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In today’s gospel, Jesus likens faith to a “mustard seed” and to
“yeast.” I take the point of these two parables to be that faith
begins with very little things and, when provided the appropriate
environment and nutrients, faith can grow into something very strong
that provides comfort to others—like a giant mustard tree—or the
inspiration that others need to discover and fulfill their purpose
in life—like yeast that transform grains of flour into a loaf of
bread.
St. Paul told us in today’s epistle that we experience that mustard
seed and yeast called “faith” in terms of the “groaning” of our
hearts.
Have you ever thought about faith in those terms? When you are
really honest with yourself, what is your heart groaning about? Not
groans of anguish and frustration, but groans of longing and
yearning. When you are really honest with yourself, what do you
long for? For what are you yearning?
What that groaning reveals is our incompleteness, that is, our
desire to find “meaning” in our lives. If we are attentive to that
groaning, it provides us a direction in which we need to move, that
is, if we are to discover our meaning and purpose in life and to
experience a sense of completeness (or
“fulfillment”).
When we are attentive to that groaning, St. Paul wrote to the
Romans, that’s when we pray “as we ought.” For St. Paul, those
groans are the Spirit of God moving within us, drawing our attention
away from the distractions of the world outside and around us and
toward the world that is inside and at the heart of our being,
namely, the life of the soul.
Someone who understands exactly what St. Paul describes is Ray
Herrmann. Have you ever heard of Ray Herrmann?
Ray Herrmann is pretty much just like you and me. Although
he’s Catholic, Ray may be different in the sense that he takes his
faith seriously, although you wouldn’t know it based upon his job
description.
Ray Herrmann is the lead saxophonist and flautist for “Chicago,” one
of the world’s most successful and longest-running rock bands. A
highly-gifted, Grammy award-winning musician, Herrmann is one of the
world’s finest session players, having performed with many of
America’s leading rock musicians over the past two decades,
including Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder.
How does a man of deep faith live that out in a notoriously secular
and hedonistic environment?
“Some days are more difficult than others, I must be honest,” Ray
Herrmann says. “But I think that through the Church and the
sacraments, it’s easy really when you think about it. All the tools
are there—you just have to sort of follow the Church’s teachings.”
Herrmann doesn’t wear his faith on his sleeve, but people do know
that he’s Catholic. He says:
By
providing entertainment, there’s a responsibility there and as a
Catholic I try, when I get the chance, to be as forthright as I can
be about my faith and what it means to me.
Herrmann also says that he’s not always alone in the practice of his
faith and, while on tour, is sometimes surprised to see a crew
member sitting in the same church.
Before a concert, Herrmann always prays that he will “play to the
glory of God”:
That’s what I pray for, that people find joy in my music. I might
be doing some Christina Aguilera session, but I hope I bring that.
I talked with Santana about that, that you sort of try to bring
that to every musical experience, whatever it is.
When asked what is his most prized musical achievement, Ray Herrmann
doesn’t say that it’s accompanying all of those famous people before
vast throngs of fans. No, his most prized musical achievement is a
set of three CDs that Ray and his wife, Theresa, produced with the
Redemptorist Fathers. The three CDs are titled “Praying the Rosary
with St. Alphonsus Maria Ligouri,” “Praying the Seven Sorrows of
Mary,” and “Praying the Way of the Cross.” Herrmann says:
I’ve
played in front of 700,000 screaming fans under the Eiffel Tower
with Johnny Hallyday, but it means nothing really, because if I
could give someone the rosary CD or the Way of the Cross and have
them come back and say, “I really enjoyed that and found it
meaningful,” that’s better than playing in front of 700,000.
The project had its earliest origins as a groaning in the heart of
Herrmann and his wife. As proud parents of their newborn first
child, Maria, the Herrmanns searched for distinctly Catholic lullaby
music. Not finding any, Ray and Theresa decided to produce their
own lullabies. They ended up creating the record label “Little
Lamb Music” to market the lullabies to other Catholic parents.
Several years later, the Redemptorist Fathers in Denver were looking
for a high-caliber musician to produce, arrange, orchestrate, and
perform the music and meditations written by their Founder, St.
Alphonsus Ligouri, which had been discovered in the Redemptorist
archives. Finding and investigating the “Little Lamb Music” label,
Redemptorist officials approached Herrmann to undertake the project.
Accepting the challenge, Herrmann wanted to engage the listener by
helping them to pray and meditate, as we heard St. Paul write, “as
we ought.” Herrmann had a particular vision in mind: he wanted to
produce a “prayer aide” for people, thinking of people like
commuters in Los Angeles. He said:
We
wanted to make it so that you sort of had St. Alphonsus right there
next to you, helping you with your meditations.
As
Herrmann wrote the arrangements and orchestrations, he found himself
learning from a Saint who was a lawyer, painter, architect, poet,
sculptor, author of 111 books, and eventually, one of 33 doctors of
the Church. More importantly, St. Alphonsus was a skilled musician,
the only Saint who has written a large body of music.
“It’s been a mission of love for my wife and me,” Ray Herrmann
says. The “it” is the yearning that was present in the hearts of
Ray and his wife, a mustard seed or speck of yeast that have grown
to unite them in God in the Sacrament of Marriage, and as parents of
their children. But, don’t
overlook the environment: the wheat and the chaff are all around, as
they were for St. Alphonsus Ligouri, too.
With the appropriate environment and nutrients provided by the
Catholic faith, the mustard seed and yeast that transformed
Alphonsus Ligouri into a Saint continues to provide strength and
comfort to others—like a giant mustard tree—and the inspiration that
others—like
Ray Herrmann and his wife, Theresa—need
to discover and fulfill their purpose in life—like yeast that
transform grains of flour into a loaf of bread. And now, in
this generation, Ray Herrmann’s
witness to the Catholic faith provides strength and comfort to
others—like
a giant mustard tree—and the inspiration that others
in
the rock music industry and beyond need
to discover and fulfill their purpose in life—like yeast that
transform grains of flour into a loaf of bread.
Be attentive to that groaning, St. Paul suggests. It could happen
while trying to sing a lullaby to a newborn. It could happen while
performing before 700,000 people. It could happen during a commute
to or from work. Those groanings are the Spirit of God moving
within, drawing attention away from the distractions of the world
outside and around and toward the world inside and at the heart of
what’s most important in life, namely, the life of the soul.
Be attentive! That’s the opportunity to pray “as we ought.”
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HOMILY
