Do As He Tells You

The wine ran out at this wedding. As we continue meditating on that scene, as we continue exploring what Mary is pointing out to us in that scene, then we get to the point where she turns to the servants after she has brought that problem to Jesus and after it has seemed like there's no solution insight that a human being can provide. She then turns to those servants and says, "Do whatever he tells you." Which, as you can see, is one of the main things that we're trying to listen to today and throughout this weekend, which is also kind of the basis of the spirituality of this convention, the basis of what we want to walk away with. a commitment to doing whatever he tells us. A lot of people say that I don't smile. A lot of people say that I'm nonchalant. I don't even know what that means to be honest with you. A lot of people say I don't look happy. A lot of people say I'm serious, but I prefer um what Father Peter's niece said to me during lunch. She said, "No, you're like a compliment to be honest." And even though people might say that, that I kind of have more of a serious Oh, there she is. I kind of have like a more serious disposition. I don't laugh as much. Uh, which is all incorrect by the way. Thanks, David. Looking at this room and being with you guys throughout this weekend has made me smile constantly because when I look at you guys, I see a lot. I see a lot of different, beautiful, meaningful things. When I think about the clergy that are here, I think about all the beautiful times that I've had with them growing up, being in seminary together, studying together, surviving a lot together, serving our community together. And then I also think about the things we've discussed among ourselves, things that no one really understands except us, things that can only be understood between us, among us. And that provides me with a sense of peace, a sense of happiness. When I look at both Nicholas Yousef's that are here, one from San Jose, one from San Diego, I think about how meaningful they are to our communities, how beloved they both are. And that also brings me a sense of peace, sense of happiness. I love that part of my life. When I look at the monks, I also get a sense of peace and happiness. I think about the times that we've all had together also being and so formation classes together. The times that we spend just kind of hanging out and that also is a good part of my life. When I look at the different groups of youth that are here, there's distinguished memories that I have, distinct memories from each of these groups. When I look at those of you that are here from Phoenix and Scottdale, I remember the first time that Father Peter did a retreat when he was sent over to serve you guys. And he invited me to come on that retreat and I was only with you guys for two days. But it felt like this was a new family that I was very thankful to have, very thankful to participate in. And I felt that sense of family very strongly. When I look at the youth that are here from LA, Orange County, Riverside, I think of how big of a blessing it has been for me to be attending your parishes, uh, visiting you guys over the last several months about once a month to celebrate mass and to also do youth gatherings. So, that has been beautiful. We've definitely built a relationship through that and it's been one of those parts of my life that has given me a sense of peace, a sense of happiness. When I look at those of you that are here from San Diego, I look and I see where I come from. I look and I see where I grew up. I look and I see the people that have that I was born among, that I was raised among, that I grew up with, and that I learned with, and that I now get to serve. When I look at out in this crowd of youth, I also see some of you that are shamash some of you that have decided to devote some of your time to serving the altar of Christ. And that is a very beautiful thing because I like to do that too. So I like that part of my life. I like that part of my life where I see some of you guys valuing the my our faith the same way that I do. When I look at you guys, I also see some of you that like to devote your time to serving in the choir, serving the liturgy, delivering the liturgy to the faithful that attend mass. That is also a big deal. And that's also another one of those cases where I look and I see people valuing their faith the same way that I do. And that's a great part of my life. When I look at you guys, I also see people that have devoted their time to leading the youth. Whether it's the monks, whether it's Sister Margaret, whether it's the clergy that are here, whether it's those of you that are regular youth group leaders, that's a big deal because not everybody does that. And being here together means we're not doing it alone. That's also a peaceful and happy part of my life. All of that makes me smile. And even if my smile doesn't look that big or doesn't look as big as your smile or whatever, even if I don't look that happy, I don't want to be anywhere else right now. This is very beautiful for us to be gathered here. Why am I saying all this? Because one act of obedience, one act of obedience can lead to a lifetime of greatness. Father Fatti just finished speaking to us about greatness, about how you're made for it. And he suggested to you to not be afraid of it because of the one who made you for that greatness. It's embedded within you. You're made in his image. Of course, you're