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Fr. Matt's Homilies

- Homily for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 17, 2021
  
  Click here for the Gospel reading
  
  Our readings today focus on the fact that God has called individuals throughout history. In our 1st reading, we hear of the call of the prophet Samuel. Samuel learns to pray, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” It’s sort of the exact opposite that some people say to God: “Listen, God! Serve me!” It’s good for our prayers to be humble like Samuel’s…“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
  
  In our Gospel, Jesus call His first disciples—and they step out in faith. Andrew and another disciple—since this is John’s Gospel, we can assume it’s John)—so Andrew and John ask Jesus, “Where are you staying?” Jesus said to them, “Come, and you will see.”
  
  Andrew and John stayed with Jesus the whole day! What did they see in that time? They would have seen a humble home (like a studio apartment) with a small primitive kitchen, a prayer space, and a simple place to sleep. They would have seen in Jesus an authentic person, someone who was truthful and caring. Jesus would have been interested in their lives. I can imagine Jesus saying to Andrew, “So Andrew, you have a brother Simon? I would really like to meet him sometime!” They would have also seen in Jesus a person who was in communion with His Heavenly Father. Jesus probably led grace before their meal and maybe prayed for them before they left. They also saw in Him the One who they had been hoping for a long time—the Messiah. Jesus blessed, fed, and sent them (maybe he didn’t tell them to do this, but they felt convinced in their hearts to tell others about what they had experienced that day. Andrew tells his brother Peter. The next part of the story is that they ultimately left everything behind and followed Jesus.
  
  The story would have been very different if the individuals in the Gospel had kept their faith to themselves and never acted or shared their faith with others. For example, John the Baptist could have thought to himself, “There’s the Lamb of God” but didn’t tell anyone. The End. Or the two disciples heard John the Baptist say, “Behold the Lamb of God,” but didn’t follow Jesus. The End. Or Jesus asked them, “What are you looking for?” But they didn’t respond and went away. The End. Or Jesus said to them, “Come, and you will see.” But they didn’t go with Jesus. The End. Or Andrew, who was with Jesus, decided not to tell his brother Simon. The End.
  
  My brothers and sisters, God is calling us, like Andrew and John, to see where Jesus is staying. We see where Jesus stays when we come to Mass, because Jesus waits for us in the Tabernacle. Like Andrew and John, we are blessed, fed, and sent at Mass.
  
  We are also called like Andrew and John to stay with Jesus. Now if you think that Fr. Dave and I spend all-day Sunday praying to God here at Church…well, you’re wrong! We aren’t physically asked to stay with Jesus, but we are to be spiritually united to Jesus throughout the day. So this will require regular moments of prayer…to say like Samuel, “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” Each day it’s good to ask God what we should do with the time and other gifts that He has given us. Another way to stay with Jesus is by listening to Relevant Radio (www.relevantradio.com and 1330 AM).
  After we have stayed with Jesus, then we are called to share our friendship with Jesus with others. Now on a human level, if you had great service and great food at a restaurant (like Wiederholt’s), wouldn’t you want to tell others about it? Or on Mondays, we are often asked, “How was your weekend?” And we might respond, “Well, it was alright.” Alright?! We are lifted up to Heaven for an hour (or during this pandemic, more like 50 minutes) each week for the best thing we can experience in this life…and we are just alright?! We can say something like “I’m blessed” or “I’m better than I deserve.” At Mass, we are blessed and fed here by Jesus Himself. And then we are sent out to bring others back here.
  
  My brothers and sisters, our future as a parish depends on what we do today and this week. What will the next line be in our story? St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish had 2800 families at one point, but they never told anyone about Jesus, so everyone died off. The End. Or: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish continued to grow by making more disciples in Hastings.
  
  My brothers and sisters, God is calling us to more than just showing up to Mass. He is asking us to stay with Jesus and to invite others to stay with Jesus. By the joy, love, and peace we receive with Jesus, may others also come to know Jesus.
  
  Click here to go to Deacon Rod's homily for this same Sunday.
- Homily for the Baptism of the Lord, January 10, 2021
  
  Click here for the Gospel reading.
  
