I did a little presentation
yesterday for Coffee and Catholicism entitled “what does it mean to be Church”
in which I drew heavily from the fathers of Vatican II, especially from the
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen
Gentium, a document which makes a clear and strong call to all of the
people of God, the clergy and the laity alike, to take up the mission of
Christ. That is, to bring the light of
Christ to the nations, and to preach the Gospel to every creature, and to bring
about the salvation of the world. And
how exactly are we to do that? By the
example of our own holy lives, by our own holy deeds. By our love!
I
think a lot of folks think that was a pretty new concept with Vatican II. I mean, before the Council, there seemed to
be a general belief that “the Church” was the clerics, and the salvation of the
world was their responsibility. That
holiness was something bishops and priests need to be concerned with. But no.
Lumen Gentium makes clear that the mission of Christ – the salvation of
the world – is each of our responsibilities – all of our responsibilities, and
as such, each of the baptized must strive for personal holiness.
But
even though perhaps it wasn’t emphasized very much before Vatican II, this was
no new concept. In fact, the call to the
laity to strive for personal holiness was something we can largely attribute to
the Saint whom we celebrate today – Francis de Sales. For Francis, who lived just after the Protestant
Reformation, more than any other spiritual writer, stressed the need for each
of us to pursue lives of holiness. And
in his dealings with His flock and in his vast letters and writings, Francis
provided the wisdom and the direction for the Faithful to do just that.
But
it’s not just holiness that we are called to, according to Francis. You and I are called to something even
greater, which he calls devotion. To
live devout lives. True devotion,
according to Francis, is putting the love of God into action. Prompt action. Where our faith lives are not only focused
on our own sanctification, but where our lives become more and more
outward-directed. And this is naturally
harder for laypersons, says Francis, because the world of the laity is more a
challenging and difficult in which to put God’s love into action.
But
that’s where Evangelization will come from – from committed, devout followers
of Christ living committed, devout, active lives in the world. According to Francis, it is the mission of
the Faithful to live so that the world will find “a wellspring of holy piety
amid the bitter waves of society and amid the flames of earthly lusts without
singeing the wings of its devout life.”
In other words, to live and act and be the presence of Christ in this world
without being of this world.
Let
us ask St. Francis deSales, then, for his intercession that we may have the
strength and courage and grace to live ever more devout lives, that by our
lives and example we may present Jesus Christ to the world around us, and that
through us in His Holy Church, Christ may win many souls to the glory of God
the Father. Amen.
Second homily -
Perhaps
you’ve experienced this – I know I have – you listen to the proclamation of the
Gospel and your curiosity is piqued, you have some burning question about it
and you hope the preacher will address it – and then he preaches on the first
reading, leaving your question unanswered.
Well
I had that experience with this Gospel - I had my own burning question: Why the heck does Jesus rebuke the unclean
spirits “not to tell anyone” that He is the Son of God? And, you may recall, this isn’t the only
place in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus commands quiet. In the eighth chapter Peter confesses Jesus
is the Messiah, and Our Lord commands him and the disciples not to tell
anyone! And there are others places too. Why is that?
Well
after a bit of research and thinking and praying, here’s the thing, I
think. You see, Mark’s Gospel never
conceals who Jesus is – in chapter 1 verse 1 Mark makes it very clear “the
beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Meaning, as Peter later confesses, the
Messiah. The rest of the Gospel, though,
is devoted to telling his readers exactly what sort of Messiah this
Jesus is.
Today’s
Gospel tells us that the people saw the Lord was some sort of rock star
healer! Folks swarming from every
direction, not to listen to His words, not to learn His message, but to be
healed. To be made whole. Just by touching Him. But Mark doesn’t want this to be our only
understanding of who Jesus is, of what sort of Messiah He is, and that is why
we hear Jesus rebuke the unclean spirits to “tell no one about Him.”
You
know, I think we have this tendency to think of Jesus in terms of His life, His
power, his healing, the benefits He bestows, I know I often do. A lot of TV religion does too. In our minds’ eye we swarm Him ourselves in
prayer and look to press in on Him and touch Him. And that is fine and good.
But,
in his Gospel, written to the Church in Rome undergoing terrible persecution, Mark
doesn’t want us to think of Jesus without also thinking of the cross. Doesn’t want us to think about His life
without also keeping in mind His suffering and death. Jesus is a mighty healer, yes, but He is also
a suffering Messiah.
Who
while swarmed from every direction for his healing, was later left abandoned to
die a criminal’s death. Who saves us
only through His suffering, death and resurrection, and calls us to take up our
own crosses. To unite our own sufferings to His. Be they our aches and pains, or our illnesses
small and serious, our frustrations, our brokenness, even our
persecutions. He calls us to bear these
crosses and endure for love of Him.
So
let us ask the Lord today for the grace and the strength to follow Him
faithfully, for the courage to endure our own sufferings, and the peace that
only He can give to us.
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