Every year on November 29/30 the Community of Sant’Egidio organizes “Cities for Life” – an international witness calling for the end of the use of the death penalty.  Cities around the world light up one of their city’s most notable landmarks (in Rome it is the Colosseum) as a visual witness calling for the respect for life in all circumstances.  Also there are various prayer services, conferences, forums and other forms of witness given on these days. 

Tonight at the Catholic Center (6:30 p.m.) we will host a “Prayer for Life on Death Row” as our way of joining in prayer with this international witness. 

“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street.  A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.”  (Isaiah 42:1-3) 

Throughout these weeks of Advent we are given visions of the coming Kingdom of God and of the long awaited messiah who will usher in this kingdom.  Many of these visions that we hear from and reflect upon these next few weeks as Church are from the prophet Isaiah.  It is interesting to note how much the quality of gentleness figures into the description of the God’s Kingdom and the very character of the messiah himself.  Isaiah, again and again in a variety of ways, gives voice to this characteristic. 

I am currently reading “Beatitudes: Eight Steps to Happiness” by Rainero Cantalamessa.  In the chapter entitled, “Blessed are the Meek, for They shall inherit the Earth“, Cantalamessa offers these words which I believe are worthy of consideration and reflection:

…Violence is not just physical but mental as well.  Within ourselves, if we pay attention, there are almost continuous prosecutions conducted “behind closed doors.”

I said that in some English translations of the beatitudes, we find the word “gentle” instead of “meek”.  There is a nuance about meekness in that word that is important to understand.  Saint Paul made this recommendation to the Christians at Philippi: “Let all men know your forbearance” (Philippians 4:5).  The Greek word that is translated “forbearance” indicates a whole conglomeration of attitudes that range from clemency to the ability to yield and to show oneself friendly, tolerant and welcoming.  This is not far from what we mean today by “gentleness”.

It is necessary first of all to rediscover the human value of this virtue.  Gentleness is a virtue at risk even of extinction in the society in which we live.  Gratuitous violence in films and television, deliberately vulgar language and the competition to push beyond the limits of the tolerable in public venues in terms of violence and explicit sex has accustomed us to all kinds of expressions of brutality and vulgarity. 

Gentleness is a balm in human relations.  I am convinced that people would be much happier in families if they were a bit gentler in their actions, in their words and above all in their hearts.  Nothing spoils the joy of being together as much as rough treatment. 

“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Proverbs 15:1)

“A gentle tongue is a tree of life.” (Proverbs 15:4)

“A pleasant voice multiplies friends and softens enemies, and a gracious tongue multiplies courtesies.” (Sirach 6:5)

A gentle person leaves behind a wave of affection and admiration wherever he or she goes.  “What a nice person!” is the first thing others say as soon as he or she is out of earshot. 

In addition to the human value of this virtue, we need to rediscover the gospel value of gentleness, which goes beyond a good upbringing and good manners.  In the Bible the words “meek” and “gentle” do not convey a passive meaning of “submissive” but rather a sense of someone acting with respect, courtesy and mercy toward others. 

Paul places gentleness among the fruits of the Spirit when he says that the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23).  For Saint Thomas Aquinas, gentleness is one of the characteristics of charity.  It does not exclude righteous anger, but it is able to moderate anger in a way that does not prevent a person from evaluating circumstances with peace and justice.  The clearest sign of its presence is that we respectfully acknowledge whoever is before us as a human being, with his or her sensitivity and dignity, and that we do not consider ourselves superior. 

On Thanksgiving day I took some time to take stock of all the blessings I have known in my life and as I did this I came to realize that one of the truest blessings for me has been the gift of having good teachers throughout my life.  These teachers through their effort and patience have helped to instill within me a love for learning that continues to this day.  I can easily call to mind each of these men and women from elementary school at St. Mary’s to high school at Science Hill, classes at ETSU, seminary at Conception Seminary College and Mundelein Seminary and now teachers that I encounter in life.  A good teacher leaves a lifelong impression.   

As I reflected on these men and women who have taught me so much I came to realize that there are three things that each was able to do; three things that I would say are the mark of a good teacher.  A good teacher helps the student to be aware; secondly, helps the student to think for him or herself and finally, encourages the student, therefore helping the student to find hope.  