  Today on this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we turn once again to the figure of John the Baptist. He is the last of the prophets, a bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament, and a bridge between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant that Jesus will usher in. John the Baptist also describes himself as a Best Man.
  
  Now I’ve never been a groomsman, let alone a best man. My friends are all priests, still single, or I was too cool for them! But as I understand it, the best man is to speak about the good qualities of the groom.
  
  This is what John the Baptist says in the Gospel of John: “The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice…He must increase; I must decrease.” So John the Baptist is the best man, and I think we can see that Jesus is the groom. Now in ancient Jewish weddings, the best man relayed messages from the groom to the bride prior to the ceremony. He was also responsible for planning the wedding itself (not so much the bride and groom). In our Gospel today, John the Baptist speaks about the dignity of Jesus the groom when he says that he is “unworthy to untie [Jesus’] sandals.” The untying of sandals was the task of a slave, so John the Baptist is saying that he is even lower than a slave compared to Jesus.
  
  Now to speak a bit about Jesus as a Bridegroom. Our feast today of the Baptism of the Lord is when Jesus the Groom married His bride, the Church. His marriage is ratified at His Passion and Death. Jesus’ bride, the Church, is holy and unblemished. She has been purified in the waters of Baptism; that’s why Jesus was baptized. We know that individual members of the Church don’t live up to the perfection they are called to due to their personal sin, but they don’t blemish the Church, which holy and without blemish.
  
  My brothers and sisters, what is our call in belonging to the bride of Christ? As a friend of the Bridegroom (like John the Baptist), we are to speak of Jesus’ good qualities—yes, to our family members and church friends, but more importantly to those who have fallen away from the Church and those who have never encountered Jesus.
  
  As members of Christ’s mystical body, we are to live out our baptismal call. It’s the case that the day we were baptized is the most important day in our lives, because we received faith and grace from God. An indelible mark was put on our souls that day that can never be removed. We were born again to a new life and became a part of a “saved” people, of God’s adopted family. We heard the words that the Father said at Jesus’ Baptism: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” God the Father said something similar at our own baptisms: “You are my beloved son (or daughter); with you I am well pleased.”
  
  Our 1st Reading mentioned that we would “delight on rich foods.” If you were baptized as a baby, you probably don’t remember but you feasted on our Baptism day (along with your family and godparents). It’s the day you were wedded to Christ and His Church. So just as you married people celebrate your wedding anniversary, it’s good to celebrate your baptism anniversary, too. Maybe you don’t know your baptism date…if you’re lazy, just adopt Jesus’ baptism as your own (and have a couple of extra desserts today!). If you want to do a little homework, contact your church of baptism or where you became Catholic to learn the date. If you don’t remember where you were baptized, then you might need to do some extra homework…maybe figuring out from your relatives where you were baptized. We can be reminded of our baptism by using Holy Water (since we can’t keep fonts out, bring a bottle to the office to replenish yours), or your wedding rings (since Holy Matrimony can only be between two Catholics), or in my case, by my collar.
  
  We are called to become more like Jesus by growing in virtue. Jesus died to himself, we are to similarly die to our own egos. Jesus never said to the Church, “I give you almost all of me except this little part or time.” No, Jesus gave himself totally to the Church; we are to give ourselves totally to the mission of the Church. We are to love like Jesus—love that is total as well as free, faithful, and forever.
  
  My brothers and sisters, may we recall that we have been purified in the waters of baptism to belong to that purified Bride of Christ.
- Homily for Epiphany, January 3, 2021
  
  Click here for the Gospel reading.
  
  One of the classic Christmas stories is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. I’ve seen it a few times at the Guthrie. I listened to Black Dirt Theater’s production on KDWA Radio this year. I watched the Muppets version this year; it was pretty good! The main character in the story is Ebenezer Scrooge—a miser and someone who seems to love nobody. He is visited by 3 ghosts or manifestations on Christmas Night—the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. I’m not spoiling anything by saying that Scrooge changes his heart and becomes a loving person.
  
