Day: September 8^th 

We can thank God that we live in the “land of the free and home of the brave”, but the fact of the matter is, if each of us are not moral individuals – upright, wholistic, virtuous, saintly, generous, rightly-ordered, that kind of thing – than freedom just collapses into ruckus, and bravery quickly devolves into rash brazenness (and our national home doesn’t last much longer than that).  This is not just a Catholic idea either!  Benjamin Franklin, to someone who asked him what kind of government the new country would have as the Constitutional Convention closed, famously quipped “a republic”, adding the essential words “if you can keep it.”  John Adams said it more directly: “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”  And, George Washington, in his final speech to the American people, spoke to this truth at length:

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. … And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.

This week I open with these lines because I want to emphasize the desperate need our country has for moral individuals, and then I want to point that need directly at my own heart, and beg the Lord for the grace of conversion within myself.  It is so easy to point to terrorists, or tyrants, or television, or temperature-change, or anything or anyone other than myself and say “that’s the problem”; they need conversion.  And it is way easier to complain, or debate, or ignore any of those other things, and therefore push the conundrum out of my area of responsibility, hopefully at least to Capital Street, or maybe as far away as Washington DC, or Afghanistan, or maybe China.

But all of this sells ourselves short, and neglects the chance we have in our heart and in our home to cultivate Christian living.  This week we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  Nowhere in the Gospel do we get this precious scene, and yet what human joy must have filled the hearts of Joachim and Anne as they finally held their baby girl, and what supernatural joy must have filled the saints in heaven as God revealed to them His desire for her role in salvation history!  What has this to do with Benjamin Franklin?!  Mary, before we get to her saying ‘yes’ to Gabriel, or holding Jesus in Bethlehem, or staying near through the cross and to the upper room … before any of that happened, she was a girl, with parents, and she was given the gift of a holy heart.  

This happened, at first, at the exact moment she was conceived.  This is what we celebrate at the Immaculate Conception.  Yet we also celebrate her birthday, just as we celebrate all of ours as well: the day we were born and held and seen by our family.  What was so supernaturally special on Mary’s birthday that we dedicate a feast to it in the Church?  On this day, Mary’s immaculate heart was entrusted by God to the care of her parents, and they cared for her well.  Virtue, holiness, morality, freedom… all of these are things that must be established and maintained!  Attacks will come upon us, and upon those we love, from every corner, to distract or destroy the holiness we are meant to have within.  First of all, we must do this in our own hearts – maintaining our interior freedom, our moral compass, our holiness and virtue – and then spouses for each other, parents for their children, teachers for their students, and pastors for their parishioners.  

And if we have done this well, we need not worry about much else!

– Fr. Dominic Rankin fondly remembers celebrating birthdays in his home growing up.  The Rankin tradition was birthday cake for breakfast, followed by some sort of family excursion during the day.  The zoo in St. Louis remains a highlight from one such occasion.  Unfortunately, he was too rambling this week to fit a photograph of the day.  Maybe next time!

In the Second Reading for Mass the Sunday, we hear St. James speaking about the importance of the Word of God, that we should “humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.” (Jas 1:21)  He then gives us an important challenge: “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.” (Jas 1:22)  For the past few weeks, we have been focusing on the importance of the Eucharist in our lives as Catholics.  But we must also bear in mind the important role the Word of God in Sacred Scripture also plays in our lives.  The Second Vatican Council provides a beautiful summary of how these two are related, especially at Mass:

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body. (Dei Verbum, 21)

In a document he wrote on the Word of God, Pope Benedict XVI also highlights how deepening our love for the Word of God is at the service of a fuller encounter with the Lord when we are at Mass:

Just as the adoration of the Eucharist prepares for, accompanies and follows the liturgy of the Eucharist, so too prayerful reading, personal and communal, prepares for, accompanies and deepens what the Church celebrates when she proclaims the word in a liturgical setting. (Verbum Domini, 86)

Praying with the Word of God, especially with the readings given to us each day by the Church, is a practice that has grown in recent decades in the Church.  Thankfully, we have more resources than ever to facilitate this encounter with the Word of God, both written and electronic.  For example, beginning this weekend, you will find copies of The Word Among Us, a monthly publication that includes the daily Mass readings, along with daily reflections on those readings and a few other articles.  Feel free to pick one up to help you in deepening your commitment to being nourished by the Word of God.  Another popular publication that many use is Magnificat.  You can also find the daily readings online at https://bible.usccb.org.

In the above quote from Pope Benedict, he points out that the prayerful reading of the Word of God is encouraged on both the personal and the communal level.  When we invite others into our prayer with the Word of God, we are exposed to the unique ways that God speaks to each of us and we are blessed by the sharing of those insights with one another, insights we might not have encountered if our prayer only remains in the personal realm.

