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When I moved into my home eleven years ago, I inherited a backyard that once had been landscaped and beautiful. Yet everything had become completely overgrown with weeds, all because it has hardly been touched for nearly twenty years. As the man from whom I bought the house said, “If you don’t stay on top of it, nature quickly takes over.” Ever since then I’ve spent many hours my yard- weeding, tilling, mulching, seeding, planting, fertilizing, and weeding again. And as soon as I think I can take a break, “nature quickly takes over,” and the crab grass and weeds make their appearance once again.

I thought of my yard as I reflected on today’s gospel. Jesus told us that he wants us to be good soil that is receptive to the seed of his word and brings forth abundant fruits of the Spirit. Yet in order for us to become this type of soil, we need to invest effort, discipline, and time- just like with my backyard. Because the moment we don’t stay on top of it, our fallen human nature quickly takes over.

This is because when we aren’t attentive to God’s word, other voices will quickly fill the void. And then it’s these voices- and not God’s word- that will shape our thoughts, actions, and our character. Specifically, I’m referring to the voices of our culture, common sense, and our feelings.

The voice of our culture was loud and clear the other day as I sat next to two young women on an airplane who were deeply engrossed in a copy of “Cosmopolitan” magazine. From what I could see and hear, the articles were all about explicit love-making techniques, horoscopes, shopping, and beauty products: a spirit-killing diet of materialism, self-gratification, superstition, and soft porn. This reminded me that as Christians we need to be very, very careful about our media intake if we don’t want the voice of culture to drown out the voice of God.

The voice of “common sense” of can also be ungodly, although in a less obvious way. Yet if you think about it, so much of what Jesus taught us, and so many of his commandments to us, simply defy common sense. For instance, Jesus teaches us to love our enemies…to carry a cross…to humble ourselves as a servant…to give without counting the cost…that marriage is forever…that all life is sacred…that we should trust only in God. Yet common sense would have us hate our enemies, avoid suffering, promote ourselves, maximize our returns, divorce without fault, judge life by it’s so-called “quality”, and trust in our own abilities. Truly, common sense and godly wisdom can be very different things indeed!

Then there’s the voice of emotion. I imagine that we’ve all done things that felt right at the time but that we came to regret later on. Or maybe we’ve tried to convince ourselves that what we were doing was right because we were feeling afraid or angry or lonely or were caught up in the excitement of the moment. Feelings like this are given to us by God. They serve a purpose and we need to pay attention to them. Yet they can lead us down the wrong path if we’re not grounded in the Word of God.

That’s why Jesus says it’s so important for us to listen to God’s word. In today’s gospel, Jesus quoted a passage from the prophet Isaiah. It said that when we listen to God’s word, God can change us, and God can heal us. And deep down, that’s what we all want! But if we truly wish to receive these gifts, we truly need to listen. Lots of people came out to see Jesus in today’s gospel, but not all of them really listened. I imagine that’s probably true of our gathering today as well. I confess that I can be just as guilty as anyone else about letting my mind wander during the Biblical readings or a homily. Yet the truth is, as I heard it put recently, that we should listen at Mass as if we were listening to the instructions on how to open our own parachute!

Of course we need to do far more than be attentive at Mass in order to truly hear all that God wishes to say to us. As Catholics, we believe that God’s word comes to us in two ways: through the pages of Holy Scripture, and in the authentic teachings of the Church. We need to make it a priority to be receptive to both.

Bishop Robert Morneau of Green Bay says that whenever he confirms young people, he always tells them to remember two numbers: 144 and 168. 144 is the number of ten-minute periods in a day, and 168 is the number of hours in the week. He then asks them from that point on to give ten minutes a day to the study of God’s word and one hour every week to attend Sunday Mass.

And surely that isn’t too much to ask when it comes to the word of God. In reality, it should be just the beginning, or a bare minimum. We’re all busy people. Yet at the same time a typical American today spends dozens of hours each week in front of a television set, not to mention a computer screen. But if we stopped watching one thirty-minute television program a day and read Scripture instead, we could read through the entire Bible twice a year.

I’ve heard it said that one can’t become an effective preacher if all you read is Sports Illustrated. It’s just as true to say that we won’t become strong Christians if we fail to take in the Word of God. Our soil will become shallow, rocky, and weed-infested: precisely what Jesus warns against! We’ll become worldly people, instead of the people of God. That’s why what Jesus told the crowds, he also says to us: “Whoever has ears,” he said, “ought to hear.”