Mrs. Transou taught history at Science Hill High School when I was a student and she had a way of making history come alive in her classroom.  The lesson in her class was not just, “remember these dates and spit them out on the exam!” but rather, see and understand how all these events, all these movements, factors and ideas have worked through time to bring us to where we are now.  In other words, be aware of both where we find ourselves and of all that has led to where we are now. 

Secondly, a good teacher (in my estimation) does not just tell the pupil what to think but aids the student in discovering and developing within herself or himself the very tools and insights needed to think for oneself.  It is easy to tell a student what to think (it is also safer), but to help another person think for oneself takes great skill and also implies a fundamental respect for the student as a human person.  There is an appropriate time and space for the teacher to give information and knowledge but there is also an appropriate time and space for the teacher to back off in order to let the student wrestle with what has been given.  A wise teacher is able to navigate and hold this balance. 

Finally, a good teacher encourages and gives hope.  It must be noted though that this hope is not unrealistic wishful thinking about a fanciful future but rather, is a hope solidly grounded and achieved only through the student’s mastering of the first two lessons already discussed.  It is precisely because the teacher sees that awareness is developing and that the student’s own abilities to wrestle with knowledge and shape his or her own opinion is being gained that hope for the future is found.  The good teacher encourages through realism and offers a “hard-fought for” hope based in reality.

Now, the reason why I think I have been led into this reflection on the gift of teachers in life is the recognition that the season of Advent – these four Sundays leading up to Christmas – can be the best of teachers for us on living discipleship if we let it.  We all know how busy this time of year can be and, in one form or another, every year we hear the same admonition from the pulpit – “Don’t rush to Christmas; learn the lessons of Advent!”  Well … it is true.  So I will say it again this year.  Advent is the best of teachers and it has so much to offer us … if we let it.

“Be aware!”  Advent is not naive about the human condition.  If, in this season, we have visions of peace (…the mountain of the Lord’s house being established … swords being beaten into plowshares…) it is because we do not know peace.  There is violence in our world and in our hearts.  There is sin and suffering, there is pain, hardship and injustice.  We have become problems to ourselves.  We yearn for peace because we do not yet know peace.  In Advent there is the honest recognition that we find ourselves, in our world and in our psyches, lacking peace.  The world recently has been given two powerful images that truly illustrate for us the situation in which we find ourselves and that therefore are powerful Advent images worthy of our continued reflection throughout this season.  The images are those of the Chilean miners trapped underground and rescued and the three teenagers just rescued from being adrift at sea for over fifty days.  These two events have much to teach us if we take the time to listen… 

If we become aware, if we come to recognize the situation in which we find ourselves, then the question arises, “What are we going to do about it?”  In the light of God’s grace what can we do?  It is not just enough to dream of peace, to dream of a better world, we have to do something about it.  This is the whole thrust of the second reading.  “Wake up!” says St. Paul, “…throw off the deeds of darkness … put on the armor of light; let us conduct ourselves properly as in the day...”  The work of Advent, which is the work of the Kingdom, if it is to be authentic must first begin and take root in the heart of each disciple, in our very lives – with the aid of God’s grace.  Just as the world claims that the cry of “Save yourself” is the only real choice to make in life; we, as Christians formed in the truth of the gospel, need to stand up and say, “No, you are wrong.  There is another choice – the choice to love, to serve and to let go of self.  The choice that our Lord himself made and it is in this choice where true life is found!”

Finally, Advent gives us a hope and encouragement founded in the ultimate reality and recognition that before we ever even begin to turn to God; God has already come to us.  Even as we light the candles of the Advent wreath we realize that Christmas has already come.  Christ is teacher, but even more fundamentally, Christ is savior!

When we listen to the accounts of the miners trapped underground and the three youths lost at sea we hear a common theme that they all express – their faith in God gave them hope.  This is not a trivial statement nor should it be passed over unheedingly.  In Christ, we have the surest hope.

Advent is the best of teachers.  Come, Lord Jesus!   

As this is Thanksgiving please indulge me in my litany of thanks. 

