As we head into the end of the Liturgical Year, our readings will often have things tough to hear – stories of doom and gloom and of the end times. But they also have hope. Take this past Sunday: “…not a hair on your head will be destroyed.” Jesus promises to be with us. Fear though can sometimes get in the way, when we look at our lives, or a difficult situation. And sometimes, fear can be a good thing. It can warn us to stay away from a situation that is too dangerous, and can even be a help. But, other times, fears can be stumbling blocks to growth. There’s a reason our parents, for instance, teach us how to ride a bike. We might fear toppling over at first without training wheels, but they know riding a bike will give is enjoyment – and so help us to learn how to do it. As we age, most of us learn how to ride a bike, but sometimes fears get in the way that prevent us from reaching our other potentials: how do we battle a rough situation? How do we speak our minds to people who mock the faith or who go down a wrong path? How do we find a way out when storm waters seem so high? Small wonder we pray at each Mass, “Deliver us, o Lord from all evil, and protect us from all anxiety.” Here’s my homily for this past weekend. Here are the readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/111410.shtml Have a blessed day. – Fr. Paul **********************************************************************************
Needless to say calling last weekend “hectic” would have been an understatement, but one bright spot was the window of 10 minutes on Sunday afternoon that saw the Vikings score two touchdowns and come from behind to finally get a win. And once again, for the 46th time in his career, the architect was Brett Favre.
Favre is an incredible talent to watch on the gridiron, and will be an easy first-ballot vote into the Hall of Fame when he’s eligible. And while I tune in to watch and get excited, I still have to remind myself of the wisdom my dad gave me while growing up: whether they win or lose, you’re still going to have to go to school tomorrow. Of course he’s right; the Vikings really can’t do much for me other than get me excited or provide a nice three-hour diversion on a Sunday afternoon. Were I trying to get into football, I’m sure I could learn a thing or two from them, but at this point in my life I can safely say I’ll never be in the NFL.
However, I think there are a few things that Favre can teach me about life. But it’s not the Favre whose first name is Brett; rather it’s the Favre whose first name is Deanna.
I’ve never met Deanna Favre, but recently there was an article that ran in USA Today on her in the “faith and reason” section, where she talked about her faith life and how it has helped her deal with fear. On “Good Morning America” a couple of weeks back, in talking about the scandal that her husband got involved in concerning questionable text messages, she said that faith is what has sustained her, and on her refrigerator are verses from Isaiah 41:9-14, which in part state: “Fear not, I am with you; be not dismayed; I am your God. I will strengthen you, and help you, and uphold you with my right hand of justice.” And on more than one occasion, she’s had her shares of fears to confront.
In college, she was pregnant with her first child at the age of 20, in her second year of college, and was a single mom who had to support herself with various jobs. She and Brett have also had difficulties at different points in their marriage. At one point, he became addicted to painkillers, which she helped him overcome; in 1999, she helped him wake up to his drinking problem, and he entered rehab and reportedly hasn’t had a drink since. On top of this, she also recently had to battle breast cancer, getting treatment in 2005 and making a recovery. From a distance, it might seem fame and money might make life better; but indeed, just like everyone else, Deanna has had her share of very dark moments, and one of the things she has clung to that has gotten her through these moments has been her faith. She says that “I think we always see the way out. Our strength obviously comes from God. We see the better way. People who don’t have faith, I think they just get stuck; they don’t see a way out.” She goes on to say that, as a Christian and through a book she recently wrote, she “hopes we can lead those people maybe to Christ. They’ll realize there’s more to life. There’s a better life, and God has a purpose and a plan for them and (can) provide hope.”
Hope, though, can be hard to come by, and in difficult situations, fears can certainly be present. I know as the time loomed for the homily last week, my heart rate was running a little high, because I wanted to try to say the right things and comfort people. Even after I had written out my homily, my concern was some people might not pay attention, because I had mentioned her in a homily I once gave earlier, and on top of that people might have so many emotions they were going through they might just tune me out. But, despite some nerves, I was able to get through it and was overwhelmed with the support the congregation showed me. Last weekend went about as good as we could have hoped, in that I think people here are really coming together, and most importantly, we are providing one another with hope.
