Rebuild God's Church!

Solemnity of the Dedication of St. Joseph Church

            There is, perhaps, no more famous saint in the Church (after the Blessed Mother) than St. Francis of Assisi (though I would say that St. Anthony is a close third!), whose feast we celebrated last week.  Even non-Catholics often have a statue of St. Francis, surrounded with birds and animals, in their yard.  This saint is often misrepresented–domesticated, we might say.  As a priest I know once preached, if we started talking to animals and calling the sun our brother and the moon our sister, it wouldn’t be a man in white from the Vatican coming for us, but men in white coats to take us to a psychiatric ward.  Still, even amid the confusing stories that often get warped over time, there is one I want to focus on today, reported by St. Bonaventure, himself a spiritual son of St. Francis:

One day when Francis went out to meditate in the fields he was passing by the church of San Damiano which was threatening to collapse because of extreme age.  Inspired by the Spirit, he went inside to pray.

Kneeling before an image of the Crucified…he heard with his bodily ears a voice coming from the cross, telling him three times: “Francis, go and repair my house which, as you see, is falling into ruin.”

[…] He began zealously to repair the church materially, although the principle intention of the words referred to that Church which Christ purchased with his own blood, as the Holy Spirit afterward made him realize….

            When we think about the dedication of the church, we may think that what we are primarily celebrating is the physical structure that was consecrated by the Bishop of Detroit, Most Rev. Casper Borgess on 13 October 1878.  That is what our eyes see, just as St. Francis’ eyes saw the dilapidation of the church of San Damiano.  But, this church building itself is a symbol, a visible sign of an invisible reality, which is meant to remind us what St. Paul told us in the second reading: “in [Christ] you are also being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”  We are the living stones and decorations of the temple of God, and God is making us into the heavenly temple of the new Jerusalem, “built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.” 

            The call that St. Francis heard in 1204 to rebuild the Church of God is still the call that echoes all these centuries later.  God is asking us to rebuild his church.  And he is not asking us to raise money to add on to the building.  God is asking us to be shaped into the living temple of God.  The call to rebuild the church of God is the call I am communicating to you today in the name of God!!  God’s church is in need of repairs, and we are the ones to repair it!!

            Since my arrival here in July, I have listened carefully to what people have told me about the parish.  So many people have used phrases like, “we used to…”, “years ago…”, “when Adrian was bigger…”.  My sense is that there is a great longing for the glory days of this parish, to return to activity, and joy, and a full church.  And I stand with you on that goal!!  There is no reason why this parish cannot be one of the greatest parishes in the Diocese of Lansing.  There is no reason why our parish cannot have glory days once more!!  We will do it, not for our own glory, but for the glory of God, and for the salvation of souls!!  But my excitement to do this is often rained upon by others when they remind me, as we all know too well, that the city of Adrian and its surrounding areas is in the midst of an economic downturn.  Money is not readily available.  And to that I say: that doesn’t matter!!  I’m not here to ask you for money.  I’m here to ask you to give your life to Jesus Christ!  Not just part of it, not just one hour on Sunday, but all of it!!  Because we are the temple of God.  Because we are, all of us, integral members of the Church of God.  And when we band together to support each other, there is nothing we cannot do if God wills it! 

            About a month ago, I saw the PBS special on the Roosevelts.  What came to my mind is that during the Great Depression, people didn’t have more than we have now.  In many cases they had less.  And yet, they were still able to do great things.  Not just because the government provided programs like the TVA, but because people wanted to be active and work for something greater than themselves.  As a Catholic family, here is our chance.  Right now we can band together to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ and become greater together than we are individually.  We are still important as individual members, but we become something greater when we band together, just as the individual bricks and stones of a building are important individually, but when put together in a particular way, builds this beautiful building in which we worship God. 

            But a thriving parish will only happen if we all band together.  A few of us cannot bear the entire burden.  We have volunteers, probably about 10% of the parish, who volunteer for about 90% of the work.  That is how burnout happens, and why people stop volunteering.   And that is when parishes start to die.  I’m not asking you to do it all.  I’m asking all of us to do a little and to use our gifts and talents to make this parish a place where we come to know and love the Living Lord, Jesus Christ, and to share that faith with others.  That is how we worship in spirit and truth.  That is how we build up the church of God.  Parishioners of St. Joseph: go and rebuild the church of God!!

What do you Fear?

