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In last
week’s gospel, Jesus told his disciples, “This is how all will know that
you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
Then, in this week’s gospel, Jesus promises a gift to those who are his
disciples: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the
world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or
afraid.” (John 14:27)
It sounds so
simple. But what does it mean to “love” so that we will receive the
promised gift?
St. Thomas
Aquinas defines love as “the inclination to something good.” Of course,
what one loves will depend very much upon what an individual perceives
to be “good.” Some people consider money to be good and set out to
obtain as much money as possible. They love money. Some other people
think of chocolate as good and are always seeking chocolate to satisfy
their sweet tooth. These people love chocolate. Many people
believe a career to be good and focus all of their energy upon success
in a career. They love their career so much that these people are
quite literally “married to their job.” And that’s to say nothing about all of those of us
who love golf!
There are so many
things we can define as “good” and, according to St. Thomas’ definition,
so many different ways we can love. But, it’s the greatest
love of all—what St. Thomas calls the “Summum Bonum”—that must direct us and incline us. The greatest love, of course, is love of God
and the greatest love we could have must be for God. This is why
the first and greatest of all the commandments is “Love God above all
things with your whole mind, your whole heart, and your whole soul.” Then, of course,
there’s the second commandment which, as the Jesus describes it, is very
much like the first, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” To which Jesus adds,
“This is how others will know that you are my disciples.”
Being a disciple
requires loving God and neighbor as we love ourselves. While that
sounds easy, if we but peel back the veneer of our lives just a bit,
it’s easy to see that it’s not so easy after all. We oftentimes love
ourselves much more than we love either God or neighbor. We put what we want ahead of others’ needs. And, we make
ourselves the center of the universe rather than making God and others
the center of our lives.
When we behave
in these and so many other similar ways, it should come as no surprise that the
gift Jesus promises his disciples—the gift of peace—is so absent from
our hearts. Useless worry, anxiety, and fear—the mature fruits of selfishness—leave no
room for Jesus’ gift of peace. And, sadly, when our hearts are filled
with worry anxiety, and fear, we find it next to impossible to do what
Jesus prescribes to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled
or afraid.”
It's one thing to
“be alive” but quite another thing “to live life”! Nature is quite
capable of taking care of the former. But, we must make the
all-important decision to love God and neighbor if we are to accomplish
the latter.
Today is Mother’s
Day and, as we celebrate this Eucharist, we recall and honor our
Mothers. As a community of faith, we do so not as the world
recalls and honors mothers on Mother’s Day—giving them a “Hallmark
moment” along with a bouquet of flowers and a kiss—but, instead, as
Jesus prescribes for his disciples: by giving our Moms no reason
whatsoever to let their hearts be troubled or afraid.
Did you know that
there is such a thing as “the vocation of the Catholic mother”? A
Catholic mother isn’t, for example, some “generic” mother or even some
denominational “Christian” mother. No, a Catholic mother has a very
special vocation. She begins to live out her vocation it out in a
particular way by preparing herself to receive the miracle of life from
the hands of God.
She sets about
accomplishing that by choosing a good husband and, through the union of
God, husband, and wife transpiring in the Sacrament of Marriage, the
miracle of God’s creation takes place. In that mysterious moment where
heaven and earth unite, what takes place is not what the people of this
world call a “choice” but what a Catholic woman knows is a “gift,”
a grace by which the Almighty God entrusts a unique and unrepeatable
human being in all of history—not a clone—to its mother and her
ministry. In this most sacred and holy moment, and from that time
forward and forever, this woman’s life is changed because this miracle
of a human life that God has entrusted to her and her ministry will only
reach its perfection as this mother loves her child more than she loves
herself.
Through the union
of God, husband, and wife transpiring in the Sacrament of Marriage, the
miracle of God’s creation takes place. In that mysterious moment where
heaven and earth unite, what takes place is not what the people of this
world call a “choice” but what a Catholic woman knows is a “gift,”
a grace by which the Almighty God entrusts a unique and unrepeatable
human being in all of history—not a clone—to its mother and her
ministry. In this most sacred and holy of moments, and from that time
forward and forever, this woman’s life is changed because this miracle
of a human life that God has entrusted to her and her ministry will only
reach its perfection as this mother loves her child more than she loves
herself.
