Homily Sunday May 19, 2019 "Love One Another" - Love Anyway

Homily - Sunday 

May 19, 2019 

Love Anyway

John 13:31-33A, 34-35 (Readings) "Love One Another"

Deacon David Lewis

Saint Charles Catholic Church, Imperial Beach / San Diego, CA

This week I read a story online about people sharing their most intimate moment with a stranger. ( Link to story )

There was story of a Houston Kinkos employee that helped an elderly women scan and post a photo of her missing son online in the wake of Katrina. Two months later, that same woman came back into the store and introduced her son to the clerk, they had a good hug and cry.

Another man described being next to a middle aged woman on a flight who appeared quite scared, he reached over and held her hand during takeoff and landing, and during the slight turbulence that they experienced during the flight.

Another woman walked into a women’s restroom to find an elderly man apologizing for his presence as he helped his disabled wife into a stall, the man accepted the woman’s offer to help and being a mother,  things of this nature no longer phased her. She helped the woman, cleaned her up, and called the man back into the room. She mentioned how much the love of that couple was now a goal in her life.

The last one I will share was a young man that saw a girl at the bus stop being harassed by a man being less than a gentleman. The helpful young man approached the girl as if they were old friends, and she caught on right away and played along. They walked away from the hassling guy, but he lingered. They continued to share a wonderful conversation together as they kept moving away from the man, and once the bus arrived, they said good-bye as she got on, and the pestering man wondered off.

I mention these stories today, because they are all small acts of love. All, small acts of love, that most of us here could have done at some point in our lives, had we been put in the right place at the right time.

In today’s Gospel we hear Jesus give a new commandment… “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Jesus had just demonstrated how to humble one’s self and serve others as he washed the disciple’s feet just moments before this new commandment was issued. He had also just made the others aware that there was one among them that did not have love on his heart and was about to betray Jesus.

So I imagine the point Jesus was making would be fairly clear: You can humble yourself and serve others like Jesus did when washing the Apostle’s feet, or fall victim to the lies of Satan, and turn your back on Jesus like Judas would do.

Jesus spoke about, and also DID many more acts of love that we can use as examples: The two men that carried the paralyzed man through the roof top, bringing him before Jesus to heal him, showing us that we can love by brining people to Jesus. The parable of the Good Samaritan, taught us to not only help others, but to go the extra mile. The woman at the well who had many husbands, felt the love of Christ. The wedding couple at Cana who were spared the embarrassment of running out of wine for their guest, got to not only see Jesus’ loving compassion, but his first miracle, and the parable of the prodigal son, taught us not only that God will welcome us back into his loving embrace, but that we can welcome those who have wandered away from us back into our lives.

Are we willing to live this commandment to its fullest, to love one another? Are we willing to offer love to strangers we don’t even know? Are we willing to go the extra mile, and clean the bottom of a disabled woman we’ve never met? Or simply comfort a stranger next to us by holding hands?

Offering Love is often sacrificial, we have to give of ourselves, our time, our treasure, or even utilize our talent, but often what stands in our way is pride, fear, doubt, and laziness. Too proud to humble ourselves in front of our friends, family, and co-workers, love anyway. Fearful that we will be made fun of, or that our offer to help will be rejected, love anyway. Doubt, that we can make a difference, love anyway. Laziness, sometimes love takes effort, love anyway.

We don’t need to be nailed on a cross, to love like Jesus loved, we don’t even have to be able to miraculously heal people, multiply loaves, or make water into wine. We simply need to make ourselves present to others. The stories I mentioned were all “The most intimate encounter they have had with a stranger.” And there were many more in that article. I encourage each of you to seek opportunities where someone might write a post about an encounter where you were a stranger that offered love, a moment when you dropped what you were in the middle of and acted on a perceived need. Not because it will pay well, not because it will make you feel good, but simply because Jesus tells us: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.”

Homily Sunday May 12, 2019 Mom's are Good Shepherds Too

Homily - Sunday 

May 12, 2019 

Mom's are Good Shepherds Too

John 10:27-30 (Readings) "My Sheep Hear My Voice.".

Deacon David Lewis

Saint Charles Catholic Church, Imperial Beach / San Diego, CA

Today is good shepherd Sunday. The Good Shepherd is one of the earliest images of Christ, Jesus, there with the lamb over his shoulders and a shepherd’s hook in his hand.  It symbolizes the care that God has for us, that when things are difficult we have a God willing to help. That when we are unable to carry ourselves, we have a God willing to load us on to his shoulders and carry us. When we are down he lifts us up.

