Category: Saints

Today’s readings: 1 Corinthians 9: 16-19, 22-23; Mark 16:15-20
Today’s saint

We celebrate the memorial of St. Francis Xavier as a feast today, because he is the patron saint of the Diocese of Joliet. Francis Xavier was a sixteenth century man who had a promising career in academics. He was encouraged in the faith by his good friend, St. Ignatius of Loyola, and went to join the new community founded by Ignatius, the Society of Jesus, better known today as the Jesuits.

Francis had a passion for preaching the Gospel and living a life of Gospel simplicity. He would live with and among the poorest of the poor, sharing their living conditions, ministering to the sick, and preaching and teaching the faith. He lived in the East Indies for a time, before going on to minister to the Hindus, Malaysians, and Japanese. Francis even learned a bit of Japanese in order to communicate well with his people and to preach to them. He dreamed of going on to minister in China, but died before he could get there.

Francis Xavier truly took to heart the words of St. Paul who said he made himself all things to all people in order to save at least some. Francis made it his life’s work to live as his people lived, preaching to simple folk, and calling them to Jesus. He was also able to live freely Jesus’ Gospel call today: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

Now we might not have the opportunity to live as Francis Xavier did and to actually go out to distant shores to preach the Gospel. But we certainly are still called to preach it with our lives. We are called to witness to Christ to everyone we meet: family, friends, coworkers, neighbors-anyone the Lord puts in our path. Our diocese chose Francis Xavier for our patron because our founders took seriously the call to proclaim the Gospel to every person in this diocese. We are called upon to do the same, according to our own life’s vocation and state of life. May all who hear our words and see our actions come to believe and be saved.

Today’s readings | Today’s saint

“We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.”

Those words could well have been said by Mother Cabrini. She was a humble woman of great faith and fortitude, who stayed with her mission. She was refused entrance to the religious order that had educated her. So she began working at an orphanage, eventually becoming a sister in the religious order that ran it. She later became their prioress. She went to New York intending to found an orphanage there. The house they were to use turned out not to be available, and the bishop advised her to return to Italy. But she stayed, and eventually founded not only that one orphanage, but 67 institutions dedicated to caring for the poor, the abandoned, the uneducated and the sick. She died at Columbus hospital in Chicago, which she also founded. She was the first American citizen to be canonized a saint.

Frances Xavier Cabrini knew well that servanthood was not for one’s own glory, but instead for the glory of God. We disciples are called to do all sorts of things, and we would be well-advised not to look for glory for them in this lifetime. After all, we have done only what we were obliged to do, as the Gospel reminds us today. I think the words of encouragement that we must live and die for should be “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into your Master’s joy.” That’s what we all hope to hear on that great day when we stand before our Creator in judgment. What a glorious day that will be for those servants who considered themselves unprofitable, working with fortitude as did Mother Cabrini, and who did what they were obliged to do.

Our first reading echoes that very sentiment. The just may indeed be mocked and chastised by people in the world. But those who persevere though those trials will be blessed by God, and their hope will be full of immortality. The souls of the just are always in the hands of God, and no torment can ever reach us there.

Today’s readings | Today’s saint

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

So much of our progress in living the Christian life is hampered by our own ego, self-centeredness and pride. Many people think sexual sins are the worst sins there are. While they are certainly bad, when it comes to being able to get past them, they pale in comparison to pride. Pride is a stubborn sin that refuses to go away, and puts up huge barriers between us and the God who made us. Whenever I am finding it difficult to progress in my spiritual life, I find that I need to do a deep examination of conscience to root out whatever traces of pride may have been rearing their ugly heads. I need to take that lower place at the table, realizing that it’s not about me, it’s about Christ. It’s an examination of conscience we should all make regularly.

And for our example, we can certainly look to today’s saint, St. Martin de Porres. He was the son of a Spanish nobleman of Peru, and a slave woman, probably black or perhaps Native American. His father refused to acknowledge him for eight years, and eventually gave up on the family after the birth of his sister. His mother apprenticed him to a local barber/surgeon when he was twelve. After a few years in this position, he applied to the Dominicans as a “lay helper” because he felt like he was not good enough to be a full brother. After some time with them, the community begged him to become a full brother and he did so, serving the poor and serving in the community’s priory and kitchen. But he never got past being “a poor slave,” even noting that the community should sell him when the priory was in debt.

