What You Have Increases As You GIVE

(Eighteenth Sunday of the Year (A): This homily was given on August 3, 2014 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I., by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Matthew 14: 13-21.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Fourteenth Sunday 2014]

 What you have increases as you give.

What you have increases as you take.

The first of those two statements is always true spiritually, and sometimes it’s even true materially.

The second is always true materially, but it’s rarely true spiritually.

I hope you were able to follow all that!

The second (“What you have increases as you take”) is the principle by which many people (perhaps even most people) live their lives in our materialistic world.

The first (“What you have increases as you give”) is the principle by which true followers of Jesus Christ try to live their lives in the very same materialistic world. 

This timeless Christian truth about giving is something we see illustrated beautifully in the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fish that we heard in today’s gospel reading from Matthew, chapter 14.

Here the disciples present Jesus with five loaves and two fishes, and they tell him that this is all they have to feed a crowd of more than 5,000 people.  But St. John in his account of the story tells us that the disciples actually obtained these loaves and fish from a little boy who happened to be there that day.

This little boy gave what he could---he gave the little that he had to give—and two good things happened to him.  First of all, he got more food to eat himself!  He came to Jesus with two fish that he probably intended to eat that evening.  But for all we know this boy might have been extremely hungry and he might have wanted to eat four or five fish!  Well, once Jesus worked his miracle, he could have as many fish as he wanted!

And he did have as many fish—and loaves—as he desired.  So did everyone else!  We know that because at the very end of the story we are told that they all ate “and were satisfied.”

So this boy definitely experienced a material blessing.

But, even more importantly, he was blessed spiritually through his act of giving.

Let me make that clear to you by asking this question: What do you think happened to this little boy’s faith as he watched Jesus perform this miracle?  He knew what Jesus had started out with, and he saw that very small amount of food multiply right before his eyes!

That must have sent his personal faith into the stratosphere!

That must have increased his personal faith a hundredfold!

Whatever faith he already had increased as he gave—as did the amount of food that was available to him, personally, for supper!

So he experienced a blessing on the spiritual level (which always happens when we give our time or talent or treasure to God or to others with the right disposition of heart); and he also received the added bonus of a material blessing (which sometimes happens when we give).

I was moved to preach this message in my homily this Sunday because of two recent events here at St. Pius.  The first was the Steubenville East Youth Conference that occurred two weekends ago at U.R.I.

Each year that conference helps young people from Westerly and Pawcatuck (and many other places) to have a personal encounter with Jesus Christ: an encounter that often transforms their lives and either gets them on (or keeps them on) the road to heaven.

We’ve published some of the personal testimonies of the teens from our group in the bulletin each of the last two Sundays. 

Here’s what one of them said after the weekend.  Happily this person’s experience is quite typical:

“Receiving the Eucharist at Mass and during adoration is the most intimate encounter with God. Each time I come to Steubenville I strengthen my relationship with God. This year, I realized how much I love adoration. I learned to appreciate each aspect of the Mass. This year has been one of the toughest years of my life and that’s when I lost touch with God. I need Him now more than ever. I think after Steubenville everyone should set goals for themselves. My main goals are to attend adoration at least once a week, go to confession once a month, and find more time to pray. Each Steubenville conference I attend I learn something new about my faith. Steubenville shouldn’t end on Sunday. It should be a beginning…”

That’s the transforming power of Steubenville East.

But the only reason our teens are able to participate in this event at all is because so many people around them are willing to “give”: their parents; the adults who give of their time to be chaperones (and who usually pay their own way for the retreat); the generous people of this parish—and beyond this parish—who donate the tee shirts and who help those teenagers who need financial assistance; the Knights of Columbus who help us with fundraisers; and those who pray and offer special sacrifices for the success of the weekend.

Many individuals share their time and/or their talent and/or their treasure to make this experience a positive one for our young people—and in the process (whether they realize it or not) they, as well as our teenagers, are blessed by God.

And that’s the point I want to emphasize here.

Now some of them might not understand that fact until they get to heaven.  There God will show them exactly how their Steubenville “giving” helped to bring many young people to Christ and to eternal salvation.

Then he’ll proceed to give them a higher place in his kingdom because of their generosity.

That’s because in the Christian life what you have increases as you give.

The same principle I believe applies to many of the men and women who gave so generously to the special collection we had last Sunday for the fire alarm and emergency lighting system here in our church.

That was the second “recent event” that led me to preach on this particular topic this weekend.

In all honesty, I must tell you that I was overwhelmed by the incredibly positive response to this need.  I’ll probably have a final total for you next Sunday.  I don’t have one now because donations, thankfully, are still trickling in.