But also it paints a picture of us, that we are sheep, that we are part of a flock, a flock that is led by a shepherd. A shepherd that ultimately wants the best for us. A flock that if it follows the shepherd’s direction will come to realize its’ best life.

I grew up in a house of 6 kids, a small flock if you will, a very traditional household, where Mom stayed at home, and Dad went off and  worked a 9-5 Monday through Friday. Most of the day-to-day raising of us children was led by my Mom, what meals we ate, what clothes we wore, our schedule for the day, and the household rules, and of course the discipline, were all mandated by my mom. When we needed to go grocery shopping, Mom would often take us along. And as you could imagine with six of us, one or two of the flock would get distracted by the cereal aisle, or be drawn to the toy section, or one of us  inadvertently mistake a jacket similar to my mothers and followed after it thinking it was Mom. And When that happened Mom would often call out for us, and we knew right away it was her. We knew her voice apart all the other moms out there, you could say we know the voice of our shepherd. It was the same voice we heard when she called us for dinner each night, it was the same voice she guided us through our homework with, it was the same voice she scolded us with when we broke the rules. It was the same voice she comforted us with.

I would like to say that mom knew our voice equally well, but unfortunately I don’t know if she did; we were all taught that if we got lost, and called out “Mom” a couple times and got no response, the next call would be “Alice!” that always got my mom’s attention, because she knew it wasn’t the pestering  use of “Mom” asking her to get the box of sugary cereal she had already said no to ten times, or one of us fighting for her attention to ask for our favorite soda, calling by her first name meant we were in trouble.

 I imagine a shepherd, as he wanders through the countryside guiding his flock through the green pastures gets to know his sheep as well as his sheep get to know him. It is a relationship built by spending time together, a trust built as the shepherd continues to guide them from one meal to the next, as the shepherd protects them from predators, and as the sheep’s cries for help are heard and answered.

God is indeed a good shepherd. He knows us, but how are we doing on our end of things? Are we hearing his voice? Do we listen for God’s voice in prayer? Do we listen for His voice in scripture?

If it’s a been a while since you sat with the scripture outside of Mass, or if you have never done it at all, I challenge you to go home this week, find a Bible, dust it off, find a quiet corner in your home, turn off your cel phone, and then flip towards the back of the bible and find one of the Gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke, or John, and pick a paragraph or two to read. Imagine yourself in that scripture, imagine you are one of the characters, imagine yourself there with Jesus. Then give your self a few moments to reflect, listening for the voice of God in that silence.

If your prayer life is weak I encourage you to come on Friday during adoration, or visit one of the parishes with perpetual 24 hour adoration, like the small chapel next to the parish office at Precious Blood, it’s just on Fourth Ave near Palomar in Chula Vista. Sit in front of Jesus and pray for him to speak to you… and listen.

But with today being Mother’s day, I also encourage you to go home, for those of you whose Mom’s are still with us, listen to her voice… visit her, call her, talk to her… if you have never asked her about her story I encourage you to get to know your Mom better today. For those of you who are mothers I encourage you to speak to your flock, share the stories of your childhood, what it was like for you, let you children, and grandchildren if you are so blessed, know how it was for you “back in the day” Share the lessons you’ve learned,  the friend’s you’ve made, and the love you’ve witnessed.

Let us all remember the many times that out Mother’s have lifted us, and carried us during our times of need. The ways the they led us to make our lives better, the ways they showed us their love. But let us remember also our God who is our Good Shepherd.

Homily Sunday November 18, 2018 Seasons

Homily - Sunday 

November 18, 2018 

Seasons

Mark 13:24-32  (Readings) The return of Jesus.

