In a hurry to do good

While in college, a professor once pointed out how at home he could choose from over two hundred television channels. However, he also pointed out, that most of the time, though he had two hundred channels to choose from, there was absolutely nothing to watch.

We have all experienced this, at least before the days of Tivo and On Demand. Sitting in front of the television, remote control in hand, ready to go, but nowhere to go. There is nothing to watch.

My professor concluded from this experience, that as a society, we are going somewhere at full speed, but we are not quite sure of where it is that we are going. We have so much, but we lack focus and direction.

Our modern society is moving fast. We can travel anywhere in the world within hours, we have at our disposal the latest medical and scientific advances, we can communicate instantly, and we have access to all human knowledge in a small, light gadget that is always in our pockets.

For over one hundred years of human history, progress has been the goal. But I must ask, where are we progressing to? We sure are progressing, but where to?

Saint Augustine used a wonderful phrase: bene currit, sed extra viam. “He runs well, but off course.”

Are we running off course? What is our destination?

In today’s Gospel, someone is moving fast. She is in a hurry. “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste.” The Blessed Mother moved quickly; at least as quickly as you can riding a donkey through the Judean countryside.

Mary is in a hurry to do good. She is not in a hurry just to be in a hurry. She has a noble purpose in mind.

Pregnant, unsure of her own future, and certainly still shocked at the announcement of the angel, Mary set out in a hurry to do good. She had a profound understanding of the meaning and importance of what she had to do. She decided to run well and to run on course.

Mary hurried to serve a need.

Mary hurried to express love and concern.

Mary hurried without taking into account her own worries and anxieties, but considering those of her cousin Elizabeth.

Like the Virgin Mary, we must hurry to do good. We must hurry to do God’s will.

Many of us feel we are always in a hurry. Living rushed from one thing to the next without a clear sense of a destination. We run from distraction to distraction and at the end, we have nothing concrete. Life seems to be quick and exciting, yet as a society we struggle with the reality of stress and anxiety. Why live our lives in a rush to then end up squished on a brick wall like a fly that met its demise by the force of a fly swatter?

As a priest, there are few things sadder than talking with an elderly person who was busy his or her whole life, running here and running there, and now time is coming to an end. The running prevented the person from putting down roots, from enjoying the company of loved ones, and most importantly, from developing a relationship with God.

I have always disliked saying “I am busy.” As a priest, people always ask, “are you busy?” or make the statement, “O Father, you are so busy.” My answer is always the same. I respond, “I have things to do.” I resent busyness, but I love having things to do; things that I love and help me run on course. I did not become a priest to be busy, I became a priest to serve God and others.

Each one of us must ask, “am I running well, but off course?” “How do I get on course to make my running worthwhile?”

With only five days till Christmas, we must hurry to do the good. We must hurry, like the Blessed Mother, to run on course.

Maybe many are not done with Christmas shopping (I include myself here), but remember, our Christmas shopping will not save us. The running from store to store to find the perfect gift to place under the Christmas tree will not save us; neither will surfing the internet for hours looking for the right gift.

We must hurry to prepare our hearts, to repent and to believe. We must hurry to make amends, seek reconciliation from God and others. We must hurry to renew our commitment to live as who we are: children of God. This is the only destination to which we can hurry with our whole hearts.

Homily for the 4th Week of Advent

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