I feel blessed to be able to worship with you this morning. As Father
mentioned, my name is Father Rusty Shaughnessy. The reason for the
brown robe, I am a Franciscan, next door at Danville, San Damiano
Retreat Center, beautiful place. Yes, my name has three initials,
O.F.M., and people often ask me, “What do they stand for?” I say, if
I have a chance, “What do you think?” “O.F.M.... I know. The Order
of Fine Men!” Not always. “The Order of Fat Monks!” .... Not yet. I
get this guess a lot from Catholics, “I know, Father, Out For
Money.” .... Not even that!

When St. Francis lived in the Middle Ages, there was no Middle Class,
only two classes of people, Upper Class, called the “Majores” and
the Lower Class, called the “Minores.” Perhaps because the Church in
the Middle Ages had most of the power, the prestige, and the
property, it got a little top-heavy. God asked Francis to renew his
Church by the simplicity of his life style. So he said to his
followers, “Don’t call yourselves ‘Friars Majors.’ Call yourselves
‘Friars Minor.’” O.F.M. means the Order of Friars Minor, lesser
brothers.

I also get a question, though, often times, “What’s the difference
between a Franciscan and a Jesuit?” (Lots of laughter here!) .... We
could be here for days! OK! One anecdote which kind of reveals partly
the difference: A Jesuit parish, St. Ignatius, was having a Fall
Festival to make money, as Jesuits make money really well. They are
great at fund-raising. We aren’t, but they are. And so, they were
raffling off a car, a Lexus, and this one couple said, “Our dream
car.... Let’s buy all these chances.” And they did. But to hedge
their bets they thought, “Let’s go down to the Franciscans, to pray a
novena, so we can win our Lexus.” He said, “I would be glad to pray a
novena, but what’s a Lexus?” So, they tell the poor Friar what a
Lexus is. To hedge their bets one more time, they thought, “Let’s go
across the Bay to St. Dominic’s and ask the Dominican Friars to pray
a novena so we win our Lexus.” So they said, “Please, please, we have
to have this dream car called a Lexus. Could you pray a novena?” He
said, “ I know what a novena is but what’s a Lexus?” So they told the
Dominican Friar. Well, to hedge their bets one more time, they asked
their pastor, the Jesuit, “Please, Father, thank you for this raffle,
especially since it’s a Lexus. Would you please pray a novena so we
can win our dream car?” He said, “I know what a Lexus is. What’s a
novena?”

I think religion at its best is not just about attendance,
performance, obedience. There is something that is much more mystical
than physical. It’s about transformation. It’s about asking God to
give us a new consciousness, a new awareness, new ears and eyes and
hearts. And my experience of God inviting me into this journey of
transformation and of conversion, it’s really happened in moments
when it wasn’t working. My mind, my body, my circumstances... I think
circumstances invite us into this journey of faith more than our
choices. In fact, as I say, faith is not just a noun, knowing about
God. It’s a verb, trusting God with this situation, letting go, and
letting God. When I started out in my vocation as a priest, I really
was committed. I was determined. I was focused. I was energized. And
the way I would put it now was “Ninety percent of me was doing it.
And once in awhile I would call on God, maybe ten percent of the time
to help me.” And now it’s different, having lived this vocation. And
some of you, I think have experienced this kind of moment. Now I
really think that being faithful to my vocation is ninety percent God
and ten percent me. It’s like, before I used to be nervous about
preaching, critiquing how I did it. I could have done it better. Or
counseling or confession, I was a bit nervous. I didn’t have a lot of
peace. But slowly, because of my circumstances, I learned how to give
it over to God, let go. And this peace comes, this peace that he
promises to give to us. It’s been a great surprising gift, a gift of
the Spirit. So I am continuing to learn how to pray because of my
circumstances.

And the reason they speak about faith as trusting God. It’s an act
more of the heart than the head. And I think of our circumstances, in
this moment, in the day of Jesus. He’s preaching. Crowds are growing,
actually believing that he is the long-awaited Messiah. He’s healing
people. Crowds are growing much more major. It’s a long hot day and
Peter sees that Jesus is very tired and drained. He says, “Jesus,
let’s get something cold to drink.” “Good idea, Peter.” So after a
couple of cold ones, Peter pounds on the table. He says, “Lord, we
are sure doing a good job.” And Jesus says to Peter, “We?” Well,
Peter, as usual, has to re-think these things. He says, “Jesus, you
are sure doing a good job.” And to Peter’s surprise again, Jesus
says, “Me?” Peter tries to rebound again. He says, “Jesus, your
Father is sure doing a good job.” That’s when Jesus pounds on the
table, with great delight and glee, “You’re finally getting my
message.” Peter is embarrassed.