Deacon David Lewis

Saint Charles Catholic Church, Imperial Beach / San Diego, CA

For years I tried to time my visits back home to New York to be during the summer, with dreams of fishing and camping, and picnicking in the warm NY summer air. Unfortunately, it always seemed that there was a need to schedule the visit to the colder months of the year. I went home for Christmas when my Mom’s health took a turn nearly a decade ago and we thought we were going to lose her, she came around and ended up doing much better. But I remember that it snowed and we had a picturesque white Christmas that year.  I returned again a couple of years later for my nephew’s wedding, it was on the day after Christmas, and it snowed that year too. Again, a couple of years later I was encouraged to come home for a family reunion to surprise my parents for Thanksgiving… and it snowed then too, it was looking like it was going to snow every time I went home to New York but a few years ago I was finally able to make it out for a late summer visit and spend some time fishing with my little brother and Dad, and spend time camping with my mom playing her favorite game: Rummicube, just like we did as kids, Finally this time it didn’t snow. The following summer Dad’s cancer came back and I was able to go home and see him one last time while he was still semi-active, while he wasn’t anywhere near 100%, at least it didn’t snow. This spring, in the end of April we returned for his funeral, and guess what… it snowed in April too, Thanksgiving and Christmas, snow is expected, but Easter too?!?! It seemed the curse was back… when Dave visits Rochester, expect snow.

For those of you that have never left San Diego, elsewhere there is a phenomenon known as seasons, where summer turns to autumn and the leaves change color and fall to the ground, this is followed by a season that is colder yet, where this white stuff called snow, falls out of the sky, in seemingly never ending amounts, and then just when you think you can’t handle the cold, and the snow anymore, the sun once again makes a visit through the clouds, and spring begins, and eventually summer returns.

Just as most of the world goes through seasons every year, so does the Church. As we celebrate Thanksgiving and the rest of the country is experiencing the beginning of winter, the Church will be getting ready for the coming of Christ, at least the anniversary of the coming of Christ as baby Jesus that we celebrate at Christmas. The new liturgical year in the Church will be coming soon, at the beginning of Advent, to prepare for that coming of Christ. But today’s Gospel speaks of another coming of Christ when he returns again. One that we don’t prepare for with Advent, but we prepare for every day of our lives, for we do not know the hour of His return.

Daily we struggle with the choices not only between obvious right and wrong, the black and white choices, but with the many grey ones as well. We make choices between two things both that have goodness, sometimes these are easy unnoticed choices, other times they are life changing difficult decisions. This process of decision making requires we have a fully formed conscience, our moral character, that our decisions are shaped by what pleases God, not by what is most pleasing to our senses, or what makes it easiest for us. Sometime these decisions are tough, and require much thought and prayer.

But ultimately it is our decision to love God by doing what we discern God loves, or wants, by doing what we believe will best please God. If we try to live our life pleasing God when he comes to judge the living and the dead, he will look favorably on us.

All of us will undoubtedly make bad decisions, sometimes we will make decisions not based on our love for God, but on other temptations, and for those decisions, we need to repent, and ask God for his forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where we are restored to God’s favor.

It is how we prepare ourselves for the coming Christ and our final judgement. Because unlike the seasons of the year, that come with a cycle, and some reasonable expectation of when they will occur, we do not know when Christ will come again.

But that is not the only way we prepare for the coming of the Lord. We also want the Lord to recognize us when he comes, to know us. If we never make him present in our lives, if we never pray, if we never make Christ visible to others how will he recognize us?

Thanksgiving is a time of year that serves to give us an opportunity to reflect on the many graces we have been given. A time to thank God for the roof over our head, the food on our table, the family and friends that have gathered with us. It can also be a good time to recognize the abundance of graces God has given us: whether you won the Billion dollar Powerball, or you realize that you have more clothes than you can wear, or more food than you need, or a walk-in closet large enough to house a family… Thanksgiving can be a time to re-examine our needs, and share our surplus. Especially our surplus of Love which is giving by God at no cost to us so that we may pass that love on to others, especially those most in need. In the seasons of our lives we should aim to be the bringer of warmth and sunshine, not the cold and darkness. We should be the bringer of Christ into the lives of those that surround us.

You will be happy to know that my most recent trip to New York this last September, was again without snow, yes I am not always the bringer of the snow. Be thankful for our San Diego weather, but realize that with the struggles of those cold winters, comes the beauty of a forest of fall leaves changing colors, and the picturesque scene of a white Christmas, and the bountiful beauty of spring blossoms. So also be thankful for the struggles in your life, as they can be the source of their own unique beauty.

