Do you know that we are at war? I’m not talking about the war of Ukraine and Russia, or Israel
and Palestine. But we, each and every one of us and as a church, we are at war.
Satan is waging war against us. I think especially for the young people, he wants nothing more
than to take them out. That’s why it’s so important for you as parents and grandparents to do
everything that you can for your children, to raise them and to hold them in the faith.
These Gospel readings today are difficult, challenging readings. From the Gospel of Luke, we
hear this passage: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and
children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” That is a pretty
strong statement coming from Jesus and that could cause a lot of confusion. What does he
mean by that?
It’s interesting because I’ve learned that for kids and parents, it’s a good thing in this age, hate
has become a four-letter word, so I’m sorry that I’m even saying it but I’m just preaching the
Gospel right now. Jesus is making it so abundantly clear that in our lives we must prioritize him
above everything else and above everyone else. And if anyone takes us away from him or
anything takes us away from him, it is that taking away that we should hate.
We hear in the first reading how we discern between what Jesus is calling us to and what Satan
may be calling us away from. In the first reading from Wisdom, we hear this passage: Who ever
knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? And
thus were the paths of those on earth made straight. So, God does want to make our paths
straight, even if we have gone off course as family, he wants to make our paths straight and he
does so by the gift of wisdom and counsel. Counsel is really coming to understand the counsel
that God wants to give to us, the guidance that God wants to give to us, the direction that God
wants to give to us. And that he does actually give it to us. He does actually speak to us and we
can hear his voice.
To illustrate this homily, I want to use a pretty amazing saint, and her name was Joan of Arc.
She only lived to the age of 19, and Saint Joan of Arc became one of our most amazing Saints.
At age 13, she began hearing voices attributed to three Saints. Thirteen years old. Are there any
kids here 13 years old? Twelve? Eleven? How old are you? Twelve. Stand up really quick. You
could be a Saint right now at your age!
Carlo Acutis is another one, he’s an Italian Saint that will be made a Saint this weekend. He was
15 years old when he died. Any fifteen-year-olds here? Stand up really quick. You are looking at
a 15-year-old potential Saint right there! You are never too young to become Saints.
How did this happen for Joan of Arc? What made this 13-year-old girl into a Saint? It’s
interesting because she was born in the year 1412, and it was during that time there was a war
going on that was called the 100 Year War. Is anyone familiar with that? It was a 100 Year War
that had been going on for half-a-century when Joan was born and would continue to go on but
she would be so influential in overcoming this war. She was born in a small French town, and in
that age, in the midst of this 100 Year War, the French were being obliterated by the English.
They were destroying their towns, destroying their villages, destroying their families. At 13
years old she began hearing a voice and as she began to discern where this voice was coming
from, she realized that it was actually three different voices. It turned out it was three Saints
that were speaking to her. One was Saint Michael, the Archangel, he was speaking to her and
giving her messages; the other was Saint Catherine and the other was Saint Margaret. These
voices were telling her that she would be the one to save France. This 13-year-old girl.
During that time, France was being nearly defeated, the City of Orleans was sieged, The Crown
Prince Charles was discouraged and uncertain and it was into this hopelessness that Joan came.
By this time, she had grown a few years in maturity, she was now 17 years old, and she came
claiming that God was sending her to help win this war. I don’t know if you can think about the
times back then, but if a 17-year-old girl were to come forward and say I’m going to be the one
to win the war, I think it would be pretty hard for people to believe.
But within two years the entire war had changed and unfortunately, she would be captured,
and she would be put in chains, much like Saint Paul today. Saint Paul was writing from prison.
Joan of Arc was actually being brought on trial during her prison years. What’s interesting is
that you can go and actually read the trial correspondence of Joan of Arc and the questions that
they asked her and the answers that she had to give.
She deals with some of the difficult readings that we have today. The gospel says, “Unless
somebody hates father or mother, brother or sister, they cannot be my disciple.” Joan is asked,
“Do you think that you have done well to leave without the permission of your father and your
mother?” They are trying to trap her in failing to honor her father or mother, and she says, “I
did so at the command of God and therefore it was right to do so. And afterwards I wrote my
parents and they forgave me.” The next question was, “When you left your father and your
mother, did you think that you were committing a sin?” Joan said, “Since God commanded it, it
had to be. Since God commanded it, had I had a hundred fathers and a hundred mothers, had I
been a King’s daughter, I still would have had to depart.”
She shows us what it means to put God even above family. I can only imagine the anguish that
must have gone through this mother and father of her, as the daughter went away to fight a
war. How did she know that this was what God was calling her to do? I’d like to circle back to
the first reading about wisdom and counsel. At her trial, they asked her, “How did you know to
do this, and how did you know that these voices weren’t from the enemy?” She said, “All I have
done is by the Lord’s command. If I had done anything of my own head, I should not have
succeeded. It was necessary to do all by the counsel of God. Without the grace of God, I should
not know how to do anything.”
Then she was asked a trick question, “Do you know if you are really in God’s grace?” She gave
the answer that only a saint could give, “If I am not, God put me there. And if I am, may God
keep me so. I should be a sad creature in the world if I knew I were not in his Grace.”
That is a Psalm 90 that is lived out today. “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may
gain wisdom of heart. And fill us at daybreak with your kindness.”
As I mentioned before, we are at war. And Joan of Arc, this young girl, at the age of 13, began
to hear voices of how this war would be overcome. Jesus is telling us today in the Gospel that
we are at war. He gives two examples: he says first, what King when he is going in to battle
would not first sit down and consider how many troops he has and how many troops the
enemy has and should he go into battle or should he surrender?
Well, for Joan, she literally heard the voice of God say, “Go into France. Raise the siege before
the city of Orleans,” and she said, “I’m just a poor girl who does not know how to ride or fight.”
And the voice said, “It is God who commands it and he will prepare the way.” So, she obeyed.
She carried two things into battle with her. She carried a sword and she carried a banner, a
banner of God. And the interesting thing is she never once had to use her sword. The banner is
what protected her. The banner is what led all the troops to follow her.
What does this mean for our own lives, in the reality, that we are in a battle? The Catechism
says that, “The whole of man’s history has been a story of dour combat with the powers of evil
stretching throughout human history, a battle that is joined from the very origins of the world
and will continue until the last day.” So, our entire lives are going to be a battle. Joan’s story is
not just history, Joan gives us a way to live in the midst of this battle that we are all facing.
But like Joan and like Jesus in the Gospel today, we have to count the cost. We have to really
think, do we have enough firm foundation to build the tower, do we have enough troops to go
into battle and fight the enemy? The cost, Jesus is trying to help us see is everything. At the end
of the Gospel, that’s what he says, unless you have given up everything and followed me, you
will not have eternal life. That is the cost that we have to give to him, our entire lives,
everything that we have to fight this war.
How do we know when we are hearing the voice of God? How did this 13-year-old know she
was hearing the voice of the Angels and Saints? I know from experience that when you hear the
voice of God, you know you are hearing the voice of God! It’s so evident to you that it could be
no other voice. It’s so strong and profound that it just transforms you. The second thing is, how
do we count the cost? It’s important to look at our lives and see, is there anything in my life, or
any way of my life that is taking me away from Christ, that is weakening me as a disciple, and to
be willing to let those things go so that we can focus our entire lives on discipleship. When we
know what it is going to cost to win the war, and the cost, by the way, is everything, are we
willing to give it up? Are we willing to give up everything to be Saints in our days, and by being
Saints in our days, to protect our families, to protect our Church, and to protect the entire world that we may overcome the enemy?
