"He Leadeth Me: Enter the Story" | Palm Sunday (Fr. Mike's Homily) #sundayhomily

one of the thoughts that can again occur to us when we hear the passion when we hear this story is just um what a waste uh that this reality right here is this story this reality that here is Jesus who is sent by the father and it just leads here it leads to this place of rejection and betrayal and humiliation and abuse and pain and torture and death failure in in a it can seem like such a waste right of course we know there's more to the story we know that that that this we know that this actually did something again let's highlight this on the surface the story we just proclaimed the story we just received that we just heard it looks like a waste but what we see with the eyes of faith is we know that it actually did something and this is this is one of those uh mysteries of faith that if we miss it we miss everything this mystery of faith that here is Jesus Christ not only his life but his suffering his death and his resurrection those aren't just facts of History it is the fact of history that has changed everything once again on the surface it's senseless on the surface it's a waste on the surface it does nothing in fact that's one of the reasons why father Walter chisek right the author of he leadth me been following him for the last 6 weeks he was an American priest the Jesuit missionary to Russia he suffered in the Soviet gulg he suffered in solidary confinement when he said when he was a kid he used to hear sermons about the passion he used to hear sermons about Christ suffering and he said he disliked them he said it all seemed so vivid and yet so useless there seemed to be no sense in it and that could be us this all seems so vivid yes very clear picture of Christ suffering but it all seems so useless there seemed to be no sense in it and yet at the same time we know that what seems s senseless this this what appears to be mere failure is the historical moment that changed the world and so what we do is as Christians is we hear the story and we say okay I believe in that story which is true right it's it's I believe that that thing that that suffering and just how remarkable is this that the suffering wasn't senseless that the suffering actually was powerful that the suffering did something in fact that his failure was fruitful that's what we believe and again if you're a Christian you believe that story but a lot of times here's what we do a lot of times we say okay I believe that story so I I know the story I believe the story and we we miss out on I don't know if I don't want to know I don't know if I want to say this is the most important part we sometimes think the story is done I mean here we are we're just commemorating right we're commemorating what Jesus has done for us we're commemorating um um the fact that he saved the world we're commemorating the fact that again his failure was actually fruitful we're commemorating the fact that this suffering this death this future resurrection that it did something but the story isn't over in fact the invitation for all Christians is not merely to believe the story and to receive the gift of Grace from the story our invitation as Christians is to enter the story this is this is the in the incredible mystery of being a Christian is yes Christ's seemingly senseless death and suffering redeemed the world but it's not over yet it's not over yet you and I are invited to enter into the story why because we've been sent into the world what I mean by that is here the father sends his son into this world you know what it is to be sent uh the the term in Greek in the New Testament one who sent is called an apostle so one who sent on a mission has what they call an apostol right so it's very technical terms but but just think about it like this the father sent the son that means the son is in some ways the father's Apostle he had an apostolate he was sent on a mission Jesus then said as the father sent me so I also send you so that's why he called them Apostles because they were those who were sent that Apostle what did the Apostle it look like well for Jesus the Apostle it looked like he taught it looks like he he healed looks like he did Miracles it was awesome the Apostle apostate for the apostles what did that well they taught they they healed they did miracles awesome but what saved the world was it Jesus's healing that saved the world was it Jesus's teaching that saved the world when he sent the apostles out when they write their apostolate did there was it was it the was the power of their apostolate in their healing was the power of their apostolate in their preaching what was the power of their apostolate and the power of their apostolate was in the exact same power the Jesus's power apostolate was in what's saved the world his suffering and death his resurrection what blessed the world with the church yes the apostles preaching but possibly more than anything else the fact that the apostles entered into the story and that their suffering became sanctifying that that their pain became powerful that their failure was not fruitless and now we have to understand this again so here's father Walter chisek who who he finds himself himself in Russia he's an apostle to Russia right he believe he said the only reason I I was in Russia is I believed I was sent by God to Russia so here's my apostolate and he asked the question what was my apostolate I he said I thought it was uh to bring God to these people and bring them salvation which yes he said that's it but how does God want me to do this it turns out that God wanted father Walter to do this not by his amazing success not by his amazing preaching not by his amazing Healing Ministry but by entering into suffering by uniting his pain to the Cross no here's what Walter father Walter said because he again he was he as a kid even he didn't like the passion he didn't like that notion of the crucifixion and he asked the question even as an adult he says why the