Today's homily

Our new priest is fantastic.

Newly ordained. Fresh out of the seminary. Filled with genuine zeal for the Lord and eager to share the beauty of our Catholic faith with our parish. He's just cute as a bug's ear and I could just squeeze him--if it weren't considered so inappropriate.

Anyways, awesome as he is, he hasn't always struck me as a fantastic homilist (what new priest is?)...until today. Now granted, if you are a priest worth your salt, it's pretty hard to miss the message in today's Gospel.

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me."

But today, Fr. H. (God love him!) hit a home run in getting the greater message across.

He said, firstly, that our sufferings are much like our own personal Good Friday and without it, there can be no Resurrection. I've heard that before, but it made yet another impression on me hearing it again. But he went on to discuss why God who is all good and merciful can allow so much suffering in this world.

Why doesn't He just snap His fingers and simply relieve all the hurt and sorrow in this life?

The answer, according to Fr. H., lies in the fact that we have been given free will. Freedom to choose good over evil. Freedom to choose Him over the world. He gives us free will rather than an existence of acting like robots...perhaps mindlessly serving as little more than slaves. Instead there is a greater good to be had...even greater than relieving the entire world of it's sorrows:

Loving and being loved.

Instead of eliminating suffering, He opts to derive a greater meaning from it. When faced with sorrows and trials, we can choose to succumb to the stress, emotions and pressures. We can lash out and ask why whilst alienating ourselves from those around us. We can raise our fists to the heavens and complain bitterly to anyone who will listen. All very human responses, to be sure and often the first responses we exhibit. But is there nothing more? Is that all suffering amounts to?

Or we can choose to be strengthened by these sad experiences. We can make the choice to allow ourselves to be humbled. Softened. Molded by our experiences. Breaking down barriers in a way that offers the kind of clarity of vision we can only obtain when we are first brought to our knees. We can choose to still choose God, despite the pain.

Even then I will praise you Lord.

What's more, when we shoulder our burdens joyfully we are given the opportunity of touching the lives of others with immeasurable consequence. We can't begin to estimate how far our example of joyful surrender is noticed by others and how someone else in turn might be inspired to smile through her tears.