Homily

St. Augustine writes about different categories of blessings. He says, "There are two kinds of blessings, temporal (or material, or worldly) blessings and eternal blessings. Temporal blessings are health, honor, friends, a home, children, a wife, and other things of this life in which we are travelers. We are guests in this hotel of life as travelers passing on, not as owners who intend to remain." For me that's a very comforting reminder. There is nothing here that I truly own, nothing here that will not change and pass away. I am only a traveler.

St. Augustine continues, "But eternal blessings are, first, eternal life itself, the incorruption and the immortality of body and soul, the society of angels, the heavenly city, unfailing glory, the Father and our homeland, and He is without death, and in our homeland, there are no enemies. Let us desire these blessings with all our heart and persevere in asking for them.... For eternal blessings are always good for those who have them and they never cause any harm." I'm always glad to be reminded that this is not my real and lasting home. Sometimes when I'm thinking "maybe I should vacuum the carpets this month" I am wondering if I should think, "Don't worry, this is not your real home." But you know it's true—we were not made to vacuum carpets for eternity. We were made to know, love, and serve God in this brief life on earth, and to be happy with Him for all eternity when this life is over. NOT TO VACUUM—NOT EVEN TO RAISE A FAMILY, NOT EVEN TO DO GOOD WORKS, even though all those things may be a part of God’s plan for our lives—BUT WE WERE CREATED TO KNOW, LOVE AND SERVE GOD IN THIS WORLD AND TO BE HAPPY WITH HIM FOREVER IN THE NEXT LIFE. That may involve marriage, a family, doing good works, even vacuuming, but those are part of our much greater purpose: to know, love and serve God in the world so that we may be happy with Him forever when we leave this world. And to know that all of this is because God loves us.

Because we may be wrongly involved with our life in this world St. Augustine has more to say: "Temporal, worldly good things sometimes help a person and sometimes harm a person. Poverty has profited many people and wealth has harmed many people: a quiet, private life has helped many, while fame and publicity have harmed many others. And again, money has profited some people and fame has profited some if they know how to use them well. But for those who do not use them well, having them has caused more damage than if they had never been rich or famous." The temptation is to think that if I had a lot of money, I would do well, I would do better with it, I would know how to use it. O Lord, please put me to the test! And yet we don't have to look far to see how easily and how thoroughly money and fame can ruin a person's life. And this can be true of any material or temporary good.

St. Augustine says, "Brethren, let us ask for those worldly blessings too, but in moderation, being sure that He Who knows what is good for us will give them to us if they will truly do us good. Trust in your Father Who will give you what is truly good for you." This is also a fine reminder and certainly true. Is there something I absolutely need and God is holding back from me like a miser, or a tyrant, or a cruel Father Who has no love for His children? Is this how our heavenly Father treats us? Of course it’s not; but I need reminders; maybe just as young children do.

St. Augustine: "Just as your own son may not understand how the world works and you know that, so are you also lacking in the understanding of God's ways and purposes. Let's say your own son asks for a knife and you will not give it to him lest he harm himself. He cries all day long for what he wants, but you don't give in because of his tears because you do not want to cry over his death. He may cry and beat himself and throw himself on the ground because he wants to ride a horse, but you will not allow him to do it because he does not know how to control a horse and it may throw him off and kill him. You refuse your son this thing, this part, so that all of him will be preserved. You will not give even a little thing that will be dangerous to him." God does not give us evil or harm.

But we live in a broken world, and in a world where we experience sorrow and death. For those who believe in Christ it is our blessing to look past the sorrow and even to look past the ugly face of death itself, for Christ has overcome the power and the sting of death, not just in our futures but even here for us now, today.

So we pray, but we also trust in our Father's total love for us. We hear today the word "journey" used so very often. People say they are on a "journey" of self-discovery, or an experience, or a TV singing competition—today it seems everyone is on some kind of journey. But I believe there is only one journey that truly and finally matters: we are traveling through this life and we're on our way back home. All this here is passing, temporary, good enough for now but it is not good enough for forever. Our Father calls us home. He sent His Son to bring us back to Him. The Son too wants us to come home, and if we seek Him out as the Magi did, He will never fail to help us because He became a man, giving up everything He had, even His own life, so that all of us could go home.

Certainly, Bernard believed in this, because he believed in Christ. For the many years that I knew him, even though he was not perfect, he continued to try and work towards perfection as a son of God, and as a man of faith. Wishing never to be a burden to others, he was a man who tried to help others with the burdens that they carried. We will surely miss him, but in Christ we are still spiritually connected with him, and so we pray for him here today, we who hope, as he hoped, that our journey will bring us home.

May the Lord hear our prayer for Bernard and for ourselves, and may He grant us everything we need to reach our eternal home.