THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost 18 November 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Today we consider how very large things begin as something small and seemingly insignificant. The mustard seed and the bit of leaven are both small and for this reason humble, but within they contain very great potential. Showing us once again how God exalts the humble and humbles the proud. 

The Church here on earth is in this humble state, for Christ says: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like . . .” We are in a seed stage here on earth, the full potential, growth, and development will only truly be seen from eternity in Heaven. We see that the seed must die to itself and be buried in order to develop and grow into the great plant that it is destined to be. And the bit of leaven must be buried or hidden in the mass of flour. Hidden deep within the flour the leaven slowly begins to influence and change the flour around it until it is all transformed into leaven like itself. This is the same manner that the Church here on earth is to transform this earth. She finds Herself buried in this earth surrounded by all kinds of evil or sinful men. It is Her mission in all truth and faith to spread the Gospel and the humility of Christ crucified transforming the evil into good the proud to humility. Her mission is to join individual men into one body: the Body of Christ just as the leaven joins the flour into one dough. 

As we consider today’s parable we are given a greater insight into last week’s parable. There we saw that the wheat and the cockle were permitted to grow together side by side; here we see that the purpose is so that the sinner may be turned or converted in all humility and receive life as a member in the one Mystical Body of Christ. The Church for a time appears small and insignificant but in eternity we will see something completely different. Compared with the mega-churches of the heretics the Church looks insignificant, but in this humble state She is promised great things in eternity. In this humble state She draws to Herself and Christ all who will be converted and live. The rest no matter how big they are will all wither up and die. 

We see in the lives of the saints, especially those saints that seem most humble and hidden from the world, that good men are attracted to them and in seeing and hearing them are gradually transformed by them. If we consider the meekness of St. Francis who in espousing the lowly virtues of poverty, chastity, and obedience, strove to die to himself; found that to the contrary he began to live (live in Christ). His followers soon filled the earth – each striving to follow and imitate this simple and humble little man. This one soul has since been multiplied many times over. Many souls have entered the Franciscan orders to develop the virtues of St. Francis within themselves. 

We do not wish nor does St. Francis desire that we should make a false god of him. This is a most repulsive idea to every truly humble soul. St. Francis sought only to follow Christ and he did so very well. He even bore the very wounds of Christ in his body. So in imitating or following St. Francis, we are likewise imitating and following Jesus Christ. 

Christ is like the tiny mustard seed or as a bit of leaven hidden in flour – humiliated and dying upon the cross only to develop and draw men to Himself. From this death and hidden state He is lifted up and elevated on High. All those who believe and are baptized fill up what was lacking in Christ (Col 1,24) transforming their evil former dead selves into living members of Christ, in a sense, growing the Body of Christ. Each of us accomplishes this as we draw nearer to Christ and allow Him to transform us. We must take up our crosses daily, humbly dying to ourselves as we follow Christ to Calvary. It is in this dying to ourselves that we are born to eternal life. (Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi) 

We cannot just look to Christ as the Protestants do thinking that Jesus has done everything and so there is nothing left for us to do but, believe. To glory in the name of Christian without becoming Christ-like is a vain and empty illusion. We also find many “religious” that glory in the name of their founders, but who have none of the founder’s spirit living within them. Neither do they follow the religious order’s spirit, or Christ. As such they do not have life in them even if they should appear to be much greater or more numerous than the true religious or the true Catholics. 

Here on earth it is not numbers or quantity that God is interested in. It is quality. One soul in all humility imitating and following Christ in His suffering and death is worth more than the whole world living in the sins of pride and vanity. From one such soul we see that God can do great things as He did with St. Francis of Assisi. Both, His Church here on earth, and the individual people who form this Mystical Body are like the humble mustard seed or the bit of leaven. All who will join in this and receive life must likewise enter by the same path of humble virtue, dying to themselves. All other ways are deceptive illusions of devils. We cannot save this life if we want eternal life. (Luke 9, 24) We cannot enter the Church or a religious life and not also take up the spirit of the Church or the order. To try and do both is foolishness. “You cannot serve two masters. . .” (Matt. 6, 24) 

If we will allow Christ to live within us by dying to ourselves, we shall become like Him and draw others with ourselves to Him; just as St. Francis and all the other saints have done.