A Sweet Exclamation

At many Catholic Worker Houses, the workers extend hospitality to guests.  Here at the Redwood City Catholic Worker House, guests stay with us long-term until they have saved enough funds to be able to move out into their own homes.  

Recently one of our current guests was fixing some coffee for herself in the kitchen here in the house.  She dropped the large jar of sugar, which fell onto the floor and cracked.  

Rather than swear, she exclaimed, "Sugar!"  

I said, "Exactly."  

Changing Our Minds

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus talks to us about how God values when we actually do what God calls us to do, rather than simply saying that we will do what He asks us to do.  Jesus also points out that there are those among us who we may despise, but who might be getting into Heaven before us if they do God's will while we fail to do so.  

In today's Gospel, we hear that 

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
“What is your opinion? 
A man had two sons. 
He came to the first and said,
‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 
The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’
but afterwards he changed his mind and went. 
The man came to the other son and gave the same order. 
He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. 
Which of the two did his father’s will?” 
They answered, “The first.” 
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the Kingdom of God before you. 
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did. 
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him.”*    

Here through a parable, Jesus illustrates that what one says, about what one will do or not do, matters less than what one ultimately does.  The first son says he will not go work in the vineyard as the father requests, but later he goes and works there.  He is seen as doing his father's will, despite his initial refusal.  

At first we might speak rebellious words to God; we might say that we are not going to cooperate with Him.  We might say that we are going to do things our own way rather than trust in God.  However, despite initially rejecting God's will, later we can choose to trust in God, obey His commandments, and do His will.  We can decide to love our neighbor by opting to perform loving acts of compassion everyday for those around us.  

In the parable, the second son says he will go work in the vineyard as his father directs him to do, but then does not go work there.  Not going to work, he is seen as not doing his father's will; in merely offering his words of acquiescence, he does not fulfill his duty to his father.  

When we talk about loving our neighbor, but then do nothing to love our neighbor, we do not do God's will.  It is not the shape of the words we speak, but the state of our hearts which define our relationship with God and with our neighbor.  When we truly love, this living love is seen more tellingly in our acts than in our words.  People can tell who true Christians are by witnessing ardent acts of love.  

After the parable, Jesus tells the chief priests and the elders that tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom of God before they are.  He was telling those responsible for the moral leadership of the people that those who were much maligned in society were entering God's Kingdom before them.  One is not guaranteed safe passage from one's title or position in life.   Those who are marginalized, seemingly rejected and scorned, may be ahead of us.  Given that they may be further along than us, one could do well to have the humility to realize that one has something to learn from them.  

Who are those who are stigmatized, who are on the fringes, who are the dispossessed today who we push away, yet who might have something to teach us?  Who do we ignore who might be sent into our lives to help us, even though we think they need our help?  

I am reminded of a particular homeless woman who here I'll call "Catherine."  She is a very social, warm, caring, attentive, giving person.  When someone is in trouble, she jumps forward to help that person in need.  

Recently I heard a couple of people talking about Catherine.  The first person shared that Catherine had informed him of something, and the second person said, "She's a meth addict."  The second person said that Catherine is addicted to methamphetamines, insinuating that one could not believe what she said or rely on her.  Yet her friends rely on her to help them to replace their basic property after it has been lost or stolen.  Catherine leaps forward as a Good Samaritan to assist those who have been beaten and left by the side of the road to die.**  She actually acts to help.  One cannot dismiss her as a lost cause simply because she might be a drug addict.  

I am also recalling how someone I know had been reaching out to Catherine over a period of weeks.  This helper had been repeatedly going to Catherine and assisting her in little ways.  Catherine explained to him that he was doing well by consistently trying to help.  She went on to emphasize that someone in need is encouraged by a person who consistently shows up to help.  Catherine, supposedly a drug addict, was counseling, advising and encouraging this person who kept showing up to try to help her.  This apparent drug addict was giving valuable feedback and direction.  Catherine, living on the fringes of society, despised and scorned, was giving thanks, was encouraging her neighbor, and was showing love to the person standing in front of her.  

Drug addicts and homeless people are capable of love.  They might love their neighbor better than others.  We might be able to learn from them.  If we dismiss people, we can't learn from them.  Yet if we welcome someone, if we welcome the stranger in front of us, we are showing that we are willing to listen to that person.  

We show our willingness more through our actions than simply through our words.  It's not what we say, but what we do, that most matters.  Yet it's not just what we do, but with how much love we do it, that matters even more.  Saint Teresa of Calcutta advises us, "In this life we cannot do great things.  We can only do small things with great love."  Saint John of the Cross sagely counsels us, "In the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love."  At the end of our lives, we will be judged on how much, and how fervently, we have loved God and our neighbor.  

To know how to love, I look to Jesus Christ, my Lord and my God.  In our everyday lives, we meet Jesus in our neighbor.  Jesus is present in those who are impoverished; He is in the least among us.***  We have much to learn from our neighbor, especially those who are poor.  When we make their struggles our own, we come to have compassion.  Becoming compassionate, we show the love we would like to receive if we were in their place.  Then with such understanding, we can come to love our neighbor as ourselves.****  Then we can realize that we and our neighbor and God are much closer than we had previously thought, a loving embrace patiently waiting to be accepted.  

