Fr. JC Maximilian

[Lazarus and Dives, illumination from the Codex Aureus of Echternach
Top panel: Lazarus at the rich man's door.  Middle panel: Lazarus' soul is carried to Paradise by two angels; Lazarus in Abraham's bosom.  Bottom panel: Dives' soul is carried off by two devils to Hell; Dives is tortured in Hell]

One of the current Honda commercials has reminded me of one of my favorite music groups when I was growing up; Electric Light Orchestra, or simply, ELO.  As the commercial talks about Honda’s lastest line of cars, you hear ELO’s 1982 hit, “Hang on Tight to Your Dreams” play in the background.  In their classic rock sound, ELO reminds us, “When you get so down that you can’t get up, and you want so much but you’re all out of luck, when you’re so downhearted and misunderstood, just over and over and over you could, Hold on Tight to Your Dreams” (© EMI April Music, Inc.).

Now I think ELO probably had more materialistic dreams, but a line in today’s reading from St. Paul’s first letter to Timothy also reminded me of that ELO song.  St. Paul strongly urges St. Timothy, to “Lay hold of eternal life, ….”  That is the real dream of every Christian, who like St. Timothy, “made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.”  When we were baptized, we were claimed by Christ, and we expressed our desire to be with Jesus Christ forever.  Even if we were an infant, like most of us were, when we were baptized, when we received the sacrament of Confirmation we renewed that “noble confession” of Faith.  In fact we renew our baptismal promise each week at Mass when we recite the Creed, and receive Holy Communion – proclaiming ourselves one with Christ Jesus as we receive His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.  Or have we become complacent in our faith, like those to whom the Prophet Amos address his words which we heard in today’s first reading?

There are, of course, many themes from this weekend’s reading which I could preach on today, but the one that came most strongly to me in prayer was what we call in theology eschatology, or more simply, “The Last Things.”

What are the “Last Things”?  They are Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell.  Besides Heaven, none of these “Last Things” seem particularly pleasant to think about, so I fear that many of us pretty much ignore them.  We go about our lives without giving much thought to our eternal destiny.  It is because of this tendency to ignore this part of our Faith that St. Paul reminds us today to “Lay hold of eternal life.”

Death is the consequence of sin.  The Catechism teaching us that even though God created us mortal, God had not destined us to die, it was not part of the Divine plan.  However, because of our First Parents disobedience, in which we all share, sin entered the world, and with sin, so entered death.  Death became the end of earthly life.  Death reminds all of us that we are mortal, and that we only have a limited amount of time to bring our lives to fulfillment.  However, God in His infinite goodness, did not leave us conquered by this last enemy, Death.  Rather through His Passion and Death Jesus has transformed death from a curse to a blessing.  For all of us who call ourselves Christian, death should now have a positive meaning.  “What is essentially new about Christian death is this:  through Baptism, the Christian has already ‘died with Christ’ sacramentally, in order to live a new life; and if we die in Christ’s grace, physical death completes this ‘dying with Christ’ and so completes our incorporation into him in his redeeming act” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1010).  In death God calls us to Himself, so that Death becomes nothing to be feared if we live our lives in obedience and love towards God.

At the moment of death, each of us will then experience what the Church calls the “particular judgment.”  At that time we will stand before Christ Jesus and receive our eternal retribution in our immortal soul.  As St. John of the Cross describes it, “At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love” (Dichos #64).  Jesus will judge us on whether or not, during our earthly life, we lived a life that accepted the divine grace that He offered us.  If we did, we will enter into the blessedness of heaven; either through purification or immediately.  If we did not, we will enter immediate and everlasting damnation.  At the end of time, all the dead shall be raised, and the outcome of each person’s particular judgment will be made known.  The Church calls this the General Judgment.

