A Solid Wall Of Brass Against Opposition: Cardinal Harvey's Homily at Cor Jesu

Last night I had the great opportunity to attend Cor Jesu, an Archdiocese of Milwaukee initiative held at  St.Robert Parish in Shorewood, WI. Last night's Mass was a very special occasion with Cardinal James Harvey, Prefect of the Papal Household, presiding at Mass. 

Cardinal Harvey's homily was outstanding and much of what he said spoke directly to my heart. Cardinal Harvey, while quoting Jean Vanier, a Canadian Catholic philosopher, theologian and humanitarian, stated that, " even in our brokenness and uniqueness we can bring people to come know God."

So many times I am convinced that I need to do something big and important in order to attract other people to God. I convince myself that I need to be an intelligent theologian, an extremely generous philanthropist, a brave missionary or an accomplished writer and speaker in order to give God proper glory.

Cardinal Harvey's homily reminded me that I don't need to be anything but myself in order to spread the Gospel. It is a comfort that no matter what intellectual limitations, lack of theological learning, or brokenness that we possess, "God makes us a solid wall of brass against any opposition," and will love us just the way we are. Despite obstacles, we will be able to spread His Good News in very remarkable ways.

To Hear Cardinal Harvey's full homily please visit www.missionmilwaukee.com under "Homilies".

Surrender

                                                        photo courtesy of go.tonyevans.org                                                                       
Every Wednesday I attend the Catholic young adult event called Cor Jesu, held at St. Robert Parish in Shorewood. This weekly event usually led by Fr. Luke Strand, Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and Fr. John Burns, associate pastor at Christ King Parish in Wauwatosa, draws a great crowd of young adults to participate in a Holy Hour and Mass.

In his homily this past Wednesday, Fr. John reminded us that Jesus fully surrendered to His Father's will, giving up everything in order to take away our sins. Fr. John encouraged us to follow Jesus' example to hold nothing back from our Heavenly Father, to put our stubbornness aside and learn to place all of our trust in Him.

This homily reminded me that even though we are people of God, we don't always trust in God's love and mercy. We know that God wants us to give up everything that we struggle with, all of our sins and failings, yet we are so afraid of opening up to Him. Just as in any other relationship, being an open book can be scary sometimes. We don't want to become vulnerable. We don't want to pour out our hearts to someone, only to be hurt in the end. We so often say to God, "Here, take me as I am. Help me to grow closer to you. I hold nothing back......except for this incident that happened to me where I didn't do what would have wanted me to do.... Don't take this from me, God. I can handle that on my own. I don't really trust in Your love and mercy."

What we often fail to realize time and time again though, is that God's mercy knows no limits. He wants every ounce of our trust. If we want to be a follower of God, then we can't hold anything back. God will constantly forgive us of our past transgressions as long as we lean on Him completely. We need to start learning to let our guards down.