A Homily for the Memorial of Saint John Bosco
Friday, January 31, 2025
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
Philippians 4:4-9; Psalm 103:1bc-2, 3-4, 8-9, 13-14, 17-18; Matthew 18:1-5
Audio Recording
In today’s first reading we are told not to be anxious about anything. Anything! We might be tempted to say in response to this exhortation from Paul “Easy for you to say! You have no idea what I’m dealing with right now.” Then we might go on to tick off any number of things that we’re worried about, as if we’re ENTITLED to be anxious. And I can just hear Paul saying in response, “Been there, done that.”
Remember, this is a man who was persecuted, beaten and jailed simply for his insistence that Jesus came to rescue us from the power of sin and give us eternal life. If anyone had the right to be anxious, it was Paul! Talk about someone whose experiences would cause him to be constantly looking over his shoulder to see who might be coming for him next. And yet he tells us to have no anxiety at all. That our DUTY as Christians is to REJOICE and to let go of anxiety. In effect, he is saying, “Looking for joy? Then rejoice in the Lord.
In other words, be filled with praise and gratitude for what we have, for what God has done for us in Christ. Doing this will free us to let go of self-preoccupation and attend to the needs of others.
Paul’s remedy for anxiety is very practical. He’s telling us in no uncertain terms that that the Lord is near, that he’s always with us. And if we acknowledge his nearness by praying in thanksgiving and in confidence for our needs and the needs of others, when we have done all we can do, we can leave the rest to the Lord and express our trust in him in prayer.
Then Paul goes on to give us one more key to living a life free of anxiety. He says,
Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
Paul is telling us that our first instinct must be to see the good in others and in any situation. I know I struggle with this. I don’t know about you, but I find it so easy to criticize those things I think are wrong or are handled differently than I would handle them. When our first response to any given situation is criticism, we tend to become angry and fixated on what’s wrong with the world. Then what happens? We lose our peace.
Saint John Bosco, today’s Saint, worked with boys who were troubled, abandoned, disgraced, or struggling in other ways. He saw the good in them and helped to draw that goodness out of them so that they would find hope in the midst of their struggles with despair.
In one of his letters he wrote about this, saying: “My sons, in my long experience, very often I had to be convinced of this great truth. It is easier to become angry than to restrain oneself, and to threaten a boy than to persuade him. Yes, indeed, it is more fitting to be persistent in punishing OUR OWN impatience and pride than to correct the boys.”
Fr. John was a shining example of what can happen when we resist feelings of anger, see the good in others, and bring that good to their attention, rather than focusing on their bad behaviors.
So, today we are given two keys to living a life of joy and peace.
1. To always be grateful for what we have in Christ, rather than focusing on those external things that are beyond our control and remember that the Lord is always with us in our struggles. We must trust him to handle those things we are unable to handle on our own and give him thanks for doing it, even before it is done.
2. To establish good “habits of the heart,” thinking about those things that are honorable, just, pure, lovely and worthy of praise. To always try to see the good in others and in all things, rather than immediately criticizing and condemning.
These are the keys to living a life free of anxiety and full of the joy of the Lord. When we do this, Paul assures us that “The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Amen?