Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz - 09/11/22 Eulogy Virtues: Joy

Episode Date: September 10, 2022

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Who you are now is who you are. Joy is the abiding sense of well-being. It is a feeling, but it is also a choice. But we do not choose joy itself. We must choose the source of joy. Love is the source of joy. Mass Readings from September 11, 2022 Exodus 32:7-11 Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 191 Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-32

Welcome to Sunday homilies with me, Father Mike Schmitz. I hope today's homily inspires and motivates you, and I also hope that it leaves you hungry for the one who gave everything to feed you. If you want to get this in other Sunday Mass resources sent straight to your inbox, sign up at ascensionpress.com slash Sunday, or by texting Sunday to 33777. You can also follow or subscribe on your podcast app for weekly notifications. God bless. The Lord be with you.

and reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke. Chapter 15 verses 1 through 32. Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain saying, This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. So to them he addressed this parable. What man among you, having a hundred sheep and losing one, would not leave the 99 in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it.

And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy, and upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep. I tell you in just the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance. Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it.

And when she does find it, she galls together her friends and family and neighbors and says to them, rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost. In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Then he said, a man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, Father, give me the share of your estate that should come to me. So the father divided the property between them. After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.

When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need. So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend to the swine. And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses, he thought, how many of my father's hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here I am, dying from hunger. I shall get up, and I shall go to my father, and I shall say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. Treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.

So he got up and went back to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him. His son said to him, Father, I have sin against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son. But his father ordered his servants. quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

Take the fattened calf and slaughter it. Then let us celebrate with a feast because this son of mine was dead and has come to life again. He was lost and has been found. Then the celebration began. Now the elder son had been out in the field and on his way back as he neared the house he heard the sound of music and dancing.

He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean. The servant said to him, Your brother has returned. and your father has slaughtered the fat and calf because he has him back safe and sound. He became angry. And when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him. He said to his father in reply, Look, all these years I have served you,

and not once did I disobey your orders. Yet you never even gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns, who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fat and calf. His father said to him, my son, you are here with me always. Everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice because your brother was dead and has come to life again. He was lost and has been found.

The gospel of the Lord. Gets me every time that gospel, man, oh man. I don't know. You know, you think about, I was thinking about this. What's the perfect life? Just even imagine, like, for yourself, what would the perfect life look like? I mean, what would it have to entail? I think for a lot of us, it would be I would have not just a marriage.

I would have this kind of marriage, right? Or if I'd called to a religious life or called to be a priest, it wouldn't just be like any life of religious or any priest. It would be like this. It would kind of be a certain way, right? There are certain things that need to tick the box. If I'm married, the person that I'm married is beautiful. You know, I plunge it above my weight, so, you know, they're better than me.

They stooped down to marry me, that kind of thing. They love me very much. We get along. We sip coffee every morning. That kind of a thing, right? The kids we have are all healthy. Kids we have are all happy. The kids we have are all holy.

Like, there are some things that if I was saying, what's the perfect life? There's some of the boxes, I think a lot of us want to check. But here's the thing. I was thinking about this. I mean, I also would probably want to accomplish things, right? we're talking about resume virtues over the course of these last weeks. There's some things I want to accomplish. When it comes down to the perfect life,

of all the things you could achieve or accomplish all of the boxes you could check, one of the questions that just keeps coming back to me is, when would that end? Like for the perfect life to be the perfect life, how long would it have to last? That just strikes me. because I think that when it comes to my imagining the perfect life, I don't imagine when it would end.

I just assumed that it would just kind of go on and on and on. I was talking with someone who had recently been diagnosed with cancer, and they wanted to just kind of talk and just kind of talk things through, talk faith, talk, where's God in this? And what do I do with my sickness? And part of that I kind of shared with them that my mom had been diagnosed with cancer. And she's a deep sense of peace. Like she just really is getting closer and closer to the,

the Lord in this. And this person's response was, well, yeah, but she's probably like 15 or 20 years older than me. And I mean, she wasn't being rude. This person wasn't being callous. They were just being normal. I mean, that's a completely normal response, right? Here's someone in their 50s with cancer that ultimately most likely will kill them. And they can imagine, well, yeah, a 75 year old, of course the 75 year olds at peace. They have 20 more years of life than I had. That would be enough. If I just had 20 more years, that would be enough. The question, okay, here's my perfect life.

