The Very Stones Would Cry Out

The Easter Morning Homily:

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The story is told, and I know that many of you have heard this before, of the three folks who died and arrived at the pearly gates of Heaven. St. Peter tells them that they can enter the gates if they can answer one simple question. So he asks the first person, "What is Easter?" The fellow replies, "Oh, that's easy! It's the holiday in November when everyone gets together, eats turkey, and are thankful..." "Wrong!," St. Peter replies with annoyance, and proceeds to ask the second man the same question, "What is Easter?" The second one replies, "Easter is the holiday in December when we put up a nice tree, exchange presents, and celebrate the birth of Jesus." St. Peter looks at the second man, shakes his head in deeper frustration and peers over his glasses at the third man and asks, "What is Easter?" The third man smiles confidently and looks St. Peter in the eyes, "I know what Easter is." "Oh?" says St. Peter, incredulously. "Easter is the Christian holiday that coincides with the Jewish celebration of Passover. Jesus and his disciples were eating at the last supper and Jesus was later deceived and turned over to the Romans by one of his disciples. "The Romans took him to be crucified and he was stabbed in the side, made to wear a crown of thorns, and was hung on a cross with nails through his hands. He was buried in a nearby cave which was sealed off by a large boulder." St. Peter smiles broadly with delight. Then he continues, "Every year the boulder is moved aside so that Jesus can come out...and, if he sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter."

The man from the anecdote was certainly so close to hitting the nail on the head, as to what Easter is all about. He was right about how Jesus had dinner with His friends, and was deceived and handed over to be crucified. He was right about He suffered and died on the Cross. He was right about how His body was laid in a tomb and sealed with a heavy stone. The rest of course leaves a bit to be desired.

However, he is not alone in his confusion, as Peter and John in this morning’s Gospel seemingly got just as far in the Easter story before they too reached a bit of a mix up. You see, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb in the morning, and finds it open, empty, and in a state of disarray. So she runs and tells the Disciples, and Peter and John race to the tomb to see for themselves. The author even takes the liberty of pointing out that the other Disciple ran faster then Peter. Two men who were scolded on Thursday evening for falling asleep while Jesus prayed in the Garden, were now far from sleep, and are totally energized. Something inside them has ignited a fire that has launched them into motion.

They aren’t motivated by the Resurrection, as Scripture says they did not yet understand that He had risen from the dead. They were running in such a panic because Jesus’ body was missing. It’s that natural, human, impulsive response. What good would this race to the grave do? It wouldn’t bring the body back. It wasn’t going to answer any questions. It was the only response they could think of – to run, and see for themselves.

My dear friends on this Easter morning we do the very same thing. We come to Church today, and run to see for ourselves the empty tomb. We may not understand what has happened completely, we may not be able to explain it to a non believer. We may not be able to wrap our minds around the mystery of how this has been accomplished…but we know it’s worth running. We know it’s a day that we come to Church. We know it’s a day that we dress up. We know it’s a day that we gather for a meal with loved ones, and wish others a good day with the greeting of “Happy Easter”. If we do not fully understand the mystery of the Resurrection then how do we know all these things? It’s Natural. . . we have been waiting for it in the depth of our souls.

Previously in the Gospels, in Luke’s to be precise, Jesus enters Jerusalem on Palm Sunday the Disciples join the crowds in hailing Jesus as King. The Pharisee’s ask Jesus why He doesn’t silence them, and He responds, “if I told them to be silent, the very stones would cry out.”

All of creation, even the very stones, have waited since it’s fall in the Garden of Eden for this day to come. Every person, plant, rock, and speck of dust has waited with a collective eagerness for the day when the eternal God would complete the work of Redemption. Now it has been accomplished, and even the stones cry out.

What stone cried the loudest? I would say the one that first saw His glory. The boulder that sealed the entrance to the Tomb; in a moment where the ultimate climax of the power of God was made manifest, it rolled aside like a marble across the floor. As the man talking to Saint Peter at the pearly gates said, it has moved so that Jesus can come out…not to check for His shadow…but rather to find us looking for Him. He comes out to find Peter, the other Disciple, and you and I; who have run from our everyday lives, from our usual stress and aggravation, to see what has happened.

