Prayers are Always Heard and Always Answered

In today’s reading from Genesis we see this continuing conversation (prayer) between God and Abraham.  We recall that God initiated the conversation by visiting Abraham earlier as we heard in last week’s reading from Genesis.  God visited Abraham for a number of reasons, one) that at this time next year Abraham and Sarah would have a son; two) to have fellowship with his friend; and three) to reveal to Abraham what God intended to do to Sodom and Gomorrah.  However, the main point of Abraham’s prayer to God was perseverance, i.e. Abraham wrestled with God in a sense and even challenged Him to spare the city because of fifty righteous people, getting all the way down to only ten.  In the end, however, the city is not spared and in the process Lot’s wife dies as she turns to a pillar of salt because she looked back (“He who looks back on the plow is not fit for the kingdom of God”).

The Gospel also tells us to persevere in prayer, Jesus says, “I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.”  In this case the person received their prayer request, the loaves of bread he needed for his family.

All of our prayer is initiated by God then we respond with requests, petitions, praise, worship, silence – meditation, etc.  Today’s 1^st reading and Gospel spell out the importance of prayer – dialogue with God.

I’d like to look at God answering our prayers.  In Abraham’s case his intercession for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah did not come to pass, at least not fully, but rather only in a very partial way, since less than ten escaped the city’s fate.  In the Gospel, however, the prayer was not only heard, but answered in a very full way; the man received the loaves he continued to ask (pray) for.

All of us have prayed for many things, for ourselves, for others, etc.  I remember praying and asking for the intercession of Elizabeth Ann Seton and Pius X during my transition from religious life to diocesan life and that I wanted to remain a priest (rough period in my life where I actually thought about leaving the priesthood – this one is another homily, stayed tuned) and I stormed heaven with my prayers, like the man begging for the loaves of bread and like Abraham pleading for God not to destroy the city.  Well, obviously I am here so the prayer was answered, praised be to God and thank you to Saints Elizabeth Ann Seton and Pius X.

However, when my dad became ill with his heart condition, I stormed heaven with prayers again before his surgery and I kept reassuring my dad that everything would be ok, I had the honor and privilege to anoint him before his surgery.  My dad went in for bypass and valve surgery, he never made it off the operating table.  I wondered why God would take my father, did I not pray hard or long enough, did I read the signs incorrectly?  After much reflection in the first six months after his death I realized my prayers were answered and that my dad was really ok.  The answer was that it was time for my dad to receive the gifts God had prepared for him which was much better than remaining here with us, his race was finished and he ran that race very well.  In terms of me telling my dad, “don’t worry you will be ok” was also true, but not in the sense that I imagined at first, but that he was ok in heaven.

So, it’s not that all prayers are heard and only some answered, all prayers are both heard and answered, but do we accept the answer of the Almighty?  Abraham is our father in faith not just because he was a nice guy but rather that he accepted without question God’s will, i.e. leaving his own father’s house, believing he would have a son though he and Sarah were well beyond child bearing years, that he would obey God even when asked to do something beyond reason (sacrificing his only son) and that some would survive the destruction of the two cities.  I pray for faith like that, like that of Abraham, or Mary our Mother, and many of the Saints, for all of them truly believed, “ . . . that all things work for good for those who love God.”  The question is, “Do we?”

God is Calling!

While in Seminary I remember taking a post graduate course on “The History and Development of the Divine Office.”  A fellow New Yorker was teaching the class, Father Dominic Serra, an excellent teacher and very knowledgeable priest.  It was a tough course for me in and that it had all ordained priests in it, I was the only seminarian, a little intimidating in fact, especially how easily my fellow class mates could quote things in Latin, a couple of them even having a great command of koine Greek.  Anyway, without boring you to death out of the many things I learned in that class, much of which does not have a great practical use, the one thing I will never forget is that Fr. Serra told us, “You do not bring yourself to prayer, God ALWAYS calls us to prayer.”  That has always stuck with me since the day I heard him say it.  It has so for a number of reasons, one) Christians are called to prayer when they hear bells ring – this comes down to us from our Jewish heritage, ringing the bells at the temple calling all to prayer which then worked its way into our monasteries and cathedrals. Two) It reminds us that we cannot bring ourselves to God on our own, but that He must first call us, i.e. grace is a free gift and it is grace that helps me turn towards God.