Homily Sunday October 21, 2018 - God of Change

Homily - Sunday 

October 21, 2018 

God of Change

Mark 10:35-45  (Readings) Sit at your right and your left

Deacon David Lewis

Saint Charles Catholic Church, Imperial Beach / San Diego, CA

My journey into the Catholic Church started around 1999 when my wife, son and I first started attending Precious Blood Catholic Church in Chula Vista. 2002 I entered in to RCIA – Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults at Saint Jerome to become Catholic. 5 years later in 2007 I entered formation to become a deacon, and in 2012 I was ordained a deacon to serve here at Saint Charles. 

It has been quite a journey: After three parishes, an annulment of my first, failed, marriage, and the blessing of my current marriage, the Sacrament of confirmation and my first communion, Basic Catechist class, living my Cursillo weekend, five years of formation and classes, with four years of serving hospitals, jails, homeless, and the dying, complete with ordination.  One thing I wasn’t aware of as I went through the doors of Precious Blood that first time, was how much God was going to ask me to change.

 But it hasn’t been all work, and classes… some of the changes are blessings, my marriage has never been better, I have been cigarette free for over ten years after giving up smoking for Lent one year, and when my Dad passed, it was an occasion of hope of eternal life, not so much sorrow and sadness, something that I wouldn’t have understood the same way before my faith journey.

Our religion, our God, is one of change. If we are not on a path towards Him, he wants us to change direction. It might be something as simple as today’s Gospel message, about being called to serve, to exercise humility, to not misuse your authority over your co-workers, or family members, or even those serving us at stores and restaurants, but to serve them. It brought to mind of how my mom would serve. Oh, believe me, her and my dad had authority over us six kids, but she is the greatest example I know of serving those you have authority over. My mom was quick with a spanking when we stepped out of line, but she was always, ALWAYS!, the last to sit down at dinner, and not until every setting was placed, and she made sure every foreseeable need taken care of: salt, pepper, butter, margarine, milk, and Kool-Aid was all brought to the table would she take her seat. She didn’t lord her authority over us, she served us.

Ultimately God wants us to have total comfort with him, and that will happen with His mercy when we pass from this life in to heaven, but in the meantime, for me anyway, Catholicism is uncomfortable. God is still asking me to change, and change makes me uncomfortable. When I get aggravated during my commute, God asks me to change. When I am in a hurry and don’t stop for a moment to recognize those serving me at the grocery checkout, or fast food counter, God asks me to change. When I see someone in need, perhaps someone short of money in front of me in line, God asks me to get uncomfortable and offer to help them. Putting aside my fears that they may get upset at my asking and to ask anyway, or better yet, just do it. When I feared speaking to people about the death of their loved one, God asked me to be uncomfortable anyway.

But God hasn’t asked me to change and then walked away, he has often given me a “warm-up” round. One of my biggest fears used to be dealing with the dying, hoping I would not say the wrong thing at the wrong time.  I have had a couple of moments of God making me uncomfortable like when I was serving in juvenile detention the guards asked that I counsel a boy that just found out during visiting hours that the grandmother he loved, and was the one rock in his life, had passed. I felt so inadequately prepared to help him, but spoke with him anyway. He was upset, but after some prayer, and conversation, he gathered himself together and was able to return to his housing unit. Immediately after that I went back to meeting with the other boys that had turned in chaplain requests. Immediately after I spoke with the boy with the grandma, I met with a boy that was struggling with the death of his little sister, his three year-old little sister, that was shot and killed at his feet as a neighboring gang did a drive-by shooting in retaliation for this boys earlier action actions against that gang. It was because of his actions that this other gang shot at him, killing his innocent little sister … and he was struggling hard with that. God gave me a warm up, but I was still uncomfortable.

Fast forward to hospital ministry, and my first death was a middle aged man that struggled with his own demons in life that had been found in the park the night before unconscious, and the first people on the scene began CPR and kept him alive, but when there was still no sign of brain activity the next day the family decided to unplug the machines that kept him alive. I sat with the family as he lived his last few moments and we prayed together. After finishing I walked out of the one ICU room into the hallway to find a group of about 20-30 people had gathered around the corner room. I asked the nurses if they needed a chaplain, and they said “yes, he is near death” a nurse was in the small room where I was putting on my protective clothing and he explained to me the young man in his early twenties, had a wife and two children and had just gotten the H1N1 flu a couple of weeks ago and was about to pass. We prayed together with those in the room as hew passed and I then went out and prayed with the friends and family gathered in the hallway. God gave me a warmup, but I was still uncomfortable. 