What has happened is victory.

That’s the message of the stones that cry out; that no stone is too big, no obstacle too great, to stop the love of our God for us…because that’s what Easter is…it’s the victory of love. It’s the victory of the power of God’s love over the power of the world. It’s the victory of God’s love over the boulder that blocked the entrance to Paradise. It’s the victory of God’s love over every single boulder that rolls across our way.

The broken body hanging on the Cross, which yielded such broken hearts, has now risen triumphantly; leaving behind a broken tomb. May Alleluia’s ring from each and every one of our hearts, and may our very souls swell with the eternal glory that is now ours to share forever!

Let's Call It What It Is

I’m not going to lie, as I write this, I am aggravated.

No, I take that back…I’m angry. I’m angry and insulted.

This evening I read Bishop Tobin’s latest argument against Gay Marriage in the local Roman Catholic Newspaper. You may be surprised to learn however why it is that I am angry. I’m not angry about his beliefs, nor am I angry about the fact that he defends those beliefs. Nationwide surveys have demonstrated that more than half of practicing Roman Catholics, support same sex marriage…if anything I would give him credit for standing up for his understanding of Church teaching in the face of such adversity within his own flock. What does anger me, is what this is really about, and the fact that we continue to dance around it.

The Bishop offers a number of arguments to support his defense of the Roman Catholic position on gay marriage. He offers five in fact, which can be found clearly demonstrated in his article, here.

I am so tired of reading and hearing the same arguments over and over again. I’m tired of responding with the same arguments over and over again. I’m tired of hearing the lame one liner from he and others, like the one in this article where he laments that he is but a martyr in the name of the truth;

“We’ve already seen that if you oppose same-sex marriage, even for personal or religious principles, you’ll quickly be labeled an intolerant bigot.”

Well, the reference to “attempted homosexual marriage” as a “social experiment, the consequences of which may not be realized for years to come” certainly can sound intolerant when taken at face value. Particularly with the argument left as is. What’s the experiment? Gays and Lesbians will get married, and start families. Organizations like N.O.M. (who tag their name to the Roman Catholic Church without debate), would certainly agree that such a thing is horrendous. Their website blatantly says that a family is meant to have; one father, and one mother. What about children that come from a single parent household? More than that, what about children that come from a two parent household…and they had to still raise themselves? What about all those families out there that find at it’s base a mother and a father, and the product is children that are still filled with anger, hate, and other unchristian values? The people that have been the biggest threat to society in history, were the children of heterosexual parents. We would never condemn heterosexual families for raising children that turned out to be wretched, so why would we simply assume that a homosexual couple would be incapable of raising children that could be Saints?

That sounds like an intolerant bigot to me.

The Bishop goes on, as you can see in the article;

“our opposition to this legislative initiative, to same-sex marriage, should not be construed as an attack on or rejection of individuals with same-sex attraction. Homosexual persons are children of God who possess the same human dignity as every other human being. That affirmation, however, doesn’t mean that their sexual activity needs to be accepted and celebrated.”

Why isn’t heterosexual marriage reduced to simply “the acceptance of, and celebration of, their sexual activity?” If it is truly held that the LGBTQ Community are all children of God who possess the same human dignity as every other human being, then this conversation would be about human beings. It would not be about “accepting and celebrating sexual acts.”

The Bishop points out that if the fight for same sex marriage were really about Civil Rights, the LGBTQ Community should be happy with Civil Unions;

“And be very clear about this – same-sex marriage isn’t about procuring civil rights for beleaguered homosexual persons. The recently adopted civil-unions legislation, as ill-advised as it was, it provided the legal protections activists have been lobbying for, but the opportunity has been widely ignored. Same-sex marriage legislation is about distorting a venerable institution – not about civil rights.”