St. Paul tells us today that “the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.” No matter how often we try to turn away, or more poignantly today, no matter how often we try to forget that God is God and we are not, God never turns away from us, and continues to give us the gifts and call us to service. What we are is God’s gift to us and what we become is our gift back to God. Putting our gifts at his service, ever aware of the source of those gifts, we are called to grow in holiness. St. Martin was called “Martin of Charity” because of his loving service to all those in need, and because of his great humility. May we see in him our model, never exalting ourselves, but always humbling ourselves for the sake of Christ.

Today’s readings | Today’s feast (more)
Mass for the School Children

Did you hear that? Jesus says, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (And) blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” Now I want to see a show of hands here: how many of you would like to be insulted, persecuted, and had mean things said about them? Nobody? Well…

These days, not too many of us have to suffer like that for our faith. In the country in which we live, faith is more or less accepted. If you’re a Christian, not too many people are going to give you a hard time or even kill you. But it wasn’t always that way. Especially back in the very early days of the Church, right after Jesus died and rose and ascended into heaven, things were hard for Christians. They were though of as some kind of evil people or troublemakers. People were always trying to get them to give up their belief in Jesus. And when they wouldn’t give it up, they were often put to death.

We call people who are put to death for their faith martyrs. The Church always believed that these people went right to heaven, because of what Jesus tells us today: “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Right away, these people were remembered with great fondness and eventually there were enough of them that the church celebrated a day in remembrance of all the martyrs.

Eventually, the Church believed that you didn’t necessarily need to die for the faith to be holy. And so the idea of saints began to include people who were popes, bishops, priests, nuns, and lay people who had done wonderful things or who had been known to be very holy people and dedicated to the faith. These are people who were poor in spirit, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful to others, peacemakers, and all the rest. We started to look at all these people as role models, and remembered them after their death.

Each of us has a patron saint. Usually it’s a saint with the same name as you, or maybe you’ve picked some other saint whose story appeals to you for some reason. Our fourth graders recently did a project about their patron saints, and I’d like them all to come up here now to show us their banners, and some of them are going to share their stories with us…

All of these wonderful patron saints help us to know Jesus better. That’s why they are with us. These saints pray for us and with us every day of our lives. When we celebrate the Eucharist together here at Mass, they are praying with us up in heaven. Whenever we think about them, we can learn a little more about what it means to be close to Jesus and to be holy.

But even these patron saints aren’t the only ones we celebrate today. Lots of saints have their own feast days, like the ones our fourth graders showed us on their banners. This is the feast day for all of those unofficial saints: people who lived holy lives but never really attracted any attention. They might even be people you know, or knew. Maybe these saints are your grandparents or great grandparents whose prayer life and witness has taught you about the faith. Maybe they were those who served in our armed forces heroically and with integrity. Maybe they are your neighbors who work and live with honesty and grace. Maybe she is the lady you knew from Church who was probably in pain just before she died, but never complained and was always cheerful. These holy men and women have made their families and their homes holy, and have painted our communities with holiness. They may never find their names on the list of the official saints, but they too are part of what we call the Communion of Saints.

Because the real news of this celebration today of All Saints is that we are all called to be saints! Every one of us! It’s not enough to just think about the saints and admire them for being holy, poor in spirit, peacemakers, and all the rest. We have to become those things ourselves. Each of us is called to live a holy life. We do that by reading the Bible, by praying, by going to Mass, by becoming responsible people, by loving all the people in our lives, by reaching out to those less fortunate than ourselves, by staying away from anything that makes us love people less. Most of us aren’t saints yet, but we are on our way. Every day of our lives is a chance to become holier, to become that saint that God created us to be.

And who knows, maybe in a couple hundred years, some other fourth grade class will be doing a saint report about one of you…

Today’s readings: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15 & Luke 12:1-7 | Today’s saints
Mass for the school children (Junior high)

A long time ago now, when I was your age, I used to like watching movies about the wild west, and playing cowboys and Indians. It was fun to think about our history in those days and to re-enact what we thought it must have been like. But the truth is, the history of the frontier that included our nation was pretty dark, and pretty barbaric, and quite often very sad. Just like in lots of times and places in the world and in history, men and women who were people of faith gave their lives for the faith. Life was brutal, but courageous people brought faith to this land.

