Author: Fr. Scott Hurd

They are the best of times and the worst of times, explained a bishop in paraphrase of Charles Dickens. He wrote those words while he struggled with cancer, and not long before he died. They were the worst of times, he said, because of the physical pain, anxiety, and fear with which he struggled. But they were the best of times because of the peace he came to enjoy through God’s grace.

The bishop described how, just one day after publicly announcing his impending death, he presided at a communal anointing of the sick at a parish church. In his homily, he preached that when facing serious illness or any other difficulty, we as Christians need, first and foremost, to put ourselves completely in the hands of the Lord. We must believe that the Lord loves us, embraces us, and never abandons us, especially in our most difficult moments. It is this faith, he explained, that will give us hope in the midst of life’s suffering and chaos. Then he quoted words from today’s gospel: “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart. Your souls will find rest, for my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

This was one of his most cherished Scripture passages. It also happens to be a favorite passage of mine, and perhaps it’s one of yours too. It sounds very comforting and soothing- almost too good to be true! At the same time, Jesus’ words also seem to present us with a contradiction. This is because most people, including myself, don’t associate “rest” with a “yoke.” When I think of a yoke, the first image that comes to mind is that of sweaty oxen laboring to pull a plow across a muddy field- not a very refreshing or relaxing picture! Therefore, we need to ask ourselves: Just what did Jesus mean by his “yoke?”

To answer this question, we need to understand that most of the first-century Jews in Jesus’ audience believed God to be distant, unknowable, mysterious, and impersonal. Coupled with this image of God was the understanding that following him involved the keeping of 613 very specific commandments. These elaborate rules, created by the Pharisees, were often called the “yoke of the Law,” for pretty obvious reasons. To the everyday person back then, it was a cumbersome and heavy burden to bear. It must have been physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting.

Two thousand years later, things haven’t changed very much. As they did in Jesus’ time, some people today believe God to be distant, impersonal, or uncaring. They pray, but they don’t receive the answer they expect; they suffer, and conclude that God doesn’t care; they search for God, but their eyes aren’t yet open to his revelation. Other people have been “turned off” from following God, especially as a Catholic Christian, because they think it’s mostly about keeping a bunch seemingly endless rules and regulations.

Thankfully, Jesus’ words speak to us today just as much as they spoke to people back then. You see, the yoke Jesus invites us to wear isn’t a list of rules handed down by an impassionate God. Instead, the yoke Jesus refers to is Jesus himself! In other words, he is asking us to yoke ourselves to him. Because it’s only when we’re united with him that we’ll find the refreshment and rest that he promises, and that we long for. To quote the bishop we heard of earlier, “The ‘rest’ (Jesus) offers us comes from adopting and living each day his attitudes, his values, his mission, his ministry, his willingness to lay down his very life- in whatever circumstances we find ourselves.”

It’s important to stress that Jesus didn’t say that he would take away our burdens. What he did promise was to help us carry them. In other words, Jesus is saying is that if we yoke ourselves to him, the burdens we have will become lighter, because he will help us bear the load. In fact, Jesus has already taken the load from us. On the cross he took upon himself all of the suffering and agony of a broken humanity that we might be redeemed and healed. Today he invites us to add our burden to that load, so that it will be his strength, and not ours, that will bear it up. Think of it this way: A yoke joins a pair of oxen together and makes them a team. When we’re yoked with Jesus, he pulls our load alongside us, offering us the grace of hope, courage, and perseverance.

This was the experience of the dying bishop during his final days. The spreading cancer filled him with a pervasive fatigue that seemed to increase with each passing day, forcing him to spend most of his time lying down in bed. Nevertheless, he was filled with peace. He had come to know- perhaps more then than he’d never known before- that he was in the hands of the Lord: a Lord who shouldered his burden, a Lord who shared his suffering, and a Lord who waited to take him home to a place where his burdens would be no more. It’s as St. Catherine of Siena once said: “If we wish to have peace, we must rest our heart and soul with faith and love in Christ crucified. Only then will our soul find complete happiness.”

