7th Week of Easter - Wednesday - Consecrated in the Truth

Yesterday, our Gospel contained the opening verses of chapter 17 of St. John’s Gospel. Having already washed the feet of his disciples and sharing the last supper with his disciples, teaching them by word and example how they are to practice love and self-sacrifice in carrying out the mission of the Gospel, the Lord turns to his father and prays.

As we heard yesterday, he prays that he may glorify his Father, that the glory of God might be made known through Him, through his suffering, his passion, and death. Consider that for another moment. Jesus prayed, that in the obedient embrace of the cross, His Father’s goodness, and power, and love for the world might be known. 

The Lord then offered a second petition: he offered a simple prayer for his disciples. He prayed for the ones that look to Him as the Way, the truth, and the life. That they might be faithful.

Today’s gospel contains the third petition of that High Priestly Prayer of Jesus at the Last Supper. The Lord prays for the consecration of his disciples. The Lord uses a wonderful word in the Greek: “hagiazo”, to sanctify, to consecrate, to make holy, to set aside as being holy.

The Lord is clear that he will no longer be in the world, but we will, and he will have to face its hatred in the form of persecutions, hostility, and temptation. And while we are in the world, the Lord prays that we do not become like the world, filled with error, perversion, hatred of truth, and selfishness. Rather he prays that while we are in the world we may be filled with holiness, we may be set apart as holy, by being filled with the Truth and Life of God.

In the world, he says, will face the hostility of the evil one, the son of destruction, the antichrist. But we mustn’t fear, as divine protection comes to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit, by remaining in the Truth of Jesus Christ. 

The language of consecration is also characteristic of liturgy and priesthood. Just as the Levitical priests, the sacred vessels and furnishings were consecrated, literally, taken out of ordinary use and put into the service of divine worship, so to are we. Christian disciples are taken out of the ordinary—the worldly--, and placed into the supernatural—the divine. 

Being a Christian is anything but ordinary—it is the consecrated life. May we be faithful to this great dignity. For the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Let us pray to our Heavenly Father, confident that He is generous to those who call upon Him with faith.

For our young people preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation this weekend—that they may open their hearts to the gifts God has in store for them. Let us pray to the Lord.

For our President and all elected government representatives, may the Holy Spirit grant them wisdom and guide them to promote domestic tranquility, national unity, respect for religious freedom, and a greater reverence for the sanctity of Human Life. Let us pray to the Lord.

Like the apostles gathered with Our Lady in the Cenacle, may the Church grow in Marian devotion this month, especially in devotion to the Holy Rosary. Let us pray to the Lord.

For those experiencing any kind of hardship or sorrow, isolation, addiction, or disease: that they may know the peace and consolation of the Good Shepherd. Let us pray to the Lord.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for …for whom this mass is offered. Let us pray to the Lord.

Gracious Father, hear the prayers of your pilgrim Church, grant us your grace and lead us to the glory of your kingdom, through Christ Our Lord.

7th Week of Easter 2020 - Wednesday - Consecrated in the Truth

The final section of John’s Gospel right before the Passion is a prayer that Jesus offers to the Father.  Scholars call it “The High Priestly Prayer” of Jesus.

We heard the beginning of this prayer yesterday. Jesus prays for his disciples because just as he is going to suffer in his Passion, they are going to suffer in their mission to spread the Gospel.
In today’s Gospel passage, the Lord’s High Priestly Prayer continues; the Lord continues to pray for his disciples. And what does he pray for today? “Father, keep them in your name, that they may be one as we are one.” The Lord prays for their unity, their unity with God and their unity with each other. On the night before he died, Jesus was praying for us, for our unity. Our unity in the truth of the Gospel, the truth that comes from God: “Your word, father, is truth…consecrate them in the truth” he prays. To be consecrated, is to be set apart from the rest. To be consecrated in the truth, we are set apart from the rest of the world that is divided due to error and hard-heartedness and pride that thinks they know better than God.