St. Paul says to the Corinthians in today’s first reading, “We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again. We face death every day because of Jesus.”

Saints Isaac Jogues and John de Brébeuf knew what St. Paul was talking about. They were Jesuits from France. They lived in the seventeenth century and worked among the various Indian tribes, bringing them the Christian faith. Father Isaac worked among the Huron Indians. The Hurons were constantly being attacked by the Iroquois. Father Isaac was captured and tortured for thirteen months. When he finally managed to escape back to France, he returned with many fingers missing from his torture. Priests aren’t allowed to say Mass if they don’t have all of their hands, but Father Isaac received special permission to say Mass from Pope Urban VIII who said, “It would be shameful that a martyr of Christ be not allowed to drink the Blood of Christ.” Now you’d think that having escaped to safety, Father Isaac would have stayed put, but he didn’t. He still had a deep concern and love for his friends the Huron Indians and so he returned to the New World. But on the way, he was captured by a Mohawk Indian party who tomahawked and beheaded him on October 18, 1646.

Father John de Brébeuf lived and worked in Canada for 24 years until the English expelled the Jesuits from the land. He returned four years later, also to work among the Hurons. He composed catechisms and a dictionary in Huron, and saw 7,000 converted before his death. He was captured by the Iroquois and died after four hours of extreme torture.

Father Isaac and Father John were two of eight Jesuits who gave their lives for the faith in North America. They were canonized – made saints – in 1930. They knew what Jesus meant in today’s Gospel when he said, “Even the hairs of your head have all been counted. Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.” Those eight men lived during very dangerous times. They had seen a lot of violence in the New World, but they were not afraid. They gave their lives willingly so that people would come to know the Lord Jesus who gave his own life for all of us.

You probably won’t ever have to decide whether to keep believing in Jesus and die or renounce him and live. But you absolutely will have to decide to keep believing in Jesus even when it’s unpopular. Even when your friends want to do something wrong. Even when you are tempted to cheat in school, make fun of someone because everyone else is doing it, or try drugs, or look at things on the Internet you’re not supposed to, or hang out with the wrong crowd. It’s going to be hard and maybe even a little scary to say no to those things and yes to your faith in God. But that’s what Jesus is asking you to do today. And he is telling you not to be afraid to do that, not to be afraid to stand up for your faith. Because he will help you do the right thing. And saints like Isaac Jogues and John de Brébeuf will intercede for you and will be your guides. All you have to do is to decide to do the right thing. Remember, Jesus tells you today, God takes care of even the little sparrows. And you are worth more than many, many sparrows.

Today’s readings | Today’s saint

“I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.” St. Margaret Mary spoke these as her dying words, while being anointed at the age of 43. Margaret was a simple woman and a Visitation nun. She worked as an assistant in the convent infirmary, but God had other plans for her. After being a nun for just three years, she began to receive revelations in which Christ called her to make his love for all humanity known. His human heart was to become the symbol for this divine and human love for all of us. He called her to frequent Holy Communion, especially on First Fridays, and to spend Thursday evenings in an hour’s meditation on the agony at Gethsemane. This devotion eventually spread to the entire Church under the name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I have two Margaret Marys in my own life: my sister and my grandmother on my father’s side. My grandmother was one who was a great model of faith for me. She and I would often sit together and talk about her childhood in Ireland, and all the problems of the world. She was one of my best friends until her death shortly after I graduated from college. She too had a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and her love for Christ and the Church helped stimulate my vocation throughout my life.

St. Paul says to the Romans today, “Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.” If we were simpler in our faith, like St. Margaret Mary, maybe we too could catch the holy from what is out there in creation. Maybe we would be more able to see the love of Christ in our brothers and sisters and become devoted once again to his Sacred Heart. We tend to be a people so focused on the task at hand, that at times we might be really able to get through an entire day, even a day of service, without ever once thinking about God in a significant way. But it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s not supposed to be that way. With St. Margaret Mary, we need to say, “I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.”

Today’s readings: Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 131; Matthew 18:1-4
Today’s saint

St. Thérèse knew well the instruction of today’s Gospel reading: “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest of the kingdom of heaven.” St. Thérèse had a child-like faith, child-like, that is, in her trusting obedience to God’s will, even in the smallest of matters. She truly believed that small acts of faith and love would work wondrous miracles for the Kingdom of God.

