Fr. Michael Scanlan, TOR: Homily: Losing Your Life To Save It

lose it get rid of it no longer control it don't own it this is the way I start with the students I don't I tell them say anything you want about the homily but don't say you don't remember what I talked about so lose it this is the part of today's scripture that I believe is the most important for you today that in fact he who loses his life for my sake for the Lord's sake will save it I'm sure that 90% of the people here have consecrated their life at some time to God have dedicated their life some time had professed it and have put it out there as best they could for God the problem is with most of us and with most of the people I counseled that if you take inventory even though you've done all that you still got it he's still controlling it you're still holding on to it maybe not everything it can be something dumb like I remember when I took solemn vows and I was feeling I had done it all now Lord there's nothing left and that night when I was praying I thought the Lord said to me what about your tennis racquet I'd given everything away but I was afraid I mean the brothers weren't that good at tennis they still believed that if they were frustrated they bang the racket on the court and so I kind of slipped that one away said nobody could touch my tennis racket well what part of our lives are we afraid to lose you see this goes right with who do you say I am you uh Christ the Son of the Living God great now give me all of your life I do a lot of counseling with the students in terms of decisions vocational decisions where to put their life I've just finished a manuscript that needs a lot of work but anyhow it's gonna get published I'm deciding God's will for your life usually when I counseled the students I get to a point they usually equate honest I get to a point and I say are you ready to give that over to God are you ready to totally just do what he wants usually they say you know I don't think I'm ready I said well thank God you were honest you know the difference between good people and great people don't hear way down implicitly you know there's a separate category for John Paul the second mother Teresa down the line all the various North American martyrs Damian a Molokai that whole crowd and what do you think the difference is between the good doing good work for God being saved and the great if you listen to the media they were born that way wrong original sins on all of us you don't get born that way or well they just happened to be in the right place the right time wrong wrong we've all been a lot of good places what is it what's the difference between a good life and a holy life a saintly life is it just an accumulation I would suggest to you the difference for the Saints as they've lost it then I'll have their life anymore they know act believe and then daily have to do it again that God has their life and that they're following God and they turned to God for every decision where they could otherwise be pulling it back they've made the break I believe you're special people I believe any people that would come as hungry for truth as you are and sit here from from early morning to late at night but plotting and seeking more and more truth your special people and I believe God's calling you to do great things to be great to be holy to make the break you say it isn't easy that's no news it never has been well it takes courage yes well where do we get the courage here's the key here's the key what happens in our lives are three stages this isn't very complicated stuff you get the truth in your head then as they say the longest trip in life is between your head and your heart and you have to move the truth from your head to your heart till it becomes the desire of your life it becomes your treasure it becomes what you're willing to sell all the rest for and then you have your treasure and you have to move it into action get the truth get it in your heart then act out of your heart to do it that is the whole secret and then when Mother Teresa was here I've been with her a few times but her effortless freedom to say to people say Oh mother you're doing wonderful work and she says well what are you doing and it's a and a couple people came up to her and said Oh mother I want to help you poor in India she says have you helped the poor in your own town and you stumble a little then she'd say to them would you like me to go down and show them to you it really gets embarrassing the whole point is she's free she's gone she doesn't well I wonder how they'll feel if I speak the truth or I wonder you know didn't you love the scene when they gave her the fancy building and they were so proud of it they gave it a fancy building in San Francisco and you see that picture all the carpets being thrown out the window and the whole thing being redone right after they gave it to her she's throwing away a lot of this stuff where do you get that freedom she's passed over the line Dameon Molokai being one of those priests sitting around in Belgium and the bishop says I need somebody to go to live and die among lepers you'll never come back you just go there and you'll probably die of leprosy you'll never see any family member or friend again you'll be totally among strangers who are dying all around you with rotting stinking flesh is there anybody that's ready to volunteer Damian puts up his hand yeah sounds like God to me and he goes and does it the North American martyrs Isaac jobs John Bob of those kind of people after they took off took off Isaac Jones fingers and he was a wreck and they brought him back to France and toe gave him a nice little retreat house where he could stay and said would you like to do that or do something else he says I want to go back to the same Indians and preach the gospel when they checked the spiritual Diaries of these people what did they find there they had been begging God for the grace to be martyred John and Isaac and the rest it goes on into our day the choice is really there for all of us why because it won't be our work you say I'm too weak big news I'm too weak how does the process happen where does the courage come from the courage according this scripture comes from the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit is what makes the difference isn't it interesting John Paul who by the grace of God and blessing I've been with a couple of times I just recently was next to him as a principal con celebrant at the altar and was able to look into his face through all his prayer time and then be with him afterwards and pray along and rhythm with him and when you hear that groaning when you hear that prayer that reaches so much deeper than anyone's prayer you've heard before as a yearns for the triumph of God and the coming of Jesus in his own life and others when you hear that you know this man is just totally giving over to God's purpose and God's will and so when they write in the book the threshold crossing the threshold of Hope and Victoria the reporter asks him how does the Pope pray his first answer is the Pope prays as the spirit permits him to pray oh there's enormous wisdom there if a man's totally given to