Photo credits: sohum, xJasonRogersx, Brooks Elliot, via Creative Commons

Three individuals came to mind as I read today’s gospel. The first is a married woman, distressed because her husband left the Catholic Church for an anti-Catholic sect which is pressuring her to join too.

The second is a recent high school graduate preparing for college. She’s concerned that her faith will be challenged on campus through peer pressure, ideas and philosophies she’ll encounter in class, and a culture sometimes hostile to her religion.

An elderly Chinese bishop is the third person. He was recently featured in National Geographic, and he recalled years of government persecution of the Catholic Church in his native land.

On account of their Catholicism, all three experience opposition- from family, society, governments, other religious groups. Just as Jesus said the twelve apostles would face. His words to them in today’s gospel are words which are just as true for us today, because we too encounter resistance to our faith.

In a nutshell, what Jesus says to us is: don’t be surprised when it happens; trust in the Spirit when it does; be shrewd but simple; and persevere throughout it all. If we do, chances are we’ll find our faith is stronger in the end. The Chinese bishop, who is witnessing a Church renewal in his country, knows this well. “The more the suppression,” he said, “the more the rebound.”

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/070811.shtml

Photo Credit: Sean MacEntee via Creative Commons

Money is something that many people worry about, and most couples fight over. When it comes to our money, the Lord certainly calls us to be good stewards of it. But he doesn’t want it to be a source of anxiety or conflict.

Just consider what Jesus told his apostles in today’s gospel. He instructed them to:

1. Travel lightly;
2. Live simply;
3. Trust that the Lord would provide; and
4. Be concerned, not about money, but with doing the Lord’s work.

This was his commandment to his apostles. And it’s his good advice for us.

Readings for today’s Mass

Photo Credit: borman818 via Creative Commons

A story is told of seminarians who asked a professor to choose a Scripture verse to print at the bottom of their class picture. Evidently the professor didn’t think too highly of this group, because the verse he suggested was John 11:37. When the seminarians opened their Bibles, they were distressed that John 11:37 says, “Jesus wept.”

One wonders if the professor would have chosen this same verse for a class portrait of the first twelve apostles, whose appointment by the Lord we heard in today’s gospel. At times, they were certainly a less-than-impressive group of people. They frustrated Jesus because they often didn’t “get it.” Simon Peter could be hot-tempered and cowardly. James and John were vengeful and proud. Thomas had his doubts. And then of course, there was Judas, the greedy betrayer.

However, all this should remind us that the Lord uses less-than-perfect people to do his work, spread his gospel, build his kingdom, and be his friends. This was true of the Twelve apostles. And it’s certainly true of us.

This can console and encourage us, because sometimes we look at ourselves and think: “Why on earth would God choose me?” The truth is, all of us are bundles of imperfections, weaknesses, and sins. Yet Jesus calls us as we are and uses us as we are. Yes, he invites us to greater holiness and gives us the grace to grow into his image. But he doesn’t wait for us to be perfect in order to make us his servants. If Jesus used only perfect people, not too much would get done, because it would be just he and his Mother. That’s why, as the old slogan goes, “Jesus doesn’t call the qualified; he qualifies the called.” He qualified the apostles, and eleven of them became saints! And that’s his plan for us, too.

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/070611.shtml

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Jesus’ heart was moved with pity, today’s gospel tells us, when he saw a troubled and abandoned crowd. Because they were like “sheep without a shepherd,” Jesus turned to his friends and insisted that they “beg” the “harvest master,” God the Father, for more “laborers”- people to serve them and help them.

This, however, begs certain questions: if this need is so urgent, why does it have to be begged for? If Jesus is aware of the situation, and presumably his Father as well, why don’t they just take care of the problem themselves? Why should we have to beg for something they already know we need?

It’s true that Jesus wants more laborers. That’s clear from today’s gospel. However, Jesus wants us to ask the Father for them, because he wants us to want the same things he wants, and to express those desires in prayer. It’s as simple as that. It’s a matter of our wills becoming aligned with God’s, which should be the whole focus of our Christian lives.

St. Catherine of Siena put it well: “You will show that you are indeed alive, when you harmonize your will with God’s.

Readings for today’s Mass: http://www.usccb.org/nab/070511.shtml

Photo Credit: pdam2 via Creative Commons

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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