supposed to be great. Of course, you're supposed to want to be great. That's natural. So, he's right. Don't be afraid of that. But how do you become great? How can you become great? Jesus performed this miracle. Jesus changed water into into wine at this wedding, as we all know. But the servants put the jars in front of them. Yes, they didn't directly cause it, but they contributed. They had a role. Jesus performed the miracle, but the servants placed the jars there. The servants committed to an act of obedience. The servants said yes. And because of that, the result was what? Super abundant wine being provided throughout the course of the wedding. to the point where no one knows whose wedding this is. No one knows because it doesn't matter because it's about Jesus at the end of the day. It's about Jesus and what we can receive from him. It's about Jesus and how he he can make us great. But we have a say in that greatness. And that say is our yes. That say is our act of obedience. For me, when I was very young, around the age of 12, I knew how to speak sur. I wasn't going to mass every Sunday. But then my mom, because of a tragedy that my family had where my dad passed away, forced me to go to mass. But even before that, forced me to go and take class with Father Michael Bazi to learn how to read and write Sudath. And because I learned how to read and write it relatively quickly, she then forced me to go serve the altar as a shamasha, you know, a small one. That's where I met Father Danny. That's where I started like kind of my journey in serving the church, living in the life of the church in a very active way. I didn't want to do that to be honest. And it's for reasons that are probably familiar to you guys. I didn't want to have people that were in school with me, in class with me, kind of seeing me doing something a little bit strange, something that they're not used to, and then make a remark about it or something like that. So, I was doing it reluctantly. I kind of knew it was the right thing to do, but I was doing it reluctantly. I did not want to go and be a Shamasha. It was not my choice. It was something my mom made me go do. But I listened and I said, "Yes, I'll do it." Because somewhere deep down and that thing we call our conscience, I knew it was the right thing to do. So what happened because of that? Well, nothing right away. I started going to every Sunday mass, every Sunday morning prayer, and it got to the point where I kind of didn't need the anymore. the book uh that we use for the prayers of the lurggical cycles for morning and evening and other things. I didn't really need it anymore. I kind of memorized morning prayer and I started to like the prayers. I started to enjoy the fact that we are praying things that have been passed down to us from such a long time ago. Passed down and preserved in such a beautiful faithful way. I started to love the fact that I was learning all these melodies that have also been present in the history of our tradition and our church. And so it became more and more something that I wanted to go do, not just something that my mom made me do because I was an impress impressionable kid that needed direction or something like that. It became something I actually looked forward to, something that had a lot of meaning for me, something I enjoyed. And then over a course of years, naturally, I'm getting the fact in my mind that these guys that are priests now that are old are one day going to die. And there's the question of who's going to do this after them? Who's going to serve after them? Who's going to do math like this the way I'm seeing it after them? And so there's a natural thought that starts occurring in my mind at that point. Maybe me, maybe I can do it because I like doing this stuff. It has a lot of meaning for me and I'm used to it now. I'm getting better and better at it. But it was just a thought. Nothing too crazy. I got older. I went to school. I had a path in mind of a career that I wanted, a life that I wanted to live. And still that thought was there somewhere swimming around in the back of my mind of maybe becoming a priest. And so I didn't take it even seriously at that time. I still went to college. I still got a degree. I still was aiming towards you know something in the medical field. But because that thought was still there all these years later I said I need to take this seriously. So I read the catechism of the Catholic Church. I sat down with priests that I trust and I asked them all the questions that I had so that my thoughts could become as clear as possible and I could make an informed decision. And so I then got to the point in my thought process where I said knowing myself, what I'm good at, what I'm not good at, what brings me peace, what brings me happiness, how I can accept the bad with the good, I think the best way for me to be used by God for service of others is to become a priest. And so I went and told Father Simon one day, I'm ready to go into the seminary. And then things continued from there. Things continued from there. Step by step seminary life was beautiful and that involved to the life of the priesthood that I now get to live. And let me tell you, it's a great life. Priesthood is greatness for several reasons. I already said some of those. I already said it's because of you. It's because of the youth. It's because of the communities that you're a part of. It's because of the gifts that you have. It's because of the kind