Would Jesus Feel Welcome in Your Home?

 

(Thirty-first Sunday of the Year (C): This homily was given on October 30, 2022 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Wisdom 11:22-12:2; Psalm 145:1-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2; Luke 19:1-10.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Thirty-first Sunday 2022]

If a particular person invites himself into your home, you will probably either be very happy or very angry.  It all depends on the quality of your relationship with the person.  If you like him, you’ll be happy; if you don’t like him, you’ll be angry and annoyed.

But if Jesus Christ invites himself into your home, you should definitely feel happy, honored and thankful—like Zacchaeus did when Jesus called him down from the sycamore tree in Jericho and said to him, “Zacchaeus, today I must stay at your house.”

Of course, the real question is: Once Jesus entered your home and actually began to interact with you and with your family, how would HE feel?  Would he feel at home?  Would he feel welcome?  Would he feel like he belonged? 

That’s the issue I want to deal with today in my homily, because in point of fact Jesus Christ DOES invite himself into your home and mine each and every day!

I say that because the family is called the “domestic church” in the Catechism (CCC, 2204), and the Church as a whole is called “the Body of Christ” in Scripture.  This means that every Christian family—every “domestic church”—is a place where Jesus wants to dwell, as he dwells in the Church as a whole.

I think it’s safe to say that Jesus did feel welcome in Zacchaeus’ home on the day he visited him—and for a number of reasons.  First of all, Jesus probably felt that way because he knew he was an important person to Zacchaeus.  Generally speaking, people feel welcome in your home when they know they’re important to you, when they know that they’re special in your eyes. 

Which leads to the obvious question: How important is Jesus Christ to you and to your family?  Where is Jesus Christ on your list of priorities?  I know many families, for example, for whom the worship of Jesus at Sunday Mass is very important—unless they’re on vacation, or unless they’re involved in a sporting activity, or unless it’s the week of grandma’s big birthday party.

I know families for whom the worship of Jesus at Sunday Mass is very important—but not on holy days (like the one we had this week, All Saints Day!).  Remember, Mass attendance on holy days is obligatory, not optional!

In all honesty, how important is Jesus to you and to the people you live with?  Is he welcome under your roof because he’s the most important person in each of your lives?

Jesus also felt welcome in the home of Zacchaeus because Zacchaeus talked to him!  Obviously if someone comes into your home and you don’t say a word to him while he’s there, he probably won’t stay very long.  He’ll get the message that you really don’t want him around, and he’ll leave.

How often do you and the members of your family speak to Jesus?  Do you do it at your family meals?  Do you do it at EVERY meal?  Do you pray at other times in your home together as a family?  I’m happy to say that I know of certain families in this parish who pray together every single night for 5 or 10 minutes.  They offer up personal intentions; they say a decade of the Rosary; they say a few other prayers.  It’s nothing fancy, but you can be absolutely certain that Jesus Christ feels very much at home when that type of activity is going on!

Jesus also felt welcome in Zacchaeus’ home because the man sincerely repented of his sins!  And as a typical Jewish tax collector of first century Palestine, Zacchaeus no doubt had lots and lots of sins to repent of!  Jesus felt welcome in and through Zacchaeus’ repentance because he had come into the world specifically to forgive sins and to save human beings from eternal death!  As he himself said at the very end of the story, “Today salvation has come to this house . . . for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

And notice that Zacchaeus expressed his sorrow by vowing to make amends for the many wrongs he had done.  He said, “Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.”  Zacchaeus knew that he needed to do penance to undo the damage—or at least some of the damage—that his sins had caused.

Jesus feels welcome whenever people sincerely repent—and whenever they make amends.  How often do the members of your family say, “I’m sorry” to one another—and mean it?  How often do they make amends to one another?  And how often do the members of your family say they’re sorry to Jesus directly in the sacrament of Reconciliation?  Parents, how often do you take your children to Confession—and how often do you yourselves go?

Hopefully when Jesus entered Zacchaeus’ house, he didn’t see or hear anything that upset him.  I say that because people feel welcome in a home only if they’re not scandalized or embarrassed by what they see and hear there.  Would Jesus feel welcome in your home if he heard the way the members of your family speak to one another?  Or would the language he heard upset him?  Would he feel at ease watching your favorite television programs with you, or listening to your favorite music with you (all the stuff, for example, that you’ve downloaded from iTunes)?  Speaking of downloading off the internet, would Jesus be happy sitting at your computer and viewing your “history of visited sites” on the web? 

