“A
good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
A good person produces good, but an evil
person produces evil.
Luke
6:39-45
I am very aware that I am bombarded every day with
messages about how I need to live, what I need to buy and what I need to do.
Depending on the source, I try my best not to listen to most of those messages.
So that I can freely and deliberately "take the road less traveled,"
I collect insightful quotations, wise sayings and other tidbits of wisdom and
paste them everywhere in my house to remind myself that I am in charge of my
own thinking, that I need not be a victim of what “everybody else is
doing" or "what everybody else is thinking." I want to
consciously control my own thinking and make my own decisions so that I do not
end up unconsciously being a brainless "copy cat" of what other
people are doing or thinking. I realized a long time ago, that if I am going to
be a priest, I must walk the talk. I realized that I must at least try
to set an example for others. I realized that I have to remove the wooden beam
in my own eye first, if I am going to be able to see clearly to remove the
splinter in my brother's or sister's eye." Otherwise, I will end up being
a blind guide for other blind people!
On one wall of my house, where I can see it often, is
this George Bernard Shaw quote. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is
about creating yourself.” This might not mean much to some of you, but for me
it symbolizes the greatest breakthrough in thinking that I have ever had in my
life. Until I was a junior in college, I used to believe that “life was
something that happens to you and all you can do is make the most of it.” As a
result, I ended up being what the same George Bernard Shaw called, “a selfish,
feverish little clod of grievances and ailment complaining that the world would
not get together to make me happy.” One day, in a flash of grace, it occurred
to me quite clearly that "there was no rescue party out looking for
me!" That day I made a conscious decision to quit whining from the back
seat of my own life and to get behind the wheel! I have told my story hundreds
of times, but I also know that that every time I tell it, it always inspires
someone to make a similar shift in their thinking. I am hoping that it will
help someone here today who needs to make a shift in his or her thinking away
from victimhood toward self-empowerment - to get a grip on themselves and quite
waiting for a rescue party to come and save them!
My fellow Catholics! The readings today are about the
importance of building your life on a solid foundation, but before you can even
consider what foundation you want to build on, you must understand and accept
the fact that you are the builder of your own life! If you build your
life on the rock-solid foundation of sound thinking that leads to good choices,
if you “get it” that life is about creating yourself, you will most
probably thrive! If, however, you build your life on the sand of weak thinking
and lazy choices, you will surely doom yourself to live in a swamp of regrets
and in a world of “might have beens!”
Most of you are familiar with the monk, Thomas Merton.
We have his library at Bellarmine University where I worked as its longest
serving campus minister. People come from far and wide to use that library and absorb
his wisdom. Many of you may not be as familiar with the founder of his
religious community, the Cistercians. He was a Benedictine monk named Bernard
of Clairvaux. St. Bernard was a great reformer in the Church of the 12th
century. He might have died over 860 years ago, but his wisdom lives on and it
is valuable even today – even for those of us in here today! He offers
us four foundation pillars on which to build a good life. “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a
rotten tree bear good fruit." As our first reading put it, "The fruit
of a tree shows the care that its tree was given!" If your life is to
produce good fruit, St. Bernard says you must (a) consider yourself (b)
consider those below you (c) consider those around you and (d) consider Him who is above you.
1. (a) In considering yourself, St Bernard said, “Behold
what you are! It is a monstrous thing to see such dignity trivialized and
squandered!” The first foundation stone on which to build a successful
life is a passionate commitment to your own personal excellence – becoming the
best version of yourself that you can be. I learned a little maxim in Latin
many years ago which I have found to be so true. “Nemo dat quad non
habet” “One cannot give what one does not have.” Jesus said, “A bad tree
cannot bear good fruit.” St. Francis de Sales said, “Be who you are and be that
well!” In practical terms, if you are going to marry, be good at it, be a
fabulous partner or don’t get married! If you are going to have kids, be good
at it, be a tremendous parent or don’t have them! If you are going to go into
public service, be good at it, be transparent, honest and self-giving or don’t
get into it at all! If you are going to a priest, get serious about it or don’t
get ordained! Be who you say you are! Be a person of integrity. Do the right
thing even when no one is looking!
2. (b) In considering those below you, you must never
forget that the gifts you have been given have been given to you, not just for
your own good and personal benefit, but for the good of the community! The
second foundation stone on which to build a successful life is a passionate
commitment to vocational excellence, to be the very best you can be at what you
do! This means a lifelong commitment to honing your skills, to
deepening your respect and reverence for those under your charge and to always
trying to lift the vision of others to higher sights, their performance to a
higher standard and their personalities beyond their normal
limitations. Become an example of who people want to
follow!
3. (c) In considering those around you, take stock of
those with whom you surround yourself! The third foundation stone on which to
build a successful life is to choose your friends and associates wisely. Many
people do not realize the impact the type of people they surround themselves
with has on their well-being. The people you surround yourself with will either
lift you up or bring you down, support you or criticize you, motivate you or
drain you. By developing relationships with those committed to constant
improvement and the pursuit of the best that life has to offer, you will have
plenty of company on your path to the top of whatever mountain you seek to
climb. Remember, people who tell you what you want to hear are not necessarily
your friends, just as those who tell you what you don’t want to hear are not
necessarily your enemies. Surround yourself with people of integrity and
quality. Do not hang out with lazy thinkers and undisciplined people! Instead
of building you up, they will bring you down!
4. (d) Last of all, in considering Him who is above you,
never forget where you came from and where you are going. You have not always
been here and you will not always be here! In the whole scheme of things, your
lifespan is relatively short. The fourth and final foundation stone on which to
build a successful life, therefore, is to develop an interior spiritual life to
match your external material life, so that you can walk on two legs, not one!
Statistically, marriages with God in them, for example, last longer and are
happier. The same can probably be said of other vocations and professions.
Awareness of God reminds us every day that we are part of something bigger than
ourselves, that an amazing amount of invisible support is just a prayer away
and that our lives have a point and a purpose beyond financial success!
Don’t let organized religion’s many failures cause you to miss out on
religion’s many contributions! Stay connected and be serious about that
connection!
My fellow Catholics! These four foundation stones, if
built upon with care, focus and determination, make up the cornerstones of a
good life, in whatever direction you go! Those who came before you have been
given you an excellent foundation on which to build! Now heed the words of
Saint Paul, “Each one of you must be careful how he builds!” Remember the words
of George Bernard Shaw, “Life is about creating yourself!” Regardless of your
age, you have the freedom and tools to make something of yourself! Rise to the
challenge! What you do with the freedom and tools given to you is up to you! I
pray that each of you will develop a passionate commitment both to “being good”
and “being good at what you do!” I pray that you will seek to be good and good at it!
For God's sake, decide today not to be guided by "what everyone else is
doing and what everyone else if thinking!" Be better, reach higher,
control yourself and remember this: “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree
bear good fruit."