This is how the
Catholic mother is known to be one of Jesus’ disciples. From the moment
of conception, she loves her child more than she loves herself. And, as
this woman fulfills the many duties and responsibilities required by her
vocation—and, sometimes this is very difficult and challenging,
indeed—she experiences another gift, namely, the gift of peace that
Jesus promised his disciples.
The proofs of
this mother’s love are legion. What else but love of God and neighbor
could possibly motivate any human being to: change diapers willingly?
clean snotty, runny noses? bandage all of those “owies”? stay up all
night when a child has a cold and fever? be so interested at the end of
each school day in learning everything—and I do mean everything—that
happened at school? serve nutritious meals cleverly
disguised to look like a McDonald’s Kid’s Meal? take such joy in seeing
her child do right things?
The vocation of
the Catholic mother also entails being the first teacher of the gift
that God has entrusted to her ministry as evangelist and catechist.
Through her tutelage “on the school of the mother’s knee,” the Catholic
mother:
·
Leads
her child in prayer, opening the way for her child to enter into a
personal relationship with God, one that offers the promise of
sustaining her child amidst all of life’s joys and sorrows, hopes and
fears, toil and rest, as well as delights and pains.
·
Teaches the faith by responding to her child’s questions about God,
Jesus, and the Church.
·
Takes
delight as her child discerns right from wrong and practices the
Sacrament of Penance.
·
Experiences serenity as her child partakes of the Holy Eucharist and is
nourished in grace and wisdom.
·
Is
filled with pride as her child makes an adult commitment to the Catholic
faith by choosing to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation.
·
And,
there’s that special moment of grace especially reserved for
mothers when, after all of the tumult and chaos of the teenage years,
she watches on as her child vows to love, honor, and obey another human
being for the remainder of one’s days. (I think that’s why mothers cry
at weddings!)
While many
mothers who are not Catholic do these and so many other things motivated
solely by love of their children, a Catholic mother does all of these
things motivated consciously by her love of God and gratitude to God for
the gift of life which He has entrusted to her and her ministry. As a
Catholic mother, love of God enables her to cast aside self-interest, desire, and personal ambition to be there always for her
child. “See how she loves them”—that’s how others know that this
Catholic mother is one of Jesus’ disciples.
Through her ministry,
the Catholic mother experiences the gift of peace Jesus promised his
disciples. This gift isn’t simply a sense of accomplishment; nor
is it feelings of pride; and it’s certainly not happiness. No,
it’s joy, the gift of the Holy Spirit that can never be taken away
because it’s the indwelling of the Almighty God giving the Catholic
mother the foretaste of the Paschal Feast she will enjoy eternally in
heaven. “Not as the world gives [peace] do I give it to you,”
Jesus promised his disciples. Only God is the source of this kind
of satisfaction!
It’s quite a
vocation, isn’t it?
But, there’s
more. As Catholic mothers fulfill their vocation, their children learn
many things about God:
·
Her
mercy teaches her child of God’s abundant mercy.
·
Her
forgiveness of a wrongdoing—even one performed with malicious
intent—teaches of God forgiveness.
·
And,
as this mother stands in the doorway expectantly awaiting the return
home of her child, she teaches of God’s eager expectation as His children
come home to their Creator.
In sum, Catholic
mothers teach their children about
the One who
entrusted the miracle of life to this selfless, loving woman who gives
herself so unselfishly and tirelessly that her child might know and love God.
It’s so easy to
take our mothers for granted. But, as Catholics, it’s also easy to take
their vocation for granted and to overlook all of those spiritual
lessons they taught us by witnessing to their love of God and neighbor.
Worse yet, we may neglect to thank God for the gift He has given us in
those women who endeavored to fulfill their special vocation.
Having
considered and reflected this Mother’s Day upon those Catholic women who
have fulfilled their vocation as well as those today who are seeking to
fulfill their vocation, let’s not forget that last part by asking God to send His blessing upon
all of our mothers:
Loving God,
As a mother
cooperates with You to give life and nourishment to her children,
So You watch over
Your Church.
Bless these women,
That they may be
strengthened in their vocation as Catholic mothers.
May the example of
their faith, hope, and love always shine forth in all they say and do.
And grant that we, their
sons and daughters,
honor them always
with a spirit of
profound respect.
Grant this through
Christ our Lord.
R.
Amen.
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HOMILY
