Earlier this
week, our Gospel reading contained the strange warning of our Lord to the
scribe who was considering discipleship: "Foxes have dens and birds of the
sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." In other
words, Jesus is saying, “I’m homeless. Will you follow me, even if that means
giving up your home? Will you follow me even if it means never being able to go
home again?”
In today’s
Gospel, the Lord calls the tax collector Matthew, to follow him. For Matthew,
this would mean leaving his livelihood, and also a real change of lifestyle. No
doubt, as a tax collector, he lived a very comfortable life. He was
well-connected, well-paid, especially, if he was anything like the typical tax
collector, extorting his fellow Jews on top of gathering taxes for his Roman
overlords.
“There’s no
way I can change,” Matthew must have considered. But he trusted the Lord had
something the world could not offer.
Throughout
the year we celebrate saints who up and down the centuries who left their homes
and comfortable lives to follow the Lord. Today we celebrate St. Junipero Serra
who did just that.
Junipero Serra
had been a university professor in Spain, but he gave up his position to come
to California to teach the Native Americans about the Lord Jesus. So while our founding Fathers were
fighting for our nation’s independence on the east coast, Franciscan Priest
Father Junipero Serra was traveling up through Mexico to present-day
California. There he devoted himself to
building churches and schools for the poor and the native people, catechizing
those in his care and raising up dedicated priests to continue the Lord’s work.
St. Junipero
Serra, you may remember, is the first saint to be canonized on American soil.
He was canonized just in 2015, when Pope Francis visited the U.S.. And during
the canonization Pope Francis praised St. Junipero Serra’s willingness to
abandon the comforts and privileges of his native Spain to spread the Christian
message in the new World.
What a
wonderful example we have in Junipero Serra; for no doubt, the Lord is calling
us to leave behind what is comfortable—the comfort of our familiar routines, at
least—to preach the Gospel and to witness to the Gospel to the strangers in our
midst. May we follow the Lord into the unknown territories, carrying his light
and his truth and his love to all those we encounter today. May we find excuses
to leave our homes to spread the Gospel today for the glory of God and
salvation of souls.
That
all Christians may be deeply committed to the spread of Christ’s Gospel, and
for the success of the Church’s missionary activity.
For our nation, as we celebrate our
independence this week, that we may be always grateful for our freedom, but
more importantly, may we use that freedom for God’s will, rather than our own.
For all those who suffer from
violence, war, famine, extreme poverty, addiction, discouragement, loneliness,
and those who are alienated from their families. May they know God’s mercy and be gathered to
the eternal kingdom of peace.
For all those who suffer illness, and
those in hospitals, nursing homes and hospice care, that they may be comforted
by the healing light of Christ.
For the repose of the souls of our
beloved dead, the deceased members of our families friends and parishes, for
those who fought and died for our freedom, and for N. for whom this mass is
offered.
Graciously grant our petitions, we
beseech thee, O Lord; may your grace sustain us always in your service, through
Christ Our Lord.
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