How long would I have to last in order to be a perfect life? Because if we think about this, what do I want to accomplish in those extra time? Am I trying just to pad the resume, right? Am I just trying to have more accomplishments or have more experiences? Am I trying to just have more achievements during that time? What would I do with that time, you know, to have that perfect, the dream life? I'd have to probably be building my resume. And I just, I came across this quote recently.

And some of this woman who just was reflecting on scripture. And she said, she realized she came to a realization in her own life. She said, I used to live afraid that my life wasn't going to work out just right. I used to live, afraid that my life wasn't going to work out just right. You know, just the perfect life. I think a lot of us are in that place. But then we have to ask the question, what does just right look like? What does just right mean?

How long is just right? What are we doing? What are we doing? while we're alive here, what are we doing? Are we just simply building a resume or are we crafting a life? You know, we started three weeks ago, this is the third week, doing this series called Ulogy Virtues. And one of the reasons we're doing this because,

at the beginning of this year, is because we want to begin with the end of mind. We want to actually look ahead and realize that regardless of how long or how short my life is, at some point, it's going to end. And when it ends, who will I be? That's the big question. not just what will I have accomplished, what will be in my resume. But when my life ends, no matter how long or how short it is, who will I be? And one of the problems with us is all of us.

We do this. We save that for later. Like a lot of times we save that idea of the eulogy virtues. We save those for later. That's for when I get old. But you don't know if you're going to get old. And this big truth is this. Who you are now is who you are.

I want to save all this, this growth and character. this growth and integrity, that's for later on. But who you are now is who you are. And if you died now, who you are now is who you'll be remembered as. And one of the things that should do with us is just not only highlight the preciousness of life, but also remind me that I don't have a later. When it comes to these ulylysses, I don't have a later. Years ago, there was a group of girls who were part of about

study. In fact, Tracy was one of our missionaries. She was focused missionary here on campus. And at one point, this girl named Laura and her friend Sarah came up to Tracy and they said, so Sarah and I would like to be part of a Bible study somehow. And they both raised Catholic and they were just kind of like, I recognized them from Mass. At one point, I remember going over to the missionary's house and I walked in and Tracy was leading this Bible study. And she said, okay, so you know, this is Carly and this is Mariah and this is Maddie and this is Sarah and this is Lara. She said to like Lara, Lara. And I was like, for weeks, I thought, This girl's name was Lara.

It was kind of like Jorel's, or wife, Kelle's mom. But afterwards, I was like, oh, no, her name is Laura. That's just a side point. Doesn't have anything to do with anything. But I just want to let you know. Her name is Laura, not Lara. And I was talking with some of those girls from the Bible study because one of the things they've done is, so they were part of this Bible study.

2019, they graduated. Laura graduated with a degree in communication science disorders. And went on to get our master's in speech pathology down in Wisconsin. And one of the things that talking about, talking with that group of girls about Laura, is they said to a person, every single one of them would say one of the things that just marks Laura's life is joy. Like one of the things that if you're going to describe Laura, there's a lot of great descriptions because here's she was an athlete, she was a great student. She was so much, she was very involved on campus. people just around her would just be drawn to her like a magnet because out of her would be radiating

this thing that we call joy. And it's one of those things that if you say anything marks Laura's life, it would be joy. And that's what I want to talk about today. That's the eulogy virtue we're talking about today. You know, the first week we talked about humility, last week, loyalty. It's really fascinating. I think people usually don't notice humility. I think sometimes we notice loyalty. We always, we always notice joy. It's one of those. things where it's so attractive and it's so interesting because we look at it and we're like, well, what is it? What is actual joy? Here's Laura, this young woman who, um, radiated joy. But what is it that she radiated? We want to talk about this today because of the fact that in the

gospel today, the long gospel today, joy comes up again and again. It's the, I found my coin, rejoice. I found the sheep. Rejoice. My sons come home, rejoice. Like, there is this, this command again and again, this invitation again and again, to like enter into joy to actually rejoice. So we have to ask the question, what is it? What is joy? And I remember coming across this definition years ago. And I love it. It's this. Joy is the abiding sense of well-being. Sometimes we get really captivated into the idea that joy is ecstatic, right? That joy is like super out there. The joy is like being on top of the mountain all the time. I imagine at times joy can feel like that. Rejoicing can feel like that at times. But joy is the abiding sense of well-being.