And would he find his image prominently displayed in your home?  (I must tell you, I always feel very welcome in homes when I find my picture on the refrigerator door!  And I do from time to time!  It’s a nice feeling!)

Would Jesus find an image or two of his dear Mother and his dear friends, the saints?  Or would he find other, disturbing images on your walls and on your furniture that would scandalize or anger him?

“Lord Jesus, our homes are not perfect (you know that far better than we do!).  None of us lives in a family in which you find a perfect welcome all the time.  Sometimes we may put other things ahead of you; sometimes we may ignore you by not praying as we should; sometimes we may hurt other family members and not repent and make amends; sometimes we may fail to create a loving, holy atmosphere in our living space.  And so today we simply ask you for the grace to help us improve.  Help us to do whatever ‘remodeling’ is necessary to make our homes, our families—our domestic churches—more welcoming to you.  Because if we can create homes where you feel welcome, Lord Jesus, chances are everyone else who comes through our front door will feel welcome too.  Amen.”

 

The Difference Between the Pride of the Pharisee and the Pride of the Modern World

 (Thirtieth Sunday of the Year (C): This homily was given on October 23. 2022 at St. Pius X Church in Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Sirach 35:12-18; Psalm 34:2-23; 2 Timothy 4:6-18; Luke 18:9-14.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Thirtieth Sunday 2022]

 

This morning I would like to give credit where credit is due.  This morning, within the context of this homily, I want to commend the Pharisee we just heard about in this parable from Luke 18.  Now I realize that I may be the first person in Church history to do this, but no matter—they say there's a first time for everything.

Fr. Ray, how can you possibly offer any kind of praise to this repulsive character?

Well, before I give my word of commendation, let me say that there are plenty of legitimate criticisms that you can level against this Pharisee:  he was proud; he was arrogant; he was condescending; he was lacking in self-knowledge (because he was completely out of touch with his own failings and sins).  He was also judgmental, in the sense that he not only condemned evil actions (which is what we are supposed to do); he also condemned other people by pretending to know what was in their hearts (which is what we must never do).  In this regard, Bishop Sheen used to say, "We can always know with certainty the worst that is within ourselves, but we can only SUSPECT the worst that is in someone else."  Unfortunately, the Pharisee had it backwards: he was completely blind to the worst in himself, and he thought he knew with absolute certainty the worst that was in other people.

You know, it's interesting—his prayer would have been perfectly acceptable if he had said, "I give you thanks, O God, that BY YOUR GRACE I have been able to avoid certain sins in my life.  I praise you Lord, for your goodness and mercy."  That would have been a legitimate prayer of gratitude to God.  But instead, his prayer consisted of condemning people like the tax collector and patting himself on the back (as if he had been able to avoid certain sins BY HIS OWN POWER).

And yet, in spite of all these negatives, I must give this Pharisee credit for one thing:  at least he was only proud of his good and virtuous actions!  In this parable, he commends himself for avoiding certain sins, for fasting and for paying tithes—all of which are praiseworthy endeavors.  It's good to avoid sin (I highly recommend it!); it's good to fast; and it's good to give one-tenth of your gross income to charitable causes.  Now please don't misunderstand me—I'm not approving in any way of this man's pride.  His pride was clearly sinful.  But I am saying that at least he was proud of doing things that were good! 

Believe it or not, that makes him quite different from many proud people in the modern world—because nowadays it's very common for men and women to be proud of their VICES as well as their virtues!  In other words, what was once a cause for shame is now considered by some to be a cause for boasting!

For example, have you seen the latest television commercials for the pro-abortion politicians in the state of Rhode Island?  This illustrates the point beautifully.  Now, I know, these politicians like to call themselves “pro-choice,” but that expression—"pro-choice”—is absolutely, positively meaningless, until you know what the choice is that’s being supported.  Well, in this case, of course, it’s the choice to kill an innocent and helpless human being; the “choice” is the choice to kill a baby.  For supporting this kind of evil activity, these candidates for public office should be ashamed of themselves.  But from their television commercials it’s clear: they’re not ashamed; they’re not ashamed at all.  They’re PROUD!  They’re PROUD of where they stand on the matter; they’re PROUD of their support for baby-killing.  It’s a badge of honor to them!  It’s also sick.

Some people today are PROUD of their support for giving potentially dangerous drugs and radical, mutilating surgeries to confused children—young children—without the parents of those children knowing anything about it.

