Homily for the week of April 25, 2010

HOMILY: Easter 3 C, 2010 - Vocation Sunday

Acts 13:14,43-52 · Rv 7:9,14b-17 · Jn 10:27-30

A few months ago Sister Maria Guadeloupe got a phone call from the Oprah Winfrey Show to ask if a film crew could visit her convent for 24 hours to see what life was like for Catholic sisters. A convent is the name of the house where nuns live. She is a member of the Dominican Sisters of Mary located in Michigan. They are all school teachers. They agreed to Oprah's request. The show was on TV on the 13th anniversary of the start of these nuns. In August Grant Desme is retiring from baseball to enter the seminary to become a priest. He was selected as the 2009 Arizona Fall League Most Valuable Player and was to join the Oakland Athletics. He said: I don't know what it all takes to be a priest. I think there are some aspects of baseball that will be able to help me.

I mention these news items because this weekend is usually referred to as the World Day of Prayer for Vocations because of the readings in which Jesus is referred to as the Good Shepherd. Jesus the shepherd calls men and women to take care of his sheep as he himself did. By his sheep, he means each other.

A vocation is responding to a call from God much as a sheep responds to the voice of the shepherd. A vocation is also making a decision to respond to that voice for a lifetime. For most persons it is a once in a lifetime call. It is not like someone telling us that supper is ready, or to pick up the pizza you ordered, or the repairs on your car are all done.

Everyone of us is given a vocation by God at birth. It is affirmed at our baptism, feed at our first communion, confirmed at our Confirmation, and finally chosen by us as we get older. We pray to find out how does God want me to live my life in serving and helping others. But when persons hear the word VOCATION, many persons think that we mean becoming a priest, or a religious sister or brother.

That is unfortunate. If all of us are called to a vocation, then there are millions of Catholics who have missed their vocation, including many here in church today. Rather, a vocation is our response to how we believe God wants us to serve others. For many, this means getting married, for others it means staying single, and for others it means becoming a priest, a deacon or a nun. All of these are vocations. A vocation is not a job. A person's job or employment does not depend on a persons vocation. As we well know persons who are married, or single or priest can be found in whole variety of jobs and occupations. But what is common to all vocations is the need to love. Love is the vocation of every human being. Our life on earth will not be judged by the fame we achieved or the amount of money we have acquired. It will be judged by the love we showed. At the hour of death, when we come face to face with God we are going to be judged on love, not how much we have done, but how much love we have put into the doing.

How do you know to which vocation Jesus is calling you? It is not a written invitation, nor does Jesus tap you on the shoulder. Rather it is a distant voice which gradually gets stronger and stronger inviting a person to choose the way to serve others in love. It comes to ordinary persons who have ordinary ears to hear and eyes to see. It is a voice heard in prayer and in silence but also in school, or at a party or a dance; with friends or with strangers.

But, for happiness in life a vocation must be a response to God's voice to us. Unfortunately, there are many conflicting voices. There may be a lot of noise in our life. At times our emotions overtake our decisions. To be true to our vocation it must be made by our entire self: our feelings, our spirituality, our intelligence, our common sense. It is made after careful thought and prayer, and seeking spiritual direction or assistance in making that choice. Our vocation, whether we have already chosen one, or are still seeking one, is best discovered by asking yourself: In what vocation does God want me to serve others in a loving way, and get to heaven when I die?

Many of you here today, like myself, have responded to God's voice and have chosen a vocation. A Vocation Weekend for us can be a reminder to renew that response to God in our chosen vocation. The person that I was 51 years ago next month when I became a priest is somewhat different than the person today, but my vocation is still the same. I am sure that those of you who have been married for 25 or 40 or 50 or more years can say the same about yourselves. In the best sense a vocation ages as we age.

Each of us in some way have been invited by Jesus to help him to shepherd. To do so is to do it like Jesus the Good Shepherd. He pitied them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd: and he began to teach them at great length.

Homily for the week of April 18, 2010

Third Sunday of Easter, 2010 year C

Acts 5:27-32

Rev 5:11-14

John 21: 1-19

Some 600 years ago before Jesus was born a great Chinese philosopher said: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. These are profound words between giving and feeding and teaching, words that many of us as leaders and parents and teachers would do well to follow.

But as Christians we can do far more. Jesus was not only the teacher but showed us the way. He is known as the way, the truth and the life. When we look for an example of giving and feeding and teaching, Jesus is far above any one else. In today's Gospel John paints a detailed and beautiful portrait of the Risen Jesus who over and over again gives and feeds and teaches. We do well to look at that example of Jesus and then try to imitate it ourselves.

Today's gospel begins with a very ordinary scene of the disciples fishing. Peter had taken the lead when he announced I am going fishing. Not wanting to be left behind six of the other disciples follow Peter and also get into the boat. But it was a poor night fishing. The fish either were not biting or they just did not have the right bait. Or maybe as I have fishermen say: The wind was from the east when the fish bite the least, or not from the west when the fish bite the best. Or maybe they just did not want to go fishing. They may have spent most of the time talking about how Jesus had left them.

For whatever reason, the morning comes and there are no fish. Then the Risen Jesus appears on the shore. Have you caught anything to eat, he asks them. Maybe Jesus could have taught them how to fish, if that was the problem. But Jesus had his mind on something else. He had in his mind another way of giving and feeding and teaching. It was a way that not only gives food for one day, but food for a lifetime. So Jesus simply says: Cast your net over the right side of the boat and you will find something. He did not give them any secret bait, but words that paint a picture of Jesus who always gives in abundance.

