One of the real joys of the diaconate for me is preaching at Mass and other liturgies. Seems that it is something I doing a lot. The big ones are of course the Sunday Eucharist where I preach one weekend a month. Then there are the daily Masses where at least once a week I am asked by the celebrant to offer a brief homily. Then there are the communion services and the Holy Hours.
I mentioned to the associate pastor over at the cathedral in La Crosse this morning after Mass that here in Minnesota there is a big push by some to legalize same-sex “marriage” and our bishops are catechizing all Catholics about the Church’s teaching on this, as well as the natural and social reasons for upholding marriage as a permanent union between one man and one woman. In Wisconsin, there is a constitutional amendment in place prohibiting same-sex “marriage”. The good Father this morning told me how hard it is for him to even hear the word “marriage” used in reference to same-sex relationships. I got his point.
It is too easy to become discouraged when, as a deacon I am called on to proclaim the truth, I am faced with widespread opposition to the truth in our society. The truth of the right to life for the unborn; the dignity of every human life regardless of circumstances, age, health or any other factor; the truth that war in nearly every conceivable circumstance in contemporary society is no longer justifiable; the truth that marriage is a union of one man with one woman; the truth that the poor have a preferential position in our society and a claim on our wealth; the truth that capital punishment is immoral except for extraordinarily rare circumstances that are almost impossible to imagine occuring nowadays — these truths are hard for our society to hear and accept. The reason it is so hard is that too many of us want to become gods and posit into existence truth as we wish truth to be. Only God can create something from nothing; only God can posit truth into existence.
There is a “G” between two “H’s”. Gratitude transforms humility into happiness. Without gratitude, humility becomes dour and self-concerned. With it, happiness is found.
