How it All Began…

Discover the greatest source of happiness Not long ago, I had the opportunity to celebrate Mass at the Chapel of the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle, Western Australia. The Gospel for the Mass was from Saint John’s, chapter 15:1-17, which talks about Jesus being the True Vine and the Father, the Vinedresser who cuts away the branches that do not bear fruit.  While reflecting on the Gospel reading, I asked the university students and staff if they use smartphones, and they said yes. I requested a student to show me her new iPhone 16 and asked her about its uses. Instantly, with lots of enthusiasm, she listed several advantages of the device. But when I asked her if she could use her phone when the battery ran out, with a disappointed face, she replied: “No, Father. Without battery power, my phone is useless.” Like a mobile phone without battery power, Christians without union in Christ are also useless. We, the branches, must be united to Him to survive, to draw life-giving sap from Him to bear fruit. This is precisely at the heart of what Jesus wants to convey in John 15:4-5: “I am the Vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing.” Key to Happiness In the world we live in today, we need to be intimately united with God in our spiritual lives. We are useless without Him, without a life of prayer, and without diligent participation in the Sacraments--the most important of which is the Holy Eucharist.  Through the Eucharist, God gives us the grace to live our vocation that He has called us to. The Catholic Church has always declared: “The Eucharist is the source of all graces and the summit of the Christian life.” As the source of all graces, He is our great treasure that we always want in our lives. When we find it, our lives will be filled with authentic joy. We will experience inner peace, and happiness will fill our hearts.

Best things happen in the most unexpected ways…Read how? “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” The parable of the bridesmaids is the last of Jesus’ warnings that we should be vigilant. He will come to us when we least expect it. In the middle of the night, perhaps—or when we’re tired or grumpy or stressed out or annoyed. The Bridegroom will come, He says, but not necessarily when we expect Him. And not necessarily in a form we will recognize.  I spent three weeks of my summer in Long Beach, California helping out at Holy Innocents Parish. It is in an area that is, as one of its parishioners explained to me: “as ghetto as it gets.” Long Beach is a hardcore inner city. Snoop Dog is from Long Beach.  And it’s also where I met my first cholo*. Fireworks are illegal in Los Angeles, and the street gangs, who clearly have nothing against illegal activities, put on fireworks displays. Since Covid, I am told, it has evolved into something of a competition—each inner city neighborhood looking to outdo the others—Compton vs. Long Beach vs. Inglewood vs. Watts—to the effect that, from dusk till dawn, the sky is saturated in every direction with the most incredible displays of pyrotechnics I’ve ever witnessed in my life—rockets, roman candles, multi-shots, fire-fountains, small arms fire, hand grenades, cherry bombs. (I’m not joking. This is a recording I made.)   I drove out to a friend’s house to see it. But at two o’clock in the morning, it was still in full swing—and I had to go to bed. The problem was, the gangs had most of the streets blocked off—for, you know, safety reasons—so I had to drive past a couple of informal, gang-sponsored roadblocks. The Greatest Experience Anyhow, I got in my car, and began working my way toward the Holy Innocents Parish on Copeland and 20th Street, and to get there, I had to drive straight through an enormous flock of cholos. Well, the cholos stopped my car and requested that I exit the vehicle. Mind you, I was dressed in the full monk habit, so when I got out of the car, one of these young Hispanic gentlemen looked me up and down and said: “Hey, what are you, Homes?” To which I responded: “I’m a priest.” Now the guy I’m talking with has a tattoo of a teardrop under his left eye, and a smiley face on his neck with the words: “Smile now. Cry later.” And I’m trying to figure out what that means for me, when one of his buddies shouts over: “No, he ain’t.”  So I said: “Uh…Benedicat vos omnipotens Deus, Pater, et Filius, et…”  “Wait! Wait! Wait!” shouts the cholo with the teardrop tattoo: “Let me get my kids.”  “Yeah, me too,” says another. And pretty soon, I’m blessing grandmothers, girlfriends, rosaries, holy medals…One guy said to me: “Man, I don’t have anything to give you.” As if he hadn’t already given me one of the greatest experiences of my life. About an hour later, after I had a beer with them, we all took selfies, and they packed me a grocery bag full of tamales.  Then, they cleared the street. As I drove home, I thought about how the earth was indeed full of goodness. I Saw Jesus The reason why I shared this story is that I didn’t get the feeling these were church-going individuals. I don’t think anyone would call them ‘wise’ in any worldly sense.  But the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength, and when they saw a stranger in their midst, they saw the face of Christ. They saw Jesus in me when I couldn’t see Jesus in them. The Bridegroom came to them in the middle of the night, and like the wise bridesmaids, they were ready.  Mind you, this wasn’t about me. They never even asked my name.  But they were prepared to reverence Christ in me. “Stay awake, homie,” I can imagine them telling me: “For you know neither the day nor the hour." And it’s true.  I didn’t expect to see Jesus that night on the street in Long Beach, California.  But I did—and he had a tattoo on his neck and a teardrop tattoo. *A young man belonging to a Mexican American urban subculture associated with street gangs and a fashion style characterized by its distinctive blend of baggy pants, plaid flannel shirts, bandanas, oversized jackets, classic sneakers, and face tattoos.