God how does he do anything according to how the Holy Spirit leads him according to how the Holy Spirit wants to move and change him and change the church in the world through him to be totally given over to pray that kind of way the Pope quotes Romans 8 on that and we must be saying we must pray with inexpressible groanings in order to enter into this spirits rhythm and he describes his own prayer life as groaning in this spirit for that victory of Romans 8:26 which is the spirit helps us in our weakness we do not know what we ought to pray but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings happen in our lives how can we make the difference cross not just the good lives but live lives that bring forth the kingdom of God that reach out and embrace others lives that take this truth that you've taken in this weekend and make it advance against the kingdoms of darkness and secularism and humanism and the rest the answer in every single case in the old and the New Testament the answer in the lives of the Saints is prayer to go out in the cause of Jesus Christ without praying is as stupid as playing in a national NFL football game without ever having practiced in the same results will happen for to truly give ourselves over in prayer first so that the truth gets in our hearts and then what's in our hearts gets into action you see courage etymologically in latin and french comes from core odd today it means to act out of the heart doesn't mean something a critic of it's acting out of what you most deeply and firmly believe rather than what's convenient what seems kind of prudent giving the people around us what I can negotiate by not giving up too much to get what I want it's acting out of the deepest conviction of my heart and standing for it and how many of you know that isn't easy you've got to get equipped for it you've got to have the decision made in the heart in order to put it into action when you're out there against the resistance the contradictions the mockery the laughter those that want to call you a fanatic of fool not reasonable not balanced and all the rest you know I never yet have found a saint that was canonized because he was balanced nor with all due respect if I found one where they said his greatest virtue was openness as I said in the opening night the virtue openness is a virtue to receive not one of our the virtues of religion but a human virtue however it has to be balanced by closeness which is when you close on the truth because it's truth and you don't let it get watered down and diluted to act out of the heart but I tell our students facing very much on John Paul's teaching is that there's a desire and every young person and therefore on all of us because we were young once to do two things to possess our lives and to know love everyone John Paul preaches this in his youth days and the rest those two things are common throughout the world parents you want to know why you get a little resistance and those are teenage years early huh or maybe everything up to outright rebellion and organized revolution it's it has that desire to fully possess my life mine my I mean I all that stuff is there that is human nature and that desire to know I'm loved and to find a loving relationship but the key to life is once you've got the possession we call this on this campus adult conversion then you get the opportunity to have it all to find it all because you can give it to God it's only when you possessed your life you give it to God and there you find the love oh the love of God the love given of God the tremendous Koinonia the fellowship love flows from first knowing your love from love from God and all that loves can build on it I tell us students very simply don't get confused between pleasure happiness and joy if you've given your life to God if you've made the break if you've done the courageous act if you've lost it you have a joy that no one can ever take from you I don't care the tragedy I don't care the break up in the family I don't care the seemingly scandals I don't care how bankrupt you get underneath everything you experience there's a joy and that's why Paul can say rejoice in the Lord always again I say rejoice rejoice in all circumstances the joy of God is a gift that comes from giving our lives totally to God now above that is this thing called happiness which is a mental type of perspective where we decide that we've achieved something that we're after and we have something we wanted and we feel happy about it and above that is this pleasure which is sensual who would taste good it feels good I like it all that stuff so you have the pleasure and the happiness God doesn't say you'll always have pleasure God doesn't say you'll always be happy but you just say you'll always have joy is it worth it is it worth it you can do it the thousands millions have done it before you and it's never too late it's never too late live for God how do you do it very simple every morning pray and pray through everything you're gonna do that day and every decision make it according to God's will as best you can make that commitment and go out and do it and God will gradually take more and more control of your life until as contella messer writes in his books on obedience Kanta massive being the papal preacher he says the joy of life and God's greatest joy is when he can take a hold of our lives and steer them as a steersman on a wheel or somebody on a bicycle or motorcycle just moves back and forth and our lives of given over to God and His purpose this is the goal this is the answer much more but I'm not gonna go any further Bishop Shawn Barnes coming out with a new book on the Catechism he wrote a meditation for every day of the year on the Catechism I just finished reviewing it Ignatius press will be coming out with it he has a passage there in the Holy Spirit explaining clearly why it's the Holy Spirit that takes over our life and enables us to pray to read to rejoice to give it to bring forth the kingdom of God I would suggest finally did you do just one thing you've dedicated consecrated made intentions done morning offerings done all the stuff just ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you're still holding on to what you haven't lost what is the pull back what's for a rainy day that you've held on to what's the area that he calls you to move out and you're saying like yet or I can't or I'm too weak take it to prayer God will show you the joy that no man that no circumstances can ever take from you forever and ever and ever through this life and reigning in the kingdom of God losing amen you

Channel: Franciscan University of Steubenville

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Keywords: Franciscan University, Steubenville, Ohio, Catholic, college, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Franciscan University of Steubenville (College / University), Fr. Michael Scanlan TOR, Fr. Mike, homily, Defending the Faith, Defending the Faith Conference, conferences, Steubenville Conferences, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Pope John Paul II

Id: w3yuLE1WGy0

Length: 21min 1sec (1261 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 07 2017