One of the things I pointed out though was that once something happens, one can’t wave a magic wand and make everything right in an instant. We need to move forward, and whether it’s this situation or something else, a stumbling block to that is fear and anxiety. Small wonder we pray “deliver us from all anxiety” at each Mass, for it can always crop up and make us doubt, or look at our shortcomings. That’s where hope, love and fortitude come into play, to spur us on and remind us that we are loved and indeed strong because God is with us and given us the ability to see anything through that life might throw at us.
Jesus is onto this in the Gospel. At first glance, it sounds like doom and gloom are all that await us for the future: wars between nations; persecution for living out the faith and natural disasters. It certainly doesn’t sound like much of a future to me. And in fact, much of what Jesus speaks of does come to pass. The Temple, a massive building for it’s time, would be destroyed 40 years later. For a Jewish person living at the time, the loss of that was devastating – almost as if their entire world was coming to an end. Christians would go through a similar thing when Rome would fall to the Barbarians. The questions then were the same that we face today: how can we go forward whether it’s the situation we face as a parish or the situations life might throw at us? How do we deal with the fears, anxieties and uncertainties can come up in life that prevent us from moving forward?
I think the key is embracing fortitude, a virtue that God gives us. The catechism defines it as “the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good.” It’s what’s known as a human virtue – a virtue that we get by being born a human being. But just because everyone has it, doesn’t mean that fear vanishes. When Jesus was in the garden praying to the Father, I think part of Him was certainly fearful of what was ahead. Fear is natural, and it can be healthy – we should fear certain things so we don’t do foolish things that put ourselves in danger. Someone putting themselves in extreme danger isn’t an act of fortitude; it’s an act of foolishness. Where fortitude comes into play is that it serves as the shield against fear paralyzing us so that we can stand against anything that comes at us. But for that to happen, we have to grow in it.
One of the first ways to grow in it is through prayer. That’s something that Deanna Favre stressed in that article. I especially like her statement about how people of faith can see the way out of a situation, and one of the flashlights if you will is through growing in fortitude by picking up the phone and praying to God. One of the most comforting verses for me in Scripture is in this Gospel: “not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.” Jesus is reminding His followers that there will be pain, but that we do not journey alone. He is right there at our side. Proof of this is the Cross. When you think of the Passion, indeed the worst does happen: He was overwhelmed by chaos; the sun was darkened, and the world collapsed – but yet, He stood upright for us. I think we see this quite starkly in the cross we have here at Saint Hubert’s over our altar. If you look at it, we see not a broken man, but our Lord as a king in glory. It’s a Cross of triumph. And its a sign to us that just as the Son was lifted up by the Father and glorified by Him, we too can share in Christ’s glory – for when we come to Him, He will help us stand upright in the face of whatever life may throw at us. And that’s why prayer is so important – because much like the Father sent the angel to comfort Jesus in the garden, prayer strengthens our relationship with Him by reminding us that the Passion wasn’t something that is just a historical event from 2000 years ago, but a living sign of how much we are loved.
Secondly, I also think we always need to keep our eyes fixed on the big picture through patience and perseverance. When you are in the midst of a challenging time though, that can be a pretty tall order. In our first reading, Malachi writes after the Jews had returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile but it’s still a difficult time. One of the challenges for the people was seeing seemingly the wrong people prosper; people might be back in Jerusalem which is hopeful, but there’s still a whole lot of corruption and evil actions going on around them, which disheartens them. A few verses prior to where this reading picks up, Malachi records the concern of the people: “for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity.” Small wonder they would not be tempted to throw up their hands and wonder “what’s the point of it all?” Enter Malachi with his message of hope that God’s love will ultimately prevail as will His justice. I think that is important to remember when we journey through life’s storms. But we also have to remember that if we are focused on the big picture, it doesn’t mean we passively sit around and wait for heaven, but that we are active in using fortitude to help people realize what matters most. Take the situation the parish is currently going through. As I shared last week, depending on the day (or minute), sometimes I’m sad, confused, or even frustrated and angry. These are all emotions that I battle, and I can’t ignore the past but need to know that the emotional part and sorting all that out, that’s going to take time. I’ve got a job to do, and I move forward, but whenever you go through something difficult, while one tries to forgive, the forgetting part isn’t so easy. I need to acknowledge to those who support me what I’m going through, but if I stay focused on the past or just the anger part of it, I’m not sure that will do much help in trying to move forward. I need to first acknowledge these emotions, but also focus is on how can I and others help our parish to heal; how can I help this parish to become even better