Civil Unions have not been taken advantage of because there is no advantage to getting one! In the State of Rhode Island, even if a couple posses a Civil Union, institutions have the right to ignore that legal status in the name of beliefs and morals. The very existence of Civil Unions gives acknowledgment to same sex relationships. By their very nature they prove that these relationships have worth and value. However, this legislation also blatantly demonstrates that value to be less then marriage. There is no dignity in introducing someone as, “the other half of my civil union.”

I’ll be blunt; to legalize same sex marriage would grant too much human dignity to homosexual persons. In a way, it would make it a matter of law to respect a homosexual person in the same way as a heterosexual person. Such a thing would force the Roman Catholic Church to think outside of the box, a box that has sat comfortably for too many years. The Hierarchy of the Church would find itself without the justification of a social stigma to back its bigotry. Make no mistake about it…they need that backing.

Think about it; what would happen if the world became a place where same sex relationships were deemed “ok” by the legalization of same sex marriage? How would Priests who are gay and living closeted gay lifestyles then feel? How would all the gays who are employed by the Church feel? How would gays in the pews feel? The Church would be forced to face its worst nightmare: acknowledging homosexuals as equals.

Let’s just be honest - that is really what’s at stake here. If this were in fact about protecting marriage, and the sanctity of marriage, the Church would issue a statement every other time Marriage is “marred” in public view. When CNN reports about another celebrity who has further mocked this sacred institution, there would be a statement from the Bishop. If there was an ounce of concern about the “Dignity of the Homosexual Person,” a statement would be made in defense of the 26 percent of young people in this State who “come out”, and as a result get thrown out of their house. If the issue here is really marriage, and the Church truly defends the dignity of the homosexual person, then why can’t a Roman Catholic Priest be openly gay, and “out” so long as he is still true to his Ordination promises? Why isn’t the Roman Catholic Church the loudest opponents to homophobic language in the hallways of high schools?

That’s what makes me mad. It makes me mad that the Hierarchy of the Roman Church justifies its bigotry in the name of “defending marriage”. Well, keep right on “defending”; and in the process drive away souls who thirst for Christ. Drive away young people who will forever have a bad taste in their mouth for the Church who seemingly rejects them. Drive away families who are trying to raise their children with values of honesty, love, and respect…even though the Church would say that family is built on immorality, because they have two parents of the same sex.

Bishop, you are right about one thing indeed; “The general public will continue to be divided over this emotional issue with accusations and angry rhetoric sure to follow. Do we need that again here and now?” The answer is, no we don’t.

However, it is in fact going to continue, because there are two battles going on here;

One battle is in the State House, and it’s over same sex marriage.

The other is between Chanceries and human hearts, and it is rooted in fear.

Our Highest Aspirations

From my "Pastor's Desk" Column on the Parish Website.

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Today in Holyoke, Massachusetts history was made as Alex Morse was sworn in as the youngest mayor the city has ever elected. I haven’t followed his campaign very closely, since its outcome doesn’t really affect me in any way, but I, like many, was fascinated by the idea of a 22 year old man running for such a position.

In his remarks at the Inauguration today he said, “We have all heard those who say that Holyoke’s best days are long past. We have heard that Holyoke’s best bet is for us to just settle, and to resign ourselves to a future that is beneath our highest aspirations.” He goes on to talk about how for the citizens of Holyoke, today is a new day. His youth filled zeal is inspiring as he speaks of his hope for so many brighter tomorrows for his fellow citizens.

What a wonderful thought as we move into this New Year. I think that many of us have at times in our lives found ourselves of the same mindset that Mayor Morse describes in his word above. We have all reached points along the way where we may feel that our best days have passed, or that it is now time to settle for where we are, and that our dreams are a bit too farfetched. What a travesty! Such a thought could not be further from the truth!

In the last week the New Years Spirit has been strong. Thanks to Social Media like Facebook and Twitter, it seems stronger than ever. We can click online at anytime and see the posts about diets, quitting smoking, and drinking less. At the gym there is a noticeable increase in activity, at AA there has been an influx of people…it would seem that everywhere we look people are working on bettering themselves, everyone is working on reaching goals, on finding that future of our highest aspirations.