  I bring this up because “Epiphany” means “manifestation” or “appearance.” We celebrate today that God manifests Himself to us. The Feast of Epiphany is one of the greatest feasts in the Church. Easter is the top one, then Christmas, and then there are 3 feasts of equal importance: the Ascension of our Lord into Heaven, Pentecost—the birth of the Church, and today’s Epiphany. I don’t think we in the U.S. here know how to celebrate Epiphany. In much of the world, today is when people give gifts to each other (certainly Santa Claus still has to come on Christmas Day, but this is the day when family members and friends give presents). If I had to guess, none of you will be having an Epiphany party today. But it’s hinted at in “The 12 Days of Christmas” song, which marks the days from Christmas to Epiphany (traditionally on January 6th).
  
  Like the 3 Ghosts of A Christmas Carol, Epiphany has 3 Manifestations of the Lord, which show us who Jesus is—the visit of the magi, the baptism of the Lord, and the wedding feast of Cana. I’ll take those each in-turn.
  
  First, the visit of the magi. The magi are Gentile astronomers from afar (non-Jewish) who are tracking the stars. As we all know, they bring with them gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We offer those same gifts in liturgies here—gold in the precious metals used in the chalices and patens/plates at Mass, frankincense in the incense used at funerals or Dominus Est, and myrrh (which is sort of like a Chrism oil) in the anointings of baptism, Confirmation, and on my hands at my ordination. The gifts of the magi show that Jesus is a king, Jesus is God, and Jesus is a priest
  Now we will talk briefly on the baptism of the Lord (although we will celebrate it more in full next week). I want us to focus on the words that the Father says of Jesus: “This is my beloved Son, listen to Him!” At the Lord’s Baptism, we come to know that Jesus is God’s Son.
  
  And lastly, we have the wedding feast of Cana. In John’s Gospel, this is the first of 7 signs during Jesus’ public ministry—it essentially kickstarts his public ministry. The changing of water into wine shows that Jesus is the Messiah. changed water into the best wine. He greatly blessed the wedding couple in doing so. Now wine is one of God’s finest creatures…it comes from squished, fermented grapes but gives delight to people. Wine is a sign of God’s goodness and of the New Covenant that Jesus will usher in through His Death and Resurrection. Like other types of alcohol, wine is good to drink in moderation when the circumstances are right. Unfortunately, we know too well—either in our relationships or personally—that drinking can get out of control. In Heaven, we will have perfected self-control.
  
  Scrooge had a response to the manifestations; he changed his heart. Similarly, our response to Jesus’ Manifestations is to change our hearts. In particular, we are to worship Him, listen to Him, and drink of His goodness.
  
  First, we are to worship Him. We do this by participating in Sunday Mass—either in-person or watching online (like if we are sick or maybe had some sort of exposure). Even if the dispensation to come to Mass is still in place, we still have the responsibility to keep holy the Lord’s day by at least praying with the readings of the day or spending some extra time in prayer.
  
  Secondly, we are to listen to Jesus, like the Father commanded us to do. We do this in daily prayer, but particularly daily meditative prayer (so not just praying rote prayers). We can take a small passage of Scripture and chew on it a bit. Maybe we pick a line and just keep coming back to it when our mind wanders. When we stop to listen, it is then that we will hear God speak to us.
  
  And lastly, we are to drink of God’s goodness. We do this by being grateful…by thanking God for blessings each day, especially on tough days. It is through prayer that we stay connected to Jesus…Jesus, who said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; remain in me!” We also drink of God’s goodness when we receive the Eucharist worthily.
  
  My brothers and sisters, we are to change our hearts to be like Jesus. We can ask boldly, like St. Therese—to receive Jesus’ own Sacred Heart. May we allow the manifestations at Epiphany to change our hearts to be more loving.
- Homily for Christmas
  
  Click here for the Gospel reading.
  
  Our culture doesn’t mind Christmas…as long as it sets the parameters. From Thanksgiving to Christmas Day, holiday music is heard playing in stores (so you buy more), and there are the holiday specials on TV (so the advertisers get your money). The phrase to say is, “Happy Holidays.” People are focused on presents that they receive and give to family and friends. And everything is done with Christmas on December 25th.
  