I am grateful for my parents.  They gave my brothers and I so much and sacrificed for us in ways that we will never know.  I pray that my father rest in the peace of Christ.  I am grateful for the time I have with my mother – she continues to teach and inspire me. 

I am grateful for my brothers and all my family, even though I don’t see them much I know that they are there and that there is much that we share. 

I am grateful for my family that is the Church.  The beauty of this human, blessed, sometimes convoluted and confusing reality that is the Church continues to awe me.  The communion of the Church (pilgrim and triumphant) is indeed a holy mystery. 

I am grateful for the Catholic Center community – at which I now serve.  Yes, they continue to turn my hair gray(er) but there is much love.  I am very proud of our little community and the witness we give.

I am grateful for our seminarians and the men in our diocese who are discerning with whom I am privileged to work as vocation director.  It continually inspires me to see a fine group of men honestly discerning God’s call in their lives.

I am grateful for all the assignments I have been privileged to serve at as a priest – All Saints Church, Knoxville Catholic High School, Diocesan Youth Ministry, the Deaf community, St. Mary Church in Athens, St. Mary Church in Johnson City.  These communities have helped to form me in my priesthood and my discipleship.

I am grateful for the three bishops I have been privileged to serve with: O’Connell, Kurtz and Stika.  Each man is different in his skills and abilities and each one truly loves the Lord.

I am grateful for my priest friends in and outside the diocese – we are a mixed lot, but so were the original twelve! 

I am grateful for the Community of Sant’Egidio and all my friends in the community.  The community continues to introduce me to metro and transportation systems around the world – lol!  Most importantly they have helped to further introduce me to Christ and the basic truths of discipleship.  To quote a friend – the community helps me to live the resurrection.

I am grateful for my education and the gift of having great teachers all throughout my life.

I am grateful for my two pups – Bailey and Maxine – they remind me to be human.

I am grateful for all the good people I continue to meet in my life (christians, non-christians, believers, non-believers).  It is a reminder of the mystery of it all and the basic humanity we all share.

I am grateful for the beauty of East Tennessee and the beauty of our world – with all its peoples and cultures.

I am grateful for this country in which I was born – all the good it has achieved and all of its possibility.

I am grateful for all my friends (the youngest to the oldest, the nearest to the farthest).

I am grateful for my lord and master Jesus Christ, whom I have met and continue to meet.  I am grateful for how he will not let me go (sometimes even despite my hard-headedness).  I am grateful for the truth of the Catholic faith that continually leads me to a deeper encounter with Christ.  I am grateful for the truth of God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit and who, in infinite mercy, invites us into communion.  “All creation is charged with the grandeur of God!”

I am grateful for the beauty of it all. 

I am grateful…

There is a story told about the temple mount in Jerusalem.  Before there was a temple.  Before there was even a city, there were two brothers that lived on either side of the hill.  One brother was wealthy yet he had no family.  The other brother had very limited resources but he had a large family.  One evening the wealthy brother was thinking of his brother on the other side of the hill.  “My brother,” he thought “does not have much and he has many mouths to feed and here I am with all my wealth.  I know what I shall do, every night under the cover of darkness I will take one sack of grain from my granary and carry it over to my brother’s and place it in his granary.”  Now, that very same evening the other brother was thinking of his wealthy sibling.  “My brother,” he thought “does not have the blessing of a family but he does have riches, I might as well help him grow even more in his riches.  I will take a sack of grain from my granary every night and carry it to my brother’s granary and place it with his grain.”  The brothers began to do this every night, all the time not saying a word to the other about what they were doing.  They were both amazed to see every morning that the number of sacks in their granaries remained the same although they had taken away a sack the previous evening.  This all continued for a while until one night they met one another at the crest of the hill carrying their sacks of grain.  Upon seeing one another they immediately realized what had been transpiring and they embraced one another in love.  And upon their embrace the voice of God sounded from heaven, “This is where I will build my house upon earth!” 

The moral of the tale, I believe, is this: when we make the choice to love and to give then we open our hearts that God might come in and make a dwelling place within us.  When we choose to love, God makes his home within and with us.

The latest Harry Potter movie is out and it is quite good but here I would like to share a quote from a previous movie (I cannot remember which one).  At one point in the whole story Dumbledore, the wise wizard, shares this insight with the young Harry, “Harry, it is neither our abilities nor our skills that define our character, rather it is the choices we make that truly define who we are.”  It is when we make a choice, when we exercise our will, that we truly define and determine who we are.

