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Update/reflection from Fr. Gratton (3 April, 2020):
N.B. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was offered today for All of our Parishioners and for All Healthcare Workers and Soldiers Serving on the Front Lines
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Reflection on the daily Mass readings http://usccb.org/bible/readings/040320.cfm
One of my favorite quotes attributed to Pope Benedict XVI is, “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”
I loved this quote so much that I put it on the holy cards that were printed for my ordination to the priesthood. I need to reminded, always, that we were not made for comfort; we were made for greatness! Well, Jesus is the master at forcing people to step outside of their comfort zones.
His very birth and existence made King Herod uncomfortable. His calling of every apostle from their former ways of life made them uncomfortable. He tells the rich man that he is not far from the kingdom of heaven, but to go and sell all that he owns and then follow Jesus. He tells the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more. He waits days before he visits Martha and Mary after their brother, Lazarus, dies. Almost every encounter with Jesus ends with the person being forced out of their comfort zone, to trust His plan more than their own. Every encounter--even his great miracles and healings—cause people to be uncomfortable for a while.
Today’s Gospel is no different. An angry crowd is trying to stone Jesus for what they believe is the sin of blasphemy. They corner him and try to finish the deed, but Jesus confronts them with their hypocrisy.
He asks them why they are acting like this. They claim it is because of Jesus’ “sin” that has forced them to pick up stones. Indeed, life as they have always known it, seems to compel them to act against Jesus. Jesus, however, shows them how the very Scriptures that they love and are acting upon cannot be changed, except by God, Himself—and that it is God, Himself, who sent Jesus into this world to speak the Truth. He was sent by His Father in heaven to call others to a new way of life, no matter how uncomfortable or painful it might be for some people.
He is calling this angry crowd to look at the situation from a different perspective. He is calling them see how God really does approve of Jesus’ teaching because He is God’s own Son. He is calling them to look with new eyes. He is calling them to trust. He does not give us what they want. He gives them what they need. He is calling them to realize that the Good Shepherd was sent to lead them and to help them grow, and that this growth forces us all out of our comfort zones at times.
Think about it. Growing is painful. Think about babies who teethe for the first time, and how uncomfortable and painful it is for them. Think about growing pains in teenagers, both physical and emotional; these can cause so much pain, and some people never get over it. Think about the Apostles (or anyone who has given their former lives completely over to God) and how uncomfortable it must have been at first when Jesus asked them to leave behind all the things that they once knew and did well. Think about anytime you were forced into a situation that was uncomfortable, new, or nerve-wracking: it was always an opportunity to grow, and if we embraced those situations with the grace of God, then we most certainly grew despite the pain and discomfort.
Jesus is forcing this ruckus crowd in the Gospel out of their comfort zone. He is forcing them to look at something from a different perspective, to trust that the Father in Heaven sent Him to lead them in this way. He is calling them to leave behind the things they once loved, or the laws that they thought they knew so well. He is asking them to sacrifice it all, so that He can finally lead them to the fullness of Truth. He wants them to trust in His plan for them, and to believe that He was sent for their own good. He was sent to help them grow in real love for God, rather than hold onto the things that simply make us comfortable in this world.
We must ask ourselves: What are the things that I have a hard time letting go of? What are the things in my life where I feel most comfortable, and I do not like them unsettled by others, by the world, or even by God? What are the things that I hold onto so intensely that it causes pain in others if they encroach on it a little? What are the things that God has placed in my life right now that simply make me feel uncomfortable? Is it a lack of public Mass? Is it a lack of freedom? Is it confusion? Is it a lack of control? Is it losing something that I loved?
Well, my sons and daughters, that is precisely where He wants to do His best work in us. He wants us to grow deeper in love with Him, and if the Scriptures teach us anything, it is that He always helps us grow through this discomfort. That is what so many Saints over the years came to realize. That is why Mother Church sets aside times like Lent to focus on penance and discomfort, for She knows that we grow in our trust and love for God when we are forced out of our comfort zones.
Do not see these days of discomfort and lack of control as simply bad. God always takes bad things and brings good out of them—that is the very Nature of God! He took the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and made a path of salvation that was even better than before. He took the cross—the worst torture device ever designed at the time—and made it one of the most hopeful symbols around the world today. He is doing the same with this time that we are in. He is doing the same thing in our hearts. He is taking the things that we have relied on for so long—comforts, things, control, pleasures, our own plans and possessiveness—and He is cutting them out of our lives. He is helping us to grow in deeper trust in Him. He is helping us to love Him more than ourselves, and more than the comforts with which we have become too attached.
Do not see this painful time as something too big for our God. He has always used moments like this in history to bring people closer to His Heart. Do not run away from the Good Shepherd when things become uncomfortable, for we have a God that ALWAYS brings good out of evil. Do not become angry or hurt when He asks us to let go of control of the things that once made us feel so secure. Let Him be God and give it all to Him. Lay it all at His feet, and allow your heart to grow. It may be uncomfortable, but it is worth it. Heaven is worth the discomfort.
Indeed, “…you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness!”
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Be assured of my most fervent prayers for all of you.
In Christ,
Fr. Gratton
