Hi everyone, and welcome to Weekly Homilies with Father Mark Suslenko, Pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. We are part of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford. I'm Carol Vassar, parish director of communications, and this is Episode 18 of Season 5 for the fourth Sunday of Easter: May 8, 2022. Our Gospel reading is from John, Chapter 10, verses 27-30.

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

The Gospel of the Lord

“Defining ‘Good’” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Pope Francis states that "human beings, although capable of the worst are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again that which is good and starting anew." So, "human beings, although they are capable of the worst are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good and starting anew." As we listen to that with our Christian sensibilities, it all makes perfect sense. But when we go to put that into practice, we have to exercise a bit of caution. And that caution is with regard to how we define the word, "good." The word, “good." Because if we're going to "choose again that which is good," we have to be clear about what it is we're choosing in order to turn away from that which is hurtful and negative.

And I propose today that there are two very important pieces that each one of us have to have in place as we begin in the moment of now to deal with what is good for us and make choices going forward. The first is we have to know where we've come from, where we've come. Now faith tells us that we are here because of the loving design of God. That we're not just on this random human journey, but that our life has a direction and a purpose and a beginning with the love of God.

So our first go-to for understanding ourselves is to that relationship, so we begin to understand and define ourselves as a son or a daughter of God. But even more so than that, and even more importantly, is what has happened to us along this journey of life that we lead. What barnacles we have accumulated, what burdens we carry, the disappointments, the anxieties, the fears, the unfulfilled promises, the hurts, the rejections.

In addition to all of the wonderful things that human beings can accomplish, the other fact is that we can really hurt one another too. And all of us come into our world today, carrying these particular burdens. We need to reflect on them, understand them and recognize their power in our lives to color our choices, and to influence our decisions. Because those very things over which we stumble can cause something to appear good that really is not good. For example, we may be carrying a lot of resentment and anger. And that resentment and that anger can spill out into our actions, into how we think, and have ripple effects in the lives of others. We have to be careful in justifying that which is not good as being something that is good.

The other thing we have to keep in check is not only where we've come from, but where we're going. If I understand myself on this bigger journey of life, that isn't meant to just play out here, that there's an eternal part of who I am and an eternal goal where my soul, the essence of who I am, is going to live on in a new and abundant way, then the choices and how I understand myself here is going to want to reflect that greater truth about myself. That I'm going to be working toward something other than just what I see around me. And so my definition of the good is going to reflect that eternal promise. That eternal promise. 

Now here's where it gets really important, and why we have to keep our beginning and our end clearly in mind when we're defining that we're good. Because it is quite possible if we don't have that proper axis, if I don't understand myself as a child of God, if I haven't reflected on my human journey, if I haven't reconciled those things that are hurtful, those things that are wanting. If I don't have a clear sense of where I'm headed and what my direction is, then it could very well be that I see as "good" something that is destructive and that's happening in our world today. 

You see, there are many who believe that violence is good. That war that's being waged is good and justified. That's because the essence of what is understood as “good” is colored by other things and mired in other processes. And so as we look at ourselves, we begin to realize that we don't necessarily come into life understanding completely who we are. We don't have a guarantee on our own of understanding how to be a child of God, how to be a healthy, productive, human being.

In many ways, we need a life coach to kind of guide us and lead us through that process. We need someone to be our director, to be our go-to, that can stretch us and move us, and bring us from one place to another. Let's face it, we all know one thing about ourselves. It's very easy to become lazy. Even with the practical things of life, let alone working on our character, working on being a better human being or working on being more holy. We need someone to challenge us, to tell us that "yes, you can rise above yourself." You don't need to be tethered to your sins. You don't need to be tethered to your incompleteness. You don't need to be tethered to your imperfections. You don't need to be tethered to what the world is telling us, because there are all kinds of conflicting voices that are telling us who we're supposed to be, what is acceptable, what is good, what I must be doing, what I must be tolerating, what I must be embracing. 

And all of these voices become a bunch of noise in our heads. And result in confusion in our hearts about who it is we really are and what it is we're supposed to be. But there is one voice and it is the voice of the Good Shepherd who can lead us to the safe pasture that we're all looking to find. Who can lead us to truth and define that word "good" for us in the way that it is intended to be defined, and point us in the direction of what is right and true and good and holy.

So as we consider for ourselves, what that word "good" means, what is needed is that we look to the source of who we ultimately are, to our faith, to God. And yes, even the teachings of the church to give us the direction, to give us the focus, to bring us to the pasture where we can be safe and focused and find our way where we need to be. You see, in our world, these conflicting voices convince us very keenly, that there are other pastures where we will find greater happiness, other pastures, where we can find rest for ourselves.

And, there's a lot of people there and it seems a very popular place to be, but in the end, it really is not. And we find ourselves more distracted, more unfocused, and not where we ultimately want to be. 

And so the task for this week is for us to take that word "good" and put some prayerful time in defining what it means for us. What it means to consult our faith, to consult our relationship with God, to consult the church in helping us and guiding us move through the waters of life to keep that rudder in our boat square and straight so that we move in the direction we need to move and find the only true pasture. And that's the one guarded by the Good Shepherd.

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Learn more about our parish community at www.isidoreandmaria.org. And follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Our music comes free of charge from Blue Dot Sessions in Fall River, Massachusetts. I’m Carol Vassar. Thanks for joining us.