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From Archbishop Donoghue
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Mass for Catholic Engaged
Encounter |
Dear Friends in Christ, Today, the third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called “Gaudete” Sunday, form the first word of the opening prayer as it reads in Latin – “Gaudete Domino” – Rejoice in the Lord, Rejoice in the Lord always. And the readings we have heard, are distinctly different form what has gone on before, on the last two Sundays of Advent. On those Sundays, we heard, not so much about the coming of the Lord into the world, but the second coming of the Lord, at the end of time. Those readings properly reminded us, that one day, we will all face the judgement of God at the hands of His Son Jesus Christ, and that truly, there will be a separation of the saved and the lost, the sheep and the goats, the blessed and the damned. But such thoughts, tinged as they are with a healthy fear of God, do not lend themselves to a proper consideration of our remembering the birth of the Lord – the birth of Jesus Christ in a manger, in Bethlehem – surrounded by the love of His mother and foster-father, and praised from the heavens by angels sent from God. And so, the Church uses the words of Sacred Scripture, on these last two Sundays of Advent, to turn our hearts towards the glorious event we are about to commemorate – the birth of Christ, the Incarnation of the Son of God; and towards the building up in our own hearts of that most precious commodity, that most precious balm for the troubles of the human spirit, hope – the virtue that lifts the heart, on wings of Faith, and turns our thoughts towards Heaven and the fulfillment of our earthy lives. For all who are involved with Marriage Encounter and with Catholic Engaged Encounter, the virtue of hope is perhaps the most essential message of our ministry, of our teaching, and of whatever influence we are able to exercise on those who come to us for guidance and help. For no marriage, and in fact no human relationship, can succeed without divine assistance – the pitfalls of human nature which militate against true love are too great – the pitfalls of ego, of self-fulfillment in place of self-sacrifice, and the terrible emotion that grows out of love turned sour, the emotion we call hate. Only the great mystics, perhaps, are exempted from the frailties that lurk within the shadow of human relationships – and they are few and far between. For most of us – married, betrothed, and even those in the religious life – for most of us, the main activity of love in which we engage, the principal fashion by which we try to live the commandment of love that our Lord has commanded us to follow, involves other human beings – wives, husbands, fiancés, close relatives and friends. And so, given the weakness of our natures, we gratefully acknowledge that we need all the help God will send us to remain true to His will, and we humbly concentrate our efforts, our prayers, and our activities in ways that seek and acknowledge the tremendous help He does send us. The first reading speaks to this power, this presence of God to help us in words of sublime encouragement: The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love. These words tell us, from the wisdom of the ages, and straight form the mouth of God’s prophet, that we must securely place our hopes for success in our relationships – in marriage, in friendships especially, in God, for it is He, who “renews us in his love.” We do not find God by finding human love – rather, we find true human love, by finding God, and letting His Spirit operate in us. There are two ways in which this miracle of renewal can become real in us, and in the Catholic Church, we are greatly blessed to enjoy a perfect realization of these ways. The first is by good works – in the Church, we have a limitless wealth of apostolic platforms on which to perform good works. The Catholic Engaged Encounter is such a platform for good works – education, counseling, encouragement, relief, organized prayer – there are so many facets to the activities of this group, and every one of them is founded in this first and most visible means by which we allow God to enter into us, and to make us successful in working with one another, in living with one another – the doing of good work, work which He sees and blesses, and which reflects His love for us, and His mercy on our trials and troubles. The Gospel today tells of John the Baptist exhorting, urging the people to do good works, as they prepare for the coming of the Lord, and the Church has always been faithful in urging the Faithful to do the same – and we renew at this Mass, especially by the commissioning of our workers and the blessing of all involved couples, our own intentions to follow this direction of the Gospel and teaching of our Church. But John the Baptist also very clearly states, that good works alone are not enough, that our good works must be sanctified, purified, by the fire of the Holy Spirit, and by the one who is to come who is the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ. Jesus is with us still, in the second means we enjoy as Catholics, of letting God renew in us His love, the Sacraments we celebrate – the Sacraments which ate the source of our spiritual lives, the ground upon which we are able to meet God, the expression of our unity as one Church, coming before God to seek His forgiveness for our sins, to ask Him for the salvation He has promised, to remember the offering of love He has made us in Jesus Christ, and to receive the most precious spiritual power there is, and the life of all hope – grace, and grace in abundance. St. Paul speaks of the presence of grace in our souls in these words: Then God’s own peace, which is beyond all understanding, will stand guard over your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus. God’s own peace – this is the power which resides in our souls, if we are faithful to the Sacraments, and if we fill our lives with the doing of good works – and it is God’s own peace, grace, that heals all our wounded-ness, that makes human relationships possible, feasible, doable, allowing us to move forward with hope, and our only ambition, the desire to do God’s will, for ourselves, and for one another. Dear friends, I know that these foundations – grace and good works, are a constant part of your work in the Catholic Engaged Encounter movement , as they are a constant part of your Catholic lives – your lives as members of Christ’s Church. I would simply remind you, as I remind myself, that we must all choose to keep these powers alive by the use of our own free will – by being faithful to the Sacraments, and by willingly and happily giving of our time and our talents, to move forward the work of the Church on earth. It is a blessing to have this occasion to remind one another of the importance of our work, and the importance of asking God to bless it. And with this Mass, let us do exactly that – ask God now to bless and to further all our efforts – to make firm our personal commitments to Him, to His Son Jesus Christ our Lord and to His Gospel, and to give us those things we wish above all others – happiness in our human love, and constant hope, that by living the law of love, we may gain our salvation, and come to rest forever, in the peace and companionship of God. + |