What is heaven like?  I am sure it is a question that all of us have pondered at sometime in our lives.  In today’s Gospel parable, Lazarus in heaven is described as resting in the bosom of Abraham.  Sacred Scripture has also described heaven as a wedding party, a banquet, and a state of unending happiness.  Yet the reality of heaven is far beyond any picture that we can imagine.  “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9).  To see the unveiled face of God, what the Church calls the beatific vision, will be an indescribable joy.  “In the glory of heaven the blessed continue joyfully to fulfill God’s will in relation to other men and to all creation” (CCC #1029).

Purgatory is the place where those who die in God’s grace and friendship, but are imperfectly purified will go at the time of death.  Those in Purgatory are assured of their eternal salvation, however they still need to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.  Our sins do damage to the whole world, especially to the Mystical Body of Christ, because sin is basically saying “no” to the grace that God wants to offer us.  While God is Merciful, He is also just.  We will need to “make up” for the damage our sins caused.  The good works that we do in this life, when offered for the greater glory of God, not only gives witness to our Faith in God but also contribute to this “making up” for the damage our sins have caused.  If there is still some of this stain, due to our sins, which have been forgiven, then the final purification occurs in Purgatory.  We can help the souls in Purgatory by offering prayers for them and by offering some good work for them.

Hell – it is a reality that our modern culture seems to want to ignore or even deny.  Yet Hell is not something we can deny, for it is a very real possibility, and one that we should fear.  Often Hell is ignored or denied by saying things like “God loves us” or “Jesus is my friend.”  Without a doubt God loves us, He loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to suffer and die for us.  Jesus does desire all of us to be His friend, and to share in His new life.  However, “we cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him” (CCC #1033).  Love cannot be forced on anyone; so while God does offer everyone His love, He does not force it on us.  We can, and must, decide to be either for God or against Him.  We cannot say that we love God if we sin gravely against Him, against our neighbor, or against ourselves.  “He who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:14-15).  “To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice.  This state of definitive self-exclusion for communion with God and the blessed is called ‘hell’” (CCC #1033).

“Lay hold to eternal life.”  We all need to keep in mind these Last Things, so to enflame our hearts with the desire for heaven.  We should be willing to sacrifice all in this life for heaven.  Recently I read Peter Ackroyd’s marvelous biography, The Life of Thomas More.  When St. Thomas More was imprisoned in the Tower of London, awaiting death, his wife Louisa visited him, and with prayers and tears begged him yield to King Henry VIII, assured that due to More’s many years of faithful service to the King his life would be spared.  St. Thomas said to his wife, “Louisa, how many years could I, who am an old man, expect to live?”  She answered him, “You might live for as many as twenty years.”  St. Thomas replied, “Oh, foolish woman, and do you want me for twenty years of this miserable life on earth to forfeit an eternity of happiness, and condemn myself to an eternity of torment?”

Despite being all out of luck, so brokenhearted and misunderstood, St. Thomas More held on tight to his dream – Heaven.  He laid hold to eternal life.  Will we do the same?

“And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.” The dishonest steward in the parable in today’s Gospel may have been called “prudent,” but I think most of us might choose a different word to describe his behavior; like enterprising, sneaky, or even sly. However, he certainly was not truthful, so how could Jesus hold this, dare we say swindler, up as an example for His followers?

To understand today’s Gospel reading we must keep in mind that the modern bookkeeping systems that we have today were unknown in Jesus’ day. A steward was a person who managed the day to day affairs of a wealthy person, which included keeping record of the owner’s possessions. He was suppose to make money for his employer by loaning people some of his employer’s goods and to get something more in return. The main way that the steward would earn his money would be to add a commission onto the bill. If the steward was dishonest he would also demand a kickback from his suppliers and customers, or charge too much of a commission.

Have you ever been on a cruise? As you know, I was just on one, and the waiters/waitresses, room stewards, and crew were just so wonderful. They quickly learned to anticipate what I liked, and they were always willing to get whatever you might want, and always with a smile. One thing that I learned on this past cruise was that in addition to their room & board, they might only be paid $50/month. That’s for working 6 days/week and 16-hour days. Of course their real income is not from their salary, it is from the gratuities that they receive. If they started to ask for more than the standard gratuity rate, they would be like the dishonest steward in today’s parable.

