Good afternoon. Who here has heard of Gary Chapman’s “The 5 Languages of Love”? For those who have not heard of the 5 languages of love, I would encourage you to Google them and, if you are married or in a relationship, I invite you all to take the inventory and share what your love language is with each other. Now, for those of us who have not heard of the 5 languages of love, allow me to share them with you all in terms of one of my favorite beverages - COFFEE. For a person whose love language is AFFIRMATION, when they give you a cup of coffee, tell them: “Your coffee is delicious.” For someone whose love language is ACTS OF SERVICE, brew them a delicious cup of coffee and say, “I made you coffee.” If your significant other’s love language is RECEIVING GIFTS, then treat them to a cup of coffee, saying: “Here’s a coffee for you.” My wife’s love language is QUALITY TIME, so I would say to her, “My love, let’s go get coffee together.” Finally, for a spouse whose love language is PHYSICAL TOUCH, hold them like you would a hot cup of coffee on a cold day.
What do the 5 languages of love have to do with the acrostic C.H.R.I.S.T. that we have been listening to during this message series on Discipleship these past few weeks? Well, we can return God’s love for us and show our love for Him by living out the acrostic C.H.R.I.S.T. in our lives to help us grow as disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s review. “C” is for Community and we encourage everyone to participate in faith-sharing small groups to help us experience Christian community. Jesus said that when two or more are gathered, He is present in their midst so when we gather, God is physically present with us and we with Him. “H” is for Holiness and we encourage everyone to grow in their faith through a robust prayer life, especially spending time in the Presence of our Lord in Adoration. God desires us to spend quality time with him in prayer; that is how we grow in holiness. “R” is for Retreat and we encourage everyone to attend at least one retreat a year. As a deacon, I attend the annual deacons and wives retreat in the summer with my wife, Theresa, and, in a couple of weeks here, I will be attending the annual deacons retreat. Like with Community, when we go on retreats, we are physically present with God and our sisters and brothers in Christ. Then, during this Mass last Saturday, Fr. Michael gave a wonderful homily on “I” and encouraged everyone here to Invest in our parish through service. After Mass, everyone here had the opportunity to discover how we can serve our parish as liturgical ministers. These acts of service help us to build up God’s kingdom and in a very tangible way right here at our beloved parish of Saint Albert the Great.
That was the recap. . . which brings us to this week as we unpack the “S” in C.H.R.I.S.T. “S” is for Share, specifically sharing our Catholic faith with others, starting with our “domestic church” - our family - and rippling outward from there. Now, sharing our Catholic faith with others should not come as a surprise to any of us because, as baptized Catholics, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ commissioned each of us priest, prophet, and king to “[go] and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). During the Baptism class that I taught on Tuesday evening, I reminded the parents and godparents of their baptismal calling and shared with them this quote from Dr. Edward Sri. In the “Reborn” series, on Formed.org, Dr. Sri said:
“The work of the Church [cannot] be accomplished by priests only. All of us need to answer the clarion call of our baptism, to take up our part in the mission of the Church.. . . we’re not mere bystanders in the unfolding work of God, [we are] soldiers and servants - priests, prophets, and kings. . . This is not just our deepest identity. This is our mission.”
What better way to affirm our faith and trust in God and our love for Jesus than to share our Catholic faith with others! It is as easy as clicking on the “Share” button and sharing a social media post by Saint Albert the Great, sending a text or an email to family members or friends with daily prayers or devotions, etc. Let us be instruments of peace and joy by using the technology available to us to spread faith, hope, and love to counter the darkness in the world.
This is today’s Gospel Acclamation: “I have chosen you from the world, says the Lord, to go and bear fruit that will remain.” That, my sisters and brothers in Christ, is what gives our lives purpose and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ - “to go and bear fruit that remains.” If we say we love God but we do not share His love and mercy with others, then do we love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul? If we say that we are Christians but we do not share our Catholic faith with others, then are we authentic disciples of Christ? If we say we are Catholics but do not speak Truth with love, then are we living our faith boldly? The call to discipleship challenges us because, as disciples of Jesus Christ, we cannot be “mere bystanders.” Believe me, I am NOT telling you how you should live out your Catholic faith. I AM sharing with you what Jesus said to Peter. Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Peter said to him: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him: “Feed my lambs.” Jesus said to him a second time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter said to him: “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him: “Tend my sheep.” Jesus said to him a third time: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter said to him: “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him: “Feed my sheep.” (John 21:15-19) Like Peter, we show Jesus that we love him when we share our Catholic faith with others and live our faith boldly, authentically, and in a tangible way. If we do not bear fruit, then as Jesus tells us in today’s Gospel, “. . .the kingdom of God will be taken away from [us] and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
Finally, the Diocese of Austin has identified the second Sunday of October, October 8th, as Deacon Sunday to foster diaconate vocations in the Diocese. As you may know, I was ordained in 2019, along with 30 brothers in Diaconal Formation, including Deacon Dan Lanicek and, here visiting with us today, Deacon Scott Dillon. Since then, the class of 2022 ordained 16 men and the next ordination class currently has 15 men in Formation. We certainly need more men to discern the diaconate. Men, why should you discern if God is calling you to life as a deacon, in service of God and his Church through word, liturgy, and charity? Here is my answer, do it for the retirement plan. . . working for God does not pay much, some days the hours are long, and you often have to work nights and weekends but. . . His retirement plan is heavenly! The salvation of souls - not only your own but the souls of those that you lead to Christ.
So why did I want to become a deacon? This is what I wrote on my application for the Diaconal Formation Program, back on March 27, 2013: “My motivation to become a deacon stems from my desire to (1) have a more personal and intimate relationship with God and (2) use the gifts and talents that God has blessed me with to help others grow in their relationship with God.” This was a true statement back then and it remains a true statement today. The three years that the disciples spent traveling with Jesus was time spent growing in relationship and intimacy with Jesus through prayer, to allow Christ to help them discern God’s will for them, to learn everything Jesus had to teach them, and to die to their old selves so they can become who Jesus needed them to be to serve the people of God in word, liturgy, and charity. That is five years of Diaconal Formation in a nutshell. It starts and ends with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and following the acrostic C.H.R.I.S.T. will put us on the right path as disciples of Jesus, in particular our desire to share the Gospel message and teachings that the Church holds to be the Truth with others. That, my sisters and brothers in Christ, if how you know if you or a man you know is being called by Christ to serve His Church and the people of God as His deacon. Amen.
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