Four ways to grow in desire for Christ (Sunday homily)

This parable is one that I have found difficult to unravel 
over the years. Maybe you have too. 
This past week, I came upon an article online, 
and the author, a Protestant professor named Jack Crabtree, 
helped clarify it for me.

He points out what distinguishes the two groups of virgins – 
well, first, let’s point out what does not distinguish them. 
They are all virgins; they are all carrying lamps; 
they are all invited to the wedding; they all bring some oil. 
They all fall asleep; and they all wake up at the same time.

So far, all the same, right? 

So what’s different about the wise virgins, versus the foolish? 
The wise virgins were prepared for a long delay. 
Think about that: had the Bridegroom come right away, 
all of them, without exception, would have been part of the wedding. 
But there was a long delay, 
and the foolish virgins weren’t prepared, and they were left out.

So the reservoir of oil that the wise virgins have, 
is that perseverance that enables them to wait, and wait, and wait, 
and wait some more.

So where does this perseverance come from? 
I submit to you that it is a matter of desire.
A show of hands: how many people here can either speak, or read, 
a language other than English? Raise your hands.

Everyone here – every single person here – 
is capable of speaking another language. 
We all speak one; why can’t we learn another? 
I’m not saying it’s easy; I am simply saying it is possible.

So why don’t we? We don’t want it badly enough. 

In the case of this parable, the desire, specifically, 
is for Christ himself, and his Kingdom. 
That’s what the Wedding is; 
that’s what the foolish virgins missed out on, 
because they didn’t want it enough to endure a long wait.

So, how do we gain this desire for the Kingdom, 
before all other things?

I’m going to offer four ways today we gain that desire for Christ:

First, come to confession frequently. How frequently? 
Well, I can be wrong here, 
but I think more than once or twice a year. Monthly is a good rule. 

A lot of people look at it as, “do I have to go”  – 
which is the wrong way to look at it. 
Better is to ask, “will it help me to go to confession?” 

The obvious time to go is when our lamp has gone out, 
because of mortal sin. That is a true “need to go” situation. 

But even better is to go, precisely to keep that lamp from going out. 
Sometimes it’s fading, getting weak; and if we don’t do something, 
the flame will die. 

It is in confession that we get stoked up 
with more oil of the Holy Spirit, so our lamp burns brightly.

Second, make your time at Holy Mass more fruitful.

Now, what I am going to say next, 
you parents of young children should ignore this! This is not for you. 
It can be a real challenge getting your family to church, 
so that’s enough. Save this next advice for 20 years from now!

And that advice is, get here earlier. 
Otherwise, you will be ten or 15 minutes into Mass 
before you “check in.” 

OK, what do you do with that time? 
You can pray the Rosary; you can read the readings. 
And yes, these are things Father Cromly suggested this week.

The third thing is not so much something we do, 
as it is in how you and I respond; that is to say, 
how we respond to suffering. 

We don’t get much choice about whether we have pain and trouble. 
What we can do is see them as times of grace – and if we do, 
then they will be. 

One great grace of our trials of this life 
is that they help us realize this world is not our home; 
and we come to long, more and more, for heaven. 

The final thing you and I can do to grow in desire is the simplest: 
Ask for it.  Ask for the desire.

This has worked for me many times in my life. 
Before I entered the seminary, 
I wanted to start the habit of daily Mass, but I couldn’t get going. 
So I started praying, “God, give me the desire to go to daily Mass.” 
Let me tell you, it was a matter of days!

Now, it doesn’t always happen that fast. 
I know people who have struggled with terrible habits,  
such as alcohol and pornography, for years, even decades! 
I’ve known people who gave up; they lost hope. 
But they found it again, and they kept asking, begging God to help them. 
And finally, things cleared for them. 
In their own way, they were asking, “God, give me the desire!”

If you want to want the Kingdom, if you want to want Christ, 
you will find him in the confessional. You will find him in the Mass. 
You will find him when you are being wronged and when you are in pain. 
And above all, you will find him when you ask.

Ask daily; ask every hour. Ask, ask and keep asking. There is no magic. 
But it is in the asking, pleading, begging, that our hearts grow, 
and become great reservoirs to hold the Oil of the Holy Spirit; 
and it is the Holy Spirit who longs, who thirsts, within us, for Christ.