I realize a lot of you will not be able to be at Mass tomorrow on the
Feast of All Saints, so I thought I would share a reflection of All Saints
with you.
Phyllis McGinley is a modern American poet. She wrote a book
called Saint Watching. In it she says:
“When I was seven years old, I wanted to be a tight-rope dancer
and broke my collarbone practicing on a child’s-size high wire. At
twelve, I planned to become an international spy. At fifteen, my
ambition was the stage. Now in my sensible declining years, I would
give anything…..to be a saint.”
As we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, we are reminded that every
one of us—without exception—is called to be a saint. Not one of us in
this church today is called to be anything less than a saint.
This poses a knotty question: What is the best way to become a
saint in 2023?
Is it to do what St. Anthony did in the fourth century: turn our
backs on the pleasures of this world and live apart from society?
Is it to do what St. Francis did in the thirteenth century: turn our
backs on material wealth and preach the Gospel wherever we can find a
crowd and a soapbox?
Or is it to do something like St. Elizabeth Seton did in the
nineteenth century: raise a family and spend the rest of our lives working
with societies sick and needy?
The answer to these questions is no. And the reason that its no is
obvious.
You don’t become a saint by doing what God made somebody else
to do. You become a saint by doing what God made you do.
Practically speaking, this means that if you are a parent at this
moment in your life, that’s exactly the way God intends you to become a
saint: by being the best parent you can be – not perfect – just the best.
And, practically speaking, if you are a student at this moment in
your life, that’s exactly the way God intends you to become a saint: by
being the best student you can be.
Or, if you are an elderly couple or single person at this moment in
your life, that’s exactly the way God intends you to become a saint: by
being the best elderly couple or best single person you can be.
Let me illustrate what I mean with an example. Some years ago,
an elderly couple lived on a large corner lot near an elementary school.
The children from the school had the habit of cutting across the corner of
their lawn, wearing an ugly path through it. At first this merely annoyed
the couple, but after a while it angered them. The couple realized that
something had to be done. The situation was poisoning their attitude
toward the children and destroying their peace of mind. The couple hit
upon a solution. First they put crushed gravel on the path. Then they
lined it with flowers. After that they set a bench along the path. On
afternoons when school let out, the couple sat on the bench and greeted
the children as they passed by.
The response of the children was amazing. They stopped and
thanked the couple for the path. They even asked the names of the
flowers and sometimes, sat down to talk to the couple. In short, the
couple turned an unhappy situation into a happy one.
That charming little story is also a beautiful illustration of what
Jesus meant in today’s gospel when he said, “Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” It means to turn a
potentially angry situation into a delightfully happy one.
And that leads us to our final point.
If you are still in doubt about what it means to be a saint in today’s
world, reread the Beatitudes in today’s gospel. The Beatitudes spell out
in simple terms the guidelines that we should use to live our lives. And
if we live out these guidelines, as the elderly couple did, Jesus will
someday say to us what he said to the people of his time in the Sermon
on the Mount:
“Blessed are you, the kingdom of God is yours!”
Archive for the ‘Cycle A’ Category
What is the best way to become a Saint? 11-5-2023
Thursday, November 2nd, 2023Love God/Love Others! 10-29-2023
Tuesday, October 17th, 2023A true story:
An eight-year-old boy had a young sister who was dying of
leukemia. His parents explained to him that she needed a blood
transfusion and that his blood was probably compatible. They asked if
they could test his blood. Sure, he said. The results showed that his
blood would be a good match. Then they asked if he would give his
sister a pint of his blood, that it could be her only chance of living. He
said he would have to think about it overnight.
The next day he went to his parents and said he was willing to
donate his blood to his sister. So, they took him to the hospital where he
was put on a gurney beside his sister. Both of them were hooked up to
IVs. A nurse withdrew a pint of blood from the boy, which was then put
into the girl’s IV. The boy lay on his gurney in silence while the blood
was dripped into his sister. The doctor came over to see how he was
doing. The boy opened his eyes and asked, “How soon until I start to
die?”
