Today, we’re talking about the importance of making decisions.  In August, we mentioned how we all know people who are indecisive.  We invite them to something, but they give excuses.  After a while, we frustratingly say, ‘If you’re not coming, then just say so.’

We ourselves might struggle with decisions; we tell people, ‘Let me think about it,’ but we don’t think about it; we forget about it.  I avoid decisions by not responding to emails—I procrastinate because some decisions take a lot of energy.  Last June, there was an article stating that some young Catholics say they’re discerning God’s will, but subconsciously ‘discernment’ is a way of putting off a choice.  They struggle to say ‘Yes’ to life decisions, like getting married or becoming a priest or sister, because they can’t say ‘No’ to other things.

S: Let’s meditate on Jesus’ words in the Gospel.  Jesus is helping us make decisions because they’re good for us: “Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.  But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.  Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour” (Mt 24:42-44).  There are two comings of Jesus: The first 2,000 years ago when He came to die and rise for us, to bring us back to the Father.  Here, He’s referring to His second coming, when He will reveal and judge whether we’ve loved Him in return.  It’s like when our parents love us unconditionally, the right thing is to love them in return.

Or, we can compare God’s love to a wedding proposal: The man asks, ‘Will you marry me?’  The woman says, ‘I had such a great time tonight’(!).  He’s looking for a ‘Yes!’, a decision.  This metaphor is important because of the Bible’s marriage imagery and because God does, in some way, make a proposal of love to us and waits for a free ‘Yes.’

We all have experiences of God the Father’s love for us: peace and joy, love from other people, a promotion, things in life work out in uncanny ways—whenever we receive these gifts, did you know that we’re supposed to make a decision to love Him in return?  When we don’t, our relationship with Him stagnates; when we do, it grows!

Jesus talks about sleeping versus being awake: Sleeping spiritually means we receive God’s gifts but don’t respond.  We come to Mass, love singing a certain song, feel good, learn something from the homily but make no choice to put it into practice.  We get something out of Alpha, Faith Studies, etc., but make no choice to love Jesus more—that’s a kind of sleeping.

In 2018, I was at an Alpha conference in England.  At one point, I was sitting in a group with Catholic leaders and there was lots of complaining: ‘My priest doesn’t do this,’ ‘My parish has problems,’ ‘People don’t get it.’  But then I was part of a group of Protestant pastors and their ability to make decisions was on a different level: They made decisions about their daily goals, their parish’s long-term goals, and when they heard something in prayer, they would be convicted and act.

The Catholic author Matthew Kelly has a beautiful line: ‘Our lives change when our habits change.’  Why do our lives stay the same?  Because our habits haven’t changed.  And, remember, God’s loving all of us: He’s pouring out blessings on all people!  So, why do some people’s lives improve?  Because they respond.  Being awake refers to what we discussed last week: responding to Him with our will, intellect, and heart; making a clear decision: Jesus, I love You, too… more than my family… for my whole life… even if I get nothing in return.

The motivation Jesus uses is His Second Coming.  We can’t wait forever.  Now that we’re in the season of Advent, a new liturgical year, it’s an opportunity to grow.  In the Second Reading, St. Paul writes, “You know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.  For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers… [He’s referring to death: It comes for us faster than we expect.  That’s great news if we’ve responded to God’s love, because it means that being with Jesus in the beatific vision is almost here!  Because it’s close, let’s make the following decisions:] Let us live honourably as in the day, not in… drunkenness, not in debauchery… not in quarrelling and jealousy.  Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 13:11,13-14).  This means to think and act like Jesus.

So, here are some possible steps, starting with the easiest:

1) Admit that we’re delaying making a decision.  Recently, I was overthinking the title of some talks I have to give, and kept on pushing it off.   Once I recognized this, I texted my Divine Renovation coach in Texas, ‘Hi Kurt!  I now realize that I’m delaying talking to you because I’m overthinking what the topics should be.  Did you want to talk sometime today?’

2) There’s a centuries-old tradition that Catholics make a daily meditation every morning for 15 to 60 minutes, and the key is that it always ends with a resolution, e.g., ‘Lord, today, give me the grace to love You though I’m exhausted,’ ‘Give me the grace not to respond in anger when people irritate me.’  Some people really do this every day and that means 365 days of growth.

3) Ven. Fulton Sheen, at the end of his life , famously told a huge group of priests that, every year, we go on retreat, enjoy the talks, and have no idea what our resolution is.  So, he proposed that, at the end of the five-day retreat, they each make a simple but bold resolution: Make an hour of adoration every day for the rest of their lives.  He called this his hour of power.

Next week, when Matthew Leonard is here, we’re inviting everyone to come hear him and then commit to spending one hour a week with Jesus, and some of us might be ready to commit to one hour a day.  I made this decision in 2018 after a few months of deliberation.  So, no need to make a hasty decision.  We often need time to consider what the Holy Spirit wants, but, once we know, then ask His help and make a choice!

A good decision done today is better than a perfect decision tomorrow.  And a small decision is better than waiting.  And don’t worry about making mistakes.  If we make a decision that honours Jesus, then, even if it doesn’t turn out perfectly, He will bless us.  That’s Who He is: He’s always blessing us and looking for a daily ‘Yes’ in response to His love.