June 6 2025 - St. Norbert - Renouncing the world to gain life

“Renouncing your possessions, hating your father and mother, carrying your cross.” The Gospel today speaks of the need to put God first and putting the things of the world, even your ties with family second. To die to self, in order to live for Christ.

The saint we honor today, St. Norbert did just that.

Norbert was born into nobility. He was not the first born son, so, as was common in those days, in the high middle ages, the second son entered the church. Now again, he was of the high nobility, so he was basically guaranteed a high position in the Church. 

As a young cleric he was named personal chaplain to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. Though he was put in charge of dispensing alms to the poor, Norbert began to take on a lot of bad habits of the wealthy elite of the emperor’s court. As he grew in worldliness, his faith began to diminish.

A close brush with death, however, caused Norbert to reexamine his priorities. He decided to give up his position in the imperial court and dedicate his life to the contemplation of Christ.  

He was ordained a priest later that year. He renounced all of his worldly possessions and formed a religious order of like-minded men now known as the Norbertines.

He put wealth and a position of influence and luxury and the expectations of family and worldly comfort behind him, and finally began to live. Norbert and saints like francis and clare and so many others saints remind us of the need to put Christ first. 

We might not be called like Norbert, Francis, and Clare to take religious vows of poverty, but every Christian is to live in the world without allowing wealth and possessions to distract us from our Christian mission. Once in a while, when given an opportunity for luxury, we should turn it down. We must keep that tendency of ours of running away from difficulty and suffering in check, lest we miss an opportunity to bring about some good for the sake of the kingdom.

Even as a cleric, Norbert’s faith began to diminish, because he allowed the world to fill his heart. And in God’s mysterious way, a brush with death, he woke up, thanks be to God, and sought renewal of purpose. 

May each of us constantly seek that renewal of intention and purpose in service of the Lord, in which is found fulfilment, joy, and eternal life for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Inspired by the saints  who renounced the world to follow Christ with greater fervor, let us offer our prayers with hearts open to the will of God.

For the Church, that she may remain faithful to her mission of proclaiming the Gospel with courage, even when it requires sacrifice and detachment.

For bishops, priests, and all in consecrated life, that like St. Norbert, they may be renewed in zeal and holiness, placing Christ above all worldly gain

For those who have grown lukewarm in faith, that through moments of grace or trial, they may rediscover their purpose in Christ and return to Him with a renewed heart.

For young people discerning their vocation, that they may be open to the call of Christ, willing to renounce worldly ambition for the sake of the Kingdom.

For the success of our parish retreat tomorrow, that it may new our parish in putting our gifts in service of the Church’s mission.

That the sick, suffering, poor and afflicted may know that constant help of God’s grace.

For the faithful departed, especially those who sought the Lord with sincerity and humility, that they may now rejoice in His eternal presence, we pray to the Lord.

Heavenly Father, you raised up St. Norbert to be a witness to the power of conversion and the joy of discipleship. Through his intercession, may we too be strengthened to carry our cross and follow Christ more faithfully, for the glory of your Name. Through Christ our Lord.

June 6 2023 - St. Norbert - Church Renewal through Scripture and Eucharistic Adoration

 Yesterday, we celebrated the feast of the Apostle to the Germans: St. Boniface, who around the year 750 is sent by the Pope to evangelize the wild frontier of Europe at the time: the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany—spreading the Gospel among the scattered Germanic tribes and delivering them from their pagan worship and witchcraft. The blood of the martyrs certainly water the fields of Christendom in Europe, for within two hundred years of Boniface’s martyrdom, the Holy Roman Empire was established. 

Today’s saint, was born into the German nobility in the high middle ages. Norbert was ordained a subdeacon and was given a role in the imperial court as chaplain to the emperor and was put in charge of dispensing alms to the poor. But soon, Norbert fell into the trap of worldliness and began to take on a lot of the vices and bad habits of the emperor’s court. The Holy Roman Empire was not always very Holy…or Roman for that matter. Anyway.

During a violent thunderstorm, Norbert had a close brush with death. That glimpse of mortality and the judgment that comes at the end of life, led Norbert to a deeper conversion to Christ. At his ordination to the priesthood in 1115, Norbert gave away all of his possessions and moved to the valley of Premontre in northern France, from which we get the name Premonstratensian, the contemplative religious order he would go on to found. Because Premonstratensians, is a bit of a mouthful, they are typically called, the Norbertines, these days.