Thérèse was a very sickly young lady. A childhood illness left her weak for the rest of her life, and her last year had her dying of tuberculosis. She entered the convent at the age of fifteen, and when she died she was just twenty-four years old. Yet in that short span of time she wrote much about her faith and encouraged others to embrace a simplicity of life and a dedicated obedience to God’s will. In 1997, Pope John Paul II named her a Doctor of the Church, one of just three women to have that special title.

Thérèse was not one who sought the limelight. She did not seek to make a name for herself or become anything other than what God wanted her to be. In Thérèse’s view, even the most menial tasks in the convent could be transformed into great acts of love. And her preference for hidden sacrifice did indeed convert souls. Few saints of God are more popular than this young nun. Her autobiography, The Story of a Soul, is read and loved throughout the world.

Today’s entrance antiphon says “The Lord alone was her leader.” The Psalmist reflects Thérèse’s rule of life by singing, “In you, Lord, I have found my peace.” Perhaps today we too can find the peace of God in doing small acts of love for the great glory of the Kingdom of God.

Today’s readings: Tobit 5, Tobit 12, Revelation 12:7-12, Matthew 1:18-25

Celebrated in our parish church as a Solemnity today. This is very similar to the homily I gave to the school children last year on the Solemnity, amended a bit in order to speak to the wider audience of a morning Mass.

We’re all very aware these days how scary and frustrating our world can be at times. Taking a journey in safety is something we may have once taken for granted, but not these days. I often think that with all the difficulty getting through an airport, you really have to want to get where you’re going. But there’s danger everywhere. All we have to do is turn on our television news to see it face-to-face. And often enough, we come closer to danger even than that. These days, it seems, we don’t hear very much good news, and the truth is not defended as it should be. When it comes down to it, lots of times, we need someone to help us. Sometimes we need to hear from an angel.

Today is the Feast of Ss. Raphael, Michael and Gabriel. Since our church is named after St. Raphael, this is a very special day for us and we celebrate it this morning with great solemnity. But it’s a special day for everyone because the angels that we’ve heard about today are great helps to us every day.

Some angels are guides. Today we heard about our patron, St. Raphael, who was a guide for Tobiah in our first reading. St. Raphael appeared as a young man and accompanied Tobiah as he journeyed a long distance to get his father’s property and bring it back. Tobit, his father, was very worried about Tobiah making the journey, so he was looking for someone to help him. Raphael, posing as the young man, went with Tobiah and brought him home safely, along with his father’s property. St. Raphael is the patron saint of travelers.

Some angels bring healing. The name Raphael actually means, “God heals.” Tobit, Tobiah’s father, was blind for a long time. So, along with bringing back Tobit’s property, Raphael and Tobiah brought back an ointment made of fish gall. Tobiah blew into his father’s eyes and smeared the medicine on them, and Tobit was able to see his son again! Raphael also healed a woman named Sarah. She was married seven times, but each of her husbands died on their wedding night, and Sarah thought she would be alone for the rest of her life. Raphael arranged for Tobiah and Sarah to be married, and they both lived very happily. St. Raphael is also the patron saint of healing, especially of the blind.

Some angels are defenders. In the second reading, Satan was trying to take over heaven and accused all of God’s followers, good people, of all kinds of crimes. St. Michael fought against Satan and had him thrown out of heaven. He brought victory to God by being strong in the battle against Satan and all evil powers, and he still defends people against evil to this day by his prayers. Because he defends people, St. Michael is the patron saint of police officers.

Some angels are messengers. St. Gabriel was the angel who came to tell Mary that she was going to be the Mother of Jesus. In our Gospel reading, St. Gabriel also comes to St. Joseph, who was engaged to Mary, and reassured him. Joseph knew that he wasn’t the father of Jesus, so he was going to quietly call off the wedding. But Gabriel came and assured him that the baby Mary was going to have was from God, and because of what Gabriel told him, St. Joseph stayed with Mary and became the earthly father of Jesus. Gabriel is known for the news that he brings, and is the patron saint of messengers, postal workers, communications workers and broadcasters.

All three of these angels, Raphael, Michael and Gabriel, came to make God’s presence known on earth in some way. Our patron, St. Raphael, came to be Tobiah’s guide and to bring God’s healing to Tobit and Sarah. St. Michael came to defend God’s people against evil and danger. St. Gabriel came to bring good news about the Incarnation and the Salvation we would have in Christ.

