He Proved it!

In April of 1983, near the end of my third year of seminary in Rome, I was ordained as a transitional deacon. That summer 10 of us in my class were able to serve as “chaplain assistants” on several U.S. Army bases in West Germany.  At the base chapel, shared by all denominations, soldiers would stop by for various reasons and sometimes to talk to a chaplain. One day a young lieutenant, who I had met on previous occasions, came in and asked me if I wanted to see what religion he had on his dog tags. In fact, his dog tags actually had “heathen” for his religion. He then said, “If you can prove to me that your religion is the true religion, I will put your religion on my dog tags.”  To this I responded, “I can’t prove it.” Surprised by my response he said, “Aren’t you going to try to prove it?” I simply replied saying “no.” Perplexed by this he then said, “So you’re going to become a priest a year from now and you won’t even try to prove that your religion is the true religion?” In that moment, by divine grace, the Lord gave me an idea. So, I replied, “Well, I see you have a wedding ring, so prove to me that your wife loves you.” Three times he attempted to prove her love for him, each time with examples of her kindness, good deeds and other thoughtful behavior. Each time I replied, “that’s beautiful, but it doesn’t prove anything.” Then I said, “Look, you have good reasons to believe your wife loves you, and so you put faith in her love, and I’m glad you do. You have a certainty that she loves you, but that doesn’t prove anything to me. You have faith in your wife, and you believe her at her word – and you should – and that is proof enough for you. In the same way, I cannot prove the Catholic faith is the true religion in any concrete way, but I am certain of the fact, and I have decided to believe the Church’s teaching, just as you have decided to believe that your wife loves you. Faith is a decision.” I then said, “You may be closer to believing in the Catholic faith than you realize” and I invited him to explore the Catholic faith with an open mind and heart. I was only there at that base for 8 weeks so now, 43 years later, I have no idea what the rest of his story has been.

In the second reading for Mass yesterday, St. Paul tells the Romans, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Romans 5: 8) Having a scholarly knowledge of our Catholic faith has its benefits, but all our wise argumentation for what we believe may not be convincing to some. Rather, the best argument we might give for our faith is simply to hand someone a crucifix and invite them to meditate upon it. In St. John’s gospel, Jesus says, “there is no greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13). When someone makes the ultimate sacrifice for another person, that person is often affected by that unmerited sacrifice forever.

Merciful love is perhaps the most profound love of all, for it is the love of Jesus that we receive in baptism and that is renewed in the sacrament of reconciliation. Merciful love is love that is received when we don’t deserve it. It is a confounding love. It is a gift that frees us from shame, and fear and regret. It is a transforming love, a love that heals, makes new and overwhelms the heart. Mercy is also what proves our love for others. Why? Because when we love others who because of whatever reason feel they don’t deserve our love, we remind them of someone else’s love for them when he died on the cross for them…that is, when he proved it!

If we fail to act in mercy, withholding our love, our forgiveness, our communication and our human contact with others, it should signal to us that we have lost touch with the unconditional love God has for us. Perhaps we should meditate more frequently on the crucifix. Hardness of heart, resentment and pent-up anger is NOT how the Lord wants us to live. If anything, it proves that we have not allowed ourselves to be affected by the love and mercy God has for us when he died on the cross for us. Extending forgiveness and mercy are the gifts that most readily prove our love for others. Withholding forgiveness and mercy speaks volumes about our own troubled hearts.  

Recall that in the Lord’s prayer we ask God to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” When we lose sight of the merciful love of God for us, a love that is proven by Jesus on the cross, our hearts take on the character of the world. We become even more judgmental, harsh, vindictive and lacking in mercy. Instead, we need to prove to the world that there is a better way, a divine way of loving – and that is by means of our sacrifices, forgiveness and mercy. Without experiencing the depths of God’s love for us, we may never know how to love one another as he has loved us.

Another important way of realizing the love God has for us is to receive the sacrament of reconciliation on a regular basis. Confessing our sins in the hope of God’s mercy allows the Lord to prove his love for us over and over again, and we all certainly need a regular reminder of that. The act of going to confession is like saying to Jesus, please prove to me again of how much you love me. Even if it means confessing some of the same things once again, the words of absolution (forgiveness) by the priest proves God’s love for us.

Then, freed from our sins, we are able to more fully live the Christian life. This, too, can become a proof of God’s love for us to others, if we allow the fact that Christ died for us to transform us into being authentic disciples of Jesus. But it all hinges on our awareness of the unconditional love of God for us, even when we don’t deserve it.  This awareness of God’s unconditional love, frequently received in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, can unleash a power in this world to build bridges, to heal family wounds, to touch hardened hearts, to unite bitter enemies, to end wars and honor the King of heaven and earth.

But it starts with each of us – by allowing the proof of God’s love for us to transform us. So, take a crucifix in your hand, or stop by your parish Church to gaze upon the crucifix, and consider the depths of Christ’s love for you, especially in the places in your life where and when you know you don’t deserve it. Allow yourself to be convinced of God’s love for you and let your response to such great love be that of a faithful disciple – one who wants others to know what it’s like to be loved like that!

Let me leave you with this ...

As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.

If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,

just as I have kept my Father’s commandments

and remain in his love.

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you

and your joy may be complete.

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

No one has greater love than this,

to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

You are my friends if you do what I command you.

I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you

and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain,

so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.

This I command you: love one another.

John 15: 9-17