The wealthy owner in today’s parable probably became aware that his steward was acting dishonestly, which would have also effected his good-name since the steward acted in his name. He lets the dishonest steward know that he is going to be fired.  The steward knows that he needs to do something to secure his future, so he shows mercy to his master’s debtors by changing their promissory notes, hoping that they would remember his kindness when he finds himself in need. Now do not misunderstand the steward’s motive. He did not suddenly have a conversion to honesty. He is a child of the world, and is motivated by purely selfish reasons.

So what is praiseworthy of the steward’s dishonest behavior? Why does Jesus hold him up as an example? Obviously the man’s dishonesty is not praiseworthy. What Jesus notes as praiseworthy is the man’s prudence; he recognized that his situation demanded a decision. If he hesitates, he is ruined.

Jesus tells this parable to shake people out of their complacency. Through His preaching, Jesus has shown people a new way of living life. He has proclaimed the Kingdom of God, and Jesus is confronting His listeners with the need to decide: for Him, or against Him. To postpone this decision is to continue to live one’s life with an attitude of “business as usual,” as if nothing has happened since encountering Jesus. This postponement is in fact deciding AGAINST Jesus, and such a decision is disastrous.

Christ Jesus continues to confront us in the same way. What difference has our encounter with Jesus made in our lives? He is asking us, right now, to make the same decision: Are we for Him, or against Him? It is easy to think that our presence here today at Mass shows that we have already made that decision, and that we are FOR Jesus Christ. However, today’s first reading from the Prophet Amos warns that the decision Jesus demands of us is not complete when we have been to Mass on Sunday.

Amos the prophet was address people who were a lot like many Catholics today. They were very aware of their religious obligations, and they were careful to fulfill them, but after they had fulfilled their religious obligations they considered the rest of their lives their own, to live pretty much however they pleased. Once the Sabbath was over, they were back to business as usual, and this often meant cheating the poor and the gullible if they could get away with it. The prophet Amos condemns these outwardly religious but deeply dishonest people; “The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob; Never will I forget a thing they have done.”

The reading from the Prophet Amos is a stern warning against an over-spiritualized, superficial religion, that puts going to church into a separate compartment from what we do the rest of the week. Our second reading from St. Paul’s letter to Timothy extends this lesson. His command “that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority,” seems rather routine for us today. We need to keep in mind that at the time St. Paul wrote to Timothy the Christian Faith could not be practiced in the open. Many of the first Christians were of the lowest classes of society, and were oppressed, yet St. Paul tells them to pray for all in authority, “that we lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.” Our prayers must be for Christians and non-Christians, friends and foes.

The message that these three readings share is that the Good News confronts us with the need to make a decision. We are either for Jesus or we are against Him. Simply going to church on Holy Days of Obligations is not enough. If our decision to be FOR Jesus Christ makes no difference in how we live our lives Monday through Saturday, then all the Masses, prayers and almsgiving is in vain. It is all a mockery that cries out to heaven for vengeance. Jesus wants our undivided hearts.

In high school I read a truly amazing book, which was also turned into an excellent movie starring Gregory Peck, called To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. The story takes place in a small town in Alabama in the 1930s. Remember, this was long before the civil rights movement, so there was still a lot of racism and separation of blacks and whites. The story centers on Atticus Finch, played by Gregory Peck. Atticus is a lawyer, and a widower with two school-age children. The county judge assigns Atticus the unpopular task of defending Tom Robinson, a black man who has been falsely accused of crimes against a white woman. The whole town thinks it is terrible that an upstanding white citizen like Atticus Finch would defend a black man accused of such terrible crimes. Atticus is threatened, and both he and his children suffer because of his decision to defend Tom. Near the end of the book Atticus gives a profound reason for doing what he is convinced is the right thing regardless of the risks. He says, “I can’t live one way in town and another way in my home.” Atticus Finch had an undivided heart which was the secret to his integrity, strength of soul, and peace of mind.