than it is, and how can I really confront the issue and the emotions people are going through not by ignoring them but by being there for those in need. If our focus is on heaven, the goal of each day should be to help ourselves and one another become better people. We do that not by just being a cheerleader or with little well-intended but not all that helpful lines such as “it’ll all be better,” but by rolling up our sleeves and doing difficult things, such as not ignoring emotions, and by being active in one another’s lives so that when we see someone struggling or going down the wrong path, we are there to confront and also help them while at the same time being patient – knowing that change can take time, for ourselves and for one another. It may be a long time for some people to heal from what has happened, and I think that’s important to acknowledge, because that’s what happens when someone is hurt. But whether it’s our situation as a parish, or the situation of someone we care about whom we are trying to change, we not only have to be patient but we have to be persistent in being there for one another. Perhaps a loved one is making bad decisions, or we try to help someone see the truth that they are loved by God, and they just can’t see it or just can’t see how their decision may be hurting themselves and others. Jesus says it best: “by your perseverance you will secure your lives.” He’s encouraging us to see things through, whether it’s storms in our lives or in the lives of others. It can be tempting to throw in the towel, and think either things won’t get better or maybe someone won’t change. But through a bit of patience and perseverance, we can see the big picture of hope. And I have to tell you, that has been one of the most encouraging and hopeful things to me so far, that people really do that here at Saint Huberts. One of my biggest concerns going into last weekend was the potential anger that might be out there that would lead people to leave, or not want to talk about things. But instead, people really have come together and supported one another, because they know that’s simply what we have to do. So many people here know that our Church, both universally and locally within our parish, is a very special place that can bring them closer to God. We also must remember that we are God’s building too, the building built of living stones and whether it is this incident or the many others in life that come at us, each one of us can do so much to be an instrument of hope to one another.
And finally, my hope is that we also never forget how we journey forward together. One of the quick reminders that I’ve gotten over the past week is how much support that I have. I’ve gotten phone calls from other priests, and many e-mails and also kind notes from people in the parish, not to mention the many words of support. On top of that, the staff has really rallied together to support one another. This certainly isn’t the first storm in my life I’ve had to weather, and it won’t be the last. Sometimes when things become challenging, at least for me, a lot of “I” statements get used: I’ve got to figure this out, I’ve got to help people, I’ve got to make things right. But interestingly, so many people used “I” statements to me: what can I do for you, how can I pray for you, how can I show you support. As I said in my bulletin column, one thing the recent events have done for me was just remind me of the inherent goodness that is in people in how when things are rough, people really reach out to one another. What an remedy to fear and anxiety that is, and it’s reminded me of the importance of a difficult word for me to use: “help.” There’s a reason Jesus chose 12 apostles and not 1 and sent them out to work together. My hope is that no matter where you are at in our life or what it is you are going through, be it this situation, a difficult work situation, a bully at school, or just the turbulence of life, that you never fear reaching out and asking someone for assistance, and I thank you for reminding me to do the same thing.
Last week’s wasn’t the first sermon in which my heart was going fast and I was a bit nervous about what I would say, and it won’t be the last. Even after 3 years it can still be hard to get up here, trying to say something that applies to people’s lives, and in the parish trying to help people there will always be moments of doubt where I ask “did I do enough?” But then, I do a little soul-searching. I look at the Cross, and I know that my God stands by me. I look at the people who surround me on the staff and in the parish and in my family, and know they are there to help me. And I look at so many resilient people that I’ve come to know as a priest who have had to battle everything from parish difficulties, to tragedies in the family to tragedies in their lives, but they did so with such incredible bravery. If you ever saw “The Wizard of Oz,” you might recall the Cowardly Lion. He was afraid of everything, and so much wanted courage. Finally, when the all-powerful Oz is revealed as a man behind a curtain, he gets his wish. Oz pins a medal on his mane; but really it wasn’t the medal that gave him courage. He had it all along; it just took Oz reminding him. God doesn’t give us a medal, but at our birth gave us each the virtue of fortitude that helps us to conquer anything. Fortitude is the remedy that helps us see something through to the end, and run the race of life, and pick ourselves up when we fall and get back on the track rather than giving up. May we use this virtue to run it well, and never give up knowing that we can truly make it through anything life will throws at us. On Good Friday, the worst possible thing happened: Jesus died, and all was seemingly hopeless. But through that dark hour, the world was redeemed and Christ conquered the grave. May we turn to Him, to one another, and to this beautiful virtue to conquer all of our fears.
