May Jesus Christ be
praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
The Lord Jesus, in our
readings today has given us a warning. He
has told us that before he returns in glory at the consummation of the world,
that we would be seized and persecuted and that we will be handed over to those
who will criticize and mock us. We will
be called before the world to give an account for the hope that is ours. We will be called to be witnesses for Jesus
Christ.
We are often confronted
by people who hate the Church and the Catholic Faith, or more often, we are
confronted by people who hate what they think is the Catholic Church and her
sacred teachings. In these moments of
confrontation, when what we hold most dear is being attacked and when our very
identity is at stake, we are faced with a choice of responses. We can throw the intellectual rock of our
faith. We can present the clear witness
of Sacred Scripture and the overwhelming proof of history. We can respond with righteous indignation to
each and every one of the charges against us.
We can crush those who attack us with the truths of our faith.
Or, dear brothers and
sisters, we can cast a fishing line.
The Lord Jesus tells us
not to prepare any defense. He tells us
to be at peace. The Lord Jesus himself will give us the wisdom to make our
testimony of faith that our adversaries will be powerless to resist or to refute. This wisdom is the bait for the fishing
line. The testimony that cannot be
denied is holiness, and it is irresistible and irrefutable.
We are all called to
holiness. We are all called to seek a
deeper union with the Lord Jesus. That
is the overwhelming message of the Second Vatican Council. Everyone in the Church is called to holiness,
and we are called to holiness through the events of our daily lives. Saint Paul reminds us that it is important
for each of us to be diligent in our daily work. Saint Paul reminds us to
follow his example of loving service. In
so doing, we will grow in holiness because we are being faithful to our
vocation. Every vocation is a path to
holiness. A vocation is given by God and
embraced by us in love. Your life as a
mother or a father, as a married person or a single person, of whatever age and
whatever career, is your path to grow closer to God. The Lord Jesus calls you to holiness right
where you are. He calls you to holiness
through the events of each and every day.
Our daily work is an opportunity to grow in holiness and be a witness
for the Lord Jesus.
But my dear brothers
and sisters, the most important thing that we do to grow in holiness, is
respond to the invitation of the Lord to the celebration of the Eucharist. It is here, where we are fed by the Word of
God and the Bread of Life, that we are strengthened to be his witnesses. We are healed by the rays of the Sun of
Justice, as the prophet Malachi tells us.
We are healed, dear brothers and sisters, so that we can respond with
compassion and with faithfulness and cast not rocks, but a fishing line. Amen.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
