The Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
4:00 Campus Ministry Mass
September 23, 2007
May the Peace of Christ Reign in our Hearts
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
Some people never really get to the place where they understand that
God should be their master
They live life on the surface
Their whole life is sadly wrapped up in their own interest many times without really knowing it.
They are not necessarily bad people many times they do good things
They take good care of their kids because it reflects well on them
They go to Church because it makes them feel good
They do good at work because they want the bonus
They are not necessarily mean or angry or bitter people
But everything they do is turned inward…
Their motivation is focused on themselves
And if there is not something in it for them then they see no reason to do it.
They are their own master and they don’t really know that it should be any other way
All of us are like that sometimes…
Some people have heard the word of God
Or somehow experienced the love of God
And there is a desire in their heart to follow it
But they also frequently find it hard to put this desire into action
While their eye is set on God
their deep motivation continues to be their own interest
once in a while they can move beyond themselves
They know what their motivation should be
They know that God is their destiny and their only hope
And they think they are doing God’s will for God
But
When they are asked to love
to act in the interest of others
They are not strong enough in their resolve or self-understanding
they are still trapped in themselves
We often bounce in and out of this group
We think we are doing the right thing for the right reason but in reality
there is still a lot of self-seeking in our hearts.
People in this group want God to be their Master
But because of fear… frequently they are still trapped in their own self interest.
All of us have moments like this.
There are those who long to live their lives for God or others
however are caught in a net of addiction or habit.
They want to do good
they want to follow God
they want to make Him their master
But over time they have developed patterns or habits of behaving
And these habits have a hold on them.
When things are going well
it is so clear to them how they should live
But with stress or in moments of temptation
their habit or their patterns kick in
and they are often caught in a wave which is nearly impossible to swim out of.
They try over and over to break these unhealthy habits and
After a lot of prayer and self-understanding and spiritual direction
many eventually do
People in this group want to have God as their master but their habits hold them back.
All of us have bad habits which bring us down
You know
I believe there is a special place in God’s heart for these people
who over time and because of poor choices have simply lost their freedom.
They see God as their destiny
They understand where they should be going in their lives
They just can’t seem to get there
Often they are like ships ready to sail
Their sails are full and their desire is great
They just can’t pull up the anchor that is holding them back
When they are finally able to be free… with God’s grace
These often turn into the most compassionate loving people
Because they know what it is like to live without freedom
They know what it is like to desire to accept God as their master and fail to do so.
There are those who over time and lots of grace and have
Somehow been able to free themselves of their self-interest
God is indeed their master and they are often able to follow him without fear they are versed at being able to let go of their own wants and desires
They are able and willing to love
They have developed the virtue
of emptying themselves for love of God
and love of their neighbors.
People in this group do not live their lives on the surface
They are able to understand the deepest motivations of their heart
They know that you cannot have two masters
God is indeed their Master and they are not afraid
Some of us have moments like this.
Which one of these people are we
Which group do we fall in.
Quite often we move in and out of all of these groups everyday
Have we given our hearts to God and our neighbor
Or are we lost in our own interests and wants.
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
Who is our Master
Amen
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