One of the beautiful aspects of our Christian faith tradition is the assertion and belief that every human person is made in the very image and likeness of God – the “imago Dei”.  As we proclaim this, it is understandable to then ask how we are made in God’s image.  Is it in our bodies, our physical makeup, that we image God?  No, because God is pure spirit and does not have a body.  Is it in our abilities or our skills that we image God?  Well, not really, our skills and abilities (no matter how impressive they might be) are not really all that much compared to the truth of God.  How are we made in God’s image?  Many of the greatest thinkers and saints of our faith tradition have answered this question by saying that it is in our will where we find most fully the image of God.  It is by our choosing the good that we show forth God’s image in which we are made.  When we, aided by God’s grace, make the choice to love, the choice to give, the choice to let go of self, the choice to forgive, to show mercy then we truly reveal the image of God in which we are made.  Our character is defined and determined by the choices that we make.

On this feast of Christ the King we proclaim that Christ is indeed Lord and King of all creation.  He is master.  Christ is the one who was dead but who is now risen and alive.  He is the firstborn.  As we proclaim Christ as King it is fair to ask what type of king do we have?  What is our king’s character?

The Gospel reading for this feast (Lk. 23: 35-43) tells us something truly important about the king we have and proclaim and it is revealed in the choice he made.  It is important to note that in the space of just eight verses, as our Lord is being crucified, he is presented with the same temptation three times; three times from different groups: the rulers, the Roman soldiers and the criminal hanging next to him.  The temptation is simple, “Save yourself!”  Rulers: “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.”  Soldiers: “If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.”  Criminal: “Are you not the Christ?  Save yourself and us.”  Three times this temptation is presented before our Lord and he could have chosen to save himself … but he did not.  Rather, he made a different choice.  He choose to obey the Father’s will; he choose to love both God and us, he choose to give of himself even unto death.

This is the king we have, the king that we proclaim and that we glorify!  Our character is defined by our choices and our king’s character is revealed in his choice here at the end of Luke’s gospel.  In the face of all the world’s temptation, Christ made a different choice – he made the choice of love.  Today we glorify Christ as king and as we do the same gospel truth is now put before us.  We all have the same temptation that our Lord faced and we know this.  In so many varied ways the world continues to put the same temptation before every disciple of Christ – sometimes subtly sometimes very blatantly.  “Save yourself!  Do not care about others.  Do not think of others.  Who cares about them?  Think only of yourself.  Save yourself!” 

But Christ our King shows us that there is a different way, a different choice can always be made.

When the world says, “Save yourself!” we, with God’s grace, can make a different choice.  We can make the choice to love.  We can choose to serve and to give of self.  We can forgive and offer mercy.  “Save yourself,” is not the only option we have.  Like Christ, our king, we can make the choice to love and to give.  We can always make the choice for the good regardless of the situation or the context in which we find ourselves.     

And the gospel truth is this: it is when we choose to love and to give (even when it seemingly leads to more hardship, more pain, difficulties and even death) that new and more abundant life is found and known.  More abundant than we could ever possibly imagine!  This is the truth of the cross and the resurrection – the seed of the glory of the resurrection is always found in the loss of the cross!

Today we celebrate Christ as King of Creation and we recognize the gospel truth that he puts before us.  As the world loudly proclaims, “Save yourself” to be the only option we know this not to be true.  Our king has shown us a different way.  There is always another choice that can be made – the choice to love – and it is in this choice that we find new and more abundant life.                   

Sorry that I have not written much lately.  I am learning that the job of Vocation Director entails a good bit of travelling.  I was in Leon, Mexico for Fr. Moises Moreno’s ordination (it was a great celebration) last weekend and tomorrow I leave for Philadelphia to visit our seminarians at St. Charles Borromeo.  I return Friday and begin a full weekend of activities.  Plus, I have had a head cold which began in Mexico and which has kept me running a little more sluggish than usual. 

Hopefully, by next week I will have a little more breathing space and will have something to offer. 

