Homily for Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time (Year I)
June 17, 2020
Sacred Heart, EGF – 8:00 AM

Focus: Motivated by Love

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What’s your motivation? What’s your “why”?

Whenever we see the actions of another person, it’s very rare that we can actually see the motivation. We can sometimes guess at what the motivation might be. We can sometimes, through investigation, discover it, but we can’t always know…

So, what’s your motivation?

What was Jesus’ motivation?

“I have come to do, not my own will, but the will of the one who sent me.”

The motivation of Jesus, everything that he did, was to do the will of the Father.

Jesus’ motivation was love.

Love is the only motivation for our actions that is truly pure.

So, a good motto, perhaps, to live our lives by, or by which to judge our actions, is this:
Am I doing this because I am motivated by love?

Truly great deeds are not done in order to “wow” or amaze others. No, truly great deeds are accomplished by the driving force of love, and THAT “wows” others.

There’s a saying that “you’ll never make a good impression if you’re trying to make a good impression.” Instead, when we focus on the other, when we love the other, when listen to the other, when we anticipate the needs of the other, when we lose ourselves…that’s when we make a good impression.

So, what’s your motivation?

Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving.
All good things.
All necessary things.

And yet, the Lord reminds us this morning that the wrong motivation will spoil them.

What’s your motivation?

Why do you fast?
To punish yourself?
To prove your own inner strength?
Or to strengthen your will so that you’re able to love others as God calls you to love?

Why do you pray?

Do you pray to justify yourself in God’s eyes?
Do you pray to try to earn Heaven?
To avoid Hell?
Or do you pray because you love God and are grateful for all that He’s done for you?

What’s your motivation?

Why do you give alms?
Your time, talent, and treasure. Why do you volunteer?

Because your friends are there?
Because it looks good to others?
Or do you do it because you love God and you see him in others in need?

What’s your motivation?

Brothers and sisters,
All actions, in order to make of them a pure offering to God, must be motivated by love. Motivated by love of God, motivated by love of neighbor, not motivated by love of self.

The Eucharist is Jesus’ sacrifice of love.
Love of the Father.
Love of us.

A love that made him forget himself.

May this Eucharist strengthen us and purify our motivations, that we, like him, may be motivated by nothing other than love.