The first reading today from Genesis when God visits Abraham by His tent we can clearly see that it was God who initiated the meeting and the subsequent conversation (prayer).  This story is quite fascinating on many levels.  First and foremost is that the God of the universe would bend down so-to-speak to converse with us.  What are we compared to God?  Especially so since we had already fallen into sin and yet He continues to meet us where we are, on a very human level.  The second thing of importance is that God listens to us.  Abraham asks God to stay for a meal, he asks God to wait while he and Sarah prepare it.  Think for a moment, God is willing to listen and wait on us.  It’s almost mind boggling that He would do such.

Abraham is obviously a special character in the history of salvation if not one of the most important characters in all of Scripture, the father of faith as he is called.  In the story we can see God’s gracious favors bestowed on him and it can make us almost jealous, but remember to whom much is given much is expected.  So no doubt, Abraham was a very holy man indeed, nevertheless it is not just Abraham and Sarah who was or is able to talk to God face to face, but we as well.

In the Gospel Mary sits at the feet of Jesus and listens to Him, we do the same every time we pray; we sit and listen to our Lord as He speaks back to us.  This happens when we pray a rosary, the Divine Office, other set prayers, when we meditate, reflect, and most of all right now – at mass.

But, it was not us who imitated the conversation, it was God who called us here, that is why the bells ring before mass, not just so that you know that something holy is happening, but that God is calling.  We ring the bells at consecration not so that the illiterate will know what’s happening (that is a fallacy as some teach and believe, originally the bells ring because God calls us), but so that we always remember that God calls us to the Eucharist and not the other way around.

Abraham, Sarah, and Mary all knew this, that God called them to prayer, for Abraham and Sarah they asked God to stay a while and fellowship with them, for Mary it was simply enough just to listen.  What about us?  God has already called us and will continue to call, pray that He stays and has fellowship with us as we prepare the Eucharist to which He will also call us, but also remember God’s calling never ends, that is His great love for us.  Don’t ever think God is too big that He won’t visit you at your home; I mean he visited Abraham and Sarah by a tree near a tent!  If you look closely and listen tentatively you will hear the One who calls and the One who draws near, the LORD.

AMEN!

FJ

Go and Do Likewise!

In September I will give my presentation on Faith and Works and how a person is saved.  With today’s readings I felt it would be both appropriate and also an opportunity to give you some food for thought beforehand.   The presentation is a way’s away, but I think you will remember the major points.  Today’s readings do not directly spell out a way “of being saved,” they nevertheless paint a clear a picture of what God demands our faith to be.  Let’s take a look.

         

In the first reading from Deuteronomy the voice of God spoken through Moses declares, “For this command I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you.  No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.”  What are the Israelites to carry out, God’s Law, in particular the Ten Commandments.  If we carry out the Law then as Kind David so eloquently writes in the Psalms, “The Law of the LORD is perfect; refreshing the soul . . . The precepts of the Lord are right; rejoicing the heart.”  When we follow the law and live virtuously we are happy.  When we disobey the law of the Lord we feel guilty, saddened, and even sometimes become hard of heart.  Finally in today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.”  The law must be transcended; love must be our ultimate law, as was the case with the Good Samaritan.

From our readings today and what we know of the Church’s teaching we still ask ourselves, how do I get to Heaven?  Here are some responses I have been given over the years.

1)   I never killed anyone or committed adultery, I should get to heaven.

2)   If I do more good than evil I will be saved.

3)   All I have to do is believe in Jesus as personal Lord and Savior.

None of those are exactly right, if not misleading.  The notion that I never killed anyone or committed adultery is very minimalistic, what about greed, perjury, false witness, lying, missing mass, selfishness, lust, pride, or any of the other deadly sins.  To make one’s morality the whole of two sins clearly shows that the person is lacking a relationship with God and also not understanding what it means to be holy.  When one is in a relationship with God the first thing they will try to do is please Him, no different than when a child tries to please its parents.  This is how a child shows love and it’s appreciation for being loved.  If your child centered their whole existence and relationship around you with only avoiding two things, there would be really no relationship, nor would you put up with that as parents, you would naturally demand much more.

