes isn’t it?  We don’t like to be silent - we always need the music on or the television on in the background or to be talking to someone.  I resemble that remark.  

But the simple truth is that God does not yell - he whispers.   We can’t listen when our world is filled with noise. The Christian writer, C.S. Lewis often said that noise is the music of hell.  Those things that we choose to distract us – keep us diverted from focusing on the main questions of life: Why are we here? What does my life mean?  Is there a God, and if so, who is he, and what does he ask of me?  

To be in a closer relationship with God, we need to make time to be silent so that we can focus on Him and so that we can hear what he has to tell us - and He has a lot.

So, to be in closer relationship with God we need to be present and listen and make some time to be silent.

Another way, that we can develop a closer relationship with God is to seek humility.  Humility is to the spirit what material poverty is to ou physical person - it purifies us.  Life and the way we live sometimes can be crazy. Humility is the beginning of sanity.  

We can’t really see – much less love – anyone or anything else when our egotistical self is in the way.  When we finally, really believe in our own sinfulness and unimportance, many other things become possible: repentance; mercy, patience, forgiveness of others.  Sacramental grace can help to foster this, but we need to approach in a spirit of humility and in sacrificial love. Despite what our society tells us - It’s just not about us.

So, to be in closer relationship with God we need to be present and listen and make some time to be silent and we need to approach Him with a spirit of humility.

Next, to be closer to God, to have a stronger relationship with Him we need to be honest.  Complete honesty is only possible for a humble person. The reason is simple. The most painful but important honesty - is telling the truth to ourselves about our own motives and our own actions.  The reason honesty is such a powerful magnet is because it’s so rare. Modern life is too often built on the marketing of half-truths and lies about who we are and what we deserve and we market ourselves sometimes, don’t we?  I know I do.  

Many of the lies that are told are well-intentioned and not even very harmful — but they’re still lies.  

Scripture praises the honest woman and man because they’re like clean air in a room full of smoke.  Honesty allows the mind to breathe and think clearly. In order to have a closer relationship with God we need to operate from a place of honesty.  He knows who we are - He knew us before we even did - it’s no use - be honest.

So, to be in closer relationship with God we need to be present and listen and make some time to be silent and we need to approach Him with a spirit of humility and honesty.

The next thing we need to do to grow closer in our relationship to God is to seek to be holy - to grow in holiness.  Now, Holy does not mean nice or even good, although truly holy people are always good and often – though not always — nice.  Holiness means “other than.”  

It’s what Scripture means when it tells us to be “in the world, but not of the world.”  And this doesn’t just miraculously happen. We need to choose and seek holiness. God’s ways are not our ways.  Holiness is the habit of seeking to conform all of our thoughts and actions to God’s ways.  

There’s no cookie-cutter model of holiness, just as piety can’t be reduced to one particular kind of prayer or posture.  What’s important is to love the world because God loves it and sent his Son to redeem it, but not to be captured by its habits and values, which are not godly.

So, to be in closer relationship with God we need to be present and listen and make some time to be silent and we need to approach Him with a spirit of humility and honesty and seeking holiness.

Next - if we want to be in closer relationship with God we need to pray. Prayer is more than just that portion of the day when we petition God about what we need and what he should do.  Real prayer is much closer to listening, and it’s intimately tied to obedience.  

Now, God wants to hear what we need and love and fear, because these things are part of our daily lives, and he loves us.  But if we’re doing the talking, we can’t listen. Note too, that we can’t really pray without humility which we talked about before.  Why? Because prayer requires us to lift up who we are and everything we experience and possess to God. Pride is too heavy to lift.  

We need to pray and cultivate a prayer life that grows over time.  

If we are still praying now the way we learned to when we were eight or ten or twelve years old, that’s not going to do it.  Prayer needs to evolve - prayer needs to strengthen and mature over time. Just like any relationship, we need to be present and to listen.  This kind of reminds me of the movie Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino when Uma Thurman is sitting in a diner and is asked by John Travolta whether she “Listens or waits to talk.” We need to pray and prayer isn’t always about talking - sometimes it’s about listening.

So, to be in closer relationship with God we need to be present and listen and make some time to be silent and we need to approach Him with a spirit of humility and honesty and seeking holiness and pray.

Another thing we need to do to build a closer relationship to God is to read.  Now, I’m not talking about reading just anything - I’m talking about reading Scripture, which is the living Word of God.  When we read God’s Word, we encounter God himself. Scripture is essentially a love letter written to us by God - the Catholic Church wrote the Bible - so it’s unfortunate that the Protestant’s have their version of it and refer to it most often - but a good, Catholic bible is an important book to have in your bookshelf and more importantly - in your hands.  

Now, you don’t read the Bible from cover to cover, it’s not really meant to be read that way - but open to a page some time - at random - commit to reading that page and reflecting on it - asking God what he wants you to take from it.  Approach it with humility and listen for him to respond. But even beyond the Bible, there’s plenty more to read. There’s J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Scott Hahn, the Saints, the Doctors of the Church, the Popes and so many others – these were deeply intelligent and powerful writers whose work nourishes the Christian mind and soul, while also inspiring the imagination.  

Reading also serves another, simpler purpose: It shuts out the noise that distracts us from reflection.  We can’t read good Catholic material and take Netflix, YouTube or Prime seriously at the same time. And that’s a very good thing.