You see my friends in all of this self improvement that we find ourselves doing; at the end of the day we are working on the same goal – to improve the self. For all of us, the “self” is different. We all have different vices, we all have different ways that we want to improve, and we all have different pictures of what that “highest aspiration” looks like.

At Christmas we celebrated the birth of Our Lord, who came to us; as we are, who we are, and where we are. I spoke at the Christmas Masses about who we are is something sacred, because God Himself has been made one of us. All of those things are very true, but it would be a shame for us to think that we cannot grow. These events all took place in the humility of the Stable, among a diverse cast of characters. However, the encounter with Jesus in the Stable affected everyone present;

The Shepherds return to their homeland glorifying God, and telling everyone they meet of this wondrous news that has forever changed the world. The Kings make their way to Bethlehem asking questions, following a Star and their faith. They leave Bethlehem with solid answers, and even return home via a different route to avoid Herod, and not fall into his ploy. Joseph is strengthened in his faith, and through it all Mary “keeps all these things, and reflects on them in her heart.”(LK 2:19)

Jesus comes to each of them “as they are”…and that encounter inspires them to do even better. It inspires them to do things like ponder the Lord, trust in Him, tell others about Him, and protect Him from those who would otherwise seek to harm Him. The Shepherds are still Shepherds, and the Magi are still Magi, but they leave Bethlehem looking at life, and living life, through a new lens. They realize that the best days are not those that have passed, and that to “just settle” simply will not work. They have experienced Emmanuel, God with us, and as a result their highest aspirations are actually attainable.

May all of our New Year’s Resolutions be directed ultimately towards reaching our highest aspirations. May God in His goodness continue to bless us, encourage us, and strengthen us as we continue in our own journeys to be the best we can be; because God has given us everything we need to each our highest aspirations.

God Bless You!

See you at Church!

Fr. Dave

Seabiscuit

~ My "From The Pastor's Desk" Column on the Parish Website~

On this day in 1938 a historic race was won by a horse named Seabiscuit. Seabiscuit did not start out with a very promising future as a racing horse. He was undersized, “knobby-kneed” and lazy. Even when it was discovered that this poor creature had a hopeful future as a racing horse, he still wasn’t given much of a chance, and couldn’t be sold for a respectable amount of money. In 1938, on November 1 Seabiscuit earned the title and acclaim he had acquired in his defeat of “War Admiral” who was at the top of the “Horse Racing World”, till that point.

How appropriate that this all unfold on the Solemnity of All Saints. Today’s feast is a beacon of hope for all us underdogs out there. The Saints are made up of men and women who history never expected much from at the beginning, and history would end up gravely mistaken. The Apostles are a prime example. They were 12 uneducated, simple fishermen; who all but one gave their lives for the Church in martyrdom. Therese, our patroness, who died at 23 years old of Tuberculosis in her small convent of Carmel; no one knew, when they went to read her diaries that they would one day be published, and earn her the title of ‘Doctor of the Church”. There were Saints like Francis of Assisi and Augustine, who for the early part of their lives never thought twice about God, His Church, or even living good and respectable lives. Both men went on to found Religious Orders, and now are two of the most renowned names in Church History.

Look at the Saints we all know in our lives. The grandparents, parents, aunt, uncles, friends and neighbors who have gone home to the Lord and their eternal reward; how many of them were such underdogs as well? Perhaps immigrants from other countries who were forced to assimilate into a culture they knew nothing about in order to get work, and provide for their family. Perhaps they were single parents, who due to any number of reasons were left raising a child alone in an economy where even a 2 parent household is struggling. Perhaps they passed seemingly to the rest of the world without making a single wave…but we know that to be different, because they affected US.

What about the walking Saints among us? The underdogs who day in and day out go to work, try to pay their bills, and try to make it home to bed at the end of the day with as little incident as possible.

At AA they tell us that we are miracles. They say that every day that we look back on our past 24 hours of sobriety, it’s a miracle. Then when we look at how many of those 24 hour periods back to back we have collected for ourselves; we are a miracle. Miracles that are only possible through the grace of a loving God, to whom we have given over our will. It certainly is a miracle, but one that I certainly have had nothing to do with. Maybe the AA principle needs to apply to every aspect of our lives.

