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Before Jesus asked his disciples to feed the 5000 people seated before him, Jesus went out onto the lake in his boat. Evidently, Jesus wanted to take some time to be alone, to relax, and to reflect on things. Interestingly, the contents of those reflections evidence themselves in what Jesus asks his disciples to do, in much the same way our words—what we tell others to do—reveals who we are. Taking time to get away from the crowd, to relax, and to reflect is what we normally call “vacation time.” And, while it is true that we do need a regular vacation if only to re-energize our batteries so as be able to jump back into the crowd and begin all over again, I want to suggest today that the time Jesus took on that day after he heard of the death of St. John the Baptist would more properly be called “vocation time.” That is, Jesus took a bit of time to get away from the crowd in order to think about the important things going on in his life―not only the death of his friend but, especially, his vocation. We may find ourselves thinking Jesus always knew who he was, understood what God was calling Jesus to do with his life, and was very self-assured and confident as Jesus carried out his vocation. All of that may be very true concerning the God-made-man. Yes, Jesus did know who he was, what God wanted Jesus to do with his life, and was unflinching in doing whatever that required. But, scripture reminds us that whenever Jesus lived out his vocation by performing a miracle, this normally transpired only after Jesus took some of what is more properly called “vocation time.” All of us need to take vocation time. That is, we need to take a bit of time regularly to get away from the crowd in order to consider our vocation. Like Jesus, we need to answer questions including: “Who am I?”, “For what purpose did God create me?”, and “What is God calling me to do with my life?” One fruit of taking regular vocation time is self-assurance and confidence in knowing that God is with us as we go back and immerse ourselves in the crowd by providing for others’ needs. A far more important fruit of taking regular vocation time precedes that. It is the fruit of accurately identifying what others need. And, as important as all of that is, a third fruit of taking regular vocation time—the most important fruit—is to be a saint, a person whose actions reveal the wealth of love of God and neighbor present in one’s soul through one’s words and actions. All too often, we think about religion as if it is a mental exercise and only people possessing great minds can be saints. While it is true that many saints were very bright, God created all of us with a mind and a body. Religion is not only about mental exercises; as important as all of that stuff is, far more important is what religion is really about, that is, how we respond to religious thoughts and inspirations through our bodies. Scripture reminds us in this regard: · St. Paul accorded wrote to the Corinthians: “[We] must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (emphasis added; 2 Corinthians 5:10). · St. James wrote: “if a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?” (James 2:15,16).
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And, in today’s scripture, Jesus said to his disciples: “There is no
need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” (Matthew
14: 19) Scripture affirms that religion is not simply about mental exercise but is more importantly about minds and bodies, that is, translating our religious thoughts and inspirations into words and actions. These are embodied thoughts and inspirations which reveal our inner spiritual reality. The greatest and most transformative words actions are those we enact through the body and which reveal ourselves to be people who love one another as Jesus himself has loved us (John 15:12). We reveal our inner spiritual reality—that we are saints—as we work actively for the good of other people by providing for their needs. To be this person—to be a saint—we need to take what I’ve called “vocation time.” Yes, we need to take a bit of time regularly to get away from the crowd in order to consider our vocation. And, yes, like Jesus, we need to answer questions including “Who am I?”, “For what purpose did God create me?”, and “What is God calling me to do with my life?” Yet, while this may all sound rather self-introspective, it really isn’t. Why? Because vocation time focuses upon learning more about who we are, the purpose for which God has created us, what and God is calling us to do with our lives as we love God and neighbor as we love ourselves. To “do this” as Jesus reminded his disciples at the Last Supper “in memory of me,” we must identify what our neighbors need and provide them the loaves and fishes that will satiate their physical and spiritual hunger so that they will also be saints. Indeed, we may possess little, but we have very much to offer others because, after all, God has entrusted each of us with a personal vocation. That is, God has called each of us to engage in action in our own unique and unrepeatable way in all of human history—never before, not now, and never will there be another just like us—by which we provide for others’ needs. I am not talking about being married, a priest, or a single person. While these are “vocations” in a generic sense, they are not “personal vocations” in the sense that God calls each of us individually, as Jesus told his disciples in today’s gospel, “to give them some food yourselves.” I daresay there has never been a greater need for saints than there is today. People all around us near and far are hungering for the loaves and fishes which will nourish in them a way of life that is truly religious and spiritual. The challenge confronting us as disciples is to identify precisely what people need today and whether that is something Jesus is telling us to do when he says, “give them some food yourselves.” Sure, it would be nice to have great religious thoughts and inspirations in private or to trust that God will provide for others’ needs by calling women and men to the religious life and priesthood so they will provide for others’ needs as we proceed along our merry way. But, after taking vocation time, that is not what Jesus told his disciples to do in today’s gospel. He said: “give them some food yourselves.” Today, I want to share the story of two women who took some vocation time and have responded in their own unique and unrepeatable way to fulfill their personal vocations. The names of these two women, both of whom live in Georgia, are Angela Hanson and Beth Carter. I read about them in yesterday’s ZENIT, the Vatican's daily brief. I don’t know them and I have never spoken with them. Yet, their story reminds all of us about what Jesus meant when he said in today’s gospel “give them some food yourselves.” Having heard Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI talk again and again about the topic of marriage and family life, these two Catholic laywomen took some time to examine our culture and came to an abiding awareness that forming and maintaining Catholic marriages in the 21st century is no easy task. The statistics they learned about painted a grim picture: · In the United States, about 13% of adult Catholics are divorced. Another 11% have been through a divorce and are now remarried or living with a partner. So, that’s about 25% of the population of Catholics.
