Homily originally presented on February 23, 2020

Train for Heaven by becoming Holy and Perfect like God!

Back in High School, the Sport that I competed in and lettered in was Swimming.

Like our Holy Spirit High School, my school,

Dame High School in Chicago didn’t have a Pool.   

We had a winning Team, of some 30 Swimmers ... we just didn’t have a Pool.

And so as Freshmen and Sophomores we’d ride the School Vans each night to go and have a 2-hour practice in the Maryville Academy Pool ... 20 minutes away.

After I got my license, I would not only practice with the Team for 2 hours after school, but I would also drive to the YMCA and practice for 2 hours before school!

Many of the Swimmers did that ... and boy were we in shape ...

excellent aerobic shape and strong, lean muscle shape.

The Swim Season was the longest season of all the sports ... running from September to April and for many of those months, we had ice & snow all around.

So there was a real temptation to go Ice Skating or Snow-Skiing.

But our Coaches begged us not to do those sports because they tighten up your leg muscles and work against you having long lean muscles for swimming.

As a Reward for this, at the end of the Season, the Coaches would take us up to Boyne Mountain Resort in central Michigan for a weekend of downhill skiing.

It was great. It was so much fun! We could ski and ski without getting tired ...

because we were so in shape ... aerobically and muscularly.

We were ready and so we fully enjoyed our Reward!

Years later, after graduating from College and working several years in the Midwest, I was assigned as a Sales Representative in Seattle Washington.

My new boss was a great guy who wanted to try snow-skiing,

as the Snoqualmie Mountains were within an hour’s drive of our Office.

So, we started to put in some treadmill time

and do some squats to strengthen our leg muscles.   

After a few weeks of preparation, we drove up to the Mountains after work and went skiing. As a first time skier he had his struggles ... and I certainly had mine!

Oh, what a difference it was from when I skied  back in High School!

Now, I was only able to ski part way down a run before I had to stop ...

either because my lungs were burning or because my thighs were burning.

I was so out of shape!

I remember leaning on my skis to catch my breath and regain my strength.

Here’s something to remember:

You don’t go skiing to get in shape ... you get in shape to go skiing!

Skiing is a very physical sport ... requiring good wind and good leg strength.

So, if you’re ever invited to going skiing out West ... know that your success

out there will depend on how well you prepare before you get there.

Well, there’s another place that’s wonderful to go …

not just in Spring … but at any time at all …

It’s not out West … but way up North …

and once you get there … you’ll never want to come back!

Everyone knows the place … it has a name that just warms your heart …

it’s not Heavenly Ski Resort in California,

and it’s not Vail Ski Resort in Colorado,

It’s out of this world ... a place hidden behind the veil ... it’s Heaven itself!

There, the days of happiness there aren’t just longer … they never end.

because the light there isn’t from the s-u-n … but from the S-o-n.

And regardless of whether you’re rich or poor, everyone’s invited to come & enjoy.

It’s the ultimate place to be … but as it is going to any great Resort ...

   your enjoyment of Heaven will require you to make preparations before you go.  

Today, we consider two guidelines that God gives to help us prepare for Heaven.

First, God the Father speaks to us through Moses today (in Leviticus) saying,

“Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.”

Second, Jesus speaks to us in the Gospel today (from Matthew) saying,

“Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

So how do we get in shape to go to Heaven?

By becoming holy ... and becoming perfect!

Wow!

And, you probably thought doing the treadmill and squats was difficult …

well, this sounds not just difficult ... but downright impossible!

It’s here that we need to remember ...

that God would never ask us to do something we couldn’t do.

He will never set us up for failure.

In fact, He will give us everything we need ... to do everything He asks!

God’s already given us an intellect to enable us ... to know what is right …

and He’s given us a will to enable us ... to do what is difficult.

Now ... in order to do what God calls us to do ...

we must use our intellect to tap into the Wisdom of God,

and allow His Holy Spirit to empower our will to do what is difficult to do.

Becoming Holy and becoming Perfect are not things we can do on our own.