As I serve our community’s dying and the loved ones surrounding them, I am still uncomfortable but less so, but being uncomfortable isn’t a bad thing, if we can imagine for a moment we are play-dough in God’s hands and he is pressing us into the shape, into the person he wants us to be, that bending, stretching and shaping is often accompanied by pain, and discomfort.

Serving God is not about the glory we receive, but in being His servant. As you serve God’s people go outside of your comfort zone, it is likely God will give you the words, and when needed the silence, to serve best. But we are not to take glory in it, but to humble ourselves and make Christ present in those moments he is most needed, giving all glory to God. And like the twelve apostles, some of whom were fishermen summoned  to drop their nets and follow Jesus, others were tax collectors, asked to change their lives and follow Him, let us too, drop those things from our lives that keep us from following Jesus: our pride,  our ambitions, our desires, and our addictions, so that we may become servants of Christ, making sure the needs of others around us are met. For the son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

And at the end of Mass “Go forth, glorifying the Lord by your life, even if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Homily Sunday February 18, 2018 - Don't be afraid to ask for help

Homily - Sunday 

February 18, 2018 

Don't be afraid to ask for help

Mark 1:12-15  (Readings) The Kingdom of God is at hand.

Deacon David Lewis

Saint Charles Catholic Church, Imperial Beach / San Diego, CA

There are those moments in life when you have to acknowledge that you are in need of help from someone. Maybe it’s an illness and you seek the help of a doctor, or you need money, so you go to the bank for a loan.

One of those moments for me I was at work I had just finished a site visit fixing a printer for a customer and as I was driving back to the office and I went to turn onto Clairemont Mesa Blvd suddenly my Nissan pickup truck just died, shut right off just as I hit the gas. As I went to start it again, it just kept turning over, but nothing, it wouldn’t start all. So I rolled it backward downhill, against the curb, as I parked it I inventoried my surroundings. And, as luck would have it there was a Nissan dealer directly across the street, I just needed to get my pickup across Clairemont Mesa Blvd to the other side. Well pushing across this insanely busy intersection certainly wasn’t an option. I quickly realized was going to need some help.

But I couldn’t justify calling a tow truck and paying hundreds of dollars for a trip across the street, so knowing that most big brand dealerships don’t usually have a tow truck, I was hoping the small car dealer across the street to my left might.  So, I headed over and their mechanic suggested I check my insurance card to see if I had roadside assistance. Well what do you know, I did. So, I called my insurance company and they dispatched a tow truck. I returned to my pickup and awaited my knight in shining armor in the form of a tow truck driver.

I forgot to mention that besides the two car dealerships on the corners, the corner I was now parked in front of, was a gentlemen’s club, a topless club. GREAT!?!? I thought quickly “Well I am in the middle of Kearney Mesa, at least no one will see me…. Right? No…. As I stood their leaning against my truck, I hear someone call “David”, “David!” I finally identify who and where the person is who was calling my name, it was Mr Stutz, the principal at St Charles School at the time. “You need help?” he asks. “No tow truck is on the way.” and After I explained what happened, and why I was parked in front of a strip club, Mr. Stutz went on his way, and eventually my knight came and snatched up my truck and recommended a shop much cheaper than the dealer, and just down the road from my office in Miramar, where they replaced the timing belt, and the next day I was up and running again.

You see I knew I wasn’t going to get my truck up and running without some help from someone. I knew that alone I wasn’t getting my truck even that short distance across that major road. I knew even with Mr. Stutz’s offer to help we were going to need the pro’s.

But also knew that if I just sat there in my truck, it wasn’t going to fix itself. If I didn’t get out and call someone or go over to the dealership and ask for help, the likelihood of a tow truck coming up and asking if I needed a tow was pretty unlikely. It wasn’t until I got out of the truck and asked for help that the situation started getting better.

Today is the First Sunday of Lent. Since Ash Wednesday we have be in a season in which we should be ever mindful of our need for help. Ever mindful that we are broken down, and in need of a professional. We were reminded of this on Wednesday as we received our ashes, the minister either said “remember, you are dust and to dust you shall return” or “repent and believe in the Gospel” both messages remind us that we are merely humans, and that God still reigns over our lives. And so, we should repent for those times we have not lived up to our God-given potential, those times throughout the last year, and indeed throughout our lives, when we have fallen short. To repent or have remorse and a desire for change for those times that we have not been Christ-like.