passion he said why pain and suffering he goes on he says is God so vindictive that he must inflict pain on pain and suffering on those who follow him because that can be a question we can ask here's his son is God so V vindictive he has to inflict pain and suffering he goes on to say the answer lies not in God's will but in the world in which we live and try to follow his will he said Christ's life and suffering were Redemptive his apostolate remember he's an apostle he's sent out his apostolate in the scheme of Salvation was to restore the original order and Harmony in all creation that had been destroyed by sin his perfect obedience to the father's will redeemed Man's first and continuing Disobedience to that will we we know the story right the story of the fall in the fall what happens is here's Adam and Eve here's the first our first parents and they're living in loving relationship with God the Father what breaks the world what breaks the world is their Disobedience so it's just because just in just the way that we all share in Adam's sin his Disobedience we're all called to share in Christ's obedience and his is salvation so what what heals the world what heals the world is not pain this is Father Walter discovered this what heals the world is not suffering what heals the world is saying okay this is God's will for me and then saying yes to that he goes on to say the way we enter the story not just believe the story that Jesus did this but the way we enter the story he says uh basically he says Christ's Redemptive act did not of itself self restore all things it simply made the work of redemption possible it began our Redemption he says just as all men sh the Disobedience of Adam so all men must share in The Obedience of Christ to the father's will Redemption will only be complete when all men share his share his obedience so the world has not been changed overnight and it's the world in which we seek to follow Christ's example that afflicts us as it Afflicted him we wonder why as Christians sometimes life feels not as dramatic as it should sometimes we can think like what am I missing in the Christian Life like sometimes we can think like no I believe the whole thing I've read the Bible I'm studied I pray what's missing from my life because I I I believe that I'm invited not just to believe the story I believe that I have been invited to enter into the story what's missing what is missing is this Insight that says your suffering is sanctifying that your pain United to Christ's has power that we sometimes just think that no it's it's the it's the teaching it's the learning it's the preaching it's the healing that that changes the world that's how we participate in God's salvation of the world but Jesus has revealed something more powerful to us he's revealed to us that we are called to enter into the story by uniting our suffering to Christ in fact St Paul writes about this think this that what that means is Palm Sunday this whole Holy Week this is where we get to ENT all of Lent I mean we did Lent why why do we give up suffering lent well for some self-discipline sure why do we give up suffer lent to open our hearts to to the Lord and to the poor yeah great all those things but why do we give things up for Lent why do we why do we voluntarily Embrace suffering as Christians because we know that suffering is not senseless we know that when we say yes to God's will in this moment it has power when we surrender we are participating in the salvation of the world and I would say this because you've been given an apostolate right Jesus was sent he's an apostle as an apostolate what saved the world not preaching not healing but suffering the apostles we're given an apostolate what changed the world what saved the world not just their preaching not just their healing but their suffering father Walter chisek he was an apostle he had an apostolate what was that where would that did the apostolate bear fruit and not just in his teaching not just in his serving but in his suffering and if you are an apostle the way you and I enter into the story is we allow the Lord to have access to our suffering so these are the three things if you're going to be have an apostolate there's three A's going to go through them kind of quickly because here's the thing go back to Colossians in the letter of St Paul to the Colossians he says I rejoice in my suffering see this is what we do we avoid suffering as much as possible father Walther talks about that he said I hate pain I hate suffering none of us like it St Paul says I rejoice and my sufferings for your sake and I make up in my body what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body the church so again if you're an apostle you have an apostolate part of your apostolate the way you're going to enter into the story is by allowing your suffering to be salvific is be by allowing your failure to be fruitful St Paul I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my body I'm making up for what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his body the church invol to do this Three A's first is um I need to accept we talked about this again and again we need we need acceptance now so often so often we spend so much energy so much time we spend so much of our Lives wishing things were different we spend so much energy saying I just I wish things were otherwise and yet if we're going to be Christians if we're going to be belong to Jesus the first move we have to have is acceptance that sense of like in fact if we're going to grow in the spiritual life in any way shape or form radical acceptance of reality is necessary but not just radical acceptance of reality the Christian acceptance that this moment and these circumstances are God's will for me that that to receive every day and every moment as from God's hands and to be able to this is the challenge because because it tests our faith to be able to say God Is it true is it true that this moment these circumstances that that what I'm going through