Anyway, below is a rendition of “Simple Gifts” by Yo-Yo Ma and Allison Krauss – a good preparation, I believe, for our upcoming national feast of Thanksgiving!  Peace.

There are reports on the internet that Pope Benedict took the opportunity in his homily at the dedication of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain this last Sunday to decry gay marriage.  From the reports you would think that this is all he talked about and that it was the focus of his homily.

Below is a video clip with this as its headline.  Below that is the full text of Pope Benedict’s homily.  I have highlighted the only part I could find that might be seen as pertaining to his “decrying” of gay marriage. Look at what the Holy Father said and honestly ask yourself if you find what he says to be in any way offensive.  Look at the whole context of the homily and ask yourself if you think gay marriage was the focus of the homily.  Even in the one paragraph highlighted, Pope Benedict is simply putting forth what the Church teaches and believes and, I would add, doing so in a very respectful manner.  One does not have to agree with the ideas and proposals that Pope Benedict puts forward in his homily (i.e. the advocation of “adequate economic and social means so that women may find in the home and at work their full development”) but I do not see how it can be claimed that he was using the bully pulpit of the dedication of the Basilica to solely focus on and “decry” gay marriage.  I just don’t see it.  Maybe I am missing something… 

HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI



DEDICATION OF THE EXPIATORY TEMPLE OF SAGRADA FAMILIA


BARCELONA


7 NOVEMBER 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

“This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep…. The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:9-11). With these words from the first reading that we have proclaimed, I wish to greet all of you taking part in this celebration. I extend an affectionate greeting to their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain who have graciously wished to be with us. I extend a thankful greeting to Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, Archbishop of Barcelona, for his words of welcome and for his invitation to me to dedicate this Church of the Sagrada Familia, a magnificent achievement of engineering, art and faith. I also greet Cardinal Ricardo María Carles Gordó, Archbishop Emeritus of Barcelona, the other Cardinals present and my brother bishops, especially the auxiliary bishop of this local church, and the many priests, deacons, seminarians, religious men and women, and lay faithful taking part in this solemn ceremony. I also extend a respectful greeting to the national, regional and local authorities present, as well as to the members of other Christian communities, who share in our joy and our grateful praise of God.


Today marks an important step in a long history of hope, work and generosity that has gone on for more than a century. At this time I would like to mention each and every one of those who have made possible the joy that fills us today, from the promoters to the executors of this work, the architects and the workers, all who in one way or another have given their priceless contribution to the building of this edifice. We remember of course the man who was the soul and the artisan of this project, Antoni Gaudí, a creative architect and a practising Christian who kept the torch of his faith alight to the end of his life, a life lived in dignity and absolute austerity. This event is also in a certain sense the high point of the history of this land of Catalonia which, especially since the end of the nineteenth century, has given an abundance of saints and founders, martyrs and Christian poets. It is a history of holiness, artistic and poetic creation, born from the faith, which we gather and present to God today as an offering in this Eucharist.

The joy which I feel at presiding at this ceremony became all the greater when I learned that this shrine, since its beginnings, has had a special relationship with Saint Joseph. I have been moved above all by Gaudí’s confidence when, in the face of many difficulties, filled with trust in divine Providence, he would exclaim, “Saint Joseph will finish this church”. So it is significant that it is also being dedicated by a Pope whose baptismal name is Joseph.


What do we do when we dedicate this church? In the heart of the world, placed before God and mankind, with a humble and joyful act of faith, we raise up this massive material structure, fruit of nature and an immense achievement of human intelligence which gave birth to this work of art. It stands as a visible sign of the invisible God, to whose glory these spires rise like arrows pointing towards absolute light and to the One who is Light, Height and Beauty itself.

In this place, Gaudí desired to unify that inspiration which came to him from the three books which nourished him as a man, as a believer and as an architect: the book of nature, the book of sacred Scripture and the book of the liturgy. In this way he brought together the reality of the world and the history of salvation, as recounted in the Bible and made present in the liturgy. He made stones, trees and human life part of the church so that all creation might come together in praise of God, but at the same time he brought the sacred images outside so as to place before people the mystery of God revealed in the birth, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this way, he brilliantly helped to build our human consciousness, anchored in the world yet open to God, enlightened and sanctified by Christ. In this he accomplished one of the most important tasks of our times: overcoming the division between human consciousness and Christian consciousness, between living in this temporal world and being open to eternal life, between the beauty of things and God as beauty. Antoni Gaudí did this not with words but with stones, lines, planes, and points. Indeed, beauty is one of mankind’s greatest needs; it is the root from which the branches of our peace and the fruits of our hope come forth. Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness.


