The second half of the reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians is a beautiful poem about the self-emptying of Jesus Christ. Christ is the one who did not act out of selfish ambition or conceit, but literally emptied himself, accepting the role of a servant. How difficult it is for us to empty ourselves, especially when our ambitions and plans take the upper hand. Whenever we have a plan, it is important to ask the question, and then patiently wait for the answer: “Lord, is this plan in keeping with, in line with, what you desire for me at this time in my life?” The more (for lack of a better word) ambitious the plan, the more carefully it needs to be discerned. In priesthood or religious life, this discernment takes place in dialogue with one’s bishop or religious superior; in married life, I would suggest that this discernment take into account the opinion of one’s husband or wife; and in single life, a good friend, mentor, or spiritual director should be involved in the discernment process – the process that seeks to find an answer to the question, “is this plan, born of my ambition, in line with God’s plan for me?” And if things are not going according to plan in our life, before we say, in the words of the Prophet Ezekiel, “The way of the Lord is unfair,” we should give an honest answer to the question, “was this the plan that you had for me in the first place, Lord?”
In the Gospel we are presented with a short put pointed parable, that of the two sons. A father asks his son to work in the vineyard, with great tenderness: indeed, the father’s address can be translated as “my child.” The first son says, “No, I won’t work in the vineyard”, but later changes his mind, and goes anyway; and the second son replies, “Yes, of course I’ll go and work,” but later does not. Our Lord speaks to us through parables, and commenting on this, the Catechism teaches: “Through his parables [Jesus Christ] invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything. Words are not enough, deeds are required” (CCC 546). One must give everything. Words are not enough, deeds are required, says the Catechism. I am reminded of that other passage of the Gospels, where Christ says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21, RSV). Maybe we could paraphrase Our Lord’s saying in this way: “Not everyone who says to me “I’m baptized, I’m baptized,” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We need to follow-up our Baptism, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation with concrete actions actions that sustain and nourish our faith. I had a very frank conversation with a fellow priest not too long ago, and we spoke about sacramental preparation for children. We came to a common conclusion: if parents do not show their children that practicing the faith, going to Mass on Sundays, and regularly going to confession are important, then sacramental preparation, by itself, will not be very effective. It is of course important to have good, solid, and sound sacramental preparation programs, and good catechists. Yet, the most important sacramental preparation for children is a good example: from their parents, or their grandparents. Words are not enough, deeds are required, as the Catechism teaches us.
What about the ending of the parable, where Our Lord says to the Chief Priests and elders, “The tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.” We can imagine these public sinners elbowing their way in the lineup to enter the Kingdom, pushing ahead, striving to get through the narrow door. The offer of salvation is too great to them to pass up. Other people are watching on the sidelines, distracted or bored, standing still. While we have the breath of life, we too need to try to get in the lineup to enter the Kingdom, we need to claim our place in the line to enter. We can think of the great efforts that people go to so that they can get tickets for sports games or concerts. We need to make sure that we have our place claimed in the lineup to eternal life with God, the place where all of our deepest wants and desires will be satisfied. This is the place where so many saints, such as St. Therese of the Child Jesus, whom we observe today, have preceded us. We also hope that many of our relatives and friends, are waiting for us in the eternal Kingdom of God.
My brothers and sisters, let us be thankful for Christ’s obedience, and self-emptying. In Christ, we too can make progress, can make advances, on the path of emptying ourselves: overcoming unhealthy ambition and conceit, having the interests of others in mind. Let us make sure that our words match our actions, as we get into the lineup to enter the Kingdom of God. As we begin the month of October, the month of the Rosary, we can take this opportunity to ask Mary, the Mother of God, to help us imitate her virtues. She too, in a certain way, emptied herself, and was docile to the will of her heavenly Father. Mother Mary, help our hearts to become like yours, as we shape our intellect, will and soul.
(Fr. Paweł Ratajczak, OMI, Oct. 1, 2023)