The second notion that I do more good than evil is also false for most of us.  There are canonized saints whom we know lived very holy lives and their sins were either very few or almost none at all, though they considered themselves terrible sinners, a feeling they had that came from humility.  Most of us on the other hand are a mixed bag, we are somewhat good and somewhat evil, we do good things and we do evil things.  St. Paul is very clear on this and he is so because he is protecting the concept of being saved by grace.  He says in Romans chapter three, “No one is good, no, not even one.”  He is basically arguing that we all need God’s grace to be saved; we cannot achieve it on our own.  If a person thinks they can get to heaven by following the Law, then they must follow it perfectly and do so always, for even the smallest offense makes one a breaker of the entire law and the person is justly condemned by God.

There are some Christians who believe that one must make an altar call or declare that Jesus is their personal Lord and Savior.  If not, one cannot be saved.  It is at this moment (when one declares Jesus as personal Lord and Savior that one is born again).  Catholics have nothing against calling Jesus or declaring Jesus one’s personal Lord and Savior, for He is.  The problems arise when one then does away with works of faith and love.  The easiest way to describe this is, what if a person tells you I am born again but then that night they cheat on their spouse, the next day they embezzle money, the day after they do physical harm to someone, would you consider that person a good and faithful Christian, no, of course not, for Jesus tells us, “You shall know them by their fruits.”

How are we saved, is it by faith or works?  The answer is both, but we could do neither if God did not give us the initial grace to be faithful and to do good.  He gave us that grace at Baptism and He continues to give it to us in the sacraments and in other moments of our lives.  As Catholics we never separate faith and works for we take the word “and” very seriously.

Jesus does not end today’s Gospel by only saying, “Believe what I am telling you about the Good Samaritan,” nor does He ever say, “You must only believe,” rather He says, “Go and do likewise!”  Again, our Lord tells us to, “Go and do likewise!”

FJ

Called and Sent to Preach Love

In today’s Gospel we heard that Jesus appointed seventy-two others to go ahead of Him and announce the Good News.  Those appointments have not stopped.  Jesus continues to appoint others each and every day to be His Apostles, to go forth and announce Him to the world.

Jesus has called us to be His apostles.  We are not the first twelve apostles, they had a special call and mission, to be the foundation of the Church, nevertheless Jesus calls others besides the twelve to be His Apostles.  For to be an apostle you simply have to be called by name and then sent. (c.f. Is. 43:1 and Lk. 10:1)

Jesus has already called each and every one of us gathered here today, He has called us personally.  He has also given each of us a mission, a vocation; a life’s calling for His glory and for the good of the Church.  And it is today in our own time that Jesus needs each and every one of us to go forth and proclaim the Good News.

A question we may be asking is, “What is the Good News I need to be preaching, both by word and deed?”

First and foremost we need to preach that God loves us, even in our brokenness. Our words will mean nothing if we do not address the fact that we are deeply loved.  Loved so much in fact that the Lord would carry a cross and be crucified on it for people who did not deserve it; that is love personified and love shown perfectly.

We have a lot of problems in our world.  All of us have become war mongers, we still execute people, many still believe you cannot have abortions in society but at the same time want people put to death, we have turned marriage upside down both in its sanctity, we have a fifty % divorce rate and we have recently redefined marriage, we live in excess while many can’t find their next meal, we blame the poor as being lazy – you know Jesus did that all the time (being sarcastic), we have closed our doors to the immigrant and to those who are already here we blame for our problems, really?  So it was the immigrant who bought bad mortgages, who turned our nation into a debt society (again being sarcastic).  Our problems go on and on.  

The beauty is that all of these problems can be remedied by faith and love in Jesus and one another.  Jesus wants us to talk about these things, to one another, but also to all of society.  He wants us to share the share the answer with others.  The answer has not changed since the first man and woman walked this earth, that we are loved.  If that love is accepted by us and we try to live it than the world will become a better place, if we deny that love and live in our brokenness, then we will remain so, bitter, angry and casting blame on everyone but ourselves.

Jesus called us in this time and this place to go forth and bring Him to others so that they along with us will give up our sins, for they are too heavy, and lean on Jesus where we find peace, but most of all love, the mission of each and every apostle, to share and love and know we are loved.