The disciples catch more fish than they can pulling, but it is only then that John realizes that it is the Risen Jesus who is standing on the shore. Peter gets excited and jumps the boat and swims to the shore. The others stay in the boat. They catch so many fish that they have to drag the net without the help of Peter.

But more takes place. On the surface it is merely a meal. Jesus makes breakfast for his disciples. He feeds them fish and bread. But there is more here than Jesus just giving food for the day. Certainly, that meal on the shore reminds us of the meal at the Last Supper on the day before his death on the cross. At that meal he gave them himself and taught them to Do this in memory of me. So this meal on the shore does remind us of the Mass we now celebrate where Jesus at once gives and feeds and teaches us. At this Mass Jesus gives himself food for the day, food for a lifetime, food for everlasting life.

But now turn from Jesus to ourselves. We can be part of the example of Jesus. We can do this by taking Peter's place during the private conversation with Jesus at the end of today's reading. Do you love me? Jesus asks us, just the same as he asks Peter. And if our response is yes, it represents the Amen that we say when we receive communion and say Amen. And so receiving communion requires us to do as Jesus told Peter: to feed and to take care of others.

And then Jesus tells Peter: Follow me. We saw in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles that Peter was no longer fishing but he was leading others to Jesus. Peter teaches in the name of Jesus.

We too must be like Peter. Our life in Jesus requires us to share that life with others. How do we do this? It can be in small ways like saying something kind to others, or not saying something critical of others, an apology, a smile. Often we can struggle we our following of Jesus. At times we can feel joy and happiness in it; at other times we might find it a burden. Whatever we try to do to follow Jesus, we must believe that Jesus will give us all we need to do what we have to do, even forgiveness when necessary.

Homily for the week of April 11, 2010

Third Sunday of Easter, 2010 year C

Acts 5:27-32

Rev 5:11-14

John 21: 1-19

Some 600 years ago before Jesus was born a great Chinese philosopher said: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. These are profound words between giving and feeding and teaching, words that many of us as leaders and parents and teachers would do well to follow.

But as Christians we can do far more. Jesus was not only the teacher but showed us the way. He is known as the way, the truth and the life. When we look for an example of giving and feeding and teaching, Jesus is far above any one else. In today's Gospel John paints a detailed and beautiful portrait of the Risen Jesus who over and over again gives and feeds and teaches. We do well to look at that example of Jesus and then try to imitate it ourselves.

Today's gospel begins with a very ordinary scene of the disciples fishing. Peter had taken the lead when he announced I am going fishing. Not wanting to be left behind six of the other disciples follow Peter and also get into the boat. But it was a poor night fishing. The fish either were not biting or they just did not have the right bait. Or maybe as I have fishermen say: The wind was from the east when the fish bite the least, or not from the west when the fish bite the best. Or maybe they just did not want to go fishing. They may have spent most of the time talking about how Jesus had left them.

For whatever reason, the morning comes and there are no fish. Then the Risen Jesus appears on the shore. Have you caught anything to eat, he asks them. Maybe Jesus could have taught them how to fish, if that was the problem. But Jesus had his mind on something else. He had in his mind another way of giving and feeding and teaching. It was a way that not only gives food for one day, but food for a lifetime. So Jesus simply says: Cast your net over the right side of the boat and you will find something. He did not give them any secret bait, but words that paint a picture of Jesus who always gives in abundance.

The disciples catch more fish than they can pulling, but it is only then that John realizes that it is the Risen Jesus who is standing on the shore. Peter gets excited and jumps the boat and swims to the shore. The others stay in the boat. They catch so many fish that they have to drag the net without the help of Peter.

But more takes place. On the surface it is merely a meal. Jesus makes breakfast for his disciples. He feeds them fish and bread. But there is more here than Jesus just giving food for the day. Certainly, that meal on the shore reminds us of the meal at the Last Supper on the day before his death on the cross. At that meal he gave them himself and taught them to Do this in memory of me. So this meal on the shore does remind us of the Mass we now celebrate where Jesus at once gives and feeds and teaches us. At this Mass Jesus gives himself food for the day, food for a lifetime, food for everlasting life.

But now turn from Jesus to ourselves. We can be part of the example of Jesus. We can do this by taking Peter's place during the private conversation with Jesus at the end of today's reading. Do you love me? Jesus asks us, just the same as he asks Peter. And if our response is yes, it represents the Amen that we say when we receive communion and say Amen. And so receiving communion requires us to do as Jesus told Peter: to feed and to take care of others.

And then Jesus tells Peter: Follow me. We saw in our first reading from the Acts of the Apostles that Peter was no longer fishing but he was leading others to Jesus. Peter teaches in the name of Jesus.

We too must be like Peter. Our life in Jesus requires us to share that life with others. How do we do this? It can be in small ways like saying something kind to others, or not saying something critical of others, an apology, a smile. Often we can struggle we our following of Jesus. At times we can feel joy and happiness in it; at other times we might find it a burden. Whatever we try to do to follow Jesus, we must believe that Jesus will give us all we need to do what we have to do, even forgiveness when necessary.

Homily for the week of April 4, 2010

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