Some people are PROUD of the rioting and looting that they’ve done on our city streets in recent years.  In fact, the other day I read about a new book that’s come out.  It’s entitled, “In Defense of Looting”.  The title indicates that the author sees looting as a good thing—something that looters should be PROUD of, not something they should regret.

Some people are PROUD of their racism, although they don’t call it racism.  They usually call it “social justice” or “making reparations”.  In effect, they blame all white people for the sins of some white people (especially, I dare say, if the people in question are white policemen)—which is just as wrong as blaming all black people for the sins of some black people.  Both attitudes, at their root, are racist.  And both, sad to say, are all too common in our country right now.

The reality is that there are lots of sins that people are proud of these days: their drinking exploits; their sexual exploits; their shady business deals; their lack of charity towards others.

Some are even PROUD of their support for having pornographic images in certain books in our public school libraries.

So, my brothers and sisters, before we point our finger at the proud Pharisee in this gospel, we need to take stock of the condition of our own house.  Are we proud of our good and virtuous actions in the same sense that the Pharisee was—forgetting that it's ONLY by the grace of God that we can do ANYTHING good?!  And are we infected with this modern type of pride which actually leads us to boast of our vices and sins?  We all need to examine our consciences on this matter, because pride is the most subtle and the most prevalent of all the deadly sins.  Consequently it's often overlooked, and not repented of.  St. John Climacus, who lived back in the 7^th century, tells a story that illustrates just how difficult this sin can be to identify.  I will leave you with his words.  St. John wrote: "An old man, very experienced in these matters, once spiritually admonished a proud brother who said in his blindness: 'Forgive me, father, but I am not proud.'  'My son,' said the wise old man, 'what better proof of your pride could you have given than to claim that you were not proud?'"

 

Focus On What You Have, Not On What You Don’t Have

Kyle Maynard

(Twenty-eighth Sunday of the Year (C): This homily was given on October 9, 2022 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Luke 17:11-19.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Twenty-eighth Sunday 2022]

His name is Kyle Maynard.  I first heard about him back in 2005.  I mentioned him in my Thanksgiving Day homily that year.

He was born in 1986 with a rare disorder known as “Congenital Amputation.”  Because of it, he has extremely short legs, deformed feet, and arms that end at the elbow joint.

But Kyle Maynard is happy—and thankful.

And he’s refused to let his physical shortcomings hold him back in his personal growth and development.  With a deep faith in God—and with lots of encouragement from family and friends—he’s done things that many people were convinced he could never do.  Without the assistance of prosthetic limbs, for example, he learned how to eat using regular silverware!  (Don’t ask me how, but he did!)  He also learned how to write—and type (reportedly at the rate of 50 words a minute, which is a lot faster than many healthy people type!). 

He’s even been involved in sports.  He actually wrestled on the University of Georgia’s wrestling team, after having a very successful high school career in which he compiled a pretty impressive record of 35 wins and 16 losses.

And he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania back in 2012—without any assistance.  He climbed (or maybe I should say “crawled”) all 19,340 feet to the top of the mountain in 10 days.  Later on that year he was awarded an ESPY for being the “best male athlete with a disability”.

I saw Kyle interviewed in 2005 on the 700 Club television program.  During that interview, he made a number of noteworthy statements, but one of the most important was that he refuses to focus on what he doesn’t have in his life.  Rather, he makes the conscious choice every day to focus on what he does have—on the abilities and talents and gifts he does possess.  So instead of becoming depressed because he doesn’t have two normal legs and two complete arms (which is what many people would do in his situation), he chooses to focus on his faith, and on the ability and opportunity he has to help other people deal with the trials they are currently facing in their lives.  His message to them is: “With the help of God and others, I have overcome many of the obstacles that were placed in my path because of Congenital Amputation.  You can do the same thing in your life, with respect to the obstacles that you are currently dealing with.”

Focus on what you have, not on what you don’t have.

Those who are truly grateful—like Kyle Maynard—do that: they focus on what they possess, not on what they lack.

Consider the leper in today’s Gospel story from Luke 17.  On the day he was healed by Jesus, there were many things he didn’t have.  That should be obvious.  He didn’t have a nice home to go back to.  (Because he was a leper, he had been living in isolation with other lepers, perhaps for many years.)  He didn’t have a job; and he probably didn’t have many friends—at least he didn’t have many friends among the Jews, since he was a Samaritan.  But once he was healed, it’s clear that he wasn’t focused on any of those things.

His focus was on what he did have at that moment: faith in Jesus, and restored physical health.  And so he was grateful.

Focus on what you have, not on what you don’t have.

Perhaps some of you are saying to yourselves, “That sounds pretty easy to do, Fr. Ray.”

Well, don’t be fooled!  It isn’t easy!—which is precisely why I bring it up in this homily!

In fact, we are currently living in a consumer culture in which we are being programmed—subtly taught—every single day to focus on what we lack, on what we don’t possess!

And this is very easy to illustrate.  I ask you: How many advertisements are you exposed to during an average day—on TV, on the radio, in magazines, and on the internet?

Lots of them, right?  Too many, for sure!

And what’s the underlying message contained in 99.9% of these advertisements?  Very simply, the message is: You don’t have this!—you don’t have this great car; you don’t have this camera; you don’t have this toy; you don’t have this new video game; you don’t have this super laundry detergent.  But you should!

And how about the hedonistic and materialistic messages that come at us constantly, especially in the media?—You don’t have the perfect boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse; you don’t have the perfect body like those athletes and Hollywood models; you don’t have as much money as Elon Musk or Bill Gates.  You don’t have, you don’t have, you don’t have ...  

No wonder so many people are depressed and dissatisfied these days, even though they have so much!  They are programmed to be that way!  Or perhaps I should say, they have allowed themselves to be programmed that way. 

This, incidentally, is one of the reasons why suffering is not the worst thing in the world.  Admittedly, none of us likes to suffer.  We’d much rather prosper and have it easy.  That’s human nature.  But if we reflect on the experience of suffering for a moment, we will realize that it often has a positive effect in our lives.  Specifically, it “deprograms” us!  That is to say, it stops us from focusing on what we lack, and gets us to zero in (for a change) on what we do have. 

Think of Kyle Maynard: his suffering certainly has had that effect on him. 

Think, too, of some of the victims of natural disasters, like Hurricane Ian.  They also illustrate the point beautifully.  After losing their homes and all their earthly possessions, many of those who’ve lived through these storms have been quoted as saying things like: “I am grateful that I still have my faith;” “I am grateful that I have my family;” “I am grateful that I survived, and that I still have my health;” “I am grateful that I have such caring and devoted friends who are supporting me through all this.”

Their suffering has caused a radical shift in their focus—and has made them grateful.

The choice, it seems to me, should be pretty clear at this point: If you choose to focus on what you have, you will develop an attitude of gratitude in your life.

On the other hand, if you choose to focus on what you don’t have, in all likelihood you will simply develop an “attitude”!

Dear Lord, help us—as you have helped Kyle Maynard—to have the right focus!

 

“GUARD the Deposit of Faith!”—St. Paul's Command to Timothy and to All Priests

 

(Twenty-seventh Sunday of the Year (C): This homily was given on October 1, 2022 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Habakkuk 1:2-3, 2:2-4; Psalm 95:1-9; 2 Timothy 1:1-14; Luke 17:5-10.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Twenty-seventh Sunday 2022]

 

It happened many years ago, but I remember the encounter as if it occurred yesterday.  I happened to be in Warwick one afternoon, and I ran into a married couple that I knew from the northern part of the state.  During the course of our conversation the wife said to me, “Fr. Ray, please keep us in your prayers.  My husband and I have been trying to have children for nine years.  Tomorrow I'm undergoing “in vitro-fertilization” for the FOURTH time.  Please pray that it works so that we can finally have a child.”

Well, immediately, I was put on the spot.  That's because the Catholic Church, in the name of Jesus Christ (not in its own name, but in the name of Jesus Christ) teaches that in vitro fertilization is immoral.  The desire to overcome infertility is, of course, a good desire.  But, as St. Paul teaches in his letter to the Romans, we may never use an evil means to attain a good end.  IVF is an evil means.  Why?  Not because technology is involved.  The Church is not against technology as such.  In fact Jesus, through his Church, teaches that some medical methods of treating infertility are quite acceptable.  But any method which REPLACES the marital act is immoral.  And, unfortunately, IVF does that: children are conceived—not through the loving union of two parents—but rather in a petri dish.  And there are other immoral dimensions to this procedure. For example, the method that's normally used to obtain sperm is immoral, as is the common practice of destroying some of the eggs that are fertilized.  Lest we forget, to destroy a fertilized human egg is to destroy a human being made in the image and likeness of God.

