July 11, 2010: 15th Sunday Ordinary (C)

 Click to hear the audio of the homily

This Friday evening I was at a hospice giving Last Rites to a dying man. He was surrounded by his family, and before I began prayers, I reminded the family that our dying moment is sacred. It is sacred because it is during that moment that the veil between this world and the next is very thin. I said to them it is not unusual for the person dying to see and hear deceased loved ones, saints, and angels. In fact it is part of our faith. Listen to one of the prayers in the Last Rites. It says, "I commend you, my dear brother, to almighty God, and entrust you to your Creator. May you return to him who formed you from the dust of the earth. May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life. May you see your Redeemer face to face, and enjoy the vision of God forever."

Several weeks ago, I had a 6th grader from a Catholic school approach me with a deep anxiety in his heart. I asked "What's matter?" And he said, "Father, do we just disappear after we die?" I replied, "Why do you ask that?" He said, "My friend showed me a music video, and it scared me. It showed a guy who was dying and after he died, there was nothing but black things." I said, "Let's go inside the church." I took him first near the altar, in front of the tabernacle. After we genuflected toward the tabernacle, I said, "Well, here lies the answer to our question: what happens to us after we die. Here is Jesus who promised us, 'I'm going to be with you until the end of time.' And over 2,000 years, Jesus has been so physically close to us, to remind us that that's who we will be with beyond our life after death." Then I took him over to the Blessed Mother's statue. I said, "Do you see this statue? Although this statue is made of marble, we have this inanimate statue here as a reminder that there is a living Mother of Our Lord whom we can always go to ask for motherly help." Then I took him to the rest of the statues of the saints. As I saw him leave, I could not shake the thought, 'How many of our young people feel that same emptiness? How many of our adults and elderly feel that same emptiness?

In our gospel today, a scholar of the law--really a religious expert--asks Jesus a similar question: "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" An religious expert should know the answer, or does he? Jesus turns it around and says to the expert, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" And the expert said, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Was that the correct answer? Partly. It's not enough to know. The more crucial part of the answer is obedience. Our Lord tells the expert, ""You have answered correctly; do this and you will live." Just like the this scholar of the religious law, most of us know what is the right thing to do--what Heavenly Father asks of us to do. In fact when I'm in the confessional, most of the people say, "Father, I know it is wrong to do this....BUT..." What most people struggle with is not knowing the right from wrong, but the struggle is, obeying the Lord out of love for Him. The mind knows, but the heart is not willing.

This brings us back to why I told you about my experience this Friday at the hospice with that dying man. Just like the 6th grader who is now doubting what awaits him at the end of his life, many of us have a foggy idea of what is at the end. We need a goal to mobilize all of our energies, but when there is no goal, there is nothing to hope or work for. When we came into this church, we saw a drawing of the new future church near the foyer. That is a beautiful goal, and it invigorates our hope for the future and changes the way we give our time and energy for this parish. Back at the hospice, I told the dying man and the family that at the end of his life, he will see his ultimate goal. Many folks who experienced near-death experience recounted that at the end of the dark tunnel, they saw Jesus, and Jesus gave them the most profound hug. In that embrace, the soul experienced the unconditional love that they have been searching for all their lives, albeit in all the wrong places. In that embrace, they will know how they could have done more in their earthly life to know Jesus better, but they didn't. What is the answer to, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" It goes back to the answer from the old Baltimore Catechism, "God made me to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next."

The past two years as a priest, I have given many Last Rites, and I must say I've encountered many souls who regret not spending more time knowing Him, loving Him, and serving Him. How do you know Him and love Him? Mother Teresa gives a very short, beautiful answer: The fruit of silence is prayer.

The fruit of silence is prayer. It is in silence, away from the noise of all my wants and my appetites to sit silently before Jesus in the Eucharist that we begin to have a conversation or prayer with Jesus. It is in that silent prayer that we begin to hear from Jesus how much He loves us, how much He desires to guide us. We begin to hear how my wants and my appetites are stifling His hope for us. We begin to know then, not what I hope to do, but what Jesus hopes for me. And my hope for you is that when you ask me to be at your bed side as you die, and as I pronounce the words, "May you see your Redeemer face to face, and enjoy the vision of God forever," you would have already known Him, loved Him, and served Him on earth so that you look forward to seeing Him as you take your last breath.