of presence that you have. It's because of the kinds of conversions I've seen. It's because of the kinds of retreats that I've been honored to participate in. It's because of the brothers that I have that are part of the clergy of this dasis. That's a lot of why priesthood is a life of greatness. But it's also because of how small you become. Of how small you become through obedience. For me, starting from that one act of obedience to my mom, all of the things that I just said were the result. Starting from the act of obedience from those servants at that wedding, that wedding was able to continue. A wedding that in those days would have lasted for days starting from her act of obedience from the act of obedience that we see from the handmade of the Lord, the blessed virgin Mary. Think about what happened to the history of the world. Think about what happened to reality. It got shattered. It got shocked beyond belief. Nature was disrupted with the most beautiful act ever, the most radical act of love ever as God broke into history to take on flesh and live among us. But it's through this woman's act of saying yes, I will become small while God becomes great. Yes, we will go and take jars and fill them up with water all remaining unnamed so that this wedding could continue. Yes, I will go and be a shamasha even though I don't want to be. Even though it's kind of weird compared to what my friends think, but then I became a priest and I got to know you and I got to serve you and I got to touch bread and wine as it becomes the body and blood of Jesus. So you want greatness, good. You're made for greatness, good. What does it take? How do you become great? You become great because God is great. You become great because of what you receive from him as father Fadi was telling us. But it's not just an idea. It's not just a thought and it's not even just an intellectual decision that I make. Those servants had to go grab jars and fill them up. Like I told you, Jesus performed the miracle, but they put the jars in front of him. Did Jesus need that? No. Does God need you to be defined himself as a great God? No. But how loving of him and how truly great of him to allow us to go grab jars and to fill them up with water, to humbly put them in front of him and say, "Here you go. Now do your part." But there's a small detail that speaks to us, that teaches us, that calls us out. Actually, a small detail. Fill them up. How? Fill them up to the brim. fill them up to the point where there's no room to fill them up anymore. What do you think about that? What does that mean to you? Fill them up to the brim. That means all their chips are pushed into the middle when it comes to Jesus. when it comes to doing whatever he tells us, their participation in doing whatever he tells them is wholehearted. They're not leaving anything out. Their attention isn't being directed elsewhere. They're filling up the jars to the brim. How many times in your life or in the lives of others that you see around you do we give a partial attempt, a shallow attempt, a weak attempt into doing whatever he tells us. Think about that. Think about it when it comes to your spiritual life. Think about it when it comes to your relationships. Think about it when it comes to your community. How much do you give a partial attempt to doing whatever he tells you? Imagine Jesus telling these servants to go fill up these jars and they bring them back to him filled halfway. What kind of story would that be? That detail would be really awkward. That detail would cause tension after they've received such clear instructions from him. after they've seen him being willing to help them and then they only fill the jars halfway. That would be weird. The story wouldn't be the same and the result wouldn't be the same. Not because Jesus can't change water to wine if only the jars are half full, but because you and I aren't robots. We're made again in whose image? The image of our God. So when our God looks at us, he wants to see himself. When our God looks at us, he gives us the honor, the honor of participating with him, the honor of filling those jars. That's a family. That's a relationship. And it's sad. It's sad if we're okay with only living that relationship halfway. Is it a mystery on how to fill those jars? Does Christ leave us to figure out Christianity blind? Does he leave us unguided? Does he leave us wandering around in mystery trying to look for a light in a dark room? I don't think so. I think it's not a mystery at all, to be honest with you, of how those jars are meant to be filled up. The harder part comes later. But the practical part, how am I going to know about God? How am I going to absorb any information about God? How am I going to allow God to reveal himself to me? Again, the answer to this question is not a mystery. Scripture is there for me. God's living word is there for me. Not just to read it, but to be transformed by it. To have my jar filled by it. To see what God has done with the history of mankind. To see how God has worked always and tirelessly and lovingly and fully with mankind so that man has all that he needs to know what the truth is and to live by it. how God worked from the very beginning. From the first man and woman that had a rational soul. From the first man and woman that had a chance to say yes to him, that had a chance to become small so that he could become big. How that story ended up in failure and how there were cycles of failure throughout