HOMILY
Charismatic Conference
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time – August 3, 2025
Just a few weeks ago, I returned from Quebec City in Canada after having been privileged to participate in the Vatican’s International Catholic / Pentecostal Dialogue. Five years ago, I was appointed the Catholic co-chair of the dialogue that consists of sixteen participants from around the world.
The goal of the dialogue is to foster mutual respect and understanding between the Catholic Church and Pentecostal leaders and churches in light of the prayer of Jesus that all may be one. You need to know just how important the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is to this Dialogue and the profound respect that our Pentecostal brothers and sisters have for the Renewal.
At the end of our time together, the co-chairs typically offer a reflection on the topic at hand. I want to share with you a story that I conveyed in my reflections. For me, the story focuses on what it means to authentically live what we pray and believe. … I’ve shared this story before, not in this setting, but during other liturgies that I’ve celebrated. If you’ve heard it already, forgive me!
One evening last winter, during some extremely cold days, I led a Holy Hour in one of our parishes in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Coming home from that time of prayer, I had an experience that touched my heart profoundly.
I live in the parish house right next to our cathedral church here in downtown Scranton. I drove into the alley behind the cathedral, passed by the church and then the parish house and eventually pulled into the garage. I turned off the car, closed the garage door and walked out of the side door of the garage, searching for my key to get into the house as quickly as possible because of the cold. But just as I was ready to open the door, I heard a voice coming from behind a locked gate between the garage and the house.
The voice came from a man whom I’d never seen before in the downtown and who looked quite obviously to be homeless. … “Father – it’s cold. Can you help me out?” … “What can I do for you, sir,” I asked. … “I’m hungry,” he said. … I asked him if he had been to Saint Francis Kitchen, a kitchen that we operate which is just a few blocks from the cathedral and serves meals twice a day. … “No,” he said, “It was closed by the time I got there.” … “And I need a place to stay. It’s cold and I won’t survive out here.” … I asked if he had gone to our shelter, which is also just a few blocks from the cathedral. … “Yes, but it’s filled. Can you help me?”
I must admit that by that point, I was very cold, I wanted to get into the warmth of my house – and I wondered if I was being set up. Was this poor soul simply looking for a few bucks to buy cigarettes or drugs or something to drink? Everybody on the streets in the city knows where our kitchen and shelter are located and their hours of operation. What should I do? I would have been of little support to him if I simply enabled an addiction.
Mercifully, as I was struggling with what appeared to me to be a set-up, some better angels spoke to my heart. What if he was telling me the truth? How could I turn someone away who was in such need?
While not feeling particularly proud of myself, I dug into my pocket, pulled out some cash and gave him enough to buy something to eat and to stay in a local hotel. I don’t know if I truly helped the man, if I complicated his life or if I had been taken over by a slick operator.
So, I left it all up to God to sort out. I felt a little bit guilty for wondering about his honesty. But then I took some quiet consolation in trusting that, as best I could, I tried to be authentic in my prayers and as a witness to what I believe as a Christian. … Remember those words of Jesus? “When I was hungry, you gave me food. But when Lord? As often as you did it to the least of my brothers or sisters, you did it to me.”
My encounter with that unknown soul at the door to my house on a bitterly cold winter night did something that I won’t soon forget. Yes, it disrupted my peace – a peace that I had experienced from a time of prayer during the Holy Hour that I led in a parish church just a short time before. But that disruption was a gift! It forced me to confront some ultimate questions in my life as a Christian. … What are my priorities in life? … What’s most important to me as a person – as a bishop – or more significantly, as a Christian? … Where do I look to find what I believe will provide me with true fulfillment, meaning and peace in my life?
In today’s gospel, Jesus was approached to settle an argument over an inheritance. Not surprisingly, Jesus responds to the request not by taking sides but by addressing the greed that has brought both sides to near blows. He tells the parable of the rich man who loses perspective on what is most important in life. Things – possessions – created an illusion for him and began to control his life, causing him to be oblivious to the needs and concerns of others.
The foolish, rich man’s priorities were all messed up. He failed to realize that life is often precarious, that we are all merely pilgrims on a journey in this world, that there are very few things in this world that endure and go with us from this world to the next, and that tomorrow may never come. … The rich man wasn’t criticized by Jesus because he was rich. He was criticized, sadly, because he had lost his way.
And unfortunately, we’re often just as shortsighted. We can become so self-centered and self-sufficient that we shut ourselves off from the simple aspects of life in which we find the love and presence of God. … We refuse to be interrupted in our goal of securing the things we want and that we believe will satisfy us. … And as a result of misguided priorities and pursuits, so many of us wind up being burdened with the most devastating poverty: an empty life filled with material things, yet devoid of the things of God that remain with us always in this world and that we carry with us into the next: gratitude, forgiveness, compassion, peace and love.
For us as Christians and authentic disciples of Jesus, the focus of our lives is never meant to be about amassing fortunes or achieving great celebrity. Our purpose is to accept God’s unconditional love in our lives and, in turn, to love and serve one another as God has loved us and served us in Jesus – totally and completely, without condition or limit.
Somebody once offered this reflection. I have never forgotten it. … One day, everything you own – from the ring on your finger – to the glasses on your face – to the shoes on your feet – to the belt around your waist – will one day belong to somebody else. … That also goes for the money in our bank accounts, the furniture in our homes and the cars that we drive. … Everything will belong to somebody else.
So why do we place our hope in the things of this world? … The world will tell you that the only thing that is important is what you get out of life – not what you can give. … That’s why so often there is a reluctance to serve and a fear of sacrifice among many. … That’s why so many in our world go hungry while others prosper. … That’s why some regard a child in the womb as an obstacle to a career. … That’s why some see an aged parent as an inconvenience. … That’s why some will tell you that religion is simply a crutch for the weak and the misguided. … That’s why I was conflicted and uncertain when I encountered a beggar at my door on a cold winter night.
My sisters and brothers, no matter how much you or I see ourselves as the center and sole concern of the universe, none of us will find a life of meaning, purpose and lasting peace if we refuse to look beyond ourselves, our own needs and our own priorities. We weren’t created that way. We’re born into a family, and we’re baptized into a community of believers. By our very nature, we are called into relationship, just like God is a relationship – a relationship of love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit – a relationship of love that wraps around creation, loves us throughout life and calls us to reflect that same love in our relationships with one another.
So, when the world says that religion is a crutch for the weak, ask yourself what seems more like a crutch in life to you. … A shiny new car that loses its value as soon as you drive it away from the car dealership? … A stock portfolio that’s never big enough and that can disappear with one bad day on Wall Street? … A trip to a far-off land that comes and goes in an instant? … A sparkling ring that can be stolen from you in a heartbeat? … Or a relationship with the living God who created the heavens and the earth – who promises us life and peace – who pledges to walk with us, even in life’s darkest moments – who assures us that he is with us always, so “Be not afraid?”
My sisters and brothers, every one of us this day is reminded of the radical decision that we Christians face each moment of our lives. The decision we face is our response to the call to discipleship – a response that demands that we live our lives with singular focus. The focus we are called to embrace is not upon the things of this world – nor a focus upon the treasures that we so often seek to acquire. The focus that we are called to embrace as authentic disciples is the Gospel of Jesus, his life and his love. … The cost of discipleship comes at a considerable price. … But it is the only way in which we will find our peace.