  In contrast is how the Church wants us to celebrate Christmas. The month leading up to it is about preparing for Christmas…the season of Advent, which just ended. Christmas is the reason for the season—the “Holiday Season.” So even when someone says “Happy Holidays” little do they know but holidays means “Holy days” and there is nothing holier than Christmas and Easter. Christmas is first and foremost celebrated at church and secondarily in homes. Christmas isn’t just a day…Christmas is a whole season that goes til mid-January and includes the celebrations of the Holy Family, Mary the Mother of God on January 1st, Epiphany with the visit from the Magi, and the Baptism of the Lord. It’s good to keep Christmas lights and decorations up until Baptism of the Lord (January 10th this year) if possible. However, if your tree is going to be a fire hazard, please don’t keep it up til January 10th!
  
  What do we celebrate at Christmas? We experience the joy of the 1st Christmas. It’s the spotlight of God’s incredible love for all of humanity. God’s plan from all eternity (before there was time or place--hard to imagine, since we usually think in time or place!) was to become man. On Christmas, Heaven comes to Earth.
  
  I was blessed to visit Bethlehem when I was in Seminary. The Seminary isn’t doing that trip this year, because it is nearly impossible to get to Israel right now. Even if we were in Israel right now, Bethlehem isn’t easy to get to, because it’s located in the West Bank with extra security measures. My classmates and I appreciated the time to venerate the place where Jesus was born, where Heaven touched Earth, where the invisible God became visible. Now certainly all babies are cute. But Jesus as a baby would have been adorable Place where people first adored and worship God as a baby
  
  I’m sure many of you really like coffee. Fr. Dave is a coffee addict; I’m more of a green tea drinker. Anyways, Starbucks is obviously the top coffee chain in the country. Starbucks has what is called a “Third Place” policy; it wants to be everyone’s “Third Place.” “First place” is the home, “Second place” is school or work (even homemakers and retired people have some activity that highlights their days). A “Third Place” (to use my own words) is a place of warmth, familiarity, and connection that a person chooses to go to when they are not at their “First Place” or “Second Place” (at home or work). Different people have different “Third Places”: some have taken Starbucks to heart and have a coffee shop, others it’s a bar, for still others it’s a casino, others have a gym or sports field, others it might be virtual like a smartphone or playing computer games, and finally for some, their “Third Place” is church.
  
  My brothers and sisters in Christ, is SEAS (or another Catholic parish) your Third Place? Do you want us to be your Third Place? Has the pandemic—when we are limited to where we can go—has the pandemic impacted your choice? In 2020, most people’s mental health has gone downhill a bit. However, there’s one group that has seen an increase in mental health. It’s those who go to church regularly, who make a parish their Third Place. It’s at church, where we experience God’s love and joy even if the circumstances are difficult in the world.
  
  A parish is just a Third Place, it’s an “other Bethlehem.” Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” It’s at Mass (Christ’s Mass…Christmas) where Heaven meets Earth; we are surrounded by angels and saints. We adore and worship God every time we come to the sanctuary or Eucharistic Adoration Chapel. We can leave behind troubles, or better yet, lay them at Jesus’ manger. We receive joy, peace, and love so we can live as God’s adopted children. As an “other” Bethlehem, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish is a community focused on love—we have Bible studies, small groups for men/women/couples, faith formation for children as young as 3, and service to the greater community. We are strengthened by the Sacraments instituted by Christ--Baptism which makes us God’s adopted children, the Eucharist which fills us with Christ’s Body and Blood, Confirmation which marks us as Witnesses to the world, Confession which reconciles sinners to God, and Holy Matrimony which allows couples to live the spousal love that Christ lived for the Church.
  
  My brothers and sisters in Christ, what are you going to do to preserve the joy of Christmas the whole year round? We have a few options. Option 1: you could listen to Christmas music and watch Christmas movies and shows the whole year round (although that might get a little repetitive in May or June). Option 2: you could follow the way of the world and wait til next Thanksgiving to get back into the holiday spirit. Or Option 3: you can make SEAS parish your 3rd Place…making regular visits to Bethlehem each week.
  
  By our choices, may we experience Christmas at Bethlehem today and the whole year round.
- Homily for December 13, The Third Sunday of Advent
  
  Click here for the Gospel reading.
  