We must have God’s help … help that He is more than happy to give …

           We just have to be smart enough to seek it ... and then use it.

This means surrendering our first impulse, which is to try to do everything ourselves … and humbly seeking ... the higher wisdom of God.

St. Paul tells us today,    “Let no one deceive himself.

If anyone among you considers himself wise in this age,

let him become a fool so as to become wise.”

Yes, “the wisdom of this world,” Paul says,” is foolishness in God’s eyes.”

So, given that indictment by Holy Apostle Paul,

are you going to operate on your wisdom ... or seek God’s wisdom?

Following your own wisdom will not get you prepared for your trip to Heaven.

You’ll be deemed out of shape and unable to enter.

Heaven is where God lives … God, who is Holy and Perfect.

And for us to join Him inside … we must be Holy and Perfect too.

You know sometimes trying to be perfect is viewed as a limitation.

For example, I’ve heard people apologize saying,

“Sorry I took so long on the project … but I wanted it to be  perfect.”

And some people sadly admit, “I can’t help it … I’m a perfectionist.”

But what we need to be clear on .. is that ...  

the perfection that Jesus is speaking about

is not in regard to the things we make ...

    but in regard to the things we do!

When Jesus says, ‘Be perfect”

He’s referring to is being perfect … in love!

He’s not requiring you to have a perfect ACT score, or

perfect attendance at school or work …

          or the perfect home ... or the perfect car ... or the perfect kids.

No, Jesus is calling us to be perfect in our love for God and for one another!

He says today, “You have heard it said, (human wisdom)

You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.”

“But I say to you, (divine wisdom)

Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

The only way you’ll ever become Holy and Perfect

 is by following Divine Wisdom.

The Wisdom that says, “Love your Neighbor as yourself.”

So often we want to do something else …

our Human response to difficult situations is often to …

be angry … judgmental … vindictive … condescending …

critical … cold … unkind … even spiteful and revengeful.

This is definitely not the way to prepare for your trip to Heaven …

Because in Heaven ... there’s only Love …perfect Love.

So how do we learn to respond with perfect Love?

       We listen to the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit …

and we act on the Inspirations of the Holy Spirit.

God has already equipped us for this by pouring His Holy Spirit into our souls.

You see, on the day of our Baptism, God’s Holy Spirit came to live inside us!

Do you realize this?

St. Paul asks today, (of those newly baptized in the Catholic Church in Corinth)

“Do you not know that you are the Temple of God?

And that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”

Hear those words … “Do you not know … that you are the Temple of God?”

Paul goes on, “for the temple of God, which you are, is holy.”

You know, we consider the Gold Cabinet on the High Altar  ... the Tabernacle,

to be Holy ... because it holds the extra Holy Communion … the Bread that is the Sacramental Presence of Jesus. The Tabernacle is a miniature Temple of God!

And we consider every baptized person to be holy, for they have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of them. they are mobile Tabernacles, or walking Temples of God!

As you contemplate God’s 2 Commands today …

to be Holy ... and to be Perfect … don’t see them as impossible tasks.

No, realize that they are very possible for you to do ...

because you already have the help of God within you

and, now all you have to do  ... is cooperate with His guidance.

All holiness and all perfection comes from God.   And you have God in you.

Yes, you and I have God’s Holy Spirit within us … God’s Perfect Holy Spirit.

How was I able to get up at 5 on cold winter mornings and go swim for 2 hours?

I willed it.    It was an act of the will.   That’s the same way we get to Heaven!

We allow the Holy Spirit to empower our will to seek and attain that reward.

Just as you’d need to prepare yourself to go to Heavenly Ski Resort way out West.

        you also need to prepare yourself to go to Heaven way up North.  

            So, let’s listen to God’s Perfect Wisdom … and

       entrust ourselves to God’s Perfect Power …

to train ourselves ... to love as He loves.

In doing so, we will get ourselves in shape  ...

becoming Holy and perfected in love ...

fully prepared for … our reward trip to Heaven!