READING 1:
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34 READING 2: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 GOSPEL: Luke 18:9-14
Youth Mass: Is the life you are living the life that wants to live in you? ********************************************************************************************** Is the life you are living the life that wants to live in you? The spiritually immature person, like the Pharisee in today’s Gospel, notices everyone else’s sins but avoids personal responsibility. Have you ever been around someone who is big on cutting other people down, making fun of their looks, or their talents, or the way they talk? Have you ever noticed that some people don’t argue about a different opinion, they attack the other person’s character, or patriotism or spirit? That person regardless of their age is immature. What I mean to say is, the immature person can be any age or gender, and their negativity is a deflection from their own problems. They are so afraid that something is wrong with them that they cannot stand their own reality. Deflection, blaming, shaming, claiming a herd mentality, these are all about immaturity, anxiety, and weakness. They are chains that rob us of our very selves and make it difficult for the Holy Spirit to enter our hearts and give us life. Frankly, no matter what kind of home we come from, we have two things in common. We are all sinners and we are all dying. When we put that together, we know we need Jesus. Our religion is 2,000 years old. We’ve been listening to this Gospel and knowing human nature since the Apostles were walking around with Jesus. There are no new sins and the evil in the world has no creative spirit. So the same old negative behaviors that Jesus noticed are still around. Please remember that, no matter what sin we have committed, it is nothing new. Of course we need to have some idea of what our sins are to ask for mercy or else we approach like the Pharisee. So let’s name some of our sins. I’ve asked people to call out one at a time whatever sin we printed out for you. We’re going to print them on these t-shirts. [One kid stands wearing the t-shirt and another writes the sins on the t-shirts; two sets of kids speed this up] Okay, that’s enough, wow! You guys have a lot of sins!! But there’s nothing new here. There’s nothing that cannot be forgiven through Jesus saving action. If we know what our sins are, we have a reason to go to confession and get them off our backs. Every time we go to confession, even if we are always confessing the same old sins, we grow more mature spiritually because we acknowledge our weakness and hear in those words of absolution that the sins are forgiven and we (the real person that is you) are just fine. Only when we accept all this in our minds and hearts are we free to be fully alive. We sin, we acknowledge our sins just like the man who was justified in today’s Gospel, our sins are forgiven, and we are just fine, maybe even a little wiser. My friends, you cannot fake out God. Why would you try to? We cannot make ourselves feel better about ourselves for long when we deflect our reality onto another person. We’re fine, we really are fine, we are God’s beloved, and we are the friends Jesus died for. The Holy Spirit wants to give us life in our lives. The question for today is: is the life you are living the life that wants to live in you? Think about it: is the life you are living the life that wants to live in you? Open to the best of realities and grow into the man or woman that will be spiritually mature and free to enjoy the Good News! Fr. Jeff McGowan |