So it can be connected to a feeling, but it's more connected to a choice. It's more connected to a decision. But here's the tricky thing is that people come along and say, well, then just choose joy. This is interesting. Joy is something that we can choose, but we don't get it by choosing joy. We get it by choosing something else. Again, joy is a choice. It's a feeling, but joy is a consequence.

So another way to say it is joy is a fruit, right? Joy is the result. Joy is the fruit of our focus. These one I want to highlight on. Joy is the fruit of our focus. Joy is the fruit of where we choose to look. Joy is the fruit of what we choose to see. So we look at this and say, what's the opposite of joy?

The opposite of joy is sadness. Okay, well, where does that come from? Where does sadness come from? Sometimes we realize this, both joy and sadness are the fruit of our focus. It's so important. both joy and sadness are the fruit of our focus. Because sometimes we say, well, no, sadness comes from suffering. Like sadness comes from difficult circumstances.

Well, obviously, suffering is real, and difficult circumstances are very real. And can be very tragic. It can be incredibly heartbreaking. But if sadness comes from suffering or if sadness comes from difficult circumstances, if that's the case, then some of us on this planet will never escape sadness. someone on this planet will never experience joy, and will never be able to actually have the eulogy virtue of joy. Because the source of our sadness is not suffering.

The source of our sadness is not our difficult circumstances. The source of our sadness is selfishness. The source of our sadness is cynicism. I would say this. The source of our sadness is skepticism. I would say those who are suspicious, those people who are cynical, will never find joy because they don't trust.

This is so important for us. Again, both joy and sadness are the fruit of our focus. So where do I focus? If I focus on my suspicion, my skepticism, cynicism, I will never trust. You know, and here's the thing, we need trust in order to love. We can't love without it. There is no firmer basis for love than trust. We need trust to love, and we need love for joy.

Because if you think about this, joy is not technically a virtue on its own, that joy is the fruit of love. It's the effect of love. Another way to say it is the origin of joy is love. I mean, again, go back to the gospel today. Every scene with the sheep, with the coin, with the sun. The person says, rejoice with me because. And that word because is so important. Rejoice with me because I found my lost sheep.

Rejoice with me because I found my lost coin. Rejoice with me because my son was lost. He's been found. He was dead and now he's alive. See, this is the key. The origin of joy is love. And the source of our sadness is selfishness. And the source of our sadness is cynicism.

And the source of our sadness is distrust. When we think about this in the gospel, the younger son comes home, and he comes home at disappointment, where he comes home a failure. He comes home, he arrives on the scene a tragedy. And the father says, be clothed. He says, be fed, be celebrated. Ultimately, the father says, be loved. Question, how often have you and I escaped joy

because we refused to allow ourselves to be celebrated. How often if you and I eluded joy because we refused to allow ourselves to be seen. We refuse to allow ourselves to be loved. Laura and the girls in the Bible study, they continue that Bible study all throughout college and they decided after college that they would, no matter where they were, they would continue the Bible study.

In fact, last Thursday here on campus, we had Sarah Swafford on campus to give a talk to us. She gave a talk when Laura was a student and when the girls in her Bible study were students here at UMD. And one of the things she said is she said, okay, listen, here on campus, but even more importantly after you graduate, you're going to need to find a tribe. And they need to be a tribe of people who are willing to strive with you. And so Laura and Sarah and Maddie and Sammy and all these girls, they continued.

They actually called themselves the strive tribe because they said, this is what we need to do. We're made for heaven. God wants heaven for us. And so we have to fight for it. We can't do it alone. So they decided every Tuesday night they're going to have a Bible study. And they shared how, oh my gosh, so often, right? Here's a Tuesday night.

They're busy. They've got so much stuff going on. They're exhausted. But they said, listen, we made a promise to each other. We would just keep showing up. And so they just kept showing up. And they would show up and they would leave filled, not only filled on God's word, but filled with that sisterhood, filled with that love.

The last Bible study, they all had together this last summer. There was a question. The question was, who invited you into God's love? Who was the first person who really invited you into God's love? And Laura's answer, she said, what was Tracy? That missionary, who was a part of that first Bible study that she was part of. That was her answer that night, that Tuesday night. That Tuesday night, Laura wasn't feeling very well.

And so she felt even worse, ended up going to the hospital. And in all these texts were going out, just, hey, pray for Laura. She's not feeling well. She's in the hospital. Pray for Laura. Things are getting worse. Pray for Laura. Her family just were around her as much as possible. She had the anointing of the sick.