Give it all to God. Give God all the heartaches, headaches, bills, stress, arguments, successes and failures, and let Him work miracles. He seems to be in that line of work! Let God make something amazing out of the simplicity that is us. Like Seabiscuit conquering all the odds, like the Saints who went from paupers to heroes faith, like our Grandparents who made it in a new world, and like the drunk who everyday finds the willpower to not pick up a drink – God Works Miracles! We are still underdogs, because if we try to win these races alone, we surely will lose.
If we let God take over – the underdog becomes a formidable opponent.

Love Your Neighbor

This weekend on Sunday afternoon I went back to the old apartment to claim the last of my things. I brought Deacon Chris with me with hopes that he would help me in the discernment process of what can stay and what can go. Despite his insistence that if I “haven’t used it in the last month at the new house, you don’t need to keep it”, I still managed to haul two car loads of things back to Pawtucket. In the midst of all the sifting through stuff I found myself walking down memory lane, and when the room was cleared out, I stood for a moment and sort of looked around.

I couldn’t help but be filled with mixed emotions while taking it all in. I thought about when I first moved into the place. I was so excited to be starting in “my first apartment”. It was the first time I was living in my own place, and not renting a room in someone else’s home. I thought about all the ups and downs through the years. I came across old letters from ex’s that made their way into the “memory box”. I found tickets from movies, concerts, and plays that I went to with special people. I found an empty wine bottle that has traveled with me for about 5 or 6 years. I found a pumpkin carving kit, old engraved dog tags, a Transformer, and many other miscellaneous trinkets and tokens that I held onto as special memories from special events along life’s journey. Why do we keep this stuff???

We keep this stuff because it’s significant to us in some way. They certainly are not reminders of days I wish I could return to. Some of them are reminders of lessons I had to learn in life the hard way. Some of them are reminders of lessons that I continue to learn to this day. Some of them are reminders of people, who for better or worse; make me the person I am today.

In the Gospel on Sunday Jesus is asked a very pointed question “which one of the commandments is the greatest?” Jesus’ answer is one that has certainly gone down in history;

"You shall love the Lord, your God,with all your heart,with all your soul,and with all your mind.This is the greatest and the first commandment.The second is like it:You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

In this very clear statement, Jesus makes it very clear that our relationship with one another is intrinsically linked with our relationship with God. The statement presupposes that we already love ourselves, and that we must love our neighbor in like manner. This love is just as significant – and in fact linked to – our love for God.

That’s how we end up with all this “stuff” over the years, because the people in our lives, and the memories that come with them are linked to the Divine. These people that God puts in our path along the way who leave an impression on our hearts are there for a reason. That’s why we hold onto all that stuff…that’s why we have memory boxes. That’s why even after sifting through all the leftover stuff in my apartment, and throwing away countless bags of trash, I still managed to fill two cars with what remained! Those items are things that are point towards something much deeper, something much more significant. The love that has been shown to me along the way from the people and memories attached to those items, were reminders of the love of God Himself.

From the outsider’s perspective, I think many would ask “why would you save that”, or “why would you want to remember them?” I mentioned that Jesus’ words presupposed that we love ourselves. There were definitely periods of life where I did not love myself, and hence the love I had for others was equally as flawed. The relationships I tried to maintain while I was under the influence of alcohol were all people who will no doubt be counted one day among the Saints. The love they showed for me despite my inability to rightly love in return is undoubtedly a testimony to the divine nature of love.

So now it is a new day, and as some of these trinkets and memories find their new home on a shelf at the new house I look upon them with a smile. That’s because I do love myself now. I love my flawed, broken, simple self. I can say that because I know that my God loves me, and He knows that each and every day I give it my all…because that’s all we can do. I know for a fact that He loves me, because attached to each and every one of those trinkets and nick-knacks is one of my “neighbors” who lived that message of Jesus in their heart, and loved me…for the mess I was.