Are we convinced that following Jesus, living according to His will, is the right thing? If so we should live our Christian Faith 24/7. Jesus wants us to have an undivided heart so that we too can have strength of soul and peace of mind. He tells us that we can only serve one master, and we must decide who it will be, God or mammon.

If you are thinking that this sounds like a pretty tall order, you are right. It is difficult to make a total decision for Jesus Christ. Often it is difficult to know what He is asking us to do, and often it is even harder to do it.

That is why Jesus gives us the Mass. By listening to the guiding light of Sacred Scripture, and by being strengthened by the power of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, Jesus enlightens and strengthens us before sending us back to our everyday lives. It is outside the church walls that our decision to live completely for Jesus Christ is put to the test. It is in our everyday life that we encounter Jesus afresh; in the people and circumstances of our lives. It is there, in those everyday moments and circumstances that we are called to live with undivided hearts.
[I am grateful to Fr. John Jay Hughes, Proclaiming the Good News: Homilies for the 'C' Cycle, Huntington, IN: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc, 1985, pp.223-226, from which I used the main themes for this homily.]

One of the joys of priesthood, at least for me, is the sacrament of Reconciliation.  I guess I have been lucky, since I have always been at parishes that have promoted this wonderful sacrament.  At St. James in Red Bank, we heard Confessions everyday, except Sunday, and there almost always were people seeking the Lord’s Mercy.  At my current assignment, while we do not offer the sacrament as often as St. James, we always have a good number of people on Saturday.

Greg and Jennifer Willits has produced another wonderful episode of That Catholic Show, and this episode is about Confession.  There is only one thing that I would add to what they say about the sacrament (and maybe they did but I missed it), in addition to the principle effect of forgiving sins, the sacrament also gives us the grace to grow in holiness.  This is why the confession of things that we regularly struggle with, even if they are not mortal sins, is valuable.  We need to overcome even the “small” vices.  One of the prayers that the priest may say, after giving absolution, with I think is very beautiful and brings out the effects of the sacrament goes, “May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and of all the saints, whatever good you do and suffering you endure, heal your sins, help you to grow in holiness, and reward you with eternal life.  Go in Peace.”

Enjoy That Catholic Show, Episode #8, “I Confess”

[The Baptismal fount at which I was baptized; St. Anthony's Church in Trenton, NJ]

November 28, 1964.  In case you are wondering, that’s the day that I was baptized, here in St. Anthony’s Church, at that baptismal fount (OK, the fount was back in what is now the rest rooms).

How many of you remember the date of your baptism?  Do you consider it a special day?  Have you ever reflected on just what a difference your baptism has made in your life?  What does it mean to be a baptized Christian?  I am sure that many of us can give the description of the effects of baptism that we learned in catechism class.  It leaves an indelible mark on our soul, it cleanses us from all sin, it makes us members of the Church, it makes us part of God’s family, and makes us followers of Christ.

A follower of Christ… just what does that mean for us?  In today’s Gospel reading we hear that “Great crowds were traveling with Jesus.”  We should not confuse this “great crowd” as all being disciples of Jesus.  Many of them were probably merely curious about the “latest” big thing, while others were just hoping to get something out of Jesus.  Jesus knows that many who are following Him are not really disciples, and that is why He turns to address the crowd.  Jesus wants to make two things perfectly clear to those who are thinking about following Him as a disciple.

First He wants us to have no illusions about following Him.  His path is hard.  The Cross is NOT an option for the Christian.  Our human nature is fallen, and even though through baptism the stain of Original Sin is cleansed, our nature remains wounded.  The fancy theological word for this is “concupiscence”, and it has three primary effects – a disordering of the passions, a dimming of the intellect, and a weakening of the will.  Due to this wounded human nature, getting back up from the fall is going to be hard, even with the grace of God helping us.  Jesus tells us that it involves self-sacrifice and suffering; “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”  As the famous German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer noted in his book, The Cost of Discipleship, there is no such thing as “cheap grace.”