We have dedicated this sacred space to God, who revealed and gave himself to us in Christ so as to be definitively God among men. The revealed Word, the humanity of Christ and his Church are the three supreme expressions of his self-manifestation and self-giving to mankind. As says Saint Paul in the second reading: “Let each man take care how he builds. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:10-11). The Lord Jesus is the stone which supports the weight of the world, which maintains the cohesion of the Church and brings together in ultimate unity all the achievements of mankind. In him, we have God’s word and presence and from him the Church receives her life, her teaching and her mission. The Church of herself is nothing; she is called to be the sign and instrument of Christ, in pure docility to his authority and in total service to his mandate. The one Christ is the foundation of the one Church. He is the rock on which our faith is built. Building on this faith, let us strive together to show the world the face of God who is love and the only one who can respond to our yearning for fulfillment. This is the great task before us: to show everyone that God is a God of peace not of violence, of freedom not of coercion, of harmony not of discord. In this sense, I consider that the dedication of this church of the Sagrada Familia is an event of great importance, at a time in which man claims to be able to build his life without God, as if God had nothing to say to him. In this masterpiece, Gaudí shows us that God is the true measure of man; that the secret of authentic originality consists, as he himself said, in returning to one’s origin which is God. Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, was capable of creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope which leads man to an encounter with him who is truth and beauty itself. The architect expressed his sentiments in the following words: “A church [is] the only thing worthy of representing the soul of a people, for religion is the most elevated reality in man”.

This affirmation of God brings with it the supreme affirmation and protection of the dignity of each and every man and woman: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple?… God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17). Here we find joined together the truth and dignity of God and the truth and dignity of man. As we consecrate the altar of this church, which has Christ as its foundation, we are presenting to the world a God who is the friend of man and we invite men and women to become friends of God. This is what we are taught in the case of Zacchaeus, of whom today’s gospel speaks (Lk 19:1-10), if we allow God into our hearts and into our world, if we allow Christ to live in our hearts, we will not regret it: we will experience the joy of sharing his very life, as the object of his infinite love.

This church began as an initiative of the Association of the Friends of Saint Joseph, who wanted to dedicate it to the Holy Family of Nazareth. The home formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph has always been regarded as a school of love, prayer and work. The promoters of this church wanted to set before the world love, work and service lived in the presence of God, as the Holy Family lived them. Life has changed greatly and with it enormous progress has been made in the technical, social and cultural spheres. We cannot simply remain content with these advances. Alongside them, there also need to be moral advances, such as in care, protection and assistance to families, inasmuch as the generous and indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation of human life in its gestation, birth, growth and natural end. Only where love and faithfulness are present can true freedom come to birth and endure. For this reason the Church advocates adequate economic and social means so that women may find in the home and at work their full development, that men and women who contract marriage and form a family receive decisive support from the state, that life of children may be defended as sacred and inviolable from the moment of their conception, that the reality of birth be given due respect and receive juridical, social and legislative support. For this reason the Church resists every form of denial of human life and gives its support to everything that would promote the natural order in the sphere of the institution of the family.


As I contemplate with admiration this sacred space of marvellous beauty, of so much faith-filled history, I ask God that in the land of Catalonia new witnesses of holiness may rise up and flourish, and present to the world the great service that the Church can and must offer to humanity: to be an icon of divine beauty, a burning flame of charity, a path so that the world may believe in the One whom God has sent (cf. Jn 6:29).

Dear brothers and sisters, as I dedicate this splendid church, I implore the Lord of our lives that, from this altar, which will now be anointed with holy oil and upon which the sacrifice of the love of Christ will be consumed, there may be a flood of grace and charity upon the city of Barcelona and its people, and upon the whole world. May these fruitful waters fill with faith and apostolic vitality this archdiocesan Church, its pastors and its faithful.