From the outsider’s perspective I’m a pack-rat. From my perspective, I’m a lucky guy, who’s been blessed throughout my life with people who have contributed to who I am today – weather they intended to or not. I think the important lesson to be learned is that’s why it’s so important to love our neighbor – because maybe they don’t love themselves, maybe they feel alone, maybe no one understands them. So love your neighbor…they may be depending on it.

The First Day of School

“When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.” Luke 6:13-16

Today is the first day of school. This is a day that brings with it different feelings for different students. Those feelings vary with age, maturity, grade level, and academic situation. I remember the thrill of my first day of High School, looking forward to meeting new friends- and after a summer of updating my wardrobe, upgrading my hair style to something I considered more fashionable, and putting aside my glasses in favor of blindness – I was ready. I don’t think I cared very much about the classroom lessons that would come my way. I certainly had hopes each year of doing well in school, but I will freely admit that finding myself ranked among “the cool” was always a goal with each September.

As I got older this experience would change, but in many ways stayed the same. In Seminary with each new assignment came an opportunity to meet new people, and build a support system that was stronger than the year before. I remember the first night of my last assignment in Omaha, Nebraska. The Director of the Program had scheduled a welcome reception for all the seminarians a local bar/grill. The evening was open bar, courtesy of the program’s budget, and around 10:30 the Rector walked by the bar to inform the group of us who were sitting there that he was about to close the tab. We were welcome to stay, but we were on our own. When last call rolled around, the four of us were still sitting there, now facing a tab of our own, two very full ashtrays, and thanks to the haze the alcohol had provided over our judgment we had no doubt shared about ourselves far more then we needed to. I remember clearly one of the Seminarians turning and saying; “Well I know who I’m gonna hang out with this Semester – we are clearly the only ones who can hang.”

Even as adults our social circles are a key part of our daily life experience. We try to socialize with people who we can relate to, who understand us, and who are in some way in the same boat. The old saying “misery loves company” often comes into play.

Jesus knew the importance of friendship, as so early on in His ministry, He selected from among the many who were following Him with curiosity, 12 men who would be by His side over the next 3 years. Instead of building bonds over drinks and cigarettes, He would build bonds with these men by sharing with them the gift of Salvation. They would travel together, lodge together, eat together, cry and laugh together. Although Jesus is God, He was fully human in His earthly existence and knew the ups and downs that come along with friendship. No doubt His awareness of these feelings is why the Evangelist chose to set Judas aside in the description of the band of 12 men as being the one “who became a traitor”.

As I look back over the history of my own life I certainly see many friends who lasted for various lengths of time. We all can do that. We all have the friends like Judas, who would turn out to not be the most faithful…however also like Judas, their betrayal would turn out to be the catalyst for something greater. We have those few friends that have stayed by our side through thick and thin, like John, who found himself to be the only friend still standing at the foot of the Cross. Of course in our human experience we have those friends like Peter and the other Apostles, who despite claiming all the faith and fidelity in the world fail so often, yet after every fall brush themselves off, and continue to walk down the road of life’s journey right by our side.

In the last year or two I have come to learn a lot about friendship. Priorities in life change along the way, and sometimes friends can’t understand that. Like my experience in Omaha, I think we all find ourselves waiting to see who is going to be “able to hang”, who’s still going to be there at the many “last calls” that life brings our way. As we get older we change our definition of the word friend. We come to realize that what defines someone as a friend isn’t the one who pays the tab at the end of the night. It’s not a relationship that is defined by something like Facebook, which can be terminated with something as simple as the click of a mouse.

The Apostles didn’t always understand Jesus, they didn’t always agree with Him, and they certainly had their share of quarrels among them; but in the end they provided a definition of friendship that would stand the test of time. On Good Friday as Jesus was arrested and crucified, all but one ran and turned their back on Jesus when He needed them most. As Jesus hung on the cross and looked down so that He could commend the mother He was leaving behind to the care of one of His friends, all he found was John.