Lent is also a season when we should focus on prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. God not only wants us to change our bad habits, but replace them with good ones.

We can pray: If we have been going through our day-to-day routine without giving any credit to the blessings God gives us. When we jump in the car turn the key and it works, when we sit down for a meal, we can take a moment and say, “Thank you God” with a brief prayer. When we wake up in the morning, when we go to bed at night those are great times to converse with God in prayer. Use Lent to spend more time listening to God, perhaps by picking up your Bible and reading some of His Holy Word, or subscribe to a daily catholic reflection on the readings.

We can fast: If we have a food, drink, or even a television show that consumes our thoughts when we go without it, perhaps we are letting that reign over us as King instead of God, and it would be a good item to exercise control over through fasting from that item.

We can give alms: Most of us are blessed with some form of abundance, whether time, talent, or treasure. I encourage you to share that blessing. If you have a particularly hard working, or highly attentive worker at your favorite restaurant, your apartments, or school, particularly one that might be in an under-paid position, bless that person with your gratitude. Give them a compliment, or a token of your appreciation, perhaps even volunteer alongside them.  If you see someone in need, help them, if there is something that you have been noticing has gone neglected in your neighborhood, school, work, or even here at Church use Lent as an opportunity to motivate you to help address it. Visit the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly, serve the homeless, clothe the naked, or even donate the items you no longer use and your clothing that no longer fits to your local charity.

As we go through Lent let us evaluate our lives for those places of brokenness. Seeking to fill them with good. But if our brokenness is one of mortal sin, let us take the opportunity to prepare for the resurrection of our Lord at Easter by making ourselves ready for his coming again. So we are ready when Jesus returns again. During the Lenten season many churches throughout south bay in fact throughout the Diocese, will offer a      communal penance service, ours is tomorrow evening, I encourage to attend to see the professionals. To have you sins forgiven by the best of the best, Christ himself.

The priest won’t come to you to ask you if you need the Sacrament of reconciliation, you have to take the steps to make it to confession. But once you have, you will be once again restored to a state of grace, empowered once again to fight the temptations of Satan, and worthy of eternity in heaven.
Don't be afraid to ask for help.

Homily Sunday December 17,2017 - Everyday good habits lead people to Christ

Homily - Sunday 

December 17, 2017

Everyday good habits lead people to Christ

John 1:6-8, 19-28  (Readings) John testifying to the light

Deacon David Lewis

Saint Charles Catholic Church, Imperial Beach / San Diego, CA

            The excitement is building, Christmas is almost here, Jesus is almost here. The joy is in our heart in anticipation. Just one more week. I can only  Imagine what it was like for Mary and Joseph, anticipating the arrival of their son, as they traveled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the census with Mary so far along in her pregnancy.

            The events of Christmas, the nativity, the birth of Jesus take place long before today’s Gospel of John preparing the way for the Lord, baptizing with water, leading the way for the Lord that would baptize in the Holy Spirit.  Today’s Gospel of John preparing people, leading them toward Jesus, wouldn’t occur until over thirty years after the birth of Jesus.

            But today’s readings join together the joy of anticipation of the new born Jesus with the joy they would have had in anticipation of meeting the adult Jesus as he lives out his ministry, to learn his teaching, to meet the Messiah face to face, and possibly be healed of life long burdens. And it joins together the joy we should have from our own newness of life after being led to Jesus.

We have all been led to here, to church, to Jesus, by someone, whether it was a grandparent, parent, sibling, friend, or even a stranger, or perhaps it may have even been the Holy Spirit by himself. We may not be able to point out exactly who it was or who they were that led us to Christ, but coupled with the desire we have written on our heart to love God, we were drawn into the church through the invitation of someone else.

            Earlier this week, one of our parishioners who is off studying at college, posted a video on Facebook, it is what drove my homily this week to be about leading others to Christ. The presenter in the video was a motivational speaker named Simon Sinek. In the video he asked the gentleman sitting next to him, “Do you love your wife? … prove it, what is the metric? Give me the number that lets me know?    … because when you met her you didn’t love her right? Now you love her? Tell me the day that love happened? It’s an impossible question, right?”

            He went on to explain what he meant, and I will do my best to summarize without taking out any key points.