Every word of the gospel comes down to love. Love that is simple
enough to articulate but so demanding that we shy away from it. The
mystery of God’s love is that the Supreme Being should love creation so
completely and so selflessly – and all God seeks in return is that such
love be shared by people throughout creation. The brother, in our true
story, thinking that giving his blood would mean that he would die,
nonetheless he is willing to give his life to his sister so that she might
live; in his generosity he models the great love and compassion of the
God who spares nothing to bring us to God’s heart. My prayer on this
Sunday is that everyone of us here will seek to follow as best we can one
day at a time the great commandment of the gospel: to love with the
same selfless compassion, care and completeness of God.
It may not be our call to minister to the most unwanted, like lepers
and AIDS victims, war refugees, and immigrants, or alcoholics and drug
addicts, but it is our call to balance in some suitable way, the vertical
dimension of our relationship with other people in mutual service.
The praise we give to God with our lips must be followed up by
using those same lips to talk to someone who is lonely, to encourage
someone who is disheartened, or to cheer up someone who is sad.
The prayer we say with our hands must be followed up by using
those same hands to hug our children, or spouse, or parents, to prepare a
meal for our family, or to do some housework for a shut-in neighbor.
I close with this image that will be right before you every time you
walk into this church. May the cross formed by the intersection of a
vertical beam with a horizontal one remind us to love God with our
whole being and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Give To God What is God’s! 10-22-2023
Tuesday, October 17th, 2023A man walked into a rooftop bar and ordered a drink. The man
next to him began a conversation about the unique wind currents in the
area. The first man said he didn’t understand what was so special about
the wind there, so the other said, “Let me show you.” With that he went
to the window, jumped out, did a spin in mid-air, and then came back in.
“See how great the currents are! You can do the same thing.”
After a few more drinks and much prodding, the first man decided
to test the wind currents. He went to the window, jumped out, and
dropped like a rock. The bartender looked at the other man and said,
“Superman, you’re really mean when you’re drunk.
Most of us are neither mean nor a drunk – I hope – but is that
enough? Is just staying out of trouble and avoiding nastiness enough to
make a life? It’s a start, but it’s not nearly enough. So, what is enough?
Jesus gave us a clue in today’s gospel. His enemies were trying to
entrap him into an offense. But he just brushed them off, “Give to
Caesar what is Caesar’s.” And then he returned to his core message, but
give to God what is God’s.”
So, what do we have that is God’s? Very simply, our life. But
how do we give that back to God? By becoming nuns or priests or
martyrs or missionaries in darkest Africa, or perhaps throwing ourselves
on a live grenade to save our friends? For most of us that is not what
God wants. What God does want from all of us is for us to learn to use
our life the way God uses life: by helping those who need help and
giving life to those who need life. So how do we begin? The key is by
being alert and paying attention to one another, and developing the
deeply ingrained habit of asking ourselves: How’s he doing? What does
she need? Is he OK? How can I help her?
Most of the time most of what people really need is within our
power to give. For example, some of us are getting a little forgetful, and
what we need is just a little reassurance – and a little patience. And for
all of us there are those days when nothing is right. Most times a friend
is all that’s needed to lift the fog.
And think about the times someone has been very bad, and needs
to say so, but doesn’t know how. A dose of encouragement from an understanding friend will light the way and draw him out of the dark. At
any given moment most of what is needed by the people right around us
is within our power to give. And better yet, all we have to handle – all
we have to give – is one moment at a time: If we take care of the
minutes, God will take care of the days – and the years.
God has given us the gifts of life, and the power to give life to one
another – in many shapes and sizes – every day. We can be real
supermen and real wonder women if we learn how to give our gift, if we
learn to pay attention to one another, see what is needed, and give what
is needed – one moment at a time. From such humble stuff the kingdom
of God is made.