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/070311.shtml

Photo Credits: normanak, opensourceway, audreyjm529 via Creative Commons

If Jesus were a genie in a bottle, and granted each one of us three wishes, I wonder what we’d ask him for. I suspect that many of us might ask for things that would make our lives easier.

But Jesus, of course, isn’t a genie. We can and should ask him for things, but he isn’t obligated to grant our wishes. Jesus does give us things. But they don’t always make our lives easier. Instead, Jesus gives us things to make our lives better. And sometimes there’s a big difference between easier and better.

We see this in today’s gospel, I think. A paralyzed man was brought to Jesus, and our typical reaction is to think that he probably wants to walk more than anything else! But we can’t see into another’s heart, and Jesus can. In that man’s heart Jesus saw fear- which is why he told him to have courage. Jesus also saw a need for forgiveness- which is why he pardoned his sins. Jesus knows that living life with courage and inner peace- even if one is unable to walk- is much better than limping along with fear and guilt.

Yes, Jesus did eventually heal the man- in order to prove a point to his critics. But we aren’t Jesus’ critics; we’re his friends. And the point he proves to us is that his gifts to us may not always be what we want; they may not be things we think we need; they won’t necessarily make our lives easier. But they will always make us better people, because Jesus knows what is best. A genie won’t do that! But thankfully, Jesus is no genie. Instead, he is our Lord.

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/063011.shtml

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The older I get, the harder I find it to stay asleep through the whole night. Squawking birds, rumbling trucks, flushing toilets, the dog pacing downstairs- something’s always waking me up. So I find it hard to imagine Jesus sleeping on a rocking boat in the midst of a violent storm. Perhaps he was really tired. Or maybe we’re to understand Jesus’ peacefulness in the midst of chaos as a contrast to the panic of his disciples. They had freaked out. But they wouldn’t have done so, according to Jesus, if only they’d had faith.

Are there things in our life that we’re anxious about, but shouldn’t be? Things that lead us to say to the Lord: “How come you aren’t paying attention? Don’t you see how important this is? Aren’t you concerned about my well-being and happiness? Are you asleep?”

At times we’re all tempted to think that God doesn’t care. But God does care. It’s just that he doesn’t always see things we way we do. That’s why we need faith. With faith, we can purify our perspectives, priorities, and expectations. With faith, we remember that while God always gives us what we need, he doesn’t always give us what we want. With faith, we can be grateful for what we have instead of frustrated over what we don’t. With faith, we can be happy in the present instead of thinking that we’ll only be happy in a future that may never come. With faith, we understand that everything happens for a reason. With faith, we’re assured that God is always with us, surrounding us with love, giving us the grace to do what he wants us to do. With faith, we’ll know the peace that only Jesus can give.

Life can indeed be hard. But as he was with his disciples, Jesus is in the same boat with us. He invites us to faith, so he can replace our “violent storms,” with “great calm.”

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/062811.shtml

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“How not to be a follower of Jesus” would be an appropriate title, I think, for the gospel we just heard. If you’ll recall, we were introduced to two characters. The first promised that he would follow Jesus wherever he would go. Yet Jesus replies to this boast with a warning. Unlike the foxes and birds, Jesus said, he had nowhere to lay his head. In other words, our Lord was telling this person that following him might be a bit more challenging than he imagined, and that he might wish to think twice before signing on the bottom line. In a sense, Jesus was asking: “Are you sure you want to follow me? Do you really know what you’re getting into?”

The second character we meet agrees to follow Jesus, but only after he has buried his father. Now we have to understand that this person’s father was not dead. His father was living, and he wanted to stay nearby. In effect, this person was saying: “I’d like to follow you, Jesus, but only when it’s more convenient. It’s just not the right time; I have other things I want to do first.” Jesus’ response that the dead should bury their own dead was his way of saying that following him is more important than anything else we might do.

The witness of these two individuals serves to remind us that if we truly want to be disciples of Christ, we need to be prepared to make significant changes in our life, and make them right away. In other words, authentic discipleship is not an afterthought or just a part time activity, but should instead be our top priority that absolutely defines who we are and what we do. We’re called to serve, not according to our own plan and out own timetable, but God’s. In the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori, “We must love God, then, in the way that pleases him, and not just in a way that suits ourselves.”

