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From Archbishop Donoghue
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Knights of Columbus State
Convention |
Mass, 5th Sunday of Easter Dear Friends in Christ, As we listen to the words of today’s Gospel, we are reminded that our Church is not a simple thing, and that Christ never intended it to be simple. How could He have ever expected, that with the abundance of human situations, and with the propensity for creating problems for themselves, that God would have been able to treat humans for their woes and illnesses by means of a simple Church? He did not expect this, and that is why He described, in this particular passage, the Church, as being a vine, with many branches, in need of pruning, of dressing, of cultivating, if it is to bear fruit, and not just adequate fruit, but fruit in abundance. And again, if the Church could have been a simple thing, then surely the three years that Christ spent on earth revealing the truth about reality, and issuing his guidelines for how to live a good and peaceful life, would have sufficed, and He could have returned to heaven to await the end of time, In the scheme of creation, as decided by His Father, and let things on earth just take their simple and normal course. But He did not abandon us – He left us His Holy Spirit, which moves and breathes and courses throughout the life of the Church as it reaches into every corner, every physical corner of this planet, where it is responsible, not just for the simple good that grace our lives, but also for the many complex and intricate works which we pursue, for the sake of our salvation and for the sake of bringing about good in the world. I point out these things today at this Mass, because whenever I face a gathering of the Knights of Columbus, I am aware, more than perhaps at any other time, of just how wonderful, and how all-encompassing the will of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit really is. It is true that your mission can be reduced to a single phrase – service to the Church – but in how many various and wonderful ways, this service takes life, and expresses itself amidst the great needs of our people, and in relationship to the tremendous responsibilities the Church bears, to Christ, and to those same people, the ones we define as in need. And again, how splendid this service is in terms of its impact on the Church and the world, characterized as it is, in the words of Virgil Dechant, by "loyalty to the Holy Father, loyalty to the bishops, loyalty to the priests, and loyalty to and support of the priorities of the Church." Your dedication to service, and your loyalty to those cells which make up the life and the work of our Holy Church, remain exemplary, and all Catholics owe you a debt of gratitude, and a promise of ongoing support. Part of my duty – part of my most pleasant duty – is to formally, and with all the sincerity that I can bring to bear, thank you in the name of all Catholics, and especially the Catholics of Georgia, for all that you do for the Church – as Knights individually, but also with your wives and children, as core families at the center of the heart of our Church. This Mass, first of all, is to thank you, and to thank God for the blessing He has conferred upon His Church, by bringing your order into being. But my duty is only half-performed in making these thanks to you. For I know, because I enjoy the confidence of so many of you, that your work and your dedication are not without cost, and are not without a worthy price to be paid. For Christ has taught us that nothing good comes easily, and that the road which leads to any accomplishment in His Name, must also be the road on which we join Him in carrying the Cross of human hardship. And so, the second part of my duty today, is to recall for you, that behind the intricacies and the complexities of the many works of the Knights of Columbus, just as behind the complexity of this Church we love and call our own, there is a simple truth, a simple definition of what we are, of who we are, and of what and who we long to be and to remain as we go about our work in the world. And this simple truth is found again in the Scriptures we have been graced to listen to today. For how can there be any more moving, any more understandable definition and guideline for us, than the words given to us from the wisdom of St. John the Beloved Apostle in today’s second reading: Little children, let us love in deed and truth and not merely talk about it…for God is with us if we keep His commandments, and do what is pleasing in His sight, to believe in Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us to do. Today, I offer this Mass especially for the member Knights of the Sate of Georgia and their families, and I ask the Holy Spirit to be strong in you, and to keep clearly before your eyes, amidst all the work, the projects, the appointments, the financial dealings, and the human problems of seeking cooperation among many so that single good things can come about – I ask the Holy Spirit to keep strong in your hearts and minds these simple premises upon which so much good is built, and which are understandable to us even as to the most innocent and uncomplicated child – that if we love our Lord, we will love one another, and that if we cling to His commandments, then whatever difficulties and challenges we face, will be overcome with the power of His Spirit in us. May God grant this prayer I make today at His Holy Mass, and may the Knights of Columbus, as they have since their beginning, continue to bring God's gifts to the treasury of His Church, and to the enrichment of His holy and deserving people, fulfilling the promise of Christ, a promise that lives in His Gospel, and that lives in us: If you live in me, and my words stay a part of you, you may ask what you will – it will be done for you…and my Father will be glorified in the abundance of fruit you will bear. + |