It’s obvious to me that many of our parishioners—and even a few who are not parishioners!—made a great sacrifice in giving what they gave.

They will be rewarded materially (as we all will) with a safer building in which to worship our God.  And that’s great.

But even more importantly, they will be rewarded spiritually on the Day of Judgment—and ETERNALLY thereafter.

Once again, that’s because what you have increases as you give.

This truth, by the way, doesn’t just apply to donations of time, talent and treasure.

I need to mention that before I close this morning.

It also applies to realities like love and mercy and forgiveness.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall receive mercy.”  In other words, “If you want to experience more mercy yourself, then show mercy—give mercy—to other people.”

Jesus said, “Forgive and you will be forgiven.”  That is to say, “If you want to be forgiven for your own sins, give forgiveness to the people who have sinned against you.”

“Give and it will be given back to you.”

Those simple words of Jesus express a principle that we encounter, in one form or another, throughout the Bible—not just in the miracle of the loaves and fish.

So obviously it’s extremely important.

May God help us all to be faithful to that principle by being good “givers,” today and every day.

How Much Do You Treasure ‘The Treasure’?

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field ..."

(Seventeenth Sunday of the Year (A): This homily was given on July 27, 2014 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Matthew 13: 44-52.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Seventeenth Sunday 2014]

How much do you treasure “The Treasure”?

Jesus says to us in today’s gospel, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Here, of course, we need to make a very important distinction.  The distinction is between the value of a treasure, and the value a particular person puts on that treasure.

Those are two very different things.

A treasure might be very valuable in and of itself—that is to say, it might be worth a great deal (objectively speaking)—however that treasure might not be worth very much to you on a personal level.  For example, if you had 2 $100 Red Sox tickets with you today and you said to me, “Fr. Ray, would you like to buy them?” I might say yes—IF this were the summer of 2013; since in the summer of 2013 Red Sox tickets, in my mind, were actually worth something.

But, as we all know, this is the summer of 2014, and this summer, in my humble opinion at least, Red Sox tickets aren’t worth the value of the paper they’re printed on!

I say that with great sadness in my heart as a Red Sox fan.

Now some of you might disagree with my assessment of the value of Red Sox tickets in 2014, and that’s fine.  In fact, that kind of disagreement is to be expected, because, as I indicated a few moments ago, there can be (and very often is) a big difference between the objective value of a treasure, and the value that you and I, as individuals, put on that treasure.

And so it is with the kingdom of God.  In its fullness, the kingdom of God will be present only in heaven.  But, as Pope Benedict says in one of his books, the kingdom of God is already present to some extent whenever and wherever Jesus Christ is enthroned as Lord.  Or, to put it another way, the kingdom of God is present whenever and wherever Jesus Christ rules!

So, to the extent that Jesus is ruling our thoughts, words and actions—to the extent, in other words, that we place a high value on “The Treasure” that is Jesus Christ and his Gospel—to that extent the kingdom of God is already present “in us” (as Jesus himself indicated in Luke 17: 21).

But some people, sad to say, won’t like it when the kingdom manifests itself in this way!  And this is something we need to be prepared for.  If we really treasure “The Treasure” by taking our Catholic faith seriously and trying to live it, we will face opposition.

And sometimes the opposition will come from other Christians who should treasure “The Treasure” as much as we do—but who don’t!

This came home to me in a powerful way a couple of weeks ago when a woman I know sent me the following email about her recent experience at work.  Now before I read it to you let me say that this woman is one of the kindest people I know.  She is quiet and respectful and what most people would call “a very good person.”

But here’s what she said in her letter:

Fr. Ray,

I had my yearly evaluation at work this week. … At the end there is always a question where the supervisor has to identify a weakness that the employee will have to improve on before the next year’s evaluation.  Fair enough … we all have weaknesses.

[Well] I was blindsided by what my boss identified as my areas of weakness.  He told me that my “Catholic values and high morals” were my weaknesses.  He said many of my values are “opposed” with those of other employees.

What???

[Her boss, by the way, is Catholic and active in his parish!]

I pressed the issue with him and ended up having three meetings with him and our Assistant Program Director to get these off the “weakness” category, because I wasn’t going to sign it with those listed as weaknesses.  Their points, to be honest, were really off the mark and I pointed out their errors to them.  However, they stuck to their opinions and disagreed with me.

They eventually conceded and took them off the weakness list, but it seems that I am going to be under observation and I should ”take care” not to proselytize (which I don’t do anyway.  Just being a Catholic these days is suspect, isn’t it?)

You know in Scripture how it says they will “drag you into court”?  Well, that is what it felt like.  I had to defend myself and my basic rights in the workplace.  I am not an “in your face Catholic” at work, and I am very accepting of everyone else at work—including their beliefs or lack of any beliefs at all.  However my beliefs, values and morals are routinely stepped on without me saying anything in response (most of the time—sometimes there is no choice but to respond).

At the end my boss said, “Well, it’s not that your Catholic values and high morals are necessarily bad things, it’s just that they are opposed to many of the values here. …”

I remember a time in any workplace when it used to be a good thing to have “high morals.”

For the record, I think this woman handled the situation very well.  There are definitely times when God calls us to turn the other cheek when we’ve been offended, but there are other times when his will for us does include some legitimate self-defense (we learn that from the example of Jesus himself in the gospels, as I mentioned in a homily I gave several months ago).

This, I would say, was one of those situations that called for the latter—for some legitimate, verbal self-defense—and I give this woman credit for doing it very respectfully.

I’m not sure that I would have been so nice.

I probably would have said to the boss, “WOULD YOU BE HAPPIER, SIR, IF I WERE A THIEF OR AN AXE MURDERER?!!!  WOULD YOU LIKE THAT?  WOULD THAT GET ME A RAISE AND A BIG PROMOTION?!!!  WOULD THAT MAKE ME YOUR ‘EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH’?!!!”

And then I’d have to go to confession for losing my temper!

How much do you treasure “The Treasure”?

As much as this woman does?

Do you treasure it enough to be willing to suffer an unjust evaluation at work like she did?  Or to lose out on a promotion at work that you rightly deserve?

Do you treasure it enough to stand up for what’s right in school when almost all of your classmates are voicing their support for what’s wrong?

Do you treasure it enough to be willing to lose a few friends, or to endure some opposition from members of your own family?

Do you treasure it enough to be willing to be called names (names that you don’t deserve to be called: “bigot”; “homophobe”; “narrow-minded”; “anti-woman”; “anti-American”)?

Hear, once again, the words of Jesus: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Before I close I think it’s important to note that there have been many Christians in recent decades who have lived this message of Jesus in its ULTIMATE SENSE!  They have “sold all that they’ve had” in the sense that they have literally given up their physical lives for the Lord and his Gospel.  You know, many people think that the majority of Christian martyrs died way back in the first century at the hands of Roman emperors like Nero.  But that’s not true!  The truth is that there were more martyrs for Jesus Christ in the 20^th century than there were in the previous 19 centuries of Christian history COMBINED!!!

These martyrs treasured “The Treasure” with their whole heart—and they lived their lives accordingly.

May Almighty God help each and every one of us to do the same.

Steubenville East 2014

We've been doing this for over 20 years, but it never gets old. 

It's both a joy and a privilege to be present at a Steubenville summer youth conference, and to watch the Holy Spirit transform the lives of more than 3,000 teenagers right before your eyes!

If you don't believe me, check out these videos of some of the talks and events at this year's Steubenville East Conference, which was held this past weekend at the Ryan Center, on the campus of the University of Rhode Island: Click here for videos.

Here are some pictures from the conference (click on images to enlarge):

The Stupidity Of Some Really Smart People

(Fourteenth Sunday of the Year (A): This homily was given on July 6, 2014 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani.  Read Matthew 11: 25-30.)

[For the audio version of this homily, click here: Fourteenth Sunday 2014]

“The stupidity of some really smart people.”

Because I post my homilies on my blog every week, I have to come up with a short title for each of them.

Well, believe it or not, that was the most accurate title I could come up with for today’s homily, given its subject matter.

I hope you’re not offended by the language, especially if you’re somebody who’s considered to be “smart” by your peers.

I could have entitled it, “The intellectually-challenged condition of some really smart people”—but that just didn’t have the same “ring”—or the same zing!—to it.

But please notice—the designation applies only to some smart people.  Not everyone with a high IQ is included here. 

In today’s gospel reading from Matthew 11 Jesus says, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.”

Now contrary to what some people think, Jesus was NOT advocating ignorance here and telling us to be childish in our relationship with him.  Rather, he was telling us that if we want to be considered his faithful disciples we need to be childlike—which is quite different!

To be childlike before God means to be humble; it means that you know that, when all is said and done, you are totally dependent on your Father (i.e., your HEAVENLY FATHER).   To be childlike before God means that you’re in touch with—and willing to admit—your own imperfections.  It means that you know you don’t have all the answers.  But it also means that you’re TEACHABLE (in other words, that you’re open to being taught the right answers by your heavenly Father through his chosen instruments here on earth).