He is a bit of a slow learner, but he tries to rebound again. He
says, “I’m the best fisherman in all of Galilee.” “I’ve heard you’re
pretty good, Peter.” ...”Hey, you want to go fishing tomorrow?” Jesus
liked new adventures. So he said, “OK what should I do?” .... “Just
meet me at my boat at dawn.” “I’ll be there, Peter.” Peter was there
early, fixing his nets. He hadn’t been there in awhile because he was
following Jesus. The other fishermen said, “Are you going back out
fishing?” “.... Yeah.” “Can we go with you because you knew where
the best fish were?” “No problem.”

So, it’s time now. Jesus comes, gets in his boat and he says, “Hey,
guys. They’re over there today. Let’s go over there.” So, they knew
the ritual. They lowered their nets. They got their muscles ready to
pull them, with fish, to the surface, but there was no pull. There
was no need for muscles. There were no fish. He was surprised, trying
to impress everybody, especially Jesus. He said, “I think they’re
over there, that part of the lake.” So, they rowed over there. They
knew the ritual. They lowered their nets, got their muscles ready
again, but again, no need for muscles. No fish. By now, it was noon.
The sun was searing and scorching on their bodies.... hot day! The
other fishermen said to Peter, “Hey, Peter. Stick with Jesus. You’ve
lost your touch.” And he said, “Lord, can we keep trying?” ....”No
problem, Peter.” I love this part of the story. It reminds me how
patient is Jesus with, not just Peter, but all of us. They keep on
trying all afternoon. They caught nothing. He was embarrassed. He
was exasperated. He was frustrated. He says, “I give up.” So,
symbolically, he put the sail up and the wind that was blowing caught
the sail and brought the boat and both of them slowly back to the
shore. But a rather strange phenomena happened. These fish that were
like hiding on a depth of the sea began to surface. They began to
almost like dance in front of this boat, escorting it back to the
shore. People on the shore couldn’t believe what they were watching.
Crowds grew again. For some reason, the fish decided, before the boat
gets to the land, they were all going to jump into it. It almost
sank. It was filled with fish. But, it gets to the land. People were
saying, “Peter, you old rascal, you are the best fisherman. Look at
these fish! They’re big. They’re beautiful. You are going to make
lots of money today when you sell them.” And, for once, Peter was
uncharacteristically silent. Didn’t know what to say. All that came
out of his mouth was, “We can’t sell these fish.” ... “Peter, you can
make lots of money.” ...”No. We have to give them away to people who
are hungry in our village this day.” When they heard that from his
lips, they thought indeed, Peter had gone off the deep end. And they
left him again alone, now with Jesus on the beach. He didn’t know
what to say to Jesus. What did Jesus do? He walked up to Peter, gave
him a big, warm embrace, and he said, “Pete?” “Yes, Lord.” “You’re
finally getting my message of how to let go and how to let God.”

Little story, but important message that I need to hear almost every
day. I think almost every day also of another quote from Einstein, of
all people. He said, “No problem is solved by the same consciousness
that caused it.” But, how do you get another perspective, another
consciousness? I think our circumstances are inviting us to ask God
to give us new eyes and ears and hearts to understand this moment,
this chapter of our life, of our world, of our church, of our
community. In the story, Peter thought he had all the answers, you
know? Like I thought when I started my priesthood thing. But, slowly
with Peter and with me, I realized I don’t have all the answers. I
have maybe more questions. And so, in the story, it wasn’t working.
He put the sail up to symbolize, “I give up.” In Hebrew, the word for
“wind” that caught the sail, and that’s when the miracle of the
fishes happened, is called “ruah” which means “spirit.” Remember the
First Pentecost? These folks, who are really shut down, fearful, they
prayed, and the roar of the winds that first Pentecost. Same idea.
Peter wisely realized these fish weren’t there because of his skill.
It was all gift and all grace. He even more wisely recognized what he
so freely received, he was invited to so freely share. And that’s
what I see in the life of Jesus. What he got from God, his father,
and the Spirit, like at his baptism, he gave back. Out of his
fullness, we have all received. Out of a grateful heart, he became so
generous. I’m trying to enter into that same spirit. I’ve let God
bless me so I could somehow be a blessing or bless others. It’s that
dance between the inner and the outer, the Church and the World, my
soul and my life. And, I love that story because it reminds me that
everything is gift and everything is grace. So now, my main prayer
every day is “Spirit, my Spirit...” It’s my little prayer where I
symbolically put the sail up because I need some help in this moment.
I’m stuck. I’m overwhelmed. I have no wisdom. I have no answers.
There are a lot of ways of putting our sails up. There are a lot of
ways of praying. There are a lot of ways of letting God in. One
suggestion, if at all possible, before you leave Church this morning,
make a choice for yourself or for God, for transformation and
conversion and surprises. In the bulletin, as it has been, I guess,
for the last few weeks, is my picture and a little blurb about a
parish mission that is happening. It begins with this Mass. It goes
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. The book is a wonderful prayer, the
Serenity Prayer. Many of you know it.

