Father Greg

A Really Delightful Flower

Monday, December 5, 2019 – Immaculate Conception — Carmelite homily for Lectionary 689

Carmel means “Garden of God.” Carm = Garden; El = God. And so there’s this tie with flower throughout Carmelite literature and Carmelite spirituality. That’s why Therese calls herself a “Little Flower” because she compares herself to the big flowers, the prize roses like John or Teresa. Mary, according to Titus Brandsma, her symbol is the sunflower because it follows the sun but with its head down. Today the Church celebrates this great Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – a delightful flower in the world’s and in Carmel’s garden. We’re named after Mary, after all. Saint Titus Brandsma says, “The devotion to Mary is one of the most delightful flowers in Carmel’s garden.” That’s what we celebrate today: a really delightful flower in Carmel’s garden.

Consider Carefully

Carmelite homily for Sunday, December 8, 2019 – Lectionary 004 (Second Sunday of Advent)

Edith Stein, also known as Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, was a Carmelite who was executed – martyred – at Auschwitz. She says, “If you decide for Christ it could cost your life. Consider carefully what you promise.” In today’s Gospel we have John the Baptist proclaiming Good News, and baptizing for repentance, and saying, the one following me I am not worthy to even untie his sandal. He opts for Christ. He decides for Christ. And it costs him his life because that Christ-like message is so other-worldly. Focused on the other; serving the other; living in truth; living in honesty; living in integrity; living in authenticity. The world hates these actually. So if you decide for Christ it could cost you your life. Consider carefully what you promise.

For Love Alone

Carmelite homily for Saturday, December 7, 2019 – Lectionary 180

In today’s Gospel Jesus looks over the crowds and says; wow, they’re like sheep without a shepherd. So he summons the twelve apostles and sends them forth to work, saying, go to the lost sheep and proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons, and remember, without cost you have received so without cost you are to give. I think Therese understands this well. In her autobiography, A Story of a Soul, she says, “In the evening of life I shall appear before you with empty hands for I do not ask you, Lord, to count my works; I work for love alone.” I think that’s why we work, we do, we serve the Lord. Not for accolades or praise or any other form of payment – whatever those are – but for love alone.

Complete Conversion

Carmelite homily for Friday, December 6, 2019 – Lectionary 179

In her autobiography, A Story of a Soul, Saint Therese talks about her ‘Christmas Conversion.’ She was young – fourteen. But she says it was her “complete conversion.” There was a Therese before and a Therese afterwards. It was sudden. In today’s Gospel we have ‘sudden.’ These blind men are suddenly – and the word is ‘suddenly’ – healed. They can see what they did not see. That’s what Therese had at her ‘Christmas Conversion.’ It was Christmas Eve; she was fourteen, and she said, “I felt charity enter into my soul and the need to forget myself and please others; since then I’ve been happy.” That’s her ‘Christmas Conversion.’ It was a selfish, self-centered, self-oriented, self-motivated, self-aggrandizing Therese before and it was an other-centered, other-helping, other-focused, other-loving Therese after. That’s the call of the Gospel. That’s the call of all of us in Jesus.

Castles in the Air

Carmelite homily for Thursday, December 5, 2019 – Lectionary 178

Feeding the Multitudes

Carmelite homily for Wednesday, December 4, 2019 – Lectionary 177

In today’s Gospel we have the feeding of the multitude where Jesus takes the few loaves and fish and multiplies them and gives them to the many. This is oftentimes called a prefigurement, we say, of the Eucharist where Jesus feeds the multitude. But Therese has an interesting take – Therese of Lisieux – she writes that when she comes to communion, “I invite all the angels and saints to come and conduct a magnificent concert there so that when Jesus descends into my heart he is content to find himself so well-received, and there I am content too.” That’s the call; yes, Jesus feeds us but we feed Jesus with our love, our action, and our heart. We feed the multitude, also.

Be Little and Let Jesus Do the Work

Carmelite homily for Tuesday, December 3, 2019 – Lectionary 176

Saint Therese of Lisieux was looking for some way to articulate her Little Way and she found this passage in the Book of Wisdom: “Whoever is a little one, let him come to me.” And she concludes, “The elevator which will raise me to heaven is your arms, O Jesus, and for this I had no reason to grow up but rather to remain little and to become this more and more.” In today’s Gospel we have this image of becoming childlike and things that are hidden are revealed to the little ones. I think that is Therese’s Little Way. Let Jesus do this. Let Jesus accomplish this. Let Jesus’ grace work through us. Be little, and let Jesus do the work.

Faith > Hope > Love

Carmelite homily for Monday, December 2, 2019 – Lectionary 175

In today’s Gospel we have Jesus praising the Centurion. The Centurion came to Jesus asking that his servant be healed saying, ‘just say the word and it will be done because I, a centurion, when I say something, it’s done.’ And Jesus says, ‘I have never seen such faith in all of Israel.’ But I think there’s more than faith here. Because this man loves his servant or he wouldn’t be there. And he hopes that Jesus will give him what he asks for. It’s faith, hope, and love, we see in today’s Gospel. These are the words of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection. We don’t hear from him too often and yet he has a lot of profound things to say. Brother Lawrence writes, “All things are possible to him who believes; they are less difficult to him who hopes, they are easier to him who loves, and most easy to him who practices and perseveres in these three virtues.” I think that’s what we see operating and being lived in today’s Gospel.

Saint Teresa’s Bookmark

Carmelite homily for Sunday, December 1, 2019 | The First Sunday of Advent | Lectionary 001

Today we begin a new season and a new year – it’s the Season of Advent. But the Gospel’s kinda scary. It says that it’s going to be like the days of Noah when the floods came and swept everyone away. Or there’ll be two people working in the field – one will be taken, one will be left. Or grinding meal – one will be taken, one will be left. And the homeowner would not have slept if he knew when the thief was coming. All kind of scary. But it shouldn’t be. This is the season of patience, the season of hope – Advent. I think Teresa of Avila tells us how to react to all this with her probably best-known quotation – the Bookmark. It’s something she wrote in the corner of her Breviary to remind her of this everyday. She writes, “Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away, God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.” Let’s make that this season. Let’s make that our lives. Let’s make that our journey as we journey to the Nativity.

Recruiting for the Fishing Team

Carmelite homily for Saturday, November 30, 2019 | The Feast of Saint Andrew | Lectionary 584

Today is the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, and we have the Gospel passage where Jesus is calling Simon Peter and Andrew, fishermen, to be fishers of men and women. Therese writes, “More merciful to me than to his disciples, Jesus took the net himself, cast it, and drew it in filled with fish.” He didn’t call Simon or Andrew to be fishers without him. He doesn’t call us to be fishers without him. Jesus becomes that fisherman with you, fisherwoman, you fisherman – we, fisher-team.