Well, as gently as I could, I tried to explain all of this to the woman and her husband.  And, not surprisingly, they were devastated.  The wife finally said, “Fr. Ray, do you hate us now for having done this 3 times?  Will you think less of us when you see us in the future?”  I said, “Of course not.  You're wonderful people.  And besides, in the past you didn't realize this was wrong—as many other Catholics don't realize that it's wrong.”

Then she added this comment, which I will never, ever forget: “But Father Ray, our PRIEST told us it was okay.  We went to see him before we did any of this, and he said that as long as they intended to put all the fertilized eggs back, it would be fine.”

At that, my blood pressure went through the roof!  I was livid!  Not at the couple, but at the priest, who should have known better!  You see, instead of telling these two people the truth, instead of being courageous and giving them the right message, he told them what he thought they wanted to hear—probably because he didn't want to offend them.  And what was the end result of his “compassionate act?”  Well first of all, he put me in a terribly awkward position; and secondly, he made it much worse for this good, sincere couple.  In trying to be a “nice guy,” he ultimately caused them to experience more pain when they finally learned the truth—the truth that he should have told them in the first place!

Why do I mention this incident today?  Number one, because this is an issue which many Catholics are unclear about; and number two because our second reading for this Mass is addressed to Timothy, who was one of the very first leaders in the Church.  St. Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, in which he tells the young priest how to be a true shepherd in the family of God.  But nowhere in either of the letters does Paul say: “Tim, be a nice guy.  Don’t ever offend anybody.  Tell people exactly what they want to hear.  Give them an easy message.”  Rather, Paul encouraged him to speak the TRUTH in love, even if it hurt—even if it was offensive to some.  For example, in the text we just heard he says (and here I’m using the old New American Bible translation), “[Timothy], take as a model of sound teaching what you have heard me say, in faith and love in Christ Jesus.”  Now Timothy must have heard Paul say many difficult things, because Paul did that on a regular basis. That's clear from his many New Testament letters.  He was not a wimp.  He was not afraid to confront the pressing social and cultural issues of his day. And make no mistake about it: Paul suffered for being so honest and truthful.  That's why he also tells Timothy, “Never be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but with the strength which comes from God bear your share of the hardships which the gospel entails.”  In other words, “Tim, if you intend to be a good priest, get ready to be opposed by some people when you speak the full truth of the gospel.  It's happened to me; it will certainly happen to you.  Don't think you'll somehow be exempt from the experience.  But don't be afraid either.  God will give you the strength you need to deal with it.” 

Then, a few verses later, Paul gives him this most important instruction: “Guard the rich deposit of faith with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.”  The key word there is the word “guard.”  Notice that Paul DOESN'T say “change the deposit of faith if you feel like it;” he doesn't say “water down the deposit of faith if it challenges you too much.”  He tells Timothy to "guard it."  That's because neither Paul, nor Timothy, nor Peter, nor anyone else had the power to change it.  The same is true today.  Now this is something that many modern Catholic lay people (and others—including some bishops in Germany right now) don't seem to understand.  They want the Church to change her teaching on the priesthood, and on certain aspects of sexual morality.  The Church does not have the power or the authority to do such a thing!  It never did, and it never will!  All the Church can do is what Paul says here.  All it can do is GUARD and PROMOTE the deposit of faith (which is the full gospel of Jesus Christ).

I am confident that Timothy followed Paul's instruction.  Which means that if he had been a priest today, and a married couple had come to him seeking guidance on how to deal with their infertility, Timothy would not have given them the wrong advice in order to be a nice guy. He would have gently, patiently (and courageously) explained to them the clear teaching of the Church on the matter.  And he would have helped them to explore morally acceptable options to deal with their difficult situation—like NaPro technology, which treats infertility with natural methods that are based on good science.

I ask you today to pray that we will have more leaders of this type in God's family.  And it's certainly in your interest as lay people to do this: because good priests like Timothy not only save their own souls, they also take many lay people with them to heaven.  Bad priests, on the other hand, do exactly the opposite. 

And we’ve had far too many of them in the Church in recent decades, as we are all painfully aware.

St. Paul and St. Timothy, pray for us—and pray especially today for our leaders: for all bishops, priests and deacons in the Church. Pray that they will speak the truth in love to their people ALWAYS—as you both did.  Amen.