What if all the students at Bellarmine
University, Spalding University, Jefferson Community College and the
University of Louisville decided to major in nursing? Not only would it be hard
for all those nurses to find a job, there would be no one to teach your
children? What if all the students in those Universities decided to major in
accounting? Not only would it be hard for all those accountants to find a
job, who would be around to provide us with music, health care, social service, legal service and art?
What if the only restaurants in Louisville
were McDonald’s? What if the only radio station we could get was WAMZ? What if
the only cars available were Fords? What if all the clothing stores only sold
green clothes? What if pregnant women only delivered male children? What if the
only sport was volleyball? It is good that we do not all have the same
interests and talents, a good thing that we are not all alike, a good thing
that there is variety and difference in life. We need the gifts and talents of
everybody, in all their marvelous variety, to make the world work and be
interesting.
God gave each of us unique gifts: gifts
for the good of all, gifts that fit who we are and gifts we can share with the
world.. As Pablo Casals said, “You are a marvel. You are unique. In
all the world there is no other (child) exactly like you. In the millions of
years that have passed there has never been another (child) like you. You may
become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for
anything.”
God wants each of us to recognize and
develop our unique talents. We need not compare our talents with others. We
simply need to recognize, own and develop the talents given to us and to us
alone. As Marrianne Williamson said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are
inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our
light, not our darkness that most frightens us.”
God tells us to use our gifts for the good
of the community. They were not given to be hoarded. Each one of us owns a
piece of the puzzle. It is when we put our piece with those of others that our
life can become rich and full. What we have been given, we were given to share.
We are neither independent nor dependent, but interdependent. We need each
other and we are our brothers’ and sisters’
keepers. The famous Albert Schweitzer said it this way, “I don’t
know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among
you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”
God wants us to go out and take some
calculated risks, not careless and reckless risks, but calculated risks. We are
called to invest and grow the talents that we have been given. Theodore
Roosevelt said this. “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious
triumphs, even though checkered by failure…than to rank with those poor spirits
who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight
that knows not victory nor defeat.”
We are “temples of the Holy Spirit.”
We are walking "tabernacles" of God's presence. The Holy Spirit lives
within us! We really should be genuflecting in front of each other!
God wants us to know that we operate with that power of God, and therefore
anything is possible for us, yes us! Never give up! Don’t get discouraged. It
is often the last key on the ring that opens the lock. As someone else said,
“With enough thrust, even pigs can fly.” Greg Anderson said this, “Think
“impossible” and dreams get discarded, projects get abandoned, and hope for
wellness gets torpedoed. But let someone yell the words “It’s possible!” and
resources we hadn’t been aware of come rushing in to assist us in our
quest.” Philo T. Farnsworth, inventor of television once said, “Impossible
things just take a little longer!” Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given to
you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened for you.”
Friends! We are not here on this earth by
accident. We each have been created for a purpose. God has entrusted each of us
with some specific gifts. The world needs the gifts that we have been given. We
have a mission and purpose. We are powerful beyond measure because we are that
“temple of the Holy Spirit.” We may have never known that. We may have never
intentionally tapped into that power, but God lives in us and that makes us
powerful. Therefore, do not be afraid, work together, let your light shine,
invest your talents and make you contribution to a better world. That’s why we
are here!
Pope Francis, in his new Apostolic Exhortation on holiness, has this to say
about our personal holiness and how each in his own way has a path to holiness.
He said that "we should not be discouraged before examples of holiness
that appear unattainable. There are some testimonies that may prove helpful and
inspiring, but they are not meant to copy, for that could even lead us astray
from the one specific path that the Lord has in mind for us. The important
thing is that each believer discern his or her own path, that they bring out
the very best of themselves, the most personal gifts that God has placed in
their hearts, rather than hopelessly trying to imitate something not meant for
them."
Lastly, we are not here today to persuade
God to send his Holy Spirit upon us! The Holy Spirit already lives within us!
We are here to wake up to the fact that the Holy Spirit is at hand, right under
our noses, and is already at work in us. We were given the Holy Spirit at
our baptisms and strengthened at our Confirmations! The problem is
that so many of us either don’t know it or have forgotten it!
Friends, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit lives in us! The
Holy Spirit is powerful! We need to wake up to that presence, plug
into that power and see where God can take us!