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“Marriage” between homosexuals is now legal in two states,
Massachusetts and California. As of today, both are now open to
out-of-state same-sex couples getting married there. This
constitutes a frontal assault upon the nature of marriage and
family, traditionally understood. And, it is now coming to be
fact in other states besides Massachusetts and California. As the popularity of divorce continues and families are subjected to ever new trials, Angela and Beth decided God was calling them as Catholic married laywomen to do something to reverse these trends. Sounds impossible, doesn’t it? Yet, they set out to provide programs that would offer engaged and married couples a lifeline as they swim against the current of contemporary American culture. The first program Angela Hanson called “Three to Get Married,” because she “saw a great need for comprehensive marriage preparation that spanned a weekend….and covered very important topics in marriage, such as the faith, communication, children, and finances.” With the help of many people, Angela developed this program to focus engaged couples upon God as the most important component of marriage—hence the name, “Three to Get Married.” The importance of starting the Sacrament of Marriage off on the right foot cannot be underestimated. Hanson noted: “As many famous spiritual writers have said, we prepare for the business or professional world with years of study. But, somehow we embark on the most important decision of our life—marriage, and the spouse we choose—with little to no reflection.” Angela continued: “I think a weekend for marriage preparation, although even too short for such an important decision, is the only way to make it as comprehensive as possible….It is difficult to live a Catholic marriage in our society today, so sufficient preparation is essential, but unfortunately it is missing in some dioceses, due to a lack of resources, support, or simple manpower.” Hanson acknowledged that some couples seek out marriage preparation because it is a pre-requisite to the traditional church wedding they have always dreamed of. But, she added, even if their motives are not the best, the preparation program can still bear fruit. “Our task in the ‘Three to Get Married’ program is to impart to participants what it means to be married in the Church and what that entails in their daily married life,” Hanson explained. “Even for couples who are there simply because they want the traditional ‘church ceremony,’ if they are sincere, find that they can glean useful information from the weekend, and may even have a change of heart or conversion by the end. The human, but more importantly, the spiritual transformation of the couples participating cannot be underestimated on these weekends.” Beth Carter designed the second program because she heard Pope Benedict had recommended last August that support programs be provided for married couples at least for the first decade of their marriage. What he said in a question-and-answer session with priests of the Diocese of Rome was that “ongoing guidance, at least in the first 10 years, is of the utmost importance.” “Three to Stay Married” is the follow-up program Beth designed for the couples who participated in the first program and others who join in. Beth says this program is “more social, and not as intense at the ‘Three to Get Married’ weekend,” intended for couples who are living marriages faithful to the teachings of the Church. “They need to be out there supporting one another and boldly proclaiming the truth about marriage,” she says. “The program provides an environment where young couples can get started on the right foot in living the Church’s teaching and sharing that message with other married couples who may need support.” Both her personal experience and what Beth has seen with “Three to Stay Married” support the Pope’s recommendation. “My husband and I have been married three and a half years, but I can definitely say, despite a very happy marriage, we need lots of support and guidance. All young married couples need guidance because it is hard, and guidance from a priest or from another more experienced couple can really help you persevere.” She continued: “In marriage two people meld two lives into one, and we need as much prayer and support as we can get….It is important to hear over and over again that the most joy will come from what seems the most challenging—giving yourself for your spouse and for your children.” The message of this “Dynamic Duo” is one Catholics evidently don’t hear enough but need to hear. For example, a survey from the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate noted that preparation the Church offers to engaged couples in the United States is helping marriages, but Catholic couples do not consistently turn to the Church for help with struggles during marriage. Beth Carter agrees that parishes need to offer more support. But, just as Jesus said to his disciples in today’s gospel—“give them some food yourselves”—Carter said it is up to the laity to take up this challenge. “Most parishes offer Bible classes, catechesis, and men’s and women’s groups. You don’t often see programs specifically for couples to build marriages,” she said. “I believe this is where the laity need to get involved. According to Vatican II, we are called to get involved and support our pastors—he