* Matthew 21:28-32 
** Luke 10:29-37 
*** Matthew 25:40 
**** Matthew 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27; Leviticus 19:18; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:14  

Already Missing Them

Soon I'll be going on vacation.  Today when I was crossing paths with some of the homeless folks I know, I was letting them know that I'll be gone for a couple of weeks.  One of them, who I'll call "Roslyn" here, replied that she and others will be looking forward to seeing me again when I get back from vacation.  I responded that I'll be looking forward to seeing them again too.  
After I had walked away, I realized that I was already missing them.  And then I considered that given that I feel this way, perhaps it's a good indication that bonds of love and community have already formed with these tender people I already miss.  

Giving Our Consent

Last Thursday we celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, commemorating how Mary was conceived without sin.  In our celebration of this Solemnity, we see how God invites us to greatness by asking us to simply give our assent to His plan. 

The Gospel reading on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception was from Luke 1:26-38.  There we hear that 

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin’s name was Mary.  And coming to her, he said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you.”  But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.  He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and He will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”  

But Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?”  

And the angel said to her in reply, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.  And behold, Elizabeth, your relative, has also conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called barren; for nothing will be impossible for God.”  

Mary said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.  May it be done to me according to your word.”  Then the angel departed from her.*    

Saint Augustine of Hippo has explained how Our Blessed Mother Mary is blessed moreso for her obedience to God than for her having borne Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  He cited the Gospel verses in which Jesus stretched out His hands over His disciples and remarked that "Here are My mother and My brothers: for whoever who does the will of My Heavenly Father is My brother and sister and mother."**  The saint explained that Mother Mary did the will of God the Father.  She gave her consent to God's plan for her to give birth to God's Son, Jesus.  The saint went on to explain that insofar as Mother Mary did God's will, and thus followed Jesus' teaching, she is more blessed in her being a disciple of Jesus than in having birthed Jesus.  

Saint Augustine invited us to examine further the Scriptures with him to see how this is true.  He referred to the instance in which a woman in a crowd called out to Jesus, "Blessed is the womb that carried You and the breasts at which You nursed."  

Jesus replied, "Rather, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it."***  

Saint Augustine explained that Jesus responded as He did because He wanted people to look beyond the physical.  Jesus deeply desires, much more than our physical needs to be satisfied, for our souls to thrive through our embracing the will of God.  

The saint explained that Mother Mary heard the Word of God and kept it, and thus she was blessed.  The saint made clear that she kept God's Truth in her mind, which was nobler than carrying His Son's body in her womb.  

When God presented His plan to Mother Mary, she had the humility to describe herself as the handmaid of the Lord God.  She saw herself as a servant of the Lord God who would willingly submit to God's will.  She stood ready to do the will of God.  She replied to the angel, "May it be done to me as you have said."  She was waiting to do the will of God; when she was presented with the will of God, she was prepared to reply, "Yes."  
Clearly Our Blessed Mother Mary provides an example for us to emulate.  In pondering how Mary accepted Jesus into her life, we are led to consider how we respond to Jesus.  How are we preparing ourselves for the arrival of Jesus this Advent, and throughout the year, when we encounter Jesus everyday in our neighbor?  

Through prayer and fasting, we deny ourselves.  In denying ourselves, by letting go of our preconceptions and judgemental ideas and biases, we can empty ourselves so God can fill us with what He wants so dearly to give to us.  By letting go of what poisons us, what stifles us, what holds us back, we make room for what God desires to give us to nourish us, to help us grow, to draw us forward on our way back to Him.  

Once we have made room in our hearts, we can let in others.  By serving our neighbor, especially the person we see who is disempowered and marginalized, we can come to understand the struggles of those who endure much more challenging circumstances than we face.  Thus we can feel more compassion toward our neighbor, and, in turn, feel and express and show more love.  

As we love more deeply and more unconditionally, we grow closer to God as God continues to sanctify us.  Opening our hearts to God, we welcome God as He seeks to present to us what He has in store for us.  God has so many wonderful things in store for us, which we can enjoy if we only trust Him.  God is so much more powerful, and so much wiser, than we are.  If we trust God, He will draw us into becoming far more than we could ever be without assenting to His plan.  To experience great wonder, God calls us to reply "Yes."

* Luke 1:26-38 
** Matthew 12:49-50 
*** Luke 11:27-28 

Likes To Give

Here at the Catholic Worker House, this time of year, from the couple of weeks before Thanksgiving until a few days into the new year, is busier than usual.  A lot of different folks keep showing up with many different items they donate to us.  

This morning my mentor Larry here at the house asked me about some canned goods and boxes of food which had arrived here yesterday.  We discussed what we would do with the food.  

The box had no top and was wrapped with wrapping paper.  So viewed from a low height, it looked like a Christmas present.  One of the two young boys who lives here at the house, who's five years old, walked up to me as I was looking at the items in the box.  

He asked me, "Is this a present from Santa?"  

"No," I replied.  

"Then who is it from?"  

I explained, "It's from a very nice person who likes to give things to other people."