Reading for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/062711.shtml

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I grew up in a Navy family, which meant that when I was a kid, my dad was often away from home while his ship was on a cruise. Fortunately, dad spent only one Christmas out at sea- the Christmas of ’73. I remember my mom and the other ship’s wives putting together a huge care package of cookies and other goodies they hoped could be delivered to the ship by Christmas. It wasn’t a guarantee that it could happen. But I remember how happy everyone was to learn that, in spite of rough seas, a helicopter delivered the crate on Christmas day itself.

Receiving that care package meant a lot to my dad and his shipmates. If you’ve ever been away from home- at summer camp, school, the military, Peace Corps, whatever- you know how wonderful it is to receive a care package. It’s a little bit of home we can enjoy while we’re away from home, sent by those who love us.

Today- Corpus Christi Sunday- or more properly, the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ- is a day we celebrate God’s gift of the Eucharist: a gift we might think of as a care package from God. You and I are far from home, because Scripture tells us that our true home is in heaven. In the Eucharist, however, our loving God gives us a little taste of our heavenly homeland, so we can begin to experience what it will be like.

Consider what Jesus said in today’s gospel. He spoke of a “living bread come down from heaven.” This heavenly bread is the Eucharist; it’s bread from our true home. But this bread is more than just bread. Jesus explained that those who eat it will live forever. So not only does this bread come from heaven. It also allows us, even now, to begin to enjoy the eternal life promised us in heaven.

Of course, there’s a danger in equating the Eucharist with a care package. There’s a big difference between heavenly bread and homemade cookies. We don’t want to risk minimizing the importance of the Eucharist or misunderstanding what it is. So maybe we should consider another analogy.

Many of you know that I’m a runner. As a runner, I’ve learned that what I eat, and when I eat it, is critically important. To begin with, runners need carbs for fuel. You’ve probably heard of runners “carbo-loading” on pasta in the days leading up to a long race. In addition, it’s also important that runners eat during a long race- typically little energy gels or beans which pack carbs, electrolytes, and even caffeine. Also, it’s important to eat right after a race for muscle recovery- typically a bagel and a banana. In short, to run well, one needs to eat well- before, during, and after a race. Because if you don’t, you’ll slow down, conk out, or get hurt.

St. Paul tells us that our spiritual life is something like a race- an endurance run in which we need to persevere and keep our eyes on our heavenly goal. “Run in such a way as to get the prize,” Paul told the Corinthian church. In this race, just like in road running, we need to eat well in order to run well. And the food we need for this spiritual journey is the Eucharist.

But what sort of nourishment does the Eucharist give us for our journey? We already know that it gives us a taste of heaven. But it gives more than that. In today’s gospel, Jesus said: “I am the bread from heaven.” This bread is Jesus! Or more precisely, at Mass bread becomes Jesus. It doesn’t simply remind us of Jesus; nor is it merely symbolic of Jesus. It is Jesus: His “body, blood, soul, and divinity.”

During televised coverage of the Pope’s Mass at National Stadium a few years ago, one obviously non-Catholic commentator said: “This is when the bread is ‘transmorgified’ into Jesus.” Now, you can read the Catechism from cover to cover and not find anything about “transmorgification.” What you can read about, however, is “transubstantiation.” It’s a fancy Catholic word loaded with philosophy. At its heart, however, transubstantiation means that something becomes something else while continuing to look the same. In our case, bread becomes Jesus. It may still taste like bread. But what it nourishes us with is the very life of God. And it is life that we need, more than anything, as we continue our spiritual journey.

We ask for this whenever we pray the Our Father and say: “Give us this day our daily bread.” With these words, we aren’t just asking that God provide us with essential things like food, clothing, and shelter. The word we translate as “daily” is a rare Greek word found nowhere else in the Bible. It’s means “super-essential” or “more than essential.” And it refers to the bread-become-Jesus in the Eucharist.

