Rebuild My Church

Solemnity of the Anniversary of the Dedication of St. Pius X Catholic Church

As we celebrate this 62nd anniversary of the dedication of St. Pius X church, the first thing that came to mind was the admonition given to St. Francis in the church of San Damiano in Assisi: Rebuild my church.  This is what St. Francis heard a voice say to him.  Being the practical man that he was, he started to gather stones because that little church was falling apart.  But soon he realized, even as he completed that little church that still stands today, that God was giving him a bigger mission: to help rebuild the Church, the people of God, that that little church, the building, symbolized.

Ever since Vatican II, it has been vogue to say that the buildings don’t matter; that what matters is the people.  Like all errors, it’s attractive because it’s partly true.  But being partly true, it’s also partly false.  Buildings do matter–the way they look, their shape, how they are decorated and adorned–because God uses material things to communicate His grace, His life.  Our minds need order, and a building orders creation, and orders it for a particular use: for the worship of God.  No other place helps us worship God more than a church, especially a beautiful one.  Yes, seeing a sunset on Lake Michigan with the hues of pink and red against the blue background and white clouds is a way to experience God; no, it’s not the same as worshipping God in a church.  Inside the church is better because God dwells here in a special way that He does not in nature.  

And yet, the people do matter, because the building represents what the people are called to be: living stones in God’s temple.  Some of us are more chiseled than others.  But we are the stones that God uses to build His temple, built on the foundation of the apostles, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone, the stone that holds everything together.  We are the church, just like this building is a church.  And just like this building is ordered, not just stones randomly placed on each other, so the church is made up of different people with different roles, functions, and ministries, which keep the church going.

But today, just as in the 13th century, the church needs to be rebuilt.  And in this case, I’m not talking about this building, though it can always use repairs and beautifications.  But I’m talking about the people.  We need to rebuild God’s Church.  It is falling apart.  The gates of Hell will not prevail against it, as Jesus promised St. Peter when He made him the first pope, but we need to strengthen this building.  Some of the stones are covered in filth of crimes against children; some of the stones are covered in filth of breaking promises of chastity; some of the stones are covered in filth of cover-ups and dereliction of duty.  And the only thing that will change that, the only thing that will take us from these dark days of scandal is if we are the stones that God wants us to be in His temple.

There are three ways that we rebuild the Church and are the stones that God wants us to be in His temple.  And they are connected to our identity given to us in baptism to be priests, prophets, and kings.  

Our identity as kings does not make us in line to become an earthly monarch like Princes William and Harry.  Our identity as kings allows us to govern, not only our passions, but also to transform this world to look more like the Kingdom of God, in whose kingdom we are subjects by baptism.  We are not all called to be politicians, but we are all called to transform this world in our day to day lives.  That means we cannot settle for the common argument, “My faith tells me that X is wrong, but I don’t want to force my view on another.”  One example shows how foolish that sentiment is: My faith tells me that murder is wrong, but I don’t want to force my view on another.  If we really believe murder is wrong, then we should work as hard as we can, in many different ways, to prevent murder from happening.  If it’s truly wrong, then it’s wrong for everyone, not just Catholics.  To rebuild the Church, we cannot be satisfied with being Catholic only within the walls of this church.  Our faith, strengthened by a worthy reception of the Eucharist, should exude from us in everything we do.  We have too many part-time Catholics who only live their faith when they go to Mass, if they go to Mass.  Live your life saturated with the teachings of Jesus.  It will rebuild the Church.

As prophets, we are called to proclaim God’s Word.  Prophets were not early fortune tellers, who told you what lottery numbers to play.  Prophets spoke God’s Word, and told of what would happen if God’s Word was not obeyed.  Jeremiah did it in the 7th century BC in Judah, when he told the people that they needed to live their faith out, especially in the treatment of the poor, widows, and orphans, or else the consequences were exile and destruction of the Temple.  Very few, especially the princes, listened to Jeremiah, and so the people went into exile, and the Temple was destroyed.  We, too, are called to speak God’s Word to others.  We are called to do so charitably: “Stop X or you’ll go to Hell!” has rarely found a welcome ear.  But letting others know how God’s law and the teachings of the Church help us to be happier people, that’s something people listen to, especially when spoken out of love.  Live your life proclaiming the teachings of Jesus and His Mystical Body, the Church.  It will rebuild the Church.

