Faster, Higher, Stronger!
Homily preached November 5, 2023
by Monsignor Michael Deering

Faster, Higher, Stronger!

This has been the motto of the Olympic Games ever since they began over 100 yrs ago. And every 4 years the whole world watches highly trained men & women compete in a variety of athletic events to see who will be ...

run Faster... jump Higher ... and be Stronger than ever before.

These types of performances captivate us ...

as we measure and record every new accomplishment ...

with success bringing gold, silver and bronze medals ... money and prestige.

Yes, the world happily recognizes and honors those who become winners

in their particular field of competition.

But there’s another arena of achievement that’s often overlooked by the world;

and that’s the accomplishment of winning ... Everlasting Life!

Perhaps it’s because winning in this area requires that we Christians

have a motto ... that is opposite that ... of the Olympic games.

Yes, ours is not Faster, Higher, Stronger ... but rather ...  Slower, Lower, Weaker!

This is counter-cultural for sure, but it is truly the path ...

that we know we must follow ... to enter into ... the Heavenly Kingdom.

The essence of our Christian motto of “Slower, Lower and Weaker” is ... humility.

St. Paul, who we call “The Apostle” modeled humility very well.

Here’s what he wrote in his letter to the Thessalonians just proclaimed:  “Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,

we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.”

That’s surely acting with humility.

Just what is humility? Humility is meekness, modesty, and unpretentiousness. Humility restrains our unruly desire for personal greatness and ...

it leads us to an orderly love of ourselves that is based on ...

a true appreciation of our position  ... in relation to God ... and to other people.

Humility keeps us from getting puffed up with ourselves ...

such that we feel like we have everything under control.

Because if I’m in control of my life ... that means that God isn’t!

God wants to be the center of our lives!

That’s why Jesus pointed out to the crowds in the Gospel today that there is ...

      really only one Teacher ... one Father ... one Master ... and it’s not us!

And that’s why Jesus was especially hard on the Scribes and the Pharisees.

In their arrogance and self-righteousness, they let pride get the best of them ...

as evidenced by:   the way they dressed,

the way they sat at table and

the way they were greeted in public.

They were the Religious Leaders ...

But Jesus calls all of us to be not just Leaders, but Servant Leaders.

In washing the feet of His Twelve Apostles, Jesus clearly established ...

that humility is the foundation of fruitful service to one another.

Humility helps us to overcome the tendency in life, particularly when things are going well ... for us to want to take credit for all our accomplishments.

Humility helps us to recognize our total dependence on God.

We’re not so great ... only God is Great!

This comes from contemplating the question:

“What do I have that I didn’t first receive?”

Everything we have is a gift from God ...

whether it’s our life, our health, our abilities, our job, our family, or our possessions.

So there’s no point in pretending that we are the creators of these things.

In fact it’s to our advantage to give the glory and the credit to God in all things

and then run to Him for His continued help and blessings!

Consider the clear message of St. Peter, the First Pope in his First Letter (in the Bible)  

 “God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble. So humble yourselves

under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”

Expressing our humility to God is exactly what we do in Mass when we bring the gifts of bread and wine to the altar at the offertory. These are the simplest of gifts. These very basic foods were made by human hands, but they really are the fruit of the land.       They themselves were gifts to us in the first place.

So, the very gifts we offer at Mass ... were first of all ... God’s gifts to us!

And what does God do with our humble offerings? Through the hands of His priests, He transforms it into the most magnificent gift back to us, the Body and Blood of His only Begotten Son! God certainly does reward our humble actions!

And He will similarly reward our humility when it comes to our relations with one another. Our service to others, especially the poor and the sick,

is an efficacious sign of our discipleship with Jesus.

It’s a powerful way to grow in the virtue of humility.

Humility is also the foundation of prayer. 

In humility, we see our insignificance and our helplessness before God ...

and it moves us to approach God ... from the depths of our need.

It’s interesting ... How many people sure know where to run to ... when they experience sickness, accident, or natural disaster. Yeah, then it’s...“Oh, God help me!”

St. Augustine said,  “Man is a beggar before God.”

We can do nothing but grow once we acknowledge this great truth.

A modern-day model of the virtue of humility was Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  Here’s how she described herself, “I’m  a pencil in the hand of God.” Some pencil!

By relying on the power that she derived from her daily hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, Mother Teresa and her order of Sisters, the Missionaries of Charity, were able to bring loving care to thousands of the poorest of the poor.

Even this world, which responds to a different motto, had to stop and take notice of the humble service she rendered when it awarded her the Noble Peace Prize.

Today Jesus assures us: “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled;  

 but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Let’s take Him at His word & journey with Him to our Heavenly Home.

There’s no pride in Heaven ... only humble souls.

Realize that whatever gifts you have are passing ...

and whatever greatness you’ve achieved is fleeting.

So, follow the Christian motto of:    Slower, Lower, and Weaker ...

because ... after all ... you’re not seeking a Gold Medal of Achievement ...

but rather the Golden Crown of Glory!