Now the good news is that there are many very smart people in our world today who DO embody this kind of childlikeness in their lives.  Some of them, I believe, are members of this parish.  These intelligent, devout men and women have many spiritual ancestors: people like St. Paul; St. Thomas Aquinas (who was arguably the greatest theologian of all time); St. Teresa of Avila; St. Edith Stein (who was a brilliant philosopher); St. John Paul II—and on and on the list goes.

But there many others out there who think that they know more than God (and certainly more than the Church!)—and this leads them, unfortunately, to advocate and support certain foundational ideas that, quite frankly, are really stupid!

Let me give you a list of them.  (This, by the way, is only a partial list—to give an exhaustive one would require hours.)  I entitle it, “Some of the most noteworthy stupid ideas of some really smart people in 2014.”

Because some people will do the wrong thing, we have to give everyone the tools and the help they need to do the wrong thing.

That’s the stupid idea that stands behind, among other things, the “safe-sex education” that many of your children and grandchildren receive in school (yes, even here in wonderful Westerly!).  But not at St. Pius X School!  We teach our young people the truth in an age-appropriate way.

Yet another reason to send your children there!

Because some people will do the wrong thing, we have to legalize the wrong thing so that people can do the wrong thing “safely.”  

This is the stupid idea that drives the smart people who want to legalize things like recreational drugs and prostitution—as it drove some smart (and evil) people 40 years ago in their efforts to legalize abortion.

Human life begins whenever we say it begins.  

The science of genetics has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a new and separate human life is present at the moment of conception—and up until a few years ago all the medical literature reflected that truth.  But then certain smart people wanted to be able to say that the birth control pill can never, ever function as an abortifacient (which it CAN in certain circumstances!); and so, without any scientific evidence whatsoever, they simply changed the definition of pregnancy!  Now we’re told that pregnancy begins at implantation and not at conception.  Thus, during the time between conception and implantation (according to these smart men and women), you can do whatever you want to do to that new human life in the womb!

How convenient!  How clever!  

And how stupid.

Directly killing an innocent human being can be an act of compassion and love.  

A lot of smart people are acting on this stupid idea these days by removing food and hydration from terminally ill patients long before their bodies have begun “shut down.”  This is one reason why you should all make plans to be here on Tuesday, October 14, when Fr. Tad Pacholczyk will be with us to talk about “end of life issues.”  

(The announcement is in the bulletin.)

For the sake of your sick and elderly loved ones you need to be here for that presentation.

A choice can be considered good without any reference whatsoever to the “object” of the choice.  

Many of our brilliant politicians who proudly call themselves “pro-choice” believe that idea—which is, without question, one of the stupidest ideas of all!

Even most five-year-olds know that one of the ways that you evaluate a particular choice is by looking at its “object”: It’s a good choice if the “object” of the choice is good; it’s a bad choice if the “object” of the choice is bad.

Perhaps we should seriously consider electing some kindergarteners to Congress later this year!  They’d probably do a better job than the people who are there right now.

They certainly couldn’t do much worse!

Marriage is whatever you say it is—unless you say that it’s exclusively between one man and one woman.  In that case, marriage is NOT what you say it is!  

Now it would be nice if you could reason with a smart person who embraced this particular stupid idea by saying to that person, “But marriage has never involved two people of the same gender.  Since the beginning of human history marriage has always involved a man and a woman, because only a man and a woman have the natural potential to beget children.”  

But that type of reasoning won’t work with them, because another stupid idea that these smart people believe (and this is the last one I’ll mention today) is that they are smarter than everyone else who’s come before them!

So it doesn’t matter what intelligent men and women have believed in the past.  It doesn’t matter what the ancient philosophers and moralists and civil leaders thought—it doesn’t even matter what people in the last century thought and did.

These smart people of 2014 say, “We are the truly enlightened ones.  We know better than all the men and women of the past put together, so we can disregard everything that they’ve said—if we choose to.”

“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones.”

Let me conclude now on a slightly more positive note.  We need to remember that the same Jesus who said these words to us this morning also said, “Seek, and you shall find.”  This means that there’s always hope—even for very, very smart people who believe very, very stupid ideas.  If they begin to seek the truth sincerely and humbly, they can ALWAYS find it.

Like St. Augustine did.  Augustine, as many of us know, was a brilliant young intellectual of the 4^th century who embraced some incredibly dumb ideas—mostly because he wanted to justify his immoral lifestyle.

And in the process he drove his saintly mother crazy!

BUT HE CHANGED!

And when he changed, his stupid ideas left him, never to return.

Let us pray at this Mass that God will give us many more “St. Augustines” in our world today.