The Papal Message
Pope Francis’ recent visit was a media-love-affair. It seemed like everyone reporting it was "Catholic" and the Holy Father’s message of love and peace was well received. Some commentators focused on this first-ever pontifical speech to a Joint Session of Congress, others attempted to analyze his United Nations address, still more highlighted the pope’s break-a-way-from-security-forces to kiss a child or bless an elderly person that put fear into the hearts of the Secret Service, but the real message was one of Evangelization. What’s that you say? Yes, Pope Francis had a clear message to Catholics (and even to non-Catholics and non-believers): God calls us all to spread the love, hope, mercy and joy of the Gospel to all. In fact, the pontiff’s message would have tied in nicely with today’s (30 September) Gospel of Luke reading (9:57-62), on the Memorial of Saint Jerome, where we are called to be attached to Christ in all that we say and do.
The Holy Father called all Catholics to be modern-day evangelizers of the faith so that all become missionaries—priests, deacons, religious sisters and brothers and the laity—in all that we say and do by living out the gospel in our daily lives:
The Holy Father was clear in letting us know that we cannot escape our duty as children of God to be one with our other brothers and sisters in need. That the blessings we have received from God were not simply bestowed on us for our own, personal benefit and pleasure, but that rather they are to be shared with everyone in need. The pope reminds us that there is a responsibility and an obligation that comes with our blessings, call it Noblesse Oblige, and that we are called to be generous of heart with our time, talent and our resources, or if you prefer this side of the Atlantic…The Golden Rule.
Last night I was at the Archbishop’s Annual Appeal dinner meeting in Southington and Archbishop Blair spoke of the Pope’s visit and message and noted how it dove-tailed well with the actions of the Archdiocese and the Annual Appeal—reaching out to those in need to bring God’s love and hope into the lives of those who are suffering. The Archbishop spoke of the good works of mer-cy that the Annual Appeal provides—thanks to donors like you—more than $10 million was raised this year—to be given to homeless shelters, healthcare providers, shelters for abused women, care for single mothers and their children, even financial gifts to non-Catholic organizations that carry out the mission of Christ such as Gifts of Love and more. This Annual Appeal is a very practical measure of Pope Francis’ message of getting out there in the trenches and helping all those in need. That’s evangelization.
This message of hope based upon spiritual and merciful works will need to be a long-term message and one that needs to be made clear to all members of our Catholic faith and society-at-large. The pope has an answer for this: Be-ginning on 8 December 2015 and running through the Feast of Christ the King, 20 November 2016, Pope Francis has declared a year-long Jubilee of Mercy throughout the Ro-man Catholic Church which is meant to highlight at the local level (read: [arch] diocesan and parish levels) the Church’s actions on corporal and spiritual works of mercy.
Here at St. Catherine of Siena parish we will highlight and invite all to join the many corporal works of mercy that we are already involved in: from feeding the hungry through St. Elizabeth House Shelter with a once-a-month dinner prepared and served by parishioners to the once-a-month Youth Feed the Hungry which provides a luncheon to more than 200 homeless people in Hartford, to our very own St. Catherine of Siena Pantry Partners providing monthly Blessing Boxes of Food to families in Simsbury, Avon, Granby and Farmington by providing additional staples and protein to augment the monthly food budget of many families and senior citizens in the Farmington Valley. As well, we will note the Eucharistic Ministers who bring the Sacrament of the Eucharist to St. Francis Hospital, McLean Home, Governor’s House and to individual homes to those who are sick and homebound; to the works of our Health and Healing Ministry in their annual flu prevention clinic and more, to the Prayer Shawl Ministry that provides prayers and comfort to the ill and grieving, and our wonderful Comitas people offering support to recuperating or grieving families, to name but a few. And for the spiritual works of mercy, we will highlight the prayers of our many parishioners to the future plans for a series of one-day retreats on spiritual top-ics to help all our parishioners deepen their faith and con-nect closer to God.
While the media covering the pope sometimes makes it sound as if all these corporal and spiritual works of mercy are something new to the Catholic faith, we know that Pope Francis has repositioned the spotlight to shine upon the many wonderful and ongoing traditions of the Catholic faith over the millennium—from the first deacons of the Church created to care for Israel’s widows and orphans to the religious orders of sisters who founded our hospitals for the sick and schools and universities to educate the poor, to homeless shelters and mobile medical vans to ageless acts of kindnesses performed in God’s name by our grandparents and neighbors—we have an awesome tradition to uphold, and many strong shoulders upon which to stand. The world needs our Catholic faith. Be-come part of Christ’s team. Believe it. Live it. Share it.