the Old Testament. But in the midst of that failure, there were still righteous kings, righteous patriarchs, righteous prophets to live faithfully according to God's will. I have scripture. I have what scripture reveals to me in the New Testament. what's born in the New Testament, which is the church, and how that church received her savior, received her bridegroom, and has passed him and his graces along faithfully for more than 2,000 years. I have that to fill up my jar. I have those who work in the church. I have those who have devoted their time, their effort, their service to the church. I have their wisdom, their guidance to help fill up my jar. I have my family, whether it's a good one or a bad one. Whether I like it or whether I don't, I have them to help me grow, to help me realize what relationship is, to help me realize what love, forgiveness, communication, humility, and service are. I have them to help fill up my jar. and so much more. That's not the hard part. That's not the mysterious part. There is plenty around us. There is an abundance around us. Just like there was an abundance of wine provided at this wedding for how we can fill up our jars, how we can actually become great truly. So what is the hard part? What is the hard part? The hard part is I want to be great according to my own terms. I want to be great by my own standards. I want to more than that define greatness for myself. For me, it's not enough what Jesus says in Mark's gospel when he's speaking to his disciples and telling them that the son of man came not to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. That's not enough for me. That's where we run into trouble with encountering true greatness, with pursuing and living according to true greatness. I get in my own way. I think I can be great without God. Nothing new. Nothing new. Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve out of their tendency because of the influence of the serpent to want to know, to want to be in control, thought that they could be satisfied without God. The first man and the first woman with this rational ability to say yes or no ended up in failure because of this same tendency thinking that greatness can be achieved apart from God. Forget greatness. Jesus says apart from me you can't do anything. Anything. When we look at ourselves and we look at this question and we look at this desire that is natural, this desire that is good to be great, we have to understand that even though it's going to look like the image you see in this picture, that look, that image, the what you see from it is according to your earthly eyes, according to your earthly senses, what you can also see from is radical love. Radical humility. Love that you and I fail at. Love that you and I are not good at. Love that you and I receive when we go to mass. When we realize that on our own we fail at greatness and at mass greatness is made presenta because perfect love is made present. Greatness, yeah, if you're going to define it according to Christianity, has nothing impressive to say to someone who's only living according to their earthly senses, who's only living according to their earthly desires and pleasures. But when you have the eyes of faith, when you are truly committed to being a Christian, when you have a spirit of Marian devotion, Marian disciplehip, what do you start to realize? that even though I might become small, even though I might become trampled on, even though I might endure some kind of pain, some kind of sacrifice, some kind of loss, some kind of inconvenience, glory is still there. Greatness is still there. If there is any way to express love or for someone to receive love even though there might be sacrifice or pain or loss in that situation, greatness is also there. Not just loss, not just sacrifice, [cough] not just death. That's what I think of when I think of Mary, when I think of her son, when I think of how she said, "Do whatever he tells you." Because she did it when she was young. And by the time of this wedding, she knew that lesson well. And that's why she was able to confidently say without any more words toward her son, towards those servants, do whatever he tells you. Do whatever he tells you because greatness is not going to be realized without a concrete act of obedience. Without a concrete act of you willing to be small, especially when you don't want to be, especially when there's nothing obviously in it for you. The last thing I can tell you guys about the value of obedience is to look again at the experience I shared with you. Obeying my mom at such a young age took me on a crazy journey that I never planned for myself that I never actively wanted for myself. It took me on a crazy journey. There's a lot of sacrifice on that journey. There's loss on that journey. There's inconvenience and discomfort on that journey. But as a priest, making yourself small so that God can be great, there is still a lot to make me smile. There is still a lot that I can look at and observe and reflect on and say that because of all these things, my life is great. I'm living greatness. I'm experiencing greatness. And it's not the greatness that the world necessarily talks about or defines or preaches, but it's true greatness because it's built on a foundation of love. So at the end of the day, I'm just trying to tell you guys that one act of obedience is enough to make even someone like me smile. So be obedient and do whatever he tells you. Thank you.