The happy life they had shared traveling, and talking about God and His love for them had come to an end. In what seemed like a moment, things changed, and all of a sudden it wasn't easy being friends with Jesus. The rubber had hit the road, and for this band of friends turning and running was the chosen course of action in response to all the false testimony, drama, and possible pain. The real betrayal of Judas is that when he realized the results of his betrayal, he took his own life, in an act of selfishness that was based on the thought that Jesus would never forgive him for what he’d done. The others realized they demonstrated a lack of faith in their friend, and so they would go on to give their lives for Him, and His Gospel.

The story of Jesus and his Apostles shows us that love and friendship is about giving, not taking. It proves that we all drop the ball as friends, but if it’s real it’s never to late to fix it. That’s how real friendship is defined and demonstrated; with generosity- generosity in love, giving, and forgiving. The depth of these things can never be expressed gathered at a bar, or on a Facebook wall, and history may not always record them rightly, but an accurate testimony is kept forever engraved on our hearts.

Unless You Become Like Children...

“Amen, I say to you; unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven”
- Matthew 18:3

I went to bed with a lot on my mind last night.

There was all the usual stuff like the Parish, and my work as a priest; How am I doing? Am I missing anything? Are we welcoming enough? Are the bills paid?

There was the usual stuff like work; Did I turn everything off when I left? Did I remember to save that slideshow I was working on? Was the advice I gave that youth helpful?

There was the stuff particular to that day; When will he ever learn to forgive, and stop carrying such anger in his heart? Will she ever be relieved of the ongoing addition of burden in this life, or will she have to wait until paradise to enjoy the freedom of peace?

We all go to bed with a whole world that continues to turn in the universe of our minds. That world contains worries about life, love, pain, bills, stress, relief, and the list goes on. It’s a miracle we get any rest at all during the five – eight hours we lay in rest at night. Then this morning I read today’s Gospel, with the above words from Jesus, “unless you become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.”

A child has a certain innocence that we lose as we get older. The first time our heart gets broken, we become more guarded with our feelings, and the more it happens, the stronger that guard becomes. We get our first financial responsibility; maybe a cell phone, or a car payment, and it serves as the first of many bills to juggle in our heads. We learn how to worry about other people, people who invite us into their lives; friends, lovers, family, and co workers. We learn about gossip and the harm it can cause in our lives and the damage it can bring to a community. The lessons life teaches are often hard, and can only be learned through the shedding of more than one tear. If we were to stop for a moment and think back, especially on a sunny day like today, to life as a child playing in a yard on a summer’s day – we remember a life that was very different.

As a child when we got up in the morning, we were eager. Eager to enjoy the weather, eager to see our friends from the neighborhood, eager to see what discoveries of the world were in store for us today. Somewhere along the line we lose all that.

Children have such open hearts that are free from the damage of such pain and suffering. A child has never endured heartbreak, received a letter from a collections agent, dealt with car problems, or lost sleep due to worry and concern. That’s why Jesus advises us to become like little children; it’s for our own sanity!

A child forgives before receiving an apology, and loves without prejudice. A child plays a game of basketball alone, but in the amazing world of their imagination, they may be a member of a full team of players, competing against another team. They may fill the role of a point guard, a forward, or a center. As this NBA Championship game plays out in their imagination and they run around the court full of such energy they don’t even for a moment consider that an onlooker may think them crazy, because they only see a child, playing basketball all alone.

As adults we can’t even begin to imagine participating in such silliness. We would worry about others seeing us and think we had gone mad. We don’t have time with the responsibilities of life that occupy us. Perhaps even if we had the time, and the care-free attitude to do so, we are so affected by our life experience that the concept of a team that works together without malice, or the drive of an individual ego is so absurd- the only place it can exist is in the imagination of a child.

That’s the challenge of life. How do we reclaim that childlike passion that we can do anything we set our mind to? How do we see past the stress, and see all the blessings? How do we free our hearts of the pain and anger we carry so that we can live the lives of good and upright people that we are called to? How do we find the courage to let our hearts be open to someone else, risking the pain and suffering we have learned from in the past?

It’s a risk. It’s a risk to become like little children, but the reward is worth it. The reward of Paradise to be certain, but the reward we receive right here in the world we live in. The reward of love, happiness, freedom from grudges, or maybe, just maybe – even a good night’s sleep.