  If you want a cheap hamburger, you go to McDonald’s. If you want the best hamburger, you drive into St. Paul and get a Juicy Lucy.
  If you want a cheap taco, you go to Taco Bell. If you want the best tacos, you go to Las Margaritas.
  
  If you want a cheap car, you go to a used car dealership. If you want the best car, you get a Mercedes Benz (although if you have something else in mind for the best car…let me give a test try).
  
  And if you want cheap happiness, you follow the way of the world. The way of the world offers its own menu of happiness. It’s in the form of things like wealth, maximizing pleasure, drinking to excess or smoking weed, having that Mercedes Benz, or traveling the world. Those things give people some “high” of momentary happiness, but it’s fleeting.
  
  If you want the best happiness, you follow the way of Christ and His Church. Lasting happiness (also called joy) can only come from God as He is the source of joy.
  
  Jesus was full of joy. Maybe that isn’t how we typically think of Him. Most portrayals of Him in images and movies show Him being serious, but that makes us think of Him as not being joyful. But Jesus was joyful. The little children enjoyed being around Him. Jesus probably had a real good sense of humor (which would make Fr. Dave’s jokes sound boring). And people rejoiced at the things He did, especially when He healed people.
  
  John the Baptist is one of the figures we follow in Advent. He was given Christian joy even before he was born; in his mother’s womb, he leapt for joy when he came into the presence of the Lord. John the Baptist’s role of being a voice crying out in the desert was full of joy: it delighted Him to make Jesus known and loved. He even experienced joy in prison and being martyred, because he was trying to share the joy of the Lord with Herod (even if Herod didn’t want to hear it).
  
  You might have heard the news in the past week that St. Francis has called this next year the Year of St Joseph. St. Joseph has been named the universal patron of the Catholic Church for the last 150 years and in the last few years, Pope Francis added his name to all of the Eucharistic Prayers. Well St. Joseph and Mary were full of joy, because their lives were filled with Jesus. They didn’t have much (materially speaking), but they had God. Mary was even joyful at the horrific death of her Son.
  
  My brothers and sisters, we are to be full of joy like Jesus and the saints. We are told to be always rejoicing in the Lord. Or as our 1st reading says, “I rejoice heartily in the Lord.” Our joy come from what Jesus has done for us, in being born In Bethlehem, dying for us on the Cross, rising from the dead, and going to prepare an eternal dwelling place for us in Heaven
  
  Disciples of Christ are joyful. When people see us, they should see us full of joy. I’ll take this Gaudete Sunday as an annual reminder that I should smile more, including during the liturgy.
  
  As St. Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice!” We can be full of joy even if we are overwhelmed by the pandemic, in prison or approaching death (like John the Baptist was), caring for a child with special needs, experiencing stress at work or a crisis at home, or just having a tough day. We can always turn toward Jesus in prayer: “Jesus, I feel helpless in this. Help me to trust that you are with me right now and that you love me more than I could ever know.” We receive Jesus’ strength and His friendship most especially when we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, because He dwells within us.
  
  You would probably not be surprised to hear that in 2020, those who report having good mental health has declined significantly. Mental health professionals are swamped right now. You might be surprised to hear that there is one demographic that has seen an uptick in good mental health this year. It’s those who worship regularly, who come to church regularly. Why is that? Hopefully you can relate to this—they experience joy from the God who is the source of joy. And they are supported by other Christians who are also going through a tough time but strengthen each other in that joy.
  
  We are to bring others to real joy. There can be no true happiness or joy apart from God. Everyone is looking for Jesus even if they don’t realize it. As His disciples, God wants us to bring others into joy just like the Holy Family shared the joy of Lord with the shepherds and the magi at Jesus’ birth.
  
  My brothers and sisters, this Christmas, we don’t want it to be just a “happy” one but a joyful one. Presents at Christmas will give us a little bit of happiness. However, that happiness will last only a few days or weeks, but then we usually move on to the next thing we think we can’t live without. However, we can have a joyful Christmas if we come away from Advent with the conviction that God is always with us.
  
  We have the best happiness, because we are united to our Lord Jesus. If we truly love others, we will not only pray that they would discover the joy of the Lord, but also share with them through our word and example our experience of living in the joy of the Lord. May this coming Christmas be our most joyful one yet!
  
