As an undergrad at Catholic University we had a
choice at the end of our classes to either take a two day test in front of the
faculty or write a forty page thesis. I
chose the forty page thesis. I wrote it
on St. Vincent Pallotti and Vatican II’s Vision on the Laity. St. Vincent Pallotti is not a well known
Saint in the United States, except in those places where the Pallottines have
taken assignments, in our Diocese we have Bishop Eustace, where I once taught
theology and we have the Church of St. Vincent Pallotti right next to Paul the
Sixth High School, so you may have heard of this little Roman Saint.
St. Vincent Pallotti was born in Rome 1795 he died
in 1850. In his life time he was dubbed
the apostle of Rome, as he worked tirelessly in that city. He established a lay group called the Union
of Catholic Apostolate, a group that would help re-enkindle faith and charity
among Catholics and to spread the faith to those who did not believe. He wanted to get the laity involved as much
as possible, where as in the past and for a long time, it was work, pray and
obey for the laity. St. Vincent realized
that all people are apostles by virtue of their baptism.
But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, Jacob,
and formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I
have called you by name: you are mine. (Is 43:1) By virtue of our Baptism we are
called and sent. Jesus knows us
personally and gives us our vocation, though it may take some time to figure
out what that vocation is, nevertheless just like the seventy-two we are also
sent. In that sending we are required to
teach, to preach, and to heal. When I
say to teach, preach, and to heal I do not mean that all of us will preach like
St. Augustine, or that all of us will be able to teach like St. Thomas Aquinas,
or that all of us will be able to heal the sick like St. Peter or St. Paul, yet
in our own way we are called to do so.
The opportunities for us to do so are plenty and all
around us. The vision of Vatican II, especially
on the work of the laity is that they take the Gospel message from where they
hear it and bring it to the world. You
bring it to the world in your family first, then your friends, places of work,
at school, even during recreation. One
is not required to be an expert in matters of theology and religion, but we are
required to love. Think for a moment how
often we do have the opportunities to share the Good News, be it with a friend
who needs for someone to listen to them, when someone doubts their faith, when
we are a healing presence to the sick, when we forgive others, when we teach
the young about a good moral life and the beauty of our faith, when we admonish
one another and challenge one another to be saints, there is so much to do and
Jesus asks us to do it and trust in Him, by taking, “no money bag, no sandals,”
and any other comforts, but a total trust in His love and mercy.
Obviously our time, our culture, our problems are
not the same as the problems of the 1st century, though in some ways
they are similar and the human condition is the same. We are called to also be voices crying out, “make
straight they way of the Lord.” As the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has asked that we especially call
to mind and make others aware of our religious liberties. When someone tries to take our religious
liberties away or puts a stranglehold on them as apostles we are to speak out
against such discrimination. Over the
last thirty years or so, slowly and now more quickly our religious liberties
have come under attack. We have to speak
out on topics such as the freedom to be able to speak our mind on matters
concerning right to life, immigration, helping the poor, the true nature of marriage,
and many others. It seems now that when
we speak of such things there is a growing intolerance against Christians. The Church is the moral voice of the world, through
Christ, and sometimes the world does not want to hear that voice because the world many times looks
to self interest first. We are to be
brave, but at the same time compassionate.
If we argue and grow angry we lose credibility, we must be “like lambs
among wolves, crafty as a serpent and gentle as a dove.”
Remember, you are apostles; Jesus has called each
and every one of you by name and has sent you out like the seventy-two. You have the gifts, you have the grace, and
you have the love to take the message of Christ and change the world, yes change
the world, just like the twelve did with a small group of others. Know that the Saints pray for us, the angles
watch over us, and Jesus gives us the grace to go forth, to go forth with good
courage and with love. Go forth good
apostle and change the world, change the world!
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