Finally, I wish to commend to the loving protection of the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, April Rose, Mother of Mercy, all who enter here and all who in word or deed, in silence and prayer, have made this possible this marvel of architecture. May Our Lady present to her divine Son the joys and tribulations of all who come in the future to this sacred place so that here, as the Church prays when dedicating religious buildings, the poor may find mercy, the oppressed true freedom and all men may take on the dignity of the children of God. Amen.

This past Sunday Pope Benedict XVI dedicated the Basilica of the Holy Family (La Sagrada Familia) in Barcelona, Spain.  On my recent trip to Barcelona for the Prayer for Peace I had the opportunity to tour the basilica.  It is truly an amazing and utterly unique structure and one that witnesses to the power of beauty to proclaim the faith and evangelize the heart in every age and circumstance.  In a time of rehashed, manufactured and shallow entertainment, beauty and fame; La Sagrada Familia proclaims boldly that is God who is the source of true originality and beauty.

In the first reading for today’s Mass we heard these words from St. Paul to the Philippians, “My beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.  For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work.” (2:12-18)

“…work out your salvation with fear and trembling…”  These are powerful words from Paul and words that can help us get to an understanding of how we as Catholics use the word “works” when it comes to the process of our salvation and sanctification.  Catholics do not, as some often suppose, believe that we achieve or merit our own salvation.  It is through Christ alone (his taking on sin for us, his death and his resurrection) that we are saved.  But we do cooperate with God in the continuing work of our salvation and sanctification.  We do have a role to play.   

I would like to share an image that I find helpful in this regard. 

Imagine a situation where a man stands in need of heart surgery.  He cannot save himself.  Left to himself he is lost and will surely die.  The man goes to the doctor, he undergoes surgery and his condition is rectified.  But the healing does not end there, in fact it would be foolish if it did.  The man has to undergo physical therapy, he has to receive medications, he even has to rest.  He has to follow the doctor’s orders.  The healing does not end with the surgery; it must continue afterwards and the man must make the conscious choice to cooperate with the healing process.

To go to physical therapy, to receive the necessary medications, even to rest are all forms of “work” in this regard.  Works that are truly essential to the full healing process.  Also, it is important to note that the doctor is just as present and active in this recuperative phase of the healing process as he was at the moment of surgery.

The healing grace of Christ does not end after the cross and resurrection (the surgery) and to cooperate in the ongoing healing process is not to deny or diminish either the role of the physician or ones own reliance on the physician.  In fact, the opposite is the case, the work of cooperation in the ongoing healing process demonstrates both an awareness of and dependence on the art, wisdom and skill of the physician.

Christ is the Divine Physician.  Through the grace of the cross and resurrection, the grace freely bestowed at baptism, our “hearts” are rectified – once again made right – but the healing process continues after the initial surgery and it would be foolish to act like it does not.  Ongoing participation in the sacraments, living in the community of the Church, serving one’s brothers and sisters, reflecting on God’s Word found in Scripture, praying, fasting, giving alms – all are cooperating and needed works in the full healing process. 

To acknowledge the surgery but deny the need for and efficacy of the ongoing recuperative treatment might allow an awareness of the heart rectified but there it ends – life remains reduced and limited.  The man remains in the hospital bed.  It is the ongoing “work” of faith – cooperating with and receiving grace – that enables one to rise from the hospital bed, grow to maturity in the Christian life and attain fullness in discipleship.  This awareness of the full dimension of divine healing does not deny the role of Jesus as the Divine Physician in the least but truly acknowledges our need for his presence in all the phases of healing. 

“…work out your salvation with fear and trembling…”

We still pray
We still sing
We still dream of the day
when  the birds will return
and the flowers
of our lost loved ones

We still live with the belief
that love and gentleness
and faith
will blossom forth one day
like roses in winter

We still believe that God
will be born again in our land
as we prepare the stable
of our hearts for the birth
of a new people.

(A poem to Guatemalan refugees in Mexico from Salvadoran refugees in Honduras, taken from “Death: A Sourcebook about Christian Death” by Liturgy Training Publications)

It is the heart that knows the wound of loss that can recognize the deep and tender beauty of the Feast of All Souls.