But you know, their ministry continues to this day. There are indeed angels among us. Maybe St. Raphael is still here, keeping us safe when we go on long journeys and, more importantly, helping us to stay on the path to God. He might be here, too, working through the hands of doctors and nurses and physical therapists, and all kinds of healers, to bring sick people back to health. Maybe St. Michael is still here, working through police officers and fire fighters and all kinds of public safety people, in order to keep our communities safe, and maybe St. Michael also works through those who defend the Church against all kinds of evil. Maybe St. Gabriel is still here among us, raising up prophets in our midst; maybe he’s working through parents and teachers and priests and ministers when they bring us news about God and preach the Gospel.

We know a little bit about all these angels because of today’s Liturgy of the Word. But I don’t think those stories are finished just yet. I think the angels are still working among us, guiding us, healing us, defending us, and bringing us good news. The angels are probably working through people you know. They’re even working through you whenever you help someone else. The truth is, I don’t think we would live very safe and happy lives if it wasn’t for the angels among us. Today we should thank God for Saints Raphael, Michael and Gabriel, and for all the people who cooperate with those angels in all their work.

Today’s readings: Tobit 5, Tobit 12, Revelation 12:7-12, Matthew 1:18-25
Today’s feast: Vigil of Ss. Raphael, Michael and Gabriel [Vigil Mass Celebrated for the School Children]

What is a hero? The dictionary tells us that heroes are people of great courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. They are people who seem to be able to do more than we can possibly imagine, people who are bigger or stronger or smarter than everyone else. I remember when I was your age I admired Superman and Batman, and sports heroes like Dick Butkis and Mark Spitz who was a great Olympic swimmer. You probably have heroes too. Maybe your heroes are people like Brian Urlacher or fictional people like Lightening McQueen or Spiderman.

You may never get to meet any of these heroes, and many of them are imaginary, just people we see in the movies or on television. But I think the world gives us all kinds of heroes, people who may never be real famous but people who do ordinary things with great ability and who have values and a sense of right and wrong that is a great example to all of us. Today’s feast of the Archangels Raphael, Michael and Gabriel gives us a great look at heroic qualities that we see in the Angels, but might also see in other people.

Some heroes lighten the load for other people. Like St. Raphael, they are people who can walk with us on long journeys, real journeys or even on the journey we call life. They teach us things and help us to see new possibilities. They are the people we can go to when we have a problem. The person who will get up and help us in the middle of the night when we have a bad dream or aren’t feeling very well. The friend we can tell anything to: all of our fears and worries and dreams. The teacher who helps us find out that we have abilities and talents we never knew we had. The sister or brother who holds our hand when we’re scared. There are lots of angels like St. Raphael who journey with us and bring us safely home.

Some heroes keep us safe. Like St. Michael, they defend people who cannot defend themselves. The police officer who teaches you how to say no to drugs or who helps you cross the street or catches a thief. Firefighters or paramedics who rescue people who are in an accident or whose houses are on fire. Soldiers who fight for our freedom so that we won’t have to face terror near our homes. It might be the lawyer who defends someone who has been unjustly accused of a crime. It could be the person who reaches out to feed the poor or someone who fixes up homes for the homeless. There are lots of angels like St. Michael who keep us safe from anyone or anything that can harm us.

Some heroes speak the truth. Like St. Gabriel, they are people who proclaim the Gospel and are the voice of God for us. They are people who tell us things that we need to hear, even if we don’t necessarily want to hear them. They are prophets and preachers and ordinary folks who just give witness to their faith. The priest giving the homily. The teacher talking about our religion. The parent who teaches us right from wrong. The person who speaks out when our government or society is heading the wrong way. The one who urges us to serve the poor. Like St. Gabriel, there are lots of angels who speak the truth and are God’s voice in our world.

In our society today, it’s almost like we don’t need heroes at all. Science can explain so much of what might be mysterious in our world. But we still need heroes, and we need saints like Raphael, Michael and Gabriel to bring God’s protection, communication and guidance in ways which defy description. And we might never get to meet Brian Urlacher, Lightening McQueen or Spiderman, but chances are we know people who have been like angels to us. Chances are we have experienced the protection of the angels in all sorts of ways.