When Jesus speaks of the coming of the Holy Spirit, he calls the Spirit, the Spirit of Truth. “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth.” The Holy Spirit, whose descent upon the Church we celebrate in a few days, is the greater unifier of the Church, and He unifies us to believe the truth, live the truth, and profess the truth, of the Gospel.

The Holy Spirit will always help us to believe the truth, live the truth, and profess the truth. If we let Him.

You may have noticed that in the acts of the Apostles, St. Paul is giving a sort of farewell address as well. And in the passage from Acts today, St. Paul speaks about unity and truth, “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come among you, and they will not spare the flock. And from your own group, men will come forward perverting the truth to draw the disciples away after them.”

Nothing causes disunity like the perversion of truth. Nothing draws disciples away from the unity of the Church like the perversion of truth. St. Paul even recognizes that there are sometimes people within the Church who pervert the truth. “So be vigilant” he says. Hold fast to that which is good. Have the same mind as Jesus Christ.

Truth isn’t determined by a majority vote, it’s not determined by Twitter, Fox News or CNN. The truth of how we are to live, how we are to conduct ourselves, comes from God. “Your word, father, is truth.” So we read the Scriptures, and re-read them, and re-read them that we might conform to the truth found within them. We read and study our catechism, and re-read it, and re-read it, to more deeply understand the truth explained in it. Because the truth is the only hope we have, the Truth which sets us free from our self-destructive tendencies, the truth which illuminates our path in troubled times, confused times, and dark times. May we be consecrated in the truth, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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Let us pray to our Heavenly Father, confident that He is generous to those who call upon Him with faith.

For Pope Francis, and all the bishops: may they rightly lead the Body of Christ in the fullness of Christian truth. And that the Holy Spirit may guide the Holy Father in choosing a new bishop for the diocese of Cleveland, a bishop who is convicted of the Truth!

For our President and all elected government representatives, may the Holy Spirit grant them wisdom and guide them to promote domestic tranquility, national unity, respect for religious freedom, and a greater reverence for the sanctity of Human Life.

That the power of Christ’s resurrection may overcome all oppression, prejudice, hatred, addiction and injustice. For those most profoundly impacted by the coronavirus, for the healing of all the sick. For those who selflessly labor for the good of others, for the safety of first responders and medical care workers, police and firefighters. For the protection of all those who serve in our nation’s military, and for all wounded servicemen and women, for all those widowed and orphaned because of war.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for the deceased members of our family, friends, and parish, for those who have fought and died for our freedom, and for Jason & Lucille Morely for whom this mass is offered.

Gracious Father, hear the prayers of your pilgrim Church, grant us your grace and lead us to the glory of your kingdom, through Christ Our Lord.

4th Sunday in OT 2018 - Practical Sanctity and Belonging fully to Christ

 This last Wednesday was the feast of one of my favorite saints, one of the great Doctors of the Church, St. Francis de Sales.

Francis de Sales was a bishop in France in the turbulent decades following the Protestant Reformation. At the age of 35, he was installed as bishop of Geneva, Switzerland, the epi-center of Protestant Calvinism. Through his persuasive preaching he saved many souls from the errors of Calvinism, winning many converts to the Catholic Church; yet at the same time his life was often threatened by hostile Calvinists.

To serve his flock, as Bishop, St. Francis de Sales became a prolific writer—his writings comprise 26 volumes.  Two of his books have become spiritual classics and continue to be published and read to this day: The Introduction to the Devout Life, and The Treatise on the Love of God, both books offering practical advice for Catholics living in the midst of the world who wish to pursue a life of sanctity. Either one would be perfect spiritual reading for Lent, which is approaching very quickly.

Also, ordinary folk would often write to Bishop Francis for spiritual guidance. Once, a young mother asked him, “Bishop I’m trying very hard to live a good life, to be holy. I’d like to get to Mass every day, but I can’t because I have these seven children who are driving me crazy.”  Francis de Sales wrote back to her and said “Madam, it’s not necessary that you go to Church every day; you become a Saint by being the best mother you can be.” 