Last but not least is priest.  Now, the priesthood of the baptized is different not only in grade but also in kind from the ministerial priesthood.  But both are important.  And being a priest by virtue of baptism means offering our daily sacrifices to God like a priest offering a sheep or goat in the Old Testament.  The sacrifice that God desires from us is a contrite, humble heart.  He wants us to recognize that He is God, and we are not.  He wants us to do penance for our sins, and even the sins of others, so that God’s mercy, and not God’s judgement, may rain down from heaven.  Sacrifice is not fun; it’s not easy; it always calls us to not do things we would like to do.  But it’s how we live out our call to be priests.  Not eating meat on Fridays was a sacrifice all Catholics used to do every week.  Maybe we should return to that.  Sacrificing five minutes of our time to pray is a great sacrifice.  Praying for that person that drives us mad is a great sacrifice.  Praying an extra rosary, reading the Bible, coming to daily Mass if we can, those are all sacrifices.  Sacrificing time and energy and the things we love is not easy; it requires personal commitment.  But living out your baptismal priesthood will rebuild the Church.

Today God says to each of us what He said to St. Francis of Assisi: rebuild by Church.  By living out our vocation as priests, prophets, and kings, we can be shaped and chiseled into the living stones that build up God’s temple.  It may hurt at times; it will always require a sacrifice; but without you, the People of God, the Church, living out this call, then the Church will remain in ruins, not destroyed, but not thriving, either.  Rebuild God’s Church!

Responding to the Word

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Usually every week, a different day each week, I get a phone call.  Recently it’s been more local numbers, like from Lansing, Detroit, or somewhere in the area.  I answer the call, and this is what I hear: (long pause); and then: hello, could I please speak with Mr. Strouse?  I think if you own a phone, you get those calls, too, unless you just let them go to voicemail (which they never leave, of course).

Today we hear about great news: God is closer to us than we could ever imagine.  Moses tells the Chosen People in the first reading, “‘For what great nation is there that has gods so close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him?’”  And while that was true in its own way in the Old Testament, as God revealed Himself to His people, and gave displays of His presence while crossing the Red Sea, while fighting the pagan nations, and while giving the Law on Mount Sinai, it’s even more true for us because of Jesus, the Messiah, who is God-made-flesh.  Jesus is truly and full God, and yet truly and fully man.  God walked among us, spoke to us with a human voice, listened to us with human ears, touched us with human hands, and experienced everything we do, except without sin.

We’re used to that news, because we’ve heard it for almost 2,000 years.  But it’s pretty shocking.  God, who is transcendent, made Himself sensible and limited.  He knows what it’s like to be born, to be in a family, to be poor.  He knows the heat of the day and the cold of the night, the fatigue of walking all day and the joy of reaching a destination.  He knows the cool splash of water, and having a great meal fill His stomach.  He knows what it is to be loved, but also what it is to be rejected.  And He knows what it is to die, to experience excruciating pain.  In any experience we have, we know that God understands us, even better than we do ourselves.

And that’s a great comfort.  When we’re sick, when we’re tired, when we’re lonely, when we’re supported by family, when we make a new friend, when we complete a job; all these things the Lord Jesus knows intimately.  He never abandons us.  And God desires to be so close to us that He gives us the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the co-eternal Son of God, in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, so that He can dwell inside us, just like in a tabernacle here in the church.  That’s great news!!

And yet, we can sometimes be like the telemarketers who call us but who don’t respond.  God gives us this great gift, and we’re unresponsive, or, even worse, apathetic.  St. James tells us today that we are to be “doers of the word and not hearers only.”  We’re often good at hearing.  We often stink at doing.  

We are part of the way that God’s work, the ministry of Jesus, continues today.  The Holy Spirit gives us His gifts to continue the work of Jesus.  God doesn’t need us, as if we didn’t exist nothing could happen.  And yet God humbles Himself to allow us to bring His presence to others.  He gives us His grace so that we can continue that closeness with His people.  His Spirit fills us with His life (what we call grace) so that when His children are sick, tired, lonely, celebrating, making new friends, completing a job, etc., they feel His presence and His love through us.  Sometimes, too, God wants us to challenge others with the power of His Spirit.  When we see something happening that is not right, we are not called to be tattletales, but are called to address the wrong.  

People are rightfully upset about the reports coming out that other bishops knew about Archbishop McCarrick and the evils he perpetrated, and yet they did nothing.  There seems to be some evidence that even Pope Francis knew.  And we are justifiably and righteously angry about that.  But it should also become an opportunity for us ask if we have looked the other way in our own circumstances when we have seen evil done: evil like cheating or stealing from a company; greed; harassment; inappropriate jokes; and more.  We have to be prudent about when to address wrongs and how to address them, but how often are we content to be hearers only of this message of repentance, and not doers ourselves?

God is close to us.  He is closer to us than we are to ourselves.  And Jesus makes Himself present to us in a special way by humbling Himself each day by becoming incarnate, once more, in the Eucharist, in His Body and Blood that look like bread and wine.  But God, who strengthens us with His grace and His presence, wants us not only to enjoy His presence, but to spread it to others, to help others experience how close the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon him.  “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.”