This is what kept me going…And look how far I have reached. One of the main tools the enemy of our souls uses against us is discouragement. We can be tempted to get overly focused on all that is going wrong, everything that needs to be done, or how we have failed. If we allow our thoughts to dwell on the negative, that, in turn, can lead us to want to quit or give up. It can cause us to lose hope. When we are discouraged, motivation drains out of us, and we can feel overwhelmed and paralyzed. Instead of thriving, we plod along, just trying to get through each and every day. But Jesus wants to give us hope. Romans 5:5 says: “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” With hope, we know things can be different. We get new life and energy to do the things that God is calling us to do. The Significant Progress Many years ago, I had an experience that has become a parable for me whenever I get discouraged. Some of my friends and I decided to climb Bishop’s Cap, a nearby peak in the mountain range of the New Mexico desert where we live. We drove to the base of the steep hill and started our hike. It took us about an hour to get to the top. The rocks were loose, and not having a clear path made the climbing tricky and slippery. When we got to the top, we enjoyed the beautiful panoramic view while eating the picnic lunch we had packed. It was glorious. Soon, it was time to descend. My legs were already achy and tired, and as we started the steep climb down, I could see our vehicle parked way off in the distance. It seemed so far away. Down and down we went, often sliding precariously as the rocks shifted beneath our feet. I was exhausted, and it seemed like the truck never got any closer. At that point, I stopped and looked behind me for the first time since we had started our descent. I was shocked to see how far we had come! We had made such significant progress. Seeing how much ground we had already covered encouraged me and gave me a new perspective. Suddenly, the truck didn't seem so distant, and I found new energy and motivation. In seemingly no time at all, we reached our vehicle and headed home. Right Focus  I see that hike as a parable for the spiritual life. Sometimes, we only focus on how far we have to go, how badly we are doing, our many sins, the things we repeatedly bring to Confession, and our lack of progress. But every once in a while, it can be so helpful to look back and say: “Wow! Look how far I have come! I am still running the race, still plodding along, still persevering.” And if we keep taking those steps each day with the Lord, we will arrive at our destination with His help and grace. The enemy wants us to get mired down by discouragement; the Lord Jesus wants to give us hope. Let's open our hearts to the gift of hope and let the Holy Spirit give us His perspective, always remembering this truth in Philippians 1:6: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.”

Are you familiar with the Saint who founded the first secular institute and a teaching order for women? Saint Angela Merici is believed to have had visions that increased her trust in God and deepened her commitment to her vocation. When she was deeply concerned about whether her long-departed sister was in Heaven, her answer came in the form of a vision wherein she saw her sister joining in a Heavenly procession with angels and other young girls. Later, she saw a ladder leading to Heaven and several young virgins climbing that ladder. This vision became the seed of her calling to teach young girls about God and to form them for holy living.  In 1524, at the age of 50, Saint Angela eagerly took on the opportunity to travel to the Holy Land. During the journey, she was suddenly struck with blindness while on the island of Crete. This didn't stop her, though. She continued her journey with the same enthusiasm as if she had her vision. She made the entire pilgrimage and visited the sacred shrines. On the journey back home, her sight was miraculously restored while she was praying before a crucifix in the same place where she had become blind. Through this experience, the Lord revealed to Angela that she should always remain aware of the needs around her and remain open to God's call. Whenever Sister Angela met with the girls in her home for prayer and classes, she reminded them: "Reflect, that in reality, you have a greater need to serve [the poor] than they have of your service."