right now is actually been given to me by your hands to accept that is the first step father Walter says it like this he this is tough he says no matter how close to God the soul felt maybe no matter how close I felt to God how blessed it was by an awareness of his presence on any occasion the realities of Life were always at hand always demanding recognition and he said they're always demanding acceptance and i' continuously to learn to accept God's will not as I wish to be not as I not as it might have been but as it actually was at the moment and it was the struggle to do this that spiritual power and a greater appreciation as well took place this first step of acceptance of saying okay God this is your will for me leads us to then okay now what but we need to have that first again this this been the secret that father Walter has been revealing to us in order to allow your life to be to enter the story the first step I need to accept Okay this is God's will for me and then the second step is surrender now we've been talking about surrender for the last five weeks and I've gotten so many people ask me like what does see surrender seems so uh seems so impossible seems so difficult to surrender like surrender seems like because we look at surrender we think it's like quitting right so so okay I'm going to accept God's Will and then just quit like I'm going to accept God's Will and then I'm just going to stop trying this is we we get it all wrong we think that surrender is giving up surrender is not giving up surrender is giving access this is the second a first a is acceptance the second a is giving God Access because that's what we do we surrender we're not giving something away we're not not trying we're not quitting we're not giving up what we're saying is okay God you have access if this is your moment if this if this is your will for me in this moment this person in front of me this this pain in my heart this this reality that I'm facing this sadness even in my soul if this is your will for me I Surrender meaning I give you access to me in my pain I give you access to me in my sadness God I give you access to my whole heart whatever you just cracked open Lord you have access to that's what surrender is it's not quitting it's not it's not passivity it's this act of trust of okay God I'll I'll let you examine my heart in this deep way not only will I let you see my heart and examine my heart I will let you have my heart in this way he goes on to say father alter he said day by day I learn to experience in some measure the power of God as manifested in the mystery of the passion that pain and suffering comprise comprised the sacrifice needed in the passion for saving souls and a similar sacrifice had to be undertaken by all of those called to the apostolate this this surrender this basically saying God you you you have access we don't like it and again our hero here of of Lent father Walter did not like it either because what did he say he said your tendency will be to avoid as much of it as you can for pain in itself is never Pleasant it's so real so good he says but you can learn to see the role of pain and suffering in relation to God's Redemptive plan for the universe and each individual soul if you want to do that your attitude must change but you don't shun it when it come comes upon you but you bear it in the measure Grace is giving you you see it as putting on Christ in the truest sense of the word you know that phrase to put on Christ to become another Christ even to to be Christian means to be another Christ so often we think yes I want to be another Christ I want to put on Christ I want to be clothed in Christ and that means in his righteousness that means in his glory that means in his Holiness that means in his goodness all those things it does but it also for us Christians who are walking through this world it also means putting on Christ in his passion but with the confidence that it does something God this is your will for me I accept it now I Surrender my heart to you meaning I give you access to this pain I give you access to this sadness I give you access to this sorrow I give you access to my heart and then the third thing is so often people would think like would seems so passive just letting you're like you're letting uh yourself be blowing around like a feather on a wind the third a is to take action because this is the reality none of us are called to passivity even in in the Life of Christ even even in the life of the Christian who's called to enter into the story and to accept God's Will and to give him access to our lives but then what we have to do we have to do is take action why because as father Walter chiz said he said no man's life or no person's life no man's suffering is lost from The Eyes Of God that no matter how big or how small your suffering is no matter how known or unknown your life is no one's is lost from The Eyes Of God he goes on to say for each of us has been created to praise reverence and serve God and by this means to save our souls and help in the salvation of others so that's it means taking action it means saying God I accept this as your will and I give you access to my heart and now what do you want me to do with it this is the the last question last a is the question we ask God what do you want me to do with this goes on to say no action however insignificant if accepted and performed as from God's hand and in Conformity with his will is anything other than Redemptive and a sharing in the great work of Salvation begun by Christ passion you you realize this no action no little suffering you're just a little bit hungry right now okay unite that to Jesus you you're lonely right now unite that to Jesus you experience failure right now okay unite that to Jesus what does he say no action however insignificant if accepted remember acceptance and performed as from God's hand received as from God's hand in Conformity with his will is anything other than Redemptive that's why St Paul wrote