From the Deacon's Desk

I will be delivering the following homily at all Masses this morning at St. Pius X Parish in Indianapolis.

Readings: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17 / 1 Peter 3:15-18 / John 14:15-21

I want to focus on two short sentences from our readings today.

In Peter’s First Letter, he wrote, “Sanctify Christ in your hearts.”

And in John’s Gospel, Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you orphans.”

Peter did not say “hold Christ in your hearts” or “keep or contain or secure Christ in your hearts.” 

What he said was, “Sanctify Christ in your hearts.” 

To sanctify Christ is to reveal him, to lift Christ up and share him with others. Yes, take Christ into your heart, but don’t hold him hostage. Christ from our heart to our lips; Christ from our heart into our actions. In other words, Christ in word and in deed. 

I have taught quite a few deacon courses and led many retreats and parish missions over the last 5-6 years. In all of them, regardless of the topic, I emphasize the importance of intentionality and joy.

The message for today is no different: We sanctify Christ in word by intentionally speaking to others about our experience of Jesus in our life.

We sanctify Christ in deed by living life joyfully, by exuding joy.

Let me share some examples:

Earlier this week, I was in the staff lunch room, sitting at a table and having a conversation with two of my co-workers. Brookelynne, a staff member from the Campus Ministry Department, sat down at our table.

With no prompting, she said, “God is so good.” 

She went on to tell us about her morning. She said she’d had a difficult time this past week. She needed six students to sign up for the Nazareth Farm mission trip this summer. She had been stuck on five for a long time and it was looking like she may have to cancel the trip. She was also short one adult chaperon for the trip.

She said, “So I took it to prayer in the chapel this morning. I told Jesus how important these types of mission trips are for our students and that I didn’t know what to do. I ended my prayer by saying, ‘I leave it in your hands.”

After prayer, Brookelynne went back to her office to find that she had two new emails. One was from a student saying one of her relatives had offered to pay for the trip for her, so if it wasn’t too late, she really wanted to go.

The second email was from a staff member saying he had worked out his schedule and was now able to go on the trip as a chaperon.

She looked at all of us as she finished her story. “Isn’t that amazing?” she asked. “What a great day. God is so good!”

What Brookelynne did was sanctify Christ in her heart. She experienced the beauty of Christ working in her life, but she didn’t stop there. She didn’t keep it to herself; she intentionally shared it with others. 

She dropped a pebble in the water by sharing her story. The first ripple impacted the three of us that sat with her that day. The second ripple will be the thousand plus people that will hear my homily this weekend. Each of you can be a ripple by sharing the story with others. 

I have another co-worker named Perry, a faith-filled teacher of forty years who will be retiring at the end of this school year.

I watch Perry with amazement. He is always joyful. He is the teacher out in the hallway greeting students; he is our Santa out in front of the school on the day before Christmas break; he is the staff member that knows everyone’s birthday and makes sure there is a candy bar in our mailbox on our birthday.

When I was the principal, I just smiled when I went into his Geometry class for an official observation of his class. After praying with the students, he asked them to get out their homework from the night before so he could walk around and check it. This was not done only to see if they had completed their homework. It was his opportunity to interact with each student. He asked about their game the night before, the musical performance they were preparing for, how their sick parent was feeling, or asked the simple question, “Are you doing OK?”

Perry was always joyful; the students were happy to be there; I was happy to be there. His joy was contagious.

At his end of year evaluation, I shared with Perry the joy that was always present, in his demeanor and in his classroom.

I remember writing on his evaluation, “I’m not sure how much Geometry the kids are learning, but I know they feel loved.”

I ended the evaluation by asking him a question. I said, “Perry, you are always so joyful. I never see you discouraged or having an off day. How is that possible?”

I will always remember his response and have repeated it often. He said, “The weather isn’t always going to be perfect. Some days you have to bring your own sunshine.”

What Perry does is sanctify Christ in his heart. He experiences the beauty of Christ working in his life, but he doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t keep it to himself; he radiates his joy out to others.

His joy is a pebble dropped into the water. Each student or staff member that receives his joy is a ripple.

We sanctify Christ by taking him into our heart and then intentionally sharing our experience of Him with others.

We sanctify Christ by taking him into our heart and then living life with joy as an example to others.

Intentionality and joy.

Perhaps you’re thinking, “I admire Brookelynne and Perry, but I could never do that. I don’t know the right words to say; I don’t possess the right temperament to be so joyful; I don’t have the courage to share my experience of Christ.” 

That’s where Jesus’ words to the disciples come in, “I will not leave you orphans.”

When Jesus left his disciples he promised to send an Advocate. He made good on his promise at Pentecost when he gave them the gift of the Holy Spirit.

That same gift was given to us at our Baptism. We have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are never alone.

The Holy Spirit is our voice, our joy, and our courage.

As a first step, we take Christ into our heart. Then, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we sanctify Christ by sharing our experience of Him with intentionality and joy.

We can be the pebble that produces countless ripples.