Oh God, grant me the serenity, the grace
To accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can
And wisdom to know the difference.

So tomorrow night is accepting acceptance. Accepting the fact, number
one, that God loves you the way you are. You don’t have to change for
God to love you. But if you let God love you, you will be empowered
to change. We can’t give what we don’t have. So we all struggle with
self-affirmation, self-esteem, self-acceptance. But I think,
hopefully, in a deeper way tomorrow night, you will know who you are
through God’s eyes. And you can take it in, which is grace, and you
have more to give others who somehow need to find God’s love in you
and through you. Tomorrow night, 7:30. Get you home, leave here about
8:30. Not too long.

Tuesday night, de coeur. It’s a great word, from Latin, cor agere,
act from the heart. That word, “heart,” is in the Bible one thousand
one hundred forty-three times. It’s the deepest part of us. It’s the
soul part of us. It’s the guts. It’s where the spirit lives. Somehow,
with that Spirit’s help, we can begin to bring hope to the world, let
others know who they are, through our efforts. We can’t do everything
to make the world wonderful. We can do our part. What’s your part?
What is the courage God is wanting to give to you to be faithful to
the journey? to change what you can? The world needs so much help,
through you and me.

Wednesday night, a Mass. Wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit. We are
asked, as they did in the Upper Room, that first Pentecost, as you
cry and sigh and pray for some help because of our circumstances. We
put our sails up so we can be baptized in the Holy Spirit, so right
now the Spirit can give us what gifts we need for this chapter of our
life so we can live out there what we profess in here. Faith is not
so much taught. It’s caught. So we need a faith community. We need
people who support us, who walk with us, who pray with us. So, the
next three nights are important for our journey of fidelity.

I’ll close with a little blessing with this cross which I was given
when I was kind of fearful of being called to being a Franciscan,
because I wanted to be faithful but I’m pretty human. Right before my
solemn vows, these three knots here, they represent my vows. I was a
high school chaplain at Moreau in Hayward for awhile and the kids
used to ask me, “What are these knots for?” I said, “What do you
think?” ....”Faith, Hope and Charity.” Nope. ... “Father, Son and
Holy Spirit.” Nope. The vows you take. I take three vows. “You take
three vows? What are they?” I get a vow of obedience, to do God’s
will, a vow of poverty. I get a hundred dollars a month. (Whoa,
Baby!) Creative financing. And what’s this one. I always forget this
one. Oh, chastity. Oh-h. (I shouldn’t laugh about it these days,
but...) They’re serious steps, you know. I said, “God, I need a sign,
that you’re with me to help me.” So... I never said this before. I
really think it was an angel who gave me this cross for all kinds of
reasons. Here I am asking for a sign if I should be a Franciscan, and
inside I have three relics, robes of St. Francis of Assisi who began
the order eight hundred years ago, St. Clare, his girlfriend (my
version) and St. Anthony of Padua, probably the most famous
Franciscans who really made a difference in the world. And here I am,
holding their relics. So, every time I get weak on this vocation
thing, I go back to them and say, “Bless me. Bless me. Intercede for
me, help me to be faithful, to my vocation.”

So, I want to bless you now that the Lord will help you to be
faithful in your vocation, knowing that you are not alone. Be not
afraid. I’m with you. And I ask for Francis, Clare and Anthony’s
intercession for us these next three nights in a very special way.
May they bless us and help us to be faithful and may they inspire us
on our journey as we struggle to inspire each other. In the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Now aren’t
you glad you came to Church? ....Amen!