Epiphany of the Lord

            On a most cloudy, 42-degree day, on Saturday, 4 March 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was sworn in for his first term as president of the United States of America.  After taking the oath of office, President Roosevelt gave his first inaugural address, including one of the most famous phrases he ever uttered: “let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” 

            Fear is a very powerful motivator and catalyst.  Think of the small child, lying in bed in the dark, not able to sleep, heart pounding almost out of his chest at the thought that the creaking of the house is actually a monster waiting to get him.  Think of the adolescent, willing to try any illicit activity because he is afraid of not being popular if he doesn’t do what the crowd wants.  Think of an adult, tossing and turning in bed, afraid that he will lose his job and afraid of what that will mean for his family.  Fear can really make us act.

            Fear is what overtook King Herod.  He was afraid that his kingdom was threatened by this newborn King of the Jews, as made known to him by the magi from the East.  His rule was already quite tenuous, as it was under the benevolence of the Romans, and amidst a people who did not accept him as their king.  He was afraid of losing all that he had built for himself.  And so he tries to use the Magi as his spies, to find the place of the newborn king so that Herod can kill the child and eliminate His reign.  And we all know the story: after the magi return by a different route, and Herod hears nothing, he orders the death of all male children ages 2 and younger, in the slaughter of the Holy Innocents, those first ones who died in place of Christ.

            And yet, as Jesus reveals Himself today in the Solemnity of the Epiphany; as He makes Himself known not just to the Chosen People but also to the Gentiles, to those outside of the Chosen People, represented by the magi, His message is not one of fear.  The magi come, and they see the Mighty God in the body of a little child.  This same child, after many years, proclaims to the apostles, the disciples, and to us today: “Do not be afraid!”  Herod had nothing to fear, if only he truly would have done Jesus homage as the King of Kings.

            And yet, even though Jesus tells us to be not afraid, as He reveals Himself to us, we still fear.  And the fear can lead us to do many things that we otherwise wouldn’t.  Think back 13 years ago to the fear that permeated society because the computers couldn’t handle the number 2000 for the year.  Or more recently, the perceived danger due to the end of the Mayan calendar on 21 December.  Or the recently averted so-called fiscal cliff.  Despite Jesus telling us year after year, “Be Not Afraid,” we still seem to act in fear, and it causes us to act in ways of which we would otherwise be ashamed.

            Of what are we afraid?  What personal kingdoms do we fear losing that we think Jesus is going to make us give up?  What things are we so afraid to lose if we lay them down at the feet of Jesus, the King of Kings?  Power?  Control?  Wealth?  Security?  Lifestyle?  A grudge?  How hard it can be to trust Jesus and not be afraid to put everything at His feet!

            I know it’s certainly hard for me.  I’m a type A personality (no shock for most of you, I’m sure!), and I love to have things under control.  I love to plan out events and how they’re going to go.  I like to have contingency plans in case something goes wrong.  It’s not wrong to want to keep things ordered, but they have to be ordered according to the will of God, not my will.  And it is hard to let Jesus have control, because, it means that I might have to change.  And nobody likes change.

            But the happiest people in life are those who laid their kingdom, whatever it was they were attached to, at the feet of Jesus and did not let their fear keep them from letting Jesus direct their lives.  Look at St. Ignatius of Loyola: he had everything figured out as a mercenary.  Then his leg was severely damaged in battle, and while recuperating he was eventually to not let his fear control him (though this took a great deal of battling with himself), and he became a knight for God.  Or American’s own St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, who gave up a life of great wealth in order to serve the Church in American, especially the African Americans and Native Americans who did not receive the same level of education because they were on the fringes of society.  It would have been so much easier for St. Ignatius to continue his soldiering; it would have been so much easier for St. Frances to live in the lap of luxury in Italy.  But they were able to conquer their fear with the help of God, and even though it meant that they had to abandon familiar people, places, and lives, they found life so much better in serving Jesus. 

            When King Herod feared a rival power, it led him away from God.  When we act out of fear, especially fear of having to make changes in our life because we are more devoted to Jesus, we move away from God.  When, instead, we choose to trust God in the face of fear and allow Him to truly be King of our hearts, we find that we lose nothing of who we are meant to be, and gain everything, because we have Jesus.  Do not be afraid to trust Jesus and give Him control of your life!  Will you have to change?  Jesus calls all of us to conversion.  But that relationship with Jesus, no matter what we have to abandon in order to follow Him, is the pearl of great price, which is worth more than anything the world could ever offer us.  “Do not be afraid!”