October 25, 2024
My dear Kirkland Catholics,
I will not often rehash homilies in my newsletter, but my homily a few weeks back had a lot of specific examples, and was asked more than once for a copy of the examples. So here we go…
I based my homily on Matthew 10:10-16: “Whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” My point was that entering the Kingdom of God actually happens when we are baptized; and we are supposed to more and more enter into the Kingdom throughout life, as we become more childlike.
I compared a “childlike” approach to life to “sophisticated adult” approach, and I titled my homily “A five-year-old is not going to give you ‘The Silent Treatment’.” Here are some examples I used:
| Childlike | Adult (but childish) |
| Do not “put on airs” | Pretend, front, masquerade |
| Unabashedly affectionate | Aloof, cool |
| Simple & Straightforward | Manipulative & scheming |
| Life is uncomplicated | Life if convoluted & tangled priorities |
| Forget wrongs quickly | Nursing resentment, giving “The Silent Treatment” |
| Chaste | Lustful and objectifying others |
| Live in the moment | Living in past, or fearful & anxious about future |
| Vulnerable & Transparent | Fail to deal w/ trauma (fail to go to therapy when needed), suppress pain & emotion |
| Curious | Apathetic & disinterested |
| Ask for help | Vainly self-sufficient |
| Willing to believe | Cynical & incredulous |
| Know they need friends | Isolate |
| Humble: I need my parents (God) for everything, and I am secure in their (the Lord’s) love. | Prideful: I am insecure in the Lord’s love, and so I must rely on my own counsel and strength for my happiness and security. |
Being childlike begins with believing one is a beloved child of God, and internalizing that we need God for everything. It develops as we adopt a “we” mindset rather than a “me” mindset: instead of thinking “what am I going to do about X?” it is asking “Lord, what are we going to do about X.” It is also nurtured by striving to live in the moment (rather than in the past or future) because it is only in the present that I experience the love and grace of God. A final point of development occurs by realizing when we act like a “sophisticated adult,” then repenting and asking God for more humility.
With love in Christ,
Fr. Brad