Warning, Calling, Pleading - Weekday Homily

Has anyone here visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa? It stands in Pisa, in the Tuscany region of Italy, in the beautiful cathedral square called the “Square of Miracles.” Its Construction began in 1173. It was meant to be the bell tower of the cathedral. But very early, after only a few floors were built, the builders noticed something embarrassing: the tower was leaning. Imagine the committee meeting. “Good news, the tower is beautiful. Bad news, it is already trying to leave us.”

A Weak Foundation

Millions of people travel to see it because something is wrong with it. Nobody says, “I saved for three years to see a perfectly straight tower.” No, they go to see the famous one that looks as if it is going to fall. People stand in front of it, pretending to hold it up with one hand, which is probably the most exercise many tourists get on that trip.

But behind the photographs and jokes, the engineers knew a serious truth. The tower was not leaning because the stones were ugly. The marble was beautiful. The design was impressive. The problem was underneath. The soil was weak. For centuries, the tower leaned a little more, and a little more. Finally, in 1990, it was closed for renovation and strengthening. Engineers did not begin by polishing the outside. They worked underneath, quietly and patiently, removing soil, strengthening the base, saving the tower before it became a very expensive heap of history.

That is a powerful way to hear today’s reading from Second Kings. Israel did not fall in one dramatic moment. Families do not fall in one day. Faith does not erode in one day. Marriages never fail in one day. Hearts do not lose hope in one day. They lean little by little. A prayer skipped here. A resentment kept warm there. A harsh word that is never repaired. A dinner table where everyone is present, but no one is really there. A Sunday treated like any other day.

God Is Our Foundation

Most homes do not collapse because one person suddenly becomes terrible. They collapse because small cracks become normal. We call silence “peace.” We call stubbornness “principle.” We call gossip “just sharing.” We call absence “being busy.” We call impatience “stress.” We call prayer “later,” and later has a way of becoming never.

In the reading as we heard, God keeps sending prophets. That is the beautiful part we often miss. God is not waiting with folded arms, hoping to punish. He is warning, calling, pleading. Prophets are not divine traffic police hiding behind a tree with a speed gun. They are more like engineers saying, “Please look at the foundation. Something is shifting.”

Every family needs such prophets. Sometimes it is a grandmother who says, “Come with me for Mass.” Sometimes it is a spouse who says, “We don’t talk anymore as we used to be.” Sometimes it is a child who asks, “Why don’t we pray together?” Sometimes it is your own tired heart whispering, “This is not the home I wanted to build.”

But Many of us treat these warnings like a check-engine light. We see it, say a small prayer to Saint Antony, and continue driving until the car begins speaking in tongues.

The hope of today's reading is that God still repairs foundations. He does not ask us to become perfect families overnight. He asks us to stop pretending the lean is normal. One apology can remove a little soil from the wrong side. One honest conversation can strengthen the base. One family prayer, even with distractions, yawns, and one child lying upside down on the sofa, can begin rebuilding the house.

Lord make our homes humble enough to say, “Lord, we are leaning. Come and steady us before we fall.

• Today’s Readings
  
  
• Father Boby’s inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center today. You can watch the entire Mass on the Family Rosary Video streams channel on YouTube.
  
  
• Join the Rosary (11:30 am ET) and Mass (Noon ET) livestreams on the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page, Monday – Friday. Invite your friends and family to pray with you as well.