From the Deacon's Desk

If interested, I will be offering the following homily at the closing Mass at the retreat I am leading for the deacons of the Diocese of Ft. Worth, TX this morning:

In 2008, nine-year-old Katie brought home a tiny cabbage seedling as part of a third-grade project at her school. She planted it and cared for it until it grew to an amazing forty pounds!

Knowing her cabbage was special, Katie donated it to a local soup kitchen where it helped feed 275 people. Moved by the experience, she started several vegetable gardens and donated the harvest to feed people in need.

Sixteen years later, the non-profit Katie’s Krops has over three hundred vegetable gardens across the country and to date has donated over 600,000 pounds of fresh produce. 

In 2001, ten-year-old Anthony’s grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and lost her hair, motivating him to make her a hat to lift her spirits.

From that one hat, the idea for the Heavenly Hats Foundation was born. To date, Heavenly Hats has distributed more than 5.5 million hats to individuals and hospitals, providing warmth, comfort, and courage to the recipients.

From one cabbage seedling, over 600,000 pounds of fresh produce donated to those in need. From one homemade hat, over 5.5 million hats bring comfort to those battling cancer. These are just two examples of how a small and seemingly insignificant gesture can grow into something substantial and life-giving.

That is the focus of today’s gospel reading from Matthew: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”

Something small and seemingly insignificant growing into something substantial and life-giving.

If we are not in the habit of planting mustard seeds, what does this have to do with us? 

Under the watchful eye of the Lord, seeds planted with love – with the intent of willing the good of others – will grow to their full potential. If we believe – if we are of strong faith – anything is possible. 

When Katie planted that small cabbage seedling, she had no plans to donate tons of food or feed thousands of people. It was seeing the potential of what she had done that gave her the courage to do more. If she could help feed 275 people with one cabbage, the possibilities seemed endless. She moved forward with a desire to help as many people as possible. She walked by faith, with love in her heart.

When Anthony made that hat for his grandmother suffering from cancer, his only goal was to comfort a loved one. However, when he saw her reaction and the comfort it provided, he saw potential. It gave him the courage to do more. He realized there were many people just like his grandmother. He moved forward with a desire to help as many people as possible. He walked by faith, with love in his heart.

For the past 8-9 years, I have been presenting retreats to staff members of schools and ordained deacons of dioceses across the country.

The overall message of the retreats was this: The reason it is important to share our faith – to share our experience of God’s presence in our lives – is because that simple act may plant seeds of hope in others who are searching for something to give life meaning.

There are people wandering about in search of that meaning, wondering why they don’t feel God’s presence in their lives.

When they hear about our experiences – about how we see the beauty and goodness of God in our lives – it plants a seed. This seed, if planted with faith and with love in our heart, can produce something substantial and life-giving.

An overlooked aspect of doing this type of evangelization is intentionality. We must walk with faith and have love in our heart AND do so intentionally, with purpose.

In other words, what do we do with our faith and our love? How do we use them to do the work we are called to do?

I shared some of the details of Carol’s cancer journey with you during our retreat. She had surgery, followed by months of chemotherapy and radiation. At the beginning, we kept this information to ourselves, sharing only with family and close friends.

As we moved forward on the journey, it was obvious that God walked with us.

Mixed in with tears, anxiety, and sadness were so many beautiful moments:

Me and our grown children taking turns sitting with Carol during her 8-hour treatments; all of our children and grandchildren showing up at our house on Mother’s Day wearing Team Grandma t-shirts and landscaping our backyard with flowers and plants so Carol would have a peaceful place to sit and be surrounded by God’s beauty; having a head-shaving party when she started to lose her hair; and of course the love, support, and prayers of so many people. It was so clear to us that we were never alone. We continually felt God’s presence and experienced God’s blessings.

Carol and I walk with faith and have love in our hearts, but we felt the need to be intentional as well. By sharing some of our story, we may have planted mustard seeds of hope in others who may be going through a challenging time – whether it be illness or any other difficulty. 

Perhaps they are consumed by fear and despair and are not recognizing God’s presence in their lives. By hearing a bit about our experience, perhaps they were moved to open their hearts to God’s presence and allow him to be a part of their journey.

Walking by faith starts us on the journey, but we must act on that faith. There is NO mustard plant or 40-pound cabbage or homemade hats for cancer patients if a seed is never planted. 

Those without faith, experiencing loneliness and despair, will remain in that condition if we don’t intentionally share our faith and plant seeds of hope in their hearts.