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Homily
Michael is a husband, and a father of one child, a son, 13 years old.
Michael is faithful to keep Christ as the center of his life these days.
It wasn’t always this way, though,
Michael, coming from a solid Catholic upbringing
Catholic Schooling for 12 years, tossed God aside like a dirty dishrag as soon as he had
graduated high school.
He had discovered girls and rock & roll in those formidable years and the tension
between faith and perceived freedom was more than he cared to wrestle with,
so God was set aside.
Until one day, when Michael, now a married man with a child on the way, couldn’t
shake something that his mom had asked him
She asked, “how is your child going to get to know Christ if you don’t?”
He couldn’t muster an answer.
Because there wasn’t one that he could live with.
Michael’s son was born,
Michael’s son is baptized, has received the Sacraments
Michael’s son is now 13
and he’s curious about all sorts of things in his formidable years
And Michael is prepared to answer those questions, address those issues, resolve the
riddles that this world hurls at him and his son these days.
Michael is solicitous about raising his son, but he is not afraid.
How come?
Our Lord gives us a vivid image in today’s gospel:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every
kind… When it is full, they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into
buckets. What is bad they throw away”
This parable reminds us that our lives are constantly being siftedour choices, our actions, our priorities, constantly must be checked, rechecked, and
checked again against scripture, Tradition, our Catechism.
Can they be faithful to these or are they favoring the world?
At the end of time, the angels will separate the righteous from the wicked.
But that separation begins now, in the daily decisions we make.
To live with Christ at the center is to choose, day after day,
to be among the “good fish,”
formed by His Word, confirmed in the sacraments, and affirmed in the magisterium.
All as we are nourished by His body and blood.
we can look to the example of St. Albert the Great, the “Universal Doctor.”
A man of profound intellect and deep faith,
Albert harmonized science and theology, showing that reason and revelation are not
enemies but companions.
In this way, He reminds us that Catholic men must not retreat from the world
but engage it with wisdom, bringing Christ into every field of study, every workplace,
every family.
Albert’s writings emphasize that all knowledge finds its fulfillment in Christ,
who is Truth itself.
His life teaches that to live with Christ at the center is to integrate faith into every
dimension of our lives as Catholic men.
So, how come Michael doesn’t fear the powerful allures of this world that had snatched
him away from God?
How can Michael be so steadfast in raising his son to know Christ?
Because Michael has ordered his choices, his priorities, his actions to those which Christ
would choose.
In doing so, Christ is the center of Michael’s life
Is Christ the center of yours?
How come?