            He went on to say: While its impossible to answer, it doesn’t mean that it does not exist. It is like exercise, you go that first day, come home stand in the mirror, and … nothing, no measurable change, next day, same thing, so you stop going because you didn’t see results. You must maintain going to the gym, and over the long term you will get in shape. It’s like going to the dentist. If the only time your teeth get cleaned is your two visits to the dentist each year, your teeth will fall out, you must brush three times a day or eventually your teeth will rot away. But what measurable difference does brushing make by itself?  

He continues: Whether the gym or brushing your teeth, or any other good habit, you can miss a day, a chocolate or two, or if you miss a brushing here and there, you will still be ok, it is about committing to the long term. You can’t go see a high powered Tony Robbins seminar on leadership and expect to magically become a good leader, these types of seminars are more like the dentist visit, they give us an opportunity to refocus, to re-examine what we are doing on the day to day basis. To realign ourselves with our good habits, and perhaps take away a new tool or two to be more effective. It’s not about intensity, it is about consistency.  It’s about doing things every day, over and over no matter how tedious, so that we may reap the long term benefits.

Mr. Sinek goes on to say: Your wife didn’t fall in love with you because it was her birthday and you bought her flowers and a card. She loves you because

when you woke up in the morning you said “good morning” before you checked your phone,

she fell in love because when you went to the fridge to get a drink you got her one without even asking,

she fell in love because when you had an amazing day, and she gets home and had a bad day and begins to tell you about it, you listened, you didn’t say but wait, listen to how my amazing day was. You sat and listened to her awful day and didn’t say a thing about you amazing day.

This is why she fell in love, no specific event, no specific day, it was the accumulation of all the good habits, the small individual acts of kindness.

Simon Sinek’s video made me think beyond leadership to about how our Catholic lives, in fact anything we do, if we do it day after day, it becomes who we are,

if we brush everyday, we have good teeth,

if we go to the gym and eat well everyday we become in shape and healthier,

if we perform small acts of kindness – we become kind,

if we perform acts of love we become loveable.

If we pray everyday, we build a relationship with God,

if we fulfill our promises we become trustworthy,

if we listen to others, we become friendly.

And if day by day we learn about the saints and adopt their habits, like Saint John the Baptist from today’s Gospel, leading others toward Christ, Like our parish’s namesake Saint Charles Borromeo who from age 12 dedicated himself to service the church and the poor and fought corruption within the church, we will not only lead others toward Christ, but likely will become saints ourselves.

And from today’s second reading If we Rejoice always, and pray without ceasing, and in all circumstances give thanks we will through daily acts find ourselves reaping the rewards in the long term. And while looking back we may not be able to identify what day we fell in love with Jesus,  or specify when exactly it happened, we will without a doubt be able to say that your mutual love of Jesus does exist. And by living a life following the steps of Jesus, we will lead those in our footsteps towards him as well.

Homily - Sunday October 15, 2017 - The tattoo of our soul

Homily - Sunday 

October 15, 2017

Tattoo of our soul

Matthew 22:1-14 (Readings) Parable of the King's Wedding Feast

Deacon David Lewis

Saint Charles Catholic Church, Imperial Beach / San Diego, CA

I felt God was trying to tell me something when a couple of times this week the theme of tattoos kept coming into my life. The first, was a post on one of the navy Facebook pages I follow, It was a picture of an old faded slightly blurry tattoo on the arm of what I could only imagine was old sailor, it was of a pretty young lady wearing a sailor cap, the young man that posted it was wondering if any one might know where to find the original artwork to match this World War II era tattoo. He wanted to honor his grandfather by getting the identical tattoo on his own arm.

Then later in the week, while listening to “The Catholic Guy” show on Sirius satellite Radio’s Catholic Channel, the host, Lino Rulli, “The Catholic Guy” shared that the tattoo he had gotten while on pilgrimage recently to the Holy Land as a sign of his faith was going to take a lot more care, and was causing him more discomfort than he expected. He thought it would just be a quick get the tattoo, cover it for a few hours, put on some ointment and maybe a bandage for a few days and he’d be all healed up.