to the Colossians I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake not because the pain made him happy because he knew that that suffering was not senseless and he knew that his failure was fruitful I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake and in my body I'm making up for what is lacking in his body for the sake of Christ Christ body of the church now here's a big question the last thing the question we ask is what's lacking in the sufferings of Christ John Paul II wrote a WR a document on human suffering and he asked that question as St Paul's writing to the Colossians here what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ and jum Paul the seconds answer is very clear very simple nothing there's nothing lacking in the sufferings of Christ but he goes on to say but that you and I might know the joy of being part of the story I'm paraphrasing but you and I would know the joy being part of the story that we actually get to be part of God's Redemption of this world Jesus Christ in his mercy and his love for you has extended to each of us a particle of his cross so that it's not just your victories that bring about a transformation it's not just the winds that went over the world but it's that your suffering is no longer senseless that you're now your failure can be fruitful that your life even if it's a hidden life has power we know this we know that pain on its own is just painful that suffering on its own just hurts we know that on its own the cross simply crushes without Jesus pain is just pain but United with Jesus Christ your cross and my cross has a new power United with Christ pain has power it has the power to transform the world and that's the conclusion that father alter comes to he he he said he looked out at the world he looked out at Russia he looked out at all of his suffering and he realized he said oh this suffering actually will not end here this suffering is my entering into the story and the sufferings of all the people around him in the gulag in solid milary confinement throughout the whole country of Russia he said our suffering will pave a way for a new future and this is the invitation I was talking to a priest this last thing I was talking to a priest uh just the other day and he said he said nursing homes need to become the new convents I was like what are you talking about and he said for centuries in the in the history of the life of the church there are monks and nuns who have entered into the convents and into the monasteries and they have prayed and they have offered up their ordinary daily sufferings and that that that has been the fuel for the conversion of the world that that those those those hidden monks those hidden nuns who have these lived these hidden lives of ordinary suffering but United to the cross of Jesus Christ has has transformed the world has been the fuel for the gospel to go out into all corners of the world but now there are fewer monasteries now there are fewer convents and there are more nursing homes hes and he said what we need is to allow these nursing homes to become the new convents and the new monasteries because if you are listening to this and you're stuck in at home this is the new Convent this is the new Monastery this is the new opportunity it's it's it's the new moment for all of us to discover what father Walter discovered as he said he said I looked out he said oh my gosh he said he said reflecting on all these truths was consoling the truth that my pain is powerful United with Jesus that my suffering is not senseless when it's United to the Cross he said it was consoling but it was more than consoling it opened up to me a whole new vision of Siberia and the pain and suffering that went on around me this is true about your situation as well you might find yourself stuck in a bed unable to get out of bed to unite that suffering with the sufferings of Jesus Christ literally will save lives that you might experience a great and powerful loneliness in this moment to unite your loneliness to the loneliness of Jesus Christ has the capacity to transform this world you might experience a a great physical pain mental pain you might experience physical illness or mental illness to be able to say Okay God I accept this I I this is this is your will for me I am willing to surrender this to you and give you access to it and now I'm going to take action and I'm going to unite whatever pain I have to your cross that's how we enter the story that's how as Christians we live a fully Christian Life that doesn't mean everything goes our way it means that we get to participate in the very salvation of the world and you and I don't have to wait to start because you've already been sent you already are an apostolate and you already have you already you already are an apostle and you already have an apostolate and an essential part of your apostolate is the essential part of Christ's apostolate take your suffering and bring it to the Cross take your pain and unite it to Christ take your failure and hand it to the Lord to accept every moment as from God's hand to surrender and give him access to every aspect of your life and to take action knowing that your suffering is salvific that your pain does have power and that your failure is fruitful and part of that fruit is aelf salvation of the [Music] world

Channel: Sundays with Ascension

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Keywords: ascension presents, fr. mike live mass, ascension, fr. mike schmitz, father mike, sunday mass, Catholic Mass, short homily, short catholic homily, sunday homily fr mike, Holy Mass with Fr. Mike, catholic mass, Year B, Sundays with Ascension, sunday mass 2024, Short Homily, Catholic homily, homily today, Sunday Mass for March 24th, Mass for mar 24, palm sunday, lent, Father Walter Ciszek, he leadeth me, homily march 24th, palm sunday homily, hosanna, palm sunday reflection

Id: gahJU8rO0AM

Length: 25min 22sec (1522 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 24 2024