  Go to Fr. Dave's Homily page.
- Homily for December 6; The Second Sunday of Advent
  
  Click here for the Gospel reading.
  
  I’ll let you in on a pro secret from my transportation engineering background: the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Okay well maybe even the school kids know that, but that maxim does come into play a bit in engineering. When an engineer is considering different alignments for highways or light rail lines, one of the factors that he considers is how circuitous is the path (how much out of the way of a straight line does it go). Considering all other factors (like wanting to avoid relocating existing buildings and wetlands), sometimes the best option seems to be to a circuitous route along the outskirts of a city but that adds to the travel time.
  
  Our 1st Reading commands that a straight highway be built: “Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight…a highway for God.” The historical context for that reading from Isaiah in the 500s BC is that God’s Chosen People were exiled in Babylon for about 70 years and now they were preparing to make the 1000-mile journey back to the Promised Land, to the Holy City of Jerusalem. The call for “Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low” is a bold one. Any time you see a new highway being built or a new development going in (like Sieben Ridge, which I can see from the rectory), there’s so much ground that has to be moved. Imagine the amount of ground that would have to be moved for a 1000-mile highway for the Israelites 2500 years ago. Yet their desire is for the fastest possible, straight-line shot, back to Jerusalem.
  
  The highway Isaiah was calling for was essentially a physical one. In contrast, when John the Baptist in our Gospel commands: “Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight his path!”—that path is primarily spiritual—and centered in the heart of an individual person.
  
  Advent is about preparing our hearts for Jesus at Christmas. Do we normally have a straight path for Jesus to our hearts? If I’m honest with myself, I’d have to say, “No.” I’m often focused on the tasks of being a priest or on the tasks of prayer, but I don’t regularly reflect on the fact that I’m doing this all for God, to draw close to Him. This makes the path to my heart more circuitous and twisty-turny. I get focused on distractions like sports, TV shows, and games on my phone, and I miss out on the gifts that God wants to bestow on me in a greater measure. In addition, I can be rather inattentive or slothful when God might be calling to pray for someone or something outside of my regular prayer time. All of this makes the path of my heart more twisty-turny. In Advent, I have to re-direct myself to allow God to straighten the path to my heart. I can try to carve out more attentiveness and availability to God…to live more like Mary and Joseph who were always attentive and available to God.
  
  In Jesus’ time, there weren’t helicopters. But helicopters are another way we can understand the call to make straight the Lord’s path. Helicopters can basically go anywhere—even onto mountains. This is especially important for rescuing people who are injured, like in the military. Troops are asked to clear the ground if a helicopter is coming…to get those tents and metal and debris out of the way. Well, just like that, Jesus wants to land His helicopter by us to be with us and to heal us, but we have to clear the ground first for Him!
  
  So my brothers and sisters, what is keeping the path to your heart from being straight? What things do you need to clear from your ground before Jesus can land by you? Think through those practical steps you can take and resolve to carry them out.
  
  One of the surest ways of making the path straight to our heart is to get to Confession in Advent. Here at SEAS—we have many opportunities each week for Confession, and other parishes have some other options. If you have not been to Confession in a while, I encourage you to commit to doing it before Christmas by putting it into your schedule. Maybe it helps to know that priests go to Confession, too. I went to Confession on the first day of Advent, and I have another one scheduled for this week. For the good of our spiritual health, for the good of us staying on the straight and narrow, we are invited to go to Confession regularly…at the very least, once a year. There are many Examinations of Conscience online that will help you to identify the ways in which you’ve made the path to your heart twisty-turny, the ways in which other obstacles have cluttered the landing area to your heart. Jesus also gives us strength through Confession to make it easier to keep our heart’s path straight. But most importantly, Confession will help you to know better the love by which God became flesh and died for you.
  
  My brothers and sisters, God is calling us to make straight the path of our hearts this Advent. We don’t have to break our backs by moving physical ground to do so, but we do have to allow God to change our hearts, which might be even more difficult. But if we do the hard work, then we will experience love and joy more than maybe we’ve ever experienced before.