I thought of Francis de Sales, one, because his feast was last week, but also, after hearing St. Paul’s words to the Corinthians this week: “An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.”

St. Paul is in no way denigrating marriage here. He even says so. He says, “I tell you this not to impose a restraint”, in other words, I’m not telling you this so you don’t get married, but so that married and unmarried alike may seek to serve the Lord according to their own vocation. I think, St. Paul would very much agree with the advice St. Francis de Sales gave to that young mother. Madam, you are to become a saint…and your road to sanctity involves being the best wife and mother you can be.

St. Paul is showing the dual value of marriage and celibacy. Some members of the Church are called to celibacy “for the sake of the kingdom”, to be about the work of the Church with undivided devotion. I know so many priests and nuns and religious brothers whose lives are filled with joy and profound love for the Lord. They are not unhappy because they aren’t married. Celibate service to the Church is not an unhappy, lonely existence. It’s a profound immersion into the charitable life of the Church, and I think every young Catholic needs to discern if God might be calling you to some form of celibate service.

Celibate priests and religious serve as a sign to the whole Church that the Lord calls all of us to offer offer up the whole of our lives to God. I celebrated a wedding a few years ago on the Feast of St. Agnes, which is on January 21, another good January saint. And so for part of the wedding homily I told the story of saint agnes, who was a virgin martyr of Rome.

When Agnes was about thirteen years old, the son of the Roman governor became infatuated with her.  He asked for Agnes’ hand in marriage, but already at that young age, Agnes had given her heart to Christ—and consecrated herself to the Lord’s service.

The governor’s son became bitter and angry, he tempted her with priceless jewels, but she resisted.  He then threatened her, and told her that he would accuse her of being a Christian.  This meant that she would face death if she did not give in, since it was against the law to be a Christian. But, with her heart belonging to Christ, she boldly resisted him.  So, he accused her of practicing the Christian faith, and she was beheaded.

Pope Benedict, in a reflection on Saint Agnes, said, “Her martyrdom illustrates “the beauty of belonging to Christ without hesitation.” And here’s the lesson for young married couples and old married couples. For each of us, no matter our vocation, are called to belong to Christ without hesitation.

St. Paul, writing about these married and unmarried people recognizes that marriage is often a very difficult Christian vocation. So many of you here no doubt could relate. How hard it is to balance your faith obligations with your obligations to family. How hard it is to balance prayer with laundry and yard-work and changing diapers and teaching your children reading, writing, and arithmetic, and getting them to sports practice.

So again, St. Paul isn’t denigrating marriage here. The Church needs happy, healthy, holy marriages, where parents set good religious example for their children, teaching them to balance faith and worldly obligation. But it’s certainly an admonition isn’t it, a reminder, that amidst all the busy-ness of your temporal affairs, you need to ensure that you keep Christ at the center of it all. That you as spouse and parent seek to belong to Christ without hesitation.

To keep Christ at the center, he needs to be at the beginning and at the end. So, it’s important to begin your day with prayer and end your day with prayer, begin and end meals with prayer, begin and end car trips, and yardwork and housework.

Listen to this simple, practical prayer, composed by St. Francis de Sales. A wonderful prayer that you might consider beginning your day with: “My God, I give you this day. I offer you, now, all of the good that I shall do and I promise to accept, for love of you, all of the difficulty that I shall meet. Help me to conduct myself during this day in a manner pleasing to you. Amen.”

To offer God all the good that we shall do, means to remember God when you are driving to work so you can provide for your family, in folding the laundry, in putting the kids to bed, taking care of a sick spouse. It doesn’t necessarily mean going to mass every day, though, if you can, you should. But it certainly means belonging to Christ in whatever you do, thinking with his mind, loving with his heart, becoming the best mother, the best father, the best spouse, the best student, the best nun, the best priest you can be, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.