can’t do it all. As lay people in a very secular culture,” Carter affirmed, “we have to get involved and support our priests by living and preaching the truth.” Both Hanson and Carter agree that one of the key elements to both programs is explaining and encouraging the Church’s teaching concerning sexual ethics. “One of the big issues of sexual ethics is that of family planning,” Hanson said. “‘Three to Get Married’ covers the Church’s teaching about natural family planning and birth control. Several other talks cover treating your spouse respectfully in the sexual act, making it an act of mutual love and not simply self-serving. Carter agreed that such a focus is key: “We live in a culture where the Catholic ideal of marriage being a gift of self and being open to life are often challenged by society and even family. When a couple is constantly challenged on the way in which they are living their lives, they need support, and they do not always get it from family. Meeting and knowing other couples who are striving for the same goals as you can really help.” The bottom line? What Angela Hanson and Beth Carter are doing is the equivalent of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. Having taken some quality “vocation time,” these two laywomen have returned to the crowd. Unlike the disciples in today’s gospel, however, Angela and Beth did not demand their pastors―as the disciples did of Jesus―provide food for all of those engaged and married couples who are hungering for the God’s word. No, Angela and Beth—in their own unique and unrepeatable way—are breaking open the loaves and fishes of God’s word so that many engaged and married couples will eat the loaves and fishes of God’s word and be satisfied. So, the question is: For what reason did God create you? I ask this question of all the retired senior citizens who are members of our parish. The questions posed by today’s gospel for you are: “Who am I?” and “For what purpose did God create me?” Do you really believe God has blessed you with many years of life and has provided you so much free time during your “golden years” to be wasted on your selfish, self-interests? Absolutely not! So, stop hosting pity parties for yourselves and complaining about everybody and everything! The only one listening is yourself. There is much to be done and “while the harvest is plenty, the laborers are few” (Matthew 35:37). So, take some vocation time to ask yourselves, “What is God calling me to do to feed those who hunger for God’s word?” But, just this one time, don’t “pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest, asking him to send out more laborers for his fields” (Matthew 35:38). No, to the degree your health permits, follow the lead of Angela Hanson and Beth Carter and realize that God is sending you out to feed the people in the crowd! Be a saint by giving those hungry people some food yourselves. What about all of our young people? I would challenge you especially to take some vocation time to answer the questions posed by today’s gospel: “Who am I?”, “For what purpose did God create me?”, and “What is God calling me to do with my life?” Take a look at yourself through your own eyes, not the eyes of your peers—take a very cold, hard look—and determine how God is asking you to use your mind and body so that, like Angela Hanson and Beth Carter, you also will be a saint. Do you want to know why young people become involved in drugs, alcohol, and are sexually promiscuous? It’s actually quite simple: they don’t have a clue about who they are! Looking to everyone else, these young people have absolutely no idea about the person God has created them to become. What can be sadder than that? Go out and feed these people―perhaps they’re your friends or acquaintances―with the true bread for which they hunger. After all, Jesus asked his disciples, “What profit would there be for someone to gain the whole world and forfeit one’s soul?” (Matthew 16:26). And for those in our parish who are contemplating entering into the Sacrament of Marriage or are in the first ten years of your marriage, I challenge you to take some vocation time to answer the questions posed by today’s gospel by changing from first person singular to first person plural. Ask: “Who are we?”, “For what purpose did God create us?”, and “What is God calling us to do with our marriage?” Take a look at yourself through the eyes of God as well as those of your spouse—take a very cold, hard look at yourself—and determine how God is asking you to use your minds and bodies so that you will assist one another to be saints. The reason divorces are so high today can be attributed to one fact: either (or both) spouses put the “I” before the “We” and forgot entirely about the third party to the Sacrament of Marriage, namely, God―as in “Three to Stay Married.” “Who am I?”, “For what purpose did God create me?”, and “What is God calling me to do with my life?” These are very important questions that, if we are sincere in answering them, requires each of us to take some regular vocation time so that we will possess the self-assurance and confidence of Jesus knowing that God is with us as we go back and provide the crowd what its members’ need. This is how each of us will be a saint, a person whose words and actions reveal the wealth of love of God and neighbor present in our souls.
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HOMILY