So, to be in closer relationship with God we need to be present and listen and make some time to be silent and we need to approach Him with a spirit of humility and honesty and seeking holiness and pray and read.

Another thing we need to do is to believe and act.  

Nobody “earns” Charity - nobody earns Grace.  It’s a free gift from God. But we do need to be willing and ready to receive it.  We can discipline ourselves to be prepared. If we sincerely seek truth; if we desire things greater than this life has to offer; and if we leave our hearts open to God — then one day we will believe, just as when we choose to love someone more deeply, and turn our hearts sincerely to the task, then sooner or later we usually will.  Feelings are fickle. They’re often misleading. We need to be grateful for our emotions as God’s gifts, but we also need to judge them in the light of common sense. Falling in love is only the first taste of love. Real love is both more beautiful and more demanding than the early days of a romance. For better or for worse - its more than just words.  

Being in relationship is about really being in it - doing the mundane things, doing the boring things, doing the unselfish things, doing the hard things, doing the loving things and doing them and doing them and doing them - day after day.  

Especially, when it comes to relationship with God - there usually isn’t a “road to Damascus” style conversion - that doesn’t happen to most people, - and not even St. Paul stayed on the road very long.  Why? Because in revealing himself to Paul, Jesus immediately gave him something to do.  

We know and more deeply love Jesus Christ - by doing what he tells us to do.

In the real world, feelings that last follow actions that have truly mean something.  

The more sincere we are in our discipleship, the closer we will come to Jesus Christ.  This is why the Emmaus disciples only recognized Jesus in “the breaking of the bread.”  

Only in acting in and on the virtue of charity, does our love for God and for others become fully real.  So, if we are going to be in relationship with God we need to believe and then we need to act. The virtue of Charity helps is to deepen this close relationship with God.

So, to be in closer relationship with God we need to be present and listen and make some time to be silent and we need to approach Him with a spirit of humility and honesty and seeking holiness and pray and read and believe and act.

Another thing we need - in order to be in a close relationship with God relies on how we love others.  Nobody makes it to heaven alone. I saw a meme earlier this week, that I really liked and that drove this point home.  It was a simple black background with white letters and it said this, “When you arrive in heaven, I wonder if Christ might say, because of you - others are here today.  Wanna meet them?” Can you imagine? The point is that we all need friendship and community.  

A friend of mine who’s been married for a very long time likes to say that at the heart of a good marriage is friendship.  I believe that. My wife Karen and I met at Freshman Orientation at Southeastern Massachusetts University back in June 1986.  We were best friends for years before we were ever romantic with each other. And after twenty five years - and not to brag, but there is still romance - at the heart of our relationship is an unselfish love and friendship.  Every successful marriage is finally about a deep and particular kind of friendship that involves honesty, intimacy, fidelity, mutual sacrifice, hope and shared beliefs. This is true in Christ’s marriage to his bride the Church and this is true in any successful marriage between two people.

Every successful marriage also is a form of community.  Even Jesus needed these two things: friendship and community.  The Apostles were not simply Christ’s followers; they were also his brothers and friends, people who knew and supported him in an intimate way.  All of us as Christians need the same two things. It doesn’t matter whether we’re a religious, layperson, deacon or priest, single or married. Friends are vital.  Community is vital. Our friends both express and shape who we are. Good friends sustain us. Bad friends undermine us. And that’s why they’re so decisive to the success or failure of a Christian life.

So far - to have a closer relationship with God - strengthened by the sacramental grace that feeds the theological virtue of charity - we’ve heard that we need to be present and listen and make some time to be silent and we need to approach Him with a spirit of humility and honesty and seeking holiness and pray and read and believe and act an love others in the form of friends and community.

And finally, the big, big and most important finale - more important than all the things we have talked about in the last several minutes, is the same two sacraments of Penance and Eucharist that we talked about earlier this morning.  

Both are the most powerful way to have a closer relationship with God strengthened by the sacramental grace that Penance and the Eucharist - when we are properly disposed to them - gives us.  These sacraments lead us directly to God.

God makes himself available to us every week in the confessional, and every day in the sacrifice of the Mass.  Sometimes people give up because they do not hear God - because they think God is not paying attention - because he is perceived as being silent.  But this makes little sense when our churches are made silent by our own absence and indifference. We’re the ones with the cold hearts – not God.

God is never outdone in his generosity.  

He loves us more than we realize.

He waits for us in the quiet of the tabernacle.  

He loves us and wants to be loved wholeheartedly in return.

So - to have a closer relationship with God - strengthened by the sacramental grace that feeds the theological virtue of charity - we’ve heard that we need to be present and listen and make some time to be silent and we need to approach Him with a spirit of humility and honesty and seeking holiness and pray and read and believe and act and love others in the form of friends and community and participate regularly in the sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance.

That’s quite a list - and it sounds like a lit - but if take just a step at a time, just like anything else - these things build upon one another and Jesus gives us the sacramental grace that strengthens the virtue of charity in us and brings us closer to the Father - to His Father - to Our Father.

Our God is a selfish God.  He wants the best for us. And for us to have the best for us - we need to love Him and and his people.  If we’re willing to give that love, strengthened by the virtue of Charity - all the things we’ve just talked about can draw us into closer relationship with God.