As a contemplative, Norbert’s life revolved around Prayer, Scripture, and the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As a priest and later as an archbishop, Norbert spent many hours in contemplation of the divine mysteries.  Consequently, His preaching and teaching were infused with the fruit of his time in prayer.

He believed that devotion to the Scriptures and to the Blessed Sacrament were essential for the renewal of his diocese and for the religious life of his monks. He encouraged the members of his religious order to read the scriptures often, and to pattern their lives after the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  These days when we are talking more and more about evangelization, that means Catholics must become much more familiar and devoted to the Scriptures, so that we can draw people to Christ through them.

Norbert was also devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, and Norbert attributed the conversion of sinners, the reform of the clergy, and the spread of the Gospel throughout his diocese to time spent in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  Religious art often depicts him holding a monstrance or kneeling in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

As the Church begins this year of Eucharistic Renewal, St. Norbert certainly offers a program for all of us to follow: to turn away from worldly vices and to alternate between time with the scriptures in our laps and time on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

 

To God the Father Almighty, may every prayer of our heart be directed, for it is His will that all humanity should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of all the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them, and deepen in them the virtues of justice and religion.

That the Norbertine Order and all those consecrated religious may inspire us to strive for greater holiness.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, especially for the sick and victims of war and terror and natural disaster.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.

June 6 2017 - St. Norbert - Rendering unto God what belongs to God

In the “Pledge of Allegiance” to the Flag of the United States of America, citizens of this country proclaim liberty and justice for all to be among our highest values.

Every culture in the world has functioned out of some understanding of justice. Justice preserves order and peace.  Justice ensures that individuals rights are respected, that we govern our affairs honestly, that we refrain from deceit, it protects the rights of the helpless and the lowly, it safeguards us from abuses of power by those in authority, it establishes the social order.  Without justice we would have anarchy, warfare between rival interests, oppression of the weak by the strong, the triumph of evil.  Justice is to be practiced by every citizen, and everyone who seeks to be a citizen of this country must pledge to uphold it.

In the gospel today, Jesus says, render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and render unto God what is God’s. He is certainly speaking here about Justice. Justice towards God, rendering unto God what is due to God is called the virtue of religion.  What do we give to God?  What do we owe to God? Our love, our devotion, our obedience, our reverence. In a sense, we are incapable of offering to God the infinite homage to which He is entitled.

But we seek to do our best, by acts of adoration, gratitude, penitence, and prayer. The Saints are those who have made this virtue of religion their life’s work.

For most of us, the spiritual life involves a growing realization of how important this work really is.

St. Norbert exemplifies this journey of faith. As a young cleric he was named personal chaplain to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry V. Though he was put in charge of dispensing alms to the poor, Norbert began to take on a lot of bad habits of the wealthy elite of the emperor’s court. As he grew in worldliness, his faith began to diminish.

A close brush with death caused Norbert to reexamine his priorities. He decided to give up his position in the imperial court and dedicate his life to the contemplation of Christ.

He was ordained a priest later that year. He renounced all of his worldly possessions and formed a religious order of like-minded men now known as the Norbertines.

Growth in this virtue of rendering God what belongs to God involves striving to enter into the spirit of filial love, obedience, and self-sacrifice Jesus had for the Father. Jesus is the supreme worshiper of the Father, who in His life and death glorified God to an infinite manner. Jesus, and the saints in imitation of Him, show this to be the purpose of our existence: to render unto God what belongs to God, to render Him everything, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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To God the Father Almighty, may every prayer of our heart be directed, for it is His will that all humanity should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

For the holy Church of God, that the Lord may graciously watch over her and care for her.

For the peoples of all the world, that the Lord may graciously preserve harmony among them, and deepen in them the virtues of justice and religion.

That the Norbertine Order and all those consecrated religious may inspire us to strive for greater holiness.

For all who are oppressed by any kind of need, that the Lord may graciously grant them relief, especially for the sick and victims of war and terror and natural disaster.

For the repose of the souls of our beloved dead, For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, our refuge and our strength, hear the prayers of your Church, for you yourself are the source of all devotion, and grant, we pray, that what we ask in faith we may truly obtain. Through Christ our Lord.