Sunday, February 15 @ 10:00 AM
St. Augustine Cathedral
My dear sisters and brothers, the foundational law for God’s chosen people—that is, our Jewish brothers and sisters—is, of course, the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments that were given by God Himself to Moses. For all the centuries that have transpired, those laws have governed the behavior, the conduct, and the expected actions of the people God has chosen.
But human nature being what it is, those ten laws were eventually accompanied by more than six hundred additional prescriptions, so that the detailed parts of life would have a guide—a guardrail—to make sure that we were doing what God asked. For our Jewish sisters and brothers, this even governs the food they eat, the times they can work, and when they are asked to pray.
Today, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus takes that foundational law and totally redefines it.
The law of the Old Covenant existed for two reasons. First, to define the Jews as God’s nation—the chosen people. Second, to define the behavior necessary to remain worthy of the promises God made. But Jesus revolutionizes this. When He came as Messiah and Redeemer, it was not to define a single nation, but to establish a kingdom—a kingdom that does not include just some people, but invites all people.
This kingdom is not simply about defining behavior. It asks each and every one of us to follow what the Lord commands from the heart.
You see, my friends, that is where the perennial and great challenge lies. Many of us do the right things for mixed reasons—sometimes even for the wrong reasons.
How many times do we tell the truth, not simply because we know it is right, because Jesus Himself is the Truth, but because we are afraid of the consequences of not doing so? How many times have you and I shown kindness and mercy, not simply because the Lord is the origin of all mercy and by doing so we honor Him, but because it is the path of least trouble?
The list goes on and on and on.
The Lord is challenging us today not simply to do what is expected, but to do it for the proper reason—or rather, for the proper Reason: because we wish to mirror His life in the world, we who have His Holy Spirit dwelling within us.
If I may summarize the challenge of the Gospel today, it comes from the mouth of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint. In one of her most famous talks to her sisters, she said: We are asked to do God’s will solely because God asks it, in the time that God desires, and for no other reason but because He asks.
My friends, that is a tall order for you and for me in the rough and tumble of life.
It is all about the heart—what the heart desires and seeks, where the heart looks for attachment. You and I spend a lifetime purifying our hearts so that what we do externally represents a deep wellspring of a relationship with the Lord. A relationship that does not force us to do good, but impels us to do good—because by doing so, in our heart, we are loving the One who asked.
That is why today we celebrate a great moment of grace.
Just as we did about a month ago when Our Lady was given her permanent place of honor, so too now the Sacred Heart of Jesus has His place. He whose Heart beats with love and mercy and compassion—whose Heart was pierced for our sins.
Every time we gather here in this cathedral, we will look upon the One who asks that our hearts be made like unto His. Each time we look upon Him, we recognize that His Heart is encircled with thorns because He loved to the end.
And the Lord asks us, with the power and grace of His Spirit, that we might also spend our lives allowing our hearts to become like His. If we do that—with purification, mercy, humility, patience, and all that is required—then the law, my friends, is no longer a guardrail. It becomes an invitation.
We will then be able to live the new foundational law for His disciples: to love God above all things and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
If you and I are sitting there thinking, “That’s not possible. Who on earth could live that way?” then why do we look to the One of our race—the first of our race—whose heart was immaculate, whose heart was pure, whose heart also knew suffering for love? A heart that beat every moment of her earthly life seeking to raise Him up and to walk in His shadow.
When you and I come into this church, we know that what the Lord asks is possible in grace. Our Mother is here to help us, one day at a time, to purify our hearts unto His.
So, my dear friends, this Wednesday we return to this sacred place. We begin the great journey of Lent. And if you come to me for ashes, I will tell you—eyeball to eyeball, face to face—the great words of Scripture: Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.
For those who do not believe, those words should frighten us. But for those who have the Heart of Jesus, they give us hope.
Ah—there is our future priest. Do you see where he goes? The little ones know where to find Jesus.
May we, with pure hearts, follow that little boy’s example.
