The Friar Podcasts - preaching prayer and spiritual reflections

When did you first hear the voice of God calling you by name? When did you hear the voice of God calling you to be someone different and to do something different? Each one of us is called by God to do something wonderful and to be someone amazing. We may not always remember the first time we heard God's voice, but we do know that today might be the very day were God invites us to be his disciple and to do great things.

"What was the secret of this priest from Reims that explains the perduring success his Institute has had, a success without precedent in history?" In many ways I would suggest the secret of this success is the fact that today, the problems de la Salle faced are no less evident today.

What he found was a truth about how to reach children who clearly needed to be reached. Saint John Baptist de la Salle allowed his heart to be moved by the plight of those poor children who had no opportunity. And in allowing his heart to be moved by the plight of the poor, he was open to hear the voice of God.

How often is it we want to do things by ourselves? How often is it we choose not to listen to God, but rather, in the words of that Frank Sinatra song, choose to do it our way? The Wisdom of God is far beyond our own. As much as we might not like to admit it, God knows a lot more than we do. So rather than thinking of ourselves as the ones who know all, we should seek God's wisdom in our lives. And we can do this in a number of ways: reading the bible, going to Mass, celebrating confession, making time for adoration, or just being quiet in the presence of God.

We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand the things freely given us by God. We may think the conflict some see between atheism and belief is a new one, but Saint Paul in the first reading reminds us that the conflict between seeing a world that is only natural and one that acknowledges a world that is both spiritual and natural was present in his day too. Those of us who see both worlds are those who have greater freedom to see things the way they are.

How do you know what you want in life? How do you know that what you want is in fact going to lead to happiness and fulfillment? True humility is always directed toward God. We may not be perfectly humble, but we are always given grace by God to become more like him every day. Humility is not about thinking badly of ourselves or debasing ourselves. Rather, it is about comparing ourselves to God and discovering how it is God can lead us to greater salvation. The more we are like God, the more it is we can find our way to deeper satisfaction.

Saint John Baptist de la Salle was an innovative educator. Teacher training began with him. Recognizing the value of cooperative learning. Believing that every child deserved a high-quality education. Tailoring the pedagogy to suit the needs of the learner. All of these were innovations designed to improve the lives of the poor children of his day.

Today's gospel finds Jesus telling us to stay awake. The references and the parables used can point us to the end of time. But they can also serve as a challenge for us today. Jesus comes into our lives every day. And every day we are invited to see him in the poor, the needy, those we don't like, our family, friends, and coworkers. Are you ready?

In the city of Saint Louis, we also celebrate our patron. He became king at a young age, but was most especially known for his charity to the poor. He even created a judicial process to take on the feudal system of his day, and was instrumental in the founding of the Sorbonne. He is the patron both of our city and of the Archdiocese.

Today's readings help us to learn two important factors about faith. First, we believe that there is an easy way to grow in the spiritual life. We do this in many areas of our lives. A quick pill for a diet. An easy solution to staying in shape. Today's gospel reminds us that it is not always so easy. The door is narrow. Second, it is not always about us. In fact, it is always first about God, who sends the invitation.

Ezekiel looks out over the plains and sees dry bones. He is so amazed at the dry bones he emphasizes how dry they were. It is a passage the reminds us that our spiritual life can become dry, just as the covenant relationship the people had with God became dry. A dry spiritual life does not happen all at once. Rather, our spiritual life becomes stale little by little. But the solution is presented both in the first reading today and the gospel. Stay tuned to find out what Ezekiel and Jesus provide as the strategy to keep your spiritual life alive.

So much of how we see ourselves depends on the people we relate with. For example, many people in the United States would not consider themselves wealthy, and yet compared to much of the rest of the world, we are quite wealthy. But in today's first reading we learn the danger is not in being wealthy, but rather in using our riches only for ourselves.