Laura was, some people said she was obsessed with the sacrament of confession. Others says she had a great habit of going to sacrament of confession. She loved confession. She got to receive the anointing in God's mercy and forgiveness. Bees surrounded by her parents who absolutely love her, prayed with her. On July 19th this last summer, Laura died. On July 19th, Laura, at 25 years old, completed the perfect life. her resume, super thin, her eulogy, really, really thick.

That quote, that quote that said, I used to be afraid that my life wasn't going to work out just right. It keeps going, and actually Laura had texted it to one of her friends she was in the Bible study with. I used to be afraid my life wasn't going to work out just right. Goes on to say, the more I surrender suffering and joy, and whatever God has for me, the more my fear becomes, I won't spend my life well,

no matter how much or how little of it I'd get. Laura had shared that with one of her strive-tribe, and then she added, she said, I love that. Here's this, the more I surrender suffering and joy and whatever God has for me, the more my fear becomes, I won't spend my life well. And then Laura said, I love that. Because it's easier to surrender the joy.

but we have to do both in order to live for God and to trust him. We need trust in order to love. And we need love in order to have joy. One of our friends had made this so clear, she said, Jesus was not an idea for Laura. He was the source of her life. He was the source of her joy. He was everything for her.

The fact that God wanted heaven for Laura wasn't an idea it was very, very real. And Laura was aware and convinced of God's love for her. And this is the thing, that's the source of her joy. Everyone, everyone who knows Laura would say, this woman is so full of joy. And they'd say she talked to everybody. She talked to someone who is super Catholic.

She talked to anyone who's atheist. She's talking to people who are happy about it, happy people are angry about it. She didn't matter. Why? Because Jesus is the source of our joy. and Christian joy comes from knowing that you are God's child. Stop for that.

Stop for a second on that. Christian joy comes from knowing that you are God's child. And he seeks you out, that he pursues you in order to bring you into his life, in order to bring you into his house, bring you into his home. And how often, how often do we escape that love and, and for that joy because I don't want to come inside. I remember he said this, that suffering is not the source of sadness.

This is a different source. Think about the older son. What's the older son say? The father pursues him. Father reaches out. The father seeks for him and invites him into the house. What does he say? He says, all these years I've slaved for you.

Basically, where's my part? where's your celebration for me? He gets it all wrong. He sees it all wrong. His father looks at him and he says, what are you kidding? It's all yours. Like all of it, not just all this stuff.

All of my house, all of my heart. All of me is yours. He's basically, you're interpreting it all wrong. Imagine this. Imagine if the older son trusted. Like just simply, just imagine if the older son had faith in his father's, love. Imagine if the older son just simply let himself be loved. Not one aspect of his circumstances

would change even a little bit, but he would be free to steal joy. And this is the case for all of us. Sadness is not the consequence of our circumstances. It's the result of seeing those circumstances and seeing that suffering through the lens of suspicion. It's one of the things we all have to realize. God is not waiting to pursue you. God is not waiting to pursue you. God is not waiting to love you. So why are you waiting to let him? This is the last thing. St. James, he said this. He said, count it all joy, even in the midst of suffering and trials. Count it all joy, even in the midst of suffering and trials. That starts now because who you are now is who you are, because God is not waiting to love you, because God is not holding out on pursuing you.

He's waiting simply for us to trust him, for us to love him, for us to enter into joy. You know, one thing I think is really, really funny is every one of those girls in that Bible study, they said, yeah, Laura is so special because she has so much joy. Something really remarkable is you could say the same thing about any one of those girls. They all look to her and say, oh my gosh, this incredible joy that just radiates out of her. That was what they said at her eulogy, her actual eulogy. But that's what could be said at every single one of their eulogies as well. Why?

Because in so many ways, joy is not a feeling. It's a choice, but it's not choosing joy. It's choosing the source of joy. It's choosing to trust. It's choosing to let the Lord love you. And the consequence is joy. It's the fruit of our focus. Laura's life wasn't perfect in the sense that it wasn't free of suffering.

But when her life got hard, she showed up for God. When she was frustrated, she showed up for God. When she was tired and when she was confused and when she didn't know the next step, she just simply showed up for God. And I think that's what gave her that deep, deep joy. must her trust that God wanted heaven for her and that God wants heaven for you and that He loves her and that He loves you

God's not waiting to love you Why are you waiting to let him?