Yet there is another, equally important, lesson in today’s Gospel passage.  Jesus is teaching us that following Him involves more than just feelings and vague inspirations.  We are also called to use our minds, to put our intelligence and creativity to work in the adventure of following Christ Jesus.  This is evident from the examples that Jesus used in today’s Gospel.  Both the builder and the king had to channel their enthusiasm through the cool filter of reason.  As Christians, as followers of Jesus, we must do the same thing.

Maybe you have felt the emotional excitement that comes from some special grace-filled encounter with the Lord.  Maybe it was a retreat or a pilgrimage.  They can leave us on an emotional high.  Jesus teaches us that these “highs” are like the blossom on a cherry tree; they bloom quickly and fill our souls with a sweet aroma, but then the long, hot summer comes, and we have to persevere patiently.  The cherry blossom is the not fruit, just as the emotional and spiritual “high” is not the fruit of faith.  For the fruit to mature we must persevere in following an intelligent plan of spiritual and apostolic work.  Love, even the lasting love that comes from friendship with Jesus, is often born amidst intense emotions, but it only matures through sweat and suffering, which can only be endured with the aid of reason and conviction.  Following Christ Jesus is more than follow the whim of mere passing emotion; it is a long-term project that deserves and engages the whole person.

Why does such a notion of discipleship seem so alien to many of us?  We accept the fact that success in other walks of life takes hard work, but we think that we can be a faithful disciple of Christ without making any effort.

Like so many of my generation, one of the “great” movies of my youth was “Star Wars.”  George Lucas in an interview once described the work ethic that went into writing the original “Star Wars” screenplay; I guess the younger generation would call it “episode four”.  Lucas said that he grew up in a middle-class Midwestern-style American town, that taught him to put in a full 8-hour day of work, so for 8 hours he would sit at his desk, no matter what happened.  He had to force himself to write by saying that he could not get out of his chair until 5 o’clock.  He even put a big calendar on the wall above his desk, with notes saying that he needed to be at 25 pages by Tuesday, and at page 30 by Wednesday.  He gave himself a five page a day quota, and did not leave “work” until he was done.

“Star Wars” certainly turned out to be a fantastic movie – and for one of my college roommates it even seemed to be a life altering event.  Yet it cannot compare to eternal life with Jesus in Heaven.  In His parables about the builder planning to build a tower and the king planning to go to war, Jesus is trying to telling us that we need to DECIDE to take our Christianity seriously enough that we are willing to work at it, every day, and not just for about an hour a week on Sunday.  We need to put our whole selves into being a disciple of Jesus.

Jesus tells us that if we let family obligations or loyalties mean more to us than what discipleship requires, then we should not bother to follow Him.  He tell us that if we choose to follow Him we must be prepared to share in His rejection, persecution, and perhaps even His death.  Obviously He wants us to weight this decision carefully.  Baptism is more than just a “naming” ceremony, and Confirmation is more than just an excuse to have a party.  They are serious commitments that requires a radical turnabout in our lives so that NOTHING takes precedence over Christ Jesus.

One of the simplest things that we can do to help our spiritual lives become more stable and robust, and to grow in spiritual maturity is to follow through on our spiritual commitments.  We must move beyond the fuzzy feeling spirituality that is so popular today, and develop a mature faith in Jesus our Savior.  Maybe we could commit to daily recitation of the Rosary, or a Holy Hour in our Adoration Chapel.  Maybe we could renew our confidence in Christ’s love through the First Friday devotion of receiving Holy Communion in a spirit of gratitude on nine consecutive First Fridays of the month.  Whatever spiritual commitment that we make does not have to be large.  It can be small, as long as it is substantial, so to move us beyond the fuzzy feelings, into the real, costly grace of being a Disciple of Jesus Christ.