Homily - we all have a story and we are all catchers of people

We each have stories of God’s activity and presence in our lives. I’d like to share a little of my story.

Growing up, I had a very low self-esteem. I was also very blessed to have been introduced to Jesus who was my best friend.

I would play priest as a kid. I remember saying prayers for a dead bird that other kids in the neighborhood brought to me so we could give it a good burial.

And if I thought about growing up to be a priest, I was sure that I did not have what it took (though I had no idea what it might take), that I was not good enough.

We fast forward now to when I was a young adult just out of college. A good friend of mine at the time would occasionally talk to me about how I was going to make a good priest one day and I would vehemently deny it. I was not going to be a priest. And I would get very defensive because that conversation tapped into my feelings of low self-worth.

 In the late 80’s I took my first job teaching high school physics at an all-boys high school outside of Buffalo. Some of the students decided to work hard at making my life miserable and they were very successful. I had little control over my class room and every Friday I was sure that I would find a note in my faculty mailbox from the principal asking me to come to his office where he would inform me that this day was the last day as a teacher at that school.

 That note never came. In fact, miraculously, I was hired back for a second year. I know some faculty members advocated for me to have a second chance. Over the summer I took a continuing education course on classroom management and, though I was skeptical, the methods and tools I learned worked. My second year of teaching went fairly well and by my third year of teaching, I was a good teacher.

 Fighting my way back from that awful first year taught me a lot about myself. I had gifts and talents that I had not realized. I learned an important lesson:  failing does not make a person a failure.

 About this time I began talking to various priests about what the priesthood was all about and what it took to become a priest. What I was learning about myself and about the priest hood began to merge and come together. Still, I denied that I wanted to be a priest and vehemently denied I would ever be a priest.

 Then, I was at the reception of a friend’s wedding. They had seated us young and single people at the same table. A conversation began going around the table: people were sharing what they wanted their weddings and receptions to be like. I drifted away and zoned out and when I came to, and it really felt as if I was coming to, I realized that I had been thinking about what I would want the reception after my ordination to be like and what I might say in a homily at a wedding.

At that instant, I was completely sure that I was being called to be a priest and that I wanted to be a priest.

I was stunned and shocked and I had to go outside to get some air.

I was very very happy.

By the way, I am still very very happy to be a priest.

 That is a piece of my story.

We each have our stories. Young and old, you have your stories.

Stories of God’s activity in your life.

Epiphanies of God revealing himself to you.

Miracles that changed your life.
meeting friends.
sports victories.
Successes at school.
Falling in love.
Marriage proposals.
birth of children
getting fired and finding careers
being moved during mass
traumas that, looking back, you recognize how God brought about good.
Talents you discovered that bring you life and joy.

 Purposes that you became aware of.

 You all have your stories of God’s presence and activity in your life.

 Maybe you see your story reflected in today’s readings?

 Maybe you were like Isaiah who felt as if God was calling him but he did not see himself as good enough. He said, “I am a person of unclean lips. How can I speak the Word of God with such unclean lips?” And God touched his lips and made him clean and molded him into the fullness of who he really was. And when God asked who he could send, Isaiah called out, “Here I am, Send me!”

 And the fishermen. There was nothing about them that indicated they were the perfect choices to be disciples. They weren’t even good fishers. They had been fishing all night and had caught nothing.

Suddenly, Jesus changed their lives and made them the best fishers there had ever been! This catch would put them in the Fishermen Hall of Fame! People would be talking about this catch of fish for generations.

Simon (later to be known as Peter) cried out, “Depart from me, Lord. For I am a sinner.” And Jesus spoke his recreative words, “Do not be afraid.” And Simon became the person he really was.

 He and his partners left everything: left their business, their life-changing catch of fish, the life they had made for themselves. They left it all to follow Jesus.

 Why? Why would they do this? There was no great logical argument that Jesus provided. Why? Remember that when Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit settled onto him like a dove. He then went into the dessert in the power of the Holy Spirit. He came out of the desert in the power of the Holy Spirit. He now acted and spoke, taught and healed, all in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit inspired what he said and the Spirit inspired the hearts of those fishermen to fully receive the importance of the invitation which had been extended to them.

 And now you are being chosen. To be fishers of men, catchers of people.

 Develop your story. Reflect on your life and God’s presence in it. When you share a part of your faith and someone asks you to give an example of God in your life, you should have a few stories ready.

 Those stories become your “net” with which you will catch people. Trust the Holy Spirit to move the hearts of others and share with them your story, Jesus’ story, and listen to their story.

 We all know people who do not attend church regularly, who are perhaps wounded or frustrated by the church, or who have stopped attending at all. These are the people we need to invite and welcome.

 Tell your story: this is who God is to you and why you love God. And invite them to come to church with you. Life is better with God in it.

Life is better with Jesus as our friend, and as our savior, and as our teacher and Lord.

 Develop your story.

Make your invitation.

Trust the Holy Spirit.

And share your story.

 You have a story. Whether you are a regular at church, attend church occasionally, or have stopped attending at all, you have a story of God’s love and grace in your life. That story can continue and grow here at St. Alphonsus in Auburn, NY. You may find this parish to be a wonderful home for you. If not here, then at a Catholic Church near you. I can guarantee you that life is better with God in it. Introduce yourself to me when you come.