Blessed be God. Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen.
Come, Holy Spirit—fill us with joy, set our hearts ablaze with Your presence.
All children do it.
My children did.
My grandchildren did.
I’m sure I did.
And every one of you did too.
We asked the question every parent hears a thousand times:
“Why?”
Daddy, why is the sky blue?
Mommy, why do I have to take a nap?
And as they get older:
Why do I have to take a bath?
Why can’t I stay out all night?
Why does it hurt so much when their heart is broken?
Why. Why. Why.
The truth is—we never grow out of that question.
We just trade childish Whys for grown‑up ones.
Every one of us lives with a Why.
Why do people cross borders illegally.
Why do crowds protest.
Why do some wrestle with identity, or reject the identity they were given.
Why are some held accountable for wrongs but others not.
Why are some hearts hardened by racism or bigotry.
Why are you Catholic, and someone else Protestant.
Why do some believe in Christ, and others walk away.
Why are you who you are.
And when we look for answers, the world is quick to offer them—
quick, shallow, feel‑good answers:
politics, psychology, slogans.
“No bad.”
“No wrong.”
“No evil.”
Just whatever the individual sees, feels, or wants.
But God’s wisdom is not the wisdom of the age.
Our faith pushes back against the noise:
against tribalism,
against consumerism,
against technocratic thinking,
against the myth that progress alone can save us.
Because human freedom is real—
and morally serious.
And that’s exactly why Sirach tells us that God sets before every person
“life and death, good and evil.”
We are not victims of fate or impulses.
We are not trapped by our past or our passions.
We shape the world we live in.
And freedom—true freedom—is not self‑invention.
It is ordered toward the good.
And once we understand that freedom is ordered toward the good,
we begin to see why truthfulness is essential.
That’s why truthfulness matters.
“Let your Yes mean Yes” is not just personal morality—
it is the foundation of trustworthy institutions,
honest leadership,
ethical media,
and a civic life capable of sustaining justice.
A society built on spin, manipulation, and half‑truths
will always collapse on the vulnerable.
But God’s law is not oppression.
It is the path to human flourishing.
The commandments are not chains—
they are guardrails that protect dignity,
stabilize relationships,
and create the conditions for justice and peace.
When Jesus intensifies the commandments,
He is not tightening the screws.
He is protecting women from objectification,
families from instability,
communities from violence,
and the poor from exploitation.
His law is love in its most protective form.
So maybe the real Why beneath everything is this:
God wants us free enough,
truthful enough,
and courageous enough
to choose the good—
and to help build a world where every person can flourish.
And the deepest Why of who we are
is Jesus Christ Himself.
He is the One who names us,
calls us,
and sends us.
So go now into the world with this in your heart:
Be good.
Be holy.
And preach the Gospel—
not with arguments or slogans,
but with the way you live your life
and the way you love one another.
Praise be to Jesus Christ, forever and ever. Amen