It’s good that we think of the Eucharist as “daily bread” because we need the nourishment it gives us in our daily lives. We need Jesus. And there’s no better way to meet him, and receive him, than in the Eucharist. That’s why daily Mass has become an important part of Catholic spirituality. Every one of the 140 parish churches in the Archdiocese of Washington has a Mass celebrated every day.  Some churches in business areas offer Mass at Noon, to accommodate the lunchtime crowd. And other churches have Masses in the late afternoon to catch folks coming home from work.

It’s not possible for most of us to attend Mass each day. But we can make it a Sunday priority, and try to come as often as we can, so we can enjoy God’s care package of love, and have the fuel we need to run our race until we finally arrive at our heavenly home.

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/062611.shtml

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Today we celebrate the birthday of St. John the Baptist. We don’t decorate trees, send card, or exchange presents as we do on Christmas. But I don’t think that John the Baptist minds that his birthday is celebrated with less fanfare than that of our Lord. You’ll recall that he once said about Jesus: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

In fact, it’s thanks to these words that we celebrate John the Baptist’s birthday today. Because from this point on, daily sunlight will decrease until we arrive at the birthday celebration of Jesus, when daily sunlight will begin to increase.

John the Baptist knew that his mission was to prepare the way for Jesus. He lived his life, not to promote himself, but to promote the Lord. In this, John the Baptist is an important witness for us and challenges our society’s preoccupation with self-promotion. He reminds us that Christians shouldn’t aspire to be a celebrity, but should strive to be a servant. We should live lives that shout not “Look at me!” but “Look to Jesus.”

This is not to say that John the Baptist was not important. He was incredibly important! That’s why each of the four gospels begins the story of Jesus’ public ministry, by first telling the story of John the Baptist.

You and I may be called to positions of importance: in the workplace, in society, in the church. But there’s a big difference between being important and self-important. John the Baptist bears witness to that.

So happy birthday, St. John. Like you, may we live our lives, not for ourselves, but for Jesus.

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St. John of the Cross wrote: “From my observation, our Lord is to a great extent unknown by those who claim to be his friends.” I thought of these words while reflecting on today’s gospel.

Jesus spoke of those who called him “Lord,” and who even claimed to have acted in his name. Nevertheless, Jesus said, they never really knew him. These words remind us that cultivating a personal relationship with the Lord is to be a priority in our life, not an afterthought.

Our Lord gives us clues on how to do this in today’s gospel reading. First, we need to listen to him as he speaks to us through Scripture, Church teaching, and in prayer. Yet we need to do more than listen. We also need to act. “Everyone who listens to these words of wine and acts on them,” said Jesus, “will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. On the other hand, Jesus describes the person who listens but doesn not act as a fool.

A young student once asked German theologian Karl Rahner what books he should read in order to grow in faith. “No books!” Father Rahner replied. “Go instead and serve the city’s poor.” That young person needed to act, in addition to “listening.”

And so do we. Today, each of us is challenged to be wise- to build our houses upon rock- by listening to Jesus, and acting in his name- that we might know him, as a true friend.

Readings for today’s Mass

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A servant’s heart should characterize every Christian. Yet not every Christian lives the life of a servant. I think this is part of what Jesus laments in today’s gospel when he says that not many people find their way through the narrow gate.

Unfortunately, we have a culture that discourages us from becoming servants. Instead, it conditions us to be selfish, and to think only of our own needs. Consider how marriage is typically understood these days. So often our primary concern is, “Am I happy in my marriage?” Which is a fair question to ask. But as servants, should not the primary concern be instead, “Is my spouse happy in our marriage?” Whether we’re married or not, we can easily become so concerned about ourselves and our needs, that we forget about the needs of all those people God has given us to love: family, friends, neighbors, co-workers…whomever. We wind up waiting for other people to make us happy. They in turn wait for us to make them happy! And everyone winds up unhappy.

But Jesus tells us, “Do to others what you would have them do to you.” Think about that. If we really followed this “Golden Rule,” how might our relationships change? How might we change? It’s all about thinking of others first. It’s all about having a “servant’s heart.” Some would call this a “paradigm shift,” and it is! But Jesus says, quite simply, that it is the way to “life.”

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/062111.shtml

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