The 2008 Olympics are now just about a month away.  We’re all getting excited about the games.  Who will be the new “heroes”?  What great stories will come out of Beijing?  Who will win the most gold medals?  You know, every Olympics, the host nation is allowed to “add” new sports to the Games.  For example, synchronized swimming was added a few years ago.  And the trampoline was added at the last Olympics.  They kinda haft to be careful about this though, because the list of events just gets longer and longer.  Plus, I’m so afraid that the next time that the U.S. hosts the Olympics, we’re going to add a hot dog eating contest to the Olympics.  Did you see that, on the Fourth of July?  What better way to celebrate Independence Day than by eating fifty-some hot dogs?  Oh the things they put on ESPN 2!

       One of the most impressive things about the Olympic athletes, is their single-minded commitment to their sports.  It doesn’t matter whether we’re talking about swimming or gymnastics, fencing or bicycling, or weightlifting or pole-vaulting, most these athletes, at the Olympic level, have trained all their lives for the chance, the chance to compete in the Olympics.  There were many sacrifices made.  They kept their eye, and their heart, and their mind, on making it to the Olympics.  It was what they wanted MORE than everything else.  Everything else paled in comparison and really didn’t matter.  And it was their determination that made the difference for so many of them.

       Today, we get the extraordinary opportunity to come together to celebrate the Feast Day of our Patroness, St. Maria Goretti, on a Sunday.  As we gather here today to celebrate her life, her memory, and the legacy that St. Maria Goretti left us as a parish under her patronage, today we have to be struck by this young girl’s single-minded commitment to get to Heaven.  St. Maria Goretti didn’t care about making it to the Olympics.  She wasn’t concerned with getting to be the most popular kid in the class.  She didn’t care what she had or what other people had, when it came to wealth and material possessions.  She didn’t desire physical beauty, or genius-level intelligence, or even a lot of attention.  St. Maria Goretti, more than anything else, more than everything else, wanted to get to go to Heaven.  You see, St. Maria Goretti knew what lasted.  Her parents had taught her well.  She wasn’t interested in the passing things of this world and this life.  And this is really very special for a twelve-year-old girl.  She didn’t want a new “Best Friend For Life”.  She didn’t want the newest American Girl doll.  She didn’t want the latest Hannah Montana/ Milley Cyrus CD/ DVD/ or Digital Download.  St. Maria Goretti knew that things weren’t going to matter when we die.  She wanted something that lasted a whole lot longer.  She wanted Heaven, with Jesus.  And St. Maria Goretti sought after Heaven with a single-minded commitment that would put the commitment of our Olympic athletes to shame.  Nothing was going to stop this young girl from getting to Heaven.  Nothing!  Not being poor.  Not being unable to read.  Not the death of her Father.  And certainly not Alessandro Serenelli, the nineteen-year-old youth who would take her life in this world.  St. Maria Goretti had her heart set on Heaven.  Today we celebrate the fact that she got what she wanted.  She’s in Heaven today praying for all of us as our Patroness.

        And yet, where are our hearts?  How single-minded are we in seeking Heaven?   Is getting home to Heaven the most important thing for us?  Or do we have a long list of things that we put in front of getting to Heaven?  If an athlete can be so single-minded, so self-sacrificing when it comes to getting to the Olympics in Beijing, how much more single-minded, and self-sacrificing should we be when it comes to getting to Heaven.  The Olympics will last for matter of days.  Heaven will last forever!

       What could YOU do to better make getting to Heaven the real priority in your life?  Could you pray more?  Could you serve more?  Could you avoid those sins that lead you away from God and Heaven?  You know people think that St. Maria Goretti hated sin because sin was this terrible evil thing that repulsed her.  Many times, in fact, sin looks pretty good.  You see sinners, we read about sinners, and it appears that they are having a pretty good time.  St. Maria Goretti hated sin because sin was going to keep her from getting to Heaven.  And getting to Heaven was better than anything else, no matter how good it looked or sounded.

       Our Patroness, St. Maria Goretti, won the gold medal of our Faith.  The Church says that today she is home in Heaven with Jesus Whom she loved so much.  It wasn’t always easy.  It took lots of single-minded devotion and commitment.  She had to keep her heart set on the ultimate prize.  And so do we.  On her Feast Day, may each one of us re-commit our lives, our souls, to Heaven.  A trip to Beijing would be alright.  A home in Heaven would be the greatest!

May God bless us on our Feast Day,  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…AMEN !!!

St. Maria Goretti…Pray for us !!!