The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Dear brothers and sisters,
Mother Church presents us today with two seemingly contradictory messages. First, we heard the Prophet Elijah, who has suffered greatly because of his service of God, say, “This is enough, I Lord! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers” (I Kings 19:4). Hearing Elijah’s overdramatic complaint and after he took a nap, God gives him simple advice: “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you” (I Kings 19:7)! This is one of my favorite passages because it proves that one cure for sadness has not changed over the centuries: sleep and food. (Saint Thomas Aquinas will later also advise a glass of wine and a warm bath.)
The second seemingly contradictory message we heard in the Psalm: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth” (Psalm 34:2). Maybe Elijah missed that memo. Saint Augustine, though, did not.
Pondering this verse, the Doctor of Grace asked a straightforward question: “When are you to bless the Lord?” He considered various circumstances in life in response to his question:
When he showers blessings on you? When earthly goods are plentiful? When you have a plethora of grain, oil, wine, gold, silver, slaves, livestock; while your mortal body remains healthy, uninjured and free from disease; while everything that is born on your estate is growing well, and nothing is snatched away by untimely death; while every kind of happiness floods your home and you have all you want in profusion? Is it only then that you are to bless the Lord? No, but “at all times” (Psalm 34:2). So you are to bless him equally when from time to time, or because the Lord God wishes to discipline you, these good things let you down or are taken away from you, when there are fewer births or the already-born slip away. These things happen and their consequence is poverty, need, hardship, disappointment and temptation. But you sang: “I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall be ever in my mouth,” so when the Lord gives you good things, bless him, and when he takes them away, bless him.
The memory of this part is essential: God never takes himself away from me; he never takes himself away from you. Do not forget this!
We know how easy it is to bless God, to praise him and thank him, when everything is, as it were, going our way. But when the storms of life come – as they surely will – and everything seems to be falling apart, blessing, praising, and thanking God becomes more difficult and requires a conscious and intentional effort. Perhaps this is the point; blessing, praising, and thanking God should not be an unthinking or automatic response to the situations of life, but a deliberate response to whatever circumstances we find ourselves in. At all times we must draw near to Christ Jesus, to him who never withdraws from us, and say with Job, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21)!
Today the sadness of Elijah and the gratitude of the Psalmist are both present in my heart as I prepare to take up the roles of Chaplain and Director of Campus Ministry, as well as that of Adjunct Assistant Professor, at Quincy University and will therefore soon cease to be your Pastor. As I have told you before, I am very eager to take up this ministry and pray the Lord will bless my efforts to help the university students come to know, to love, and to serve him. Still, my heart is heavy.
These past seven years with you have been one of the great blessings of my life; departing from you will not be easy. I cannot thank you enough for the support and encouragement you have given me, or especially for the many prayers you offered for me.
Looking back over these years since my arrival here, there have been:
- 29 baptisms;
- 2 receptions into the Catholic Church of those previously baptized;
- 4 weddings (one with Father Chuck Edwards, one with Deacon Greg Maynerich, one convalidation with me, and one wedding with me yesterday);
- 11 Confirmations (mostly during COVID-time); and,
- 33 funerals.
We have also accomplished a great deal together to improve the physical complex of this parish in a number of ways:
- we trimmed back a few trees (though that, or more, needs to be done again);
- we replaced the roof of the hall and of the church, and have money set aside to replace the roof of the rectory;
- we replaced air conditioners and furnaces at both the hall and the rectory and replaced the church boiler with furnaces;
- we replaced the refrigerators in the hall;
- we replaced the flooring, windows, and exterior doors of the rectory, as well as the stove, washer, and dryer;
- we installed a new organ; and,
- we repainted the Nativity set statues.
Hopefully the next major project here will involve a renovation of the bathrooms and kitchen in the hall.
The financial resources of the parish have also improved in a mind-boggling way:
· you contributed $94,000 to our capital campaign that had a goal of $70,000, which allowed us to improve the physical plant;
· looking at the calendar year, the average weekly collection has increased over these seven years by more than $500 each week, despite the increased costs to just about everything; and,
· our capital campaign fund still has around $20,000 in it and our checking account has around $45,000 in it and our savings account around $70,000, funds which will go a long way to making continued improvements.
The financial situation of the parish caused me stress in my first few months, but your impressive generosity quickly took that worry away.
Each of these accomplishments demonstrates some of the strengths of this parish and the commitment of you, its parishioners. It is remarkable for a parish of 58 households! Still, if these accomplishments are all we have accomplished during my pastorate, I will have failed as your Pastor and should with Elijah, “This is enough, O Lord. Take my life…”
When I was installed as your Pastor, I told you I came with no particular agenda, save one. You may recall these words I said to you:
When a new pastor arrives in a parish, many of the parishioners wonder what program he will enact. The only program, if you will, which I hope to enact is to help you prepare to see the face of Christ more clearly, to help you draw near to him and bask in the light of his face, a light which can transform us and make us like himself. I hope to help you seek the Lord not in curiosity, but in love, to not only hear his voice speaking in the quiet of your hearts, but to see his face and become witnesses of his majesty and to take your places within the Father’s house.[1]
Looking back, I fear the necessary physical improvements may have sometimes distracted me from focusing on my intended goal. Yet I must hear the Lord say, “Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you.”
By God’s grace, I pray we have been able to draw nearer together to the Face of God, to see him more clearly, to be conformed more closely to him, and more prepared to dwell with him in love. If this has been achieved, then my time as your Pastor will have been a success.
No matter where we are in the world, no matter how many miles lie between us, whenever we look to Lord and draw near to him, we will not be far apart; gathered at his altar we are ever close to one another through Christ Jesus. This is the great mystery of his love that forms us each into his Body.
With this in mind, let us not dwell too much on sadness today, but give thanks to God for the time he has allowed us to have together. As Saint Augustine’s heart was pierced with the love of God, so has my heart been pierced with your love. You will always have a place in my heart and a remembrance in my daily prayers; please, remember me in yours.
As we continue to seek the Face of God, let us pray with Saint Augustine:
You have radiated forth, you have shined out brightly, and you have dispelled my blindness. You have sent forth your fragrance, and I have breathed it in, and I long for you. I have tasted you, and I hunger and thirst for you. You have touched me, and I ardently desire your peace.[2]
May the Lord fulfill our longing, thirst, and desire, and gather us together again before his Face. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment