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15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Someone told me recently that he was a practicing
Catholic, but that the more he practiced the worse he got. I am sure
that many of us feel that way sometimes. Maybe we are not getting worse,
but we do not seem to be improving much either. Why is it so difficult
to change to get closer to God and have a relationship with Him?
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The answer to this question may lie in the parable
Jesus tells in the gospel. The farmer in the parable is Jesus. The seed
is God's word and the seedbeds, the path, thorns and good soil refer to
people who hear God's word. Some people reject it outright while others
receive it and reject it later. Still others receive it, treasure it
and put it into practice. You notice that in only one case was the word
rejected outright. In the other three cases it was received with joy, at
least, at first. You see the problem is not in receiving God's word.
The problem is in treasuring it and putting it into practice. That is
the part most of us have difficulty with.
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I am sure that you wonder what category you come
under. Are you the path, the rocks, the thorns or are you the good soil?
In other words, in your life where did the seed fall? In order to
answer that question, you may have to ask another. What rules your life,
what dominates your existence or what manipulates you? Something or
someone does or, perhaps, worst thought of all nothing does. Many things
can dominate our lives like love of power, money or drugs. Some people
are dominated by sheer work. In each case God takes a back seat. Where
is Jesus on your top ten list?
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You see, this God of ours knows us more intimately than
we know ourselves. He knows what makes you tick, what turns you on or
off and why. He knows how thrilling and how tough life can be. He knows
what it is like to be human. He became one. No matter how far you stray
from Him, He never stops loving you. He will ceaselessly search for you
and track you down in the hope of your turning to Him. Most astonishing
of all, this God who cares for you also died for you as if no one else
existed on Calvary save you.
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Look into your heart and discover what towers atop your
list of goals. See where God stands on the list compared to money,
power, fame, or whatever it is that draws you away from God. You see,
God's gift of love for you, though priceless, is not costless. Like all
love, God's love makes demands on you. Perhaps, His heaviest and most
constant demand is the plea every lover makes to the one they love ‑ "Do not forget me".
And, if we want to know if the seed fell on good soil in our lives, we
only have to ask ourselves how seriously do we take God's word when he
says, "Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself." It is amazing that these are the only rules that Jesus gave us.
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It was in the 1980's that I was a prison chaplain. The
prison had a special hospital ward for prisoners with AIDS. The men
were not allowed to attend Mass with the other prisoners. So I would
celebrate Mass for them in their ward. My altar was an old card table
and the men would make signs to cover it up. One sign read ‑"What we
need is love. What we don't have is time." These men were the new
lepers. What they needed most in the world was to feel God's love and
the love of family and friends, many of whom had stopped visiting them.
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The other part of the message, "What we don’t have is
time", reminded me of something I read in a convent chapel. It read, "Priest of God, say this Mass as if it were your first Mass, as if it were your last Mass, as if it were your only Mass"
The same could be said of all of us. Live this day as if it were your
first day, as if it were your last day, as if it were your only day.
Each day is a fresh chance to be Christlike and more loving.
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A well‑known singer and band leader, Cab Callaway, wrote in this autobiography, "Women, horses, cars, clothes, I did it all. And you know what that is called, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is called living." Wouldn't it be more satisfying if someday we could all say that about ourselves? "People,
those I liked and those I didn't, all people but, especially, the
homeless and the hopeless, the naked and the hungry, the lonely and the
unloved, those who are different from me in race or religion, the drug
addicted and the AIDS afflicted, I did not do it all, but I did what I
could. And you know what that is called, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is
called loving." When we can say that then we will know that the
seed has fallen on good ground. What we all need is love. What we don't
have is time.
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Yours in Christ,
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Fr. Robert Warren, S.A.
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Spiritual Director
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