(1) And like the parable of the mustard seed [in the
Gospel], the seed of faith was planted
in our souls at baptism. (2) The seed of
faith that was planted in the soil of our soul is watered with regular reception of the Sacraments of the
Church. (3) The birds that come to rest
in the branches of the strong tree are fruits/works
of love that are pleasing to God.
But it all starts with faith!
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| Photo credit: meandmymustardseed.wordpress.com |
HOMILY
The Mustard Seed of Faith, Hope & Love (& the
Need to Live and Die in the State of Grace)
Sat., June 13, 2015
5pm Mass
Last year, I was eating some apples with a group of
little kids. When I got to the middle of
the apple, I literally took out one of the small seeds and showed it to them. And I said very slowly, “Do you see this apple seed? The
kingdom of God is like this apple seed.
It is small now, but later it will become a big tree.” With their eyes wide open, they touched the
seed.
As we know, the apple seed needs to be first planted
in the ground. It then needs to be regularly
watered, so that the seed in turn grows into a large tree where birds can dwell
in the tree.
I.
Faith is the first of what are called the three
theological virtues. The second
theological virtue is hope. And the
third and highest of the three is love or charity. A Christian is set apart from the world
through these three virtues. We cannot
please God without faith, hope and love.
In fact, when we die, we must have faith, hope and love in our souls.
Interestingly,
when the Church examines a candidate for sainthood, one of the first things
that is examined is whether this person has lived the life of faith, hope and
love.
You see, when you were baptized, God planted through
your parents and godparents the little seeds of faith, hope and love in your
soul. Not only was original sin removed,
but what replaced sin was God’s very life – sanctifying grace – making us a child of God.
Faith is defined here simply as believing in God even
though we do not see God with our physical eyes. In the Second Reading, St. Paul wrote his Second
Letter to the Corinthians that we “walk
by faith not by sight”. Faith
goes beyond the five senses, beyond the five senses of sight, smell, taste,
sound, and touch.
Take our faith in the Holy Eucharist, for
example. We believe that at the
consecration, the bread is no longer bread, but it is changed into the true and
Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
It is not a symbol the way our separated Protestant brothers and sisters
believe that it is a mere symbol. It may
look like bread, smell like bread, taste like bread, sound like bread, and feel
like bread. But it is NOT bread. Faith tells us when a validly ordained priest
whose priesthood can be traced back to the Twelve Apostles consecrates the
bread and wine, faith tells us that it
is literally the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
In a Eucharist hymn called “Tantum Ergo” which was
written by St. Thomas Aquinas over 800 years ago and sung by the Church when
exposing the Blessed Sacrament, we sing:
Praestet
fides supplementum / sensuum defectui Simply translated from Latin to English, it
means “faith supplies” (fides
supplementum) when the five human senses are defective” (sensuum defectui). Faith
supplies where the senses fail.
This is why, even though feelings are an important part
of being human, feelings are not the foundation of a living Christian
faith. Feelings come and go. Faith
is a free act of the will, and one
can still have faith even when our feelings are gone. Faith must go beyond mere feelings and
emotions, and it must mature and grow especially when the human senses
fail. When we don’t feel like having
faith, we still believe.
II.
The second point is that just because the seed of
faith was planted in the soil of the soul doesn’t mean that it will
automatically grow by itself. Faith
needs to be watered. Otherwise, just
like a seed in the ground without water, the seed will die. Faith
receives growth primarily through the Seven Sacraments of the Church.
A
sacrament is a visible sign, instituted by Jesus Christ, to confer grace. A sacrament is a visible sign, instituted by
Jesus Christ, to confer grace in the soul.
The gateway is the Sacrament of Baptism.
The Sacrament of Confirmation, where we are born again in the Holy
Spirit, perfects and completes our Baptism.
The Sacrament of the Eucharist is the third of the Sacraments of Initiation. The Eucharist
is the most important and highest of the Seven Sacraments. It
is the Most Blessed Sacrament.
The City of Sacramento, California, which is also our diocese, is named
after the Most Holy and “Blessed Sacramento” of the Eucharist.
Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Eucharist initiate
us. Dear brothers and sisters, this is
why it is important to nourish the seed of our Faith with weekly Sunday Mass. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said that without
the Eucharist, the Church would simply not exist anymore, and the world would
have forgotten what Jesus did for the world.
As we prayed in the Responsorial Psalm, “Lord it is good to give thanks
to you” or perhaps as we say in the Mass, “It is right and just.” It is “right and just” that we attend Sunday
Mass.
And when we fall from our baptismal promises, Jesus
gives us the Sacraments of Healing which are Reconciliation and Anointing of
the Sick. The Sacraments of Service are
Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony. In the healing Sacrament of Reconciliation,
sometimes called Penance or Confession, a soul in the state of sin is restored
to baptismal innocence.
Remember,
at baptism, one is infused with faith, hope and love. But when we commit what the Bible calls
serious or deadly or mortal sin, we lose love or charity in our souls. Love is killed. Faith and hope still remain even with mortal
sin, but charity and love (agape) in the soul is dead and cut off from God. The Sacrament of Confession restores us to
the state of grace.
All our good works mean nothing and are a noisy gong
if we are not in the state of grace, in the state of love. We must be in the state of love when we die
to go to heaven. Those who die in the state of serious or deadly or mortal sin cannot ever
enter heaven, but the Good News is that the Sacraments of the Church will
help us nourish the seed of faith, hope and love so that we live -- and most
importantly die -- in the state of grace and love.
III.
And the third point is that the seed of faith, that
was planted in us at baptism, ends with sight.
In heaven, you will not need faith anymore because you will see God as
He is— in the face to face vision of God—the beatific vision. Hope ends when you are in heaven. Why?
Because you’ve attained heaven, so hope is no longer needed. But while faith and hope end in heaven, love still
remains [in Heaven]. All our works,
especially for the vulnerable and the poor and the least of our neighbors, will
carry into the next life and will define us for all eternity. [Departed from prepared text here.] Our
acts of love define us for all eternity.
When the Second Reading talks about walking by faith
and not by sight, St. Paul also reminds us that with faith we seek to please
God so that when we stand before the awesome judgement seat of Christ, we too will
receive our recompense. And like the
First Reading and the Gospel, the birds of the air that rest in the branches of
our souls represent the fruits of many
good works of love and mercy that the saints in heaven rejoice for all
eternity.
So, to summarize: (1) First, the seeds of faith, hope
and love were planted in our
souls at Baptism. (2) Second, the seeds
of faith, hope and love are watered
with regular reception of the Seven Sacraments of the Church. (3) The birds that come to rest in the
branches of the strong tree represent
the fruits of the works of love that are pleasing to God.
So whether it’s an apple seed that I showed those
little children, or a little mustard seed from the Gospels, or the seed of
faith that was planted in our souls at Baptism, let us live the life of faith,
hope and love. As it is written in the
Word of God from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, may the seed of faith that
was planted in you “put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic
cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell
beneath it…and all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, bring
low the high tree and lift up the lowly tree.
As I, the Lord, have spoken, so will I do.”
Amen.
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