June 13th, 2010

      It's baseball season, so play deep! We need to play deep because there
is a heavy hitter in the house. Jesus is going deep this week, so if we want
to be prepared we need to play deep. We live in an increasingly fast paced
world. Our schedules are hectic, the demands on our time and energies are
great. We often get through the day, but Jesus wants us to do more than
just get on base. Jesus wants us to be able to knock it out of the park. But
to do so requires that we keep our eyes fixed on the ball.
      Imagine that an appointment cancels or you manage to finish a job
earlier than expected. What do you do with that precious but rare extra
time? Is God inviting you to relax and take a much needed rest, or is this a
chance to catch up on something you have been putting off or perhaps it is
an invitation to refocus on prayer. Rest, catching up, and prayer are all
good things. How do you decide what to do? How do you find direction in
your life? Finding directions is pretty easy if you have a global positioning
system, GPS, but what about a Life Positioning System? Jesus wants to be
your life positioning system.
      Simon invites Jesus to his house. We expect Jesus to be grateful for
the invitation. And yet, what gets Jesus' attention is not so much the fine
food, the intelligent conversation, the clean house that Simon offers.
Instead, Jesus' attention goes toward a woman groveling at his feet. Jesus
had forgiven her of her sins and she is grateful. Her gratitude moves her to
love intensely. Her love for Jesus will not be held back. She puts all that
she has into loving Jesus – buying expensive ointment, washing his feet
with her tears and drying them with her hair. She goes deep by loving
deeply and this pleases Jesus. What frees her to love is that she does not
worry about what others might think of her. She is focused completely on
Jesus.
      In contrast, Simon does not understand why Jesus allows her to be so
intimate with him. He is willing to host Jesus but his love and attention is
not completely on Jesus. Jesus wants Simon, and us, to love more boldly
and more freely. By her example, the woman reminds us that we can find
this freedom by considering all that Jesus does for us and then with hearts
full of gratitude ask, What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for
Christ? What will I do for Christ?
      Jesus' love for you is very personal. In this Eucharist, Jesus stands
before you, looking deeply into your heart and waits for your response. At
times, that look will melt you to grab on to Jesus' feet in gratitude. At other
times, that look will challenge you to go deeper and to love more.
      At times, Jesus will invite you to rest, at other times to work, and at
other times to increased prayer. Which you choose is not so important.
Mother Teresa once responded to someone who was surprised to see her
traveling on a train with the upper class that what is important is not
whether she is with the upper classes or with the poor but rather that she is
where Jesus places her. Such freedom allows Jesus to be your Life
Positioning System.
      Having Jesus as your LPS challenges you to love more intensely.
Your response to Jesus may involve new adventures, it may mean
recommitting to regular prayer, or it may mean taking time for self-care,
rest and recreation. For some it may guide them in making life decisions
including the possibility of considering a religious vocation as a priest,
brother, or sister. Jesus loves you deeply and expects you to live and to
love freely and deeply.
      Fr. Pedro Arrupe, sums up well what it means to live deeply when he
says: “Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in a
love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes
your imagination will affect everything. It will decide what will get you
out of bed in the mornings, what you will do with your evenings, how you
spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your
heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in
love, and it will decide everything”. As we celebrate Saint Anastasia
Parish's 100th Anniversary, the end of the jubilee Year for Priests, and this
Mass of Thanksgiving for my priestly ordination, Jesus calls us to live
deeply, to fall in love and to stay in love. Go deep, love deeply and allow
Jesus to decide everything.