As it turns out, and little did I know, (as I had somehow made it into and out of the navy without a tattoo), that tattoos require more care than both Lino and I would have guessed… but when he went to the internet seeking advice for the treatment of his new tattoo, there was a lot of contradictory information… do you use a lotion, or no lotion, if a lotion, what lotion… antibacterial? Do you apply it with or without a wash cloth… pick the scab, don’t pick the scab, peel the skin do peel the skin, all these questions had no definitive, uniform answer, but a bunch of disagreeing, contradictory answers.

The next day I was receiving a delivery at work and my tattooed co-worker and the delivery driver struck up a conversation about his tattoos, and it turns out the driver’s co-worker just had a big tattoo done to the tune of $450 bucks. I thought to myself I would rather have a new big screen or a new iPad than a tattoo.

            There was more about tattoos, as I came back into my office, I came across a story of “Why are woman getting tattoos of a semi colon?”. The reason turns out to be pretty profound. You see the semi-colon, that punctuation that looks like a dot over a comma, indicates that the sentence goes on. The author could have stopped the sentence there with a period, but choose to place a semi-colon instead and continue the sentence. Much in the same way as many of the people choosing semi-colon tattoos, this punctuation mark indicates that at some point in their life, instead of ending… they continued, that instead of giving up, or letting something get the better of them, they kept going. Perhaps they beat depression, beat an addiction, or have healed from a bad relationship, THEY are now living the rest of their life, the part after the semi colon.

            I began to realize how important and related these stories of tattoos were; that each of these tattoos was meaningful to the person getting them. Each was a permanent sign of heritage, character, belief, or unity. That each was a sacrifice, whether financial or physical.

            But I also realized that each person’s tattoo is personal, meaningful to them in a way that we may not understand. That if we were to see a young man with a sailor tattoo, we would presume he was in the navy, but we would likely not realize the underlining, deeper meaning linking that tattoo to his grandfather, and the influence his grandfather’s service played in him choosing the Navy for a career. We may have seen a semi-colon tattoo and thought to ourselves, “Well that sure is odd, I wonder if she is an author?”  Never knowing the underlining story of heartbreak, healing, and courage that prompted that semi-colon.

            Today’s Gospel message is about God inviting us to heaven as illustrated by Jesus’ parable of a king inviting guests to a wedding feast.

            Our first step in accepting that invitation is Baptism. Our baptism is the beginning of our life as Christians, as followers of Christ, as Catholics. Baptism is often described as leaving an indelible mark on our soul, a tattoo if you will, that forever, and permanently marks us as Christians.

In many ways we get to choose what our tattoo ultimately looks like by the many choices we make in our lives. Each action more ink on the canvas that is our soul.

            Like that first sailor’s tattoo, we may choose to follow in the footsteps of others and mimic what they did, following in line with our ancestors, or if they are not worthy of molding ourselves after, we might choose to follow the Saints as examples.

            Like that second tattoo of Lino’s, our Christian lives will require great sacrifice and care. To truly live our lives as Christians, to live like Christ lived, means that we will need do more for others than we expect, to spend more time building a relationship with God than we expected, but also like Lino I encourage you to use caution when going to the internet looking for answers for how to care for your faith, it is full of mis-information and contradictory information.

And like the third tattoo that cost $450, our faith can be expensive. No this is not a pep talk about the capital campaign, I am talking about personal sacrifice…  it will cost us more in personal sacrifice the bigger we live our Christian lives, it may cost us friends, it may costs us our job, it may put us on the outside of groups we desired to be a part of, it may even lead to Martyrdom -- dying for our faith.

But the ultimate message of our faith is like that of the semi-colon tattoo. That at the moment we don’t feel we can go on, at that moment that we feel we have reached the end of what we can handle, God gives us the strength, and the hope to insert a semi-colon. That even death holds no strength on us as Christians, that our lives end with a semi-colon, that we have the invitation to join God at the wedding banquet in heaven.

Unlike most tattoos, our faith offers us the ability to make changes to that tattoo, so that when we make choices that blemishes the beauty of the artwork on our soul, we need only confess our sins, and wipe away those blemishes, so that the tattoo we bring to heaven on our soul is worthy of being our wedding garment.

I encourage you to invite others to enjoy the heavenly wedding feast, whether through baptism, or if already baptized encourage them to bring beauty to their tattoo, whether in your family, or among your friends or coworkers, invite them to come to enjoy an earthly life that ends with a semi-colon, so that they too may join with God for all eternity, in a joyful celebration of their unblemished soul brought to heaven.