Homily: Monday 5th Week of Lent

Readings: Dan 3:14-20, 91-92, 95; Dan 3:52-56; John 8:31-42

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A few years ago I received a small package from the Department of Defense. I wasn't expecting anything from them, but when I got home and opened it, I found it contained a bunch of medals. Among them were medals I didn't even know I'd been awarded. And with two exceptions they all dated back to the Vietnam conflict.

I lined them up on the dining room table and thought, if only briefly: Well, will you look at that, McCarthy. You're a genuine hero.  That thought lasted about two seconds, because it wasn't the truth. I was no hero.

Heroes do remarkable things, far beyond what anyone might expect. I did only what was expected of me, what I was ordered to do. Indeed, if I hadn't done the things for which I received those medals, I would have been court-martialed.

But I knew many men who really were true heroes, ordinary men who did extraordinary things. Today's first reading brought some of them to mind, the real heroes - the same kind of people we read about in the Book of Daniel. Three young men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, follow their consciences and profess their belief in God - their faith that God will be with them regardless of the consequences.

“I see four men unbound and unhurt, walking in the

fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God.”

For them, the issue was clear: they had no choice but to do God's will, what was good and acceptable. The three believed themselves to be free to do nothing but what is right, what their faith obliged them to do. Believing in the one, true God, they knew their greatest freedom rests in doing God's will. And in their faith, God saves them.

Jesus, of course, understood this well. That's why He declared,

"I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me" [Jn 6:38].

Unlike the three men in the furnace, Jesus wasn't saved from the violent death of crucifixion. And it was through Jesus' obedience that He expressed his divine Sonship. This is emphasized in the Letter to the Hebrews where we read,

"Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" [Heb 5:8-9].

Our whole existence, then, as disciples of Jesus flows from the mysterious roots of our souls where we are called and sustained in supernatural life beyond all human ability to comprehend. How did Jesus put it in today's Gospel passage?

"If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" [Jn 8:31-32].

The truth not only sets us free, but we are free only in truth. Too many today think freedom means the right to choose anything - good or evil. But that's not freedom; that's license. Jesus tells us that true freedom is only the freedom to choose what is good - for once we choose evil, we cease being free. Instead we become slaves, slaves to that evil, slaves to sin.

Brothers and sisters, our lives are marked by thousands of decisions and actions, normal everyday responses to the opportunities we confront. But at our core, as Christians, like Jesus we are being begotten by God, and receive a divine life similar to Jesus. And at those crucial moments in our lives we are called to be heroic.

Like the three young men in the furnace, if we want to be truly free, we have no other choice.

Like the true heroes I knew back in my days as a Navy pilot, like those willing to sacrifice all for the sake of others, we have no other choice.

As we respond to life's challenges with heroic obedience, the most divine part of us, the image of God within us, rises to the surface for all to see. When we act according to God's will, in the true freedom God desires for us, our true selves emerge most fully, most courageously, most divinely. God's will always leads to the good, and nothing can interfere with what is good.

Do you believe that? Really believe it?

I hope so because it's the truth. And the truth - the truth of that deep divine life we are all called to share - that truth will set us free.

Unplanned Thoughts

Occasionally I find the time just to sit down, usually outside on our lanai, and think a bit about all the strangeness that typifies our world. Because I am currently trapped here in our home, afflicted by an ailment, I have a lot more time to ponder such things. I am suffering through an attack of shingles, which is a very mundane name given to a very irritating illness. I had it once before, 15 or 20 years ago, but that time it manifested itself on my chest. This time it has attacked my head -- shingles on the roof, so to speak. It's extremely irritating, maddening even, since it offers both itching and pain. I am, of course, taking the prescribed medications and hope to be back to normal soon. We'll see. My mother would have told me to suffer these symptoms gladly and offer them to Our Lord for those who are in need of God's grace...so I will do so with minimal complaining.

In the meantime, there is good news today for those of us who are relatively poor. Early this morning, after praying Morning Prayer, I turned on the news and saw that the stock market was anticipating a severe plunge to rival that of the previous week. When the market opened, the Dow Jones Average dropped over 1,000 points before rallying somewhat. The last time I looked it was down 600 or so points, although the last 30 minutes of trading might be the most telling of the day. Now, for me this is good news since I no longer own a single share of stock. I am, therefore, relatively untouched by all the volatility experienced by the stock and commodity markets. While owners of oil company stock are bemoaning the drop in the price of oil (now somewhere around $39 a barrel), I am happily paying far less at the pump to fill up my Kia. As I said, good news for the poor.

Another thought that struck me this afternoon was that the Black Lives Matter people really don't care about black lives. If you really cared about the lives of black people, you would also care about the lives of all people. But they don't. The Black Lives Matter movement (Can I call it a movement?), seems to focus solely on young black men who have been killed by white policemen. This probably represents only a tiny percentage of the young black men who suffer violent deaths. Sadly, the vast majority of these young men die at the hands of other young black men. But for some reason these lives don't matter. Black Lives Matter is no more than radical, racial politics in action. Just latch onto a clever slogan designed to appeal to the low-information citizen, look for venues to disrupt, and you can be certain of good coverage by the mainstream media.

The three young Americans who disrupted the vile plans of the Islamist terrorist on that French train deserve all the accolades they have received. Even the Socialist prime minister of France, François Hollande, couldn't resist honoring them. Indeed, Hollande presented each with the Legion d'Honneur, France's highest medal, for their remarkably brave actions. What impresses me most about these three young men is their humility. Each one praised the other two and those others on the train who came to their assistance. How refreshing to encounter such humility in these days of blatant self-promotion. How different from our politicians who actually seem to believe the world revolves around them. I can't think of three better role models for our youth than these three young Americans --  Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos, and Anthony Sadler. May their tribe increase.

That's enough for now. My head hurts. Perhaps a glass of Merlot before dinner. Couldn't hurt.

Pax et bonum...