With that in mind, we would like to make the communal reading and praying with the Word of God an opportunity for our parish.  Beginning Tuesday, September 21, continuing every other Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm, we will gather together to break open the Scriptures for the upcoming Sunday liturgy.  Joining us will be the candidates who are in the process of discerning entrance into the Catholic Church.  Please consider coming to join us for any of these evenings.  I think you will find that doing so will deepen your love of Sacred Scripture and enhance your overall encounter with the Lord at Mass as He feeds us with His very self in Word and Sacrament.

Father Alford     

In the early fourth century, somewhere in northern Africa, in the town of Tagaste (the modern-day Souk Ahras), there lived a woman named Monica. Tagaste, a city that holds a notable place in the history of western civilization, was one of the cultural and socio-economic hubs of the civilization championed and shaped by Christianity. In this city, Monica was born, raised, and given in marriage to a pagan man – Patritius.

Already a Catholic before her marriage to Patritius, Monica devoted herself to the conversion of her pagan husband. To do this, Monica lived a holy and prayerful life. She was also very loyal and affectionate to her husband. Persevering in these virtues, Monica was blessed to have her husband voluntarily convert to the Catholic faith about a year before his death.

Around this time, Augustine left the faith as a young adult. He became wayward and openly scornful of the Catholic faith. Augustine engaged in various kinds of sinful behaviors that both severed his relationship with his mother and endangered his life. “He went astray in faith and manners” so much that his mother cried and prayed relentlessly for his conversion.

Monica’s motherly love for Augustine, like most mothers for their children, was boundless. She prayed unstoppingly and would always approach any priests and bishops she met to ask for prayers for her son. As we all know that God does not fail, Monica’s prayers were answered superabundantly. Through the instrumentality of St. Ambrose, then bishop of Milan, whom Monica had asked to pray for Augustine, the young man converted to the faith. He later became a priest and later a bishop. Today, Augustine is one of the most influential figures in Christian theology and philosophy, Catholicism, and a Saint for all times.

What a perfect model for Christian wives and mothers! We all can agree that there would not be any St. Augustine today without St. Monica. How inspiring!

Today, we live in a world and culture where most adults who grew up Catholic no longer practice the faith. Many of these people have left the Church and have become very hateful of the Church and its teachings. Some of these people grew up in homes where faith was never an essential part of family life. However, a good number of the people who have left the Catholic faith were raised in good practicing Catholic homes. Like in the case of the young Augustine, it is evident that he grew up in a practicing Catholic home but still left the faith. But his mother did not abandon him or give up on doing the needful. She prayed for Augustine relentlessly and would ask for prayers and counsels from priests and bishops.

Are you a wife and your husband is not serious with his faith or has left the faith entirely? Be like St. Monica!

Are you a mother, and your children have left the faith or are not serious with it? Be like St. Monica!

A few weeks ago, we heard in our Sunday Gospel reading the first of the seven “I AM” statements that Jesus uses in the Gospel of John.  This first statement: “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35) might be His most important title, as it is at the heart of His teaching on how He offers Himself to us in His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, which is the “source and summit” of our lives as Catholics.  In that same Gospel passage, as Jesus is describing this gift He will give, His disciples say: “Sir, give us this bread always.” (Jn 6:34)  Their hearts had been stirred and they desired to receive this gift as often as possible.

It is my hope that our focus on the Eucharist over the past several weeks has stirred in your hearts a desire to receive our Lord in Holy Communion with greater love and to receive Him more frequently.  It is on the topic of frequent reception of the Eucharist that I would like to conclude our reflections on this most important topic of our faith.  You may recall that I have mentioned Pope St. Pius X in a couple of my Sunday homilies, how we was the pope that lowered the age for first reception of Holy Communion.  He also wrote about the proper motivations we should have when receiving the Eucharist.  One of the most significant topics he addressed in his writings on the Eucharist was the encouragement to receive Holy Communion more frequently, even daily if possible.  Before that time, frequent reception of Holy Communion, even every Sunday, was not very common.  Some Catholics were content only to receive Holy Communion once a year during the Easter Season, which is the origin of the term “Easter Duty.”  To instill a greater love for this gift and to open the door to the graces contained in this gift, the Holy Father wrote:

But since it is plain that by the frequent or daily reception of the Holy Eucharist union with Christ is strengthened, the spiritual life more abundantly sustained, the soul more richly endowed with virtues, and the pledge of everlasting happiness more securely bestowed on the recipient, therefore, parish priests, confessors and preachers, according to the approved teaching of the Roman Catechism should exhort the faithful frequently and with great zeal to this devout and salutary practice.

The Eucharist, as Pope Francis reminds us, is medicine for our weaknesses, and the more we receive this medicine, the stronger we become.  It has been my experience that those who commit to frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist make significantly greater progress in living the life of Christian discipleship and find greater peace and fulfillment in their lives.

Here at the Cathedral, we have daily Mass at 7 am and 5:15 pm Monday through Friday, and at 8 am on Saturday morning.  Maybe you cannot make it to Mass every day, but could you start by trying to get to Mass for at least one daily Mass a week apart from Sunday?  That is how I started many years ago, going on Friday morning on my day off.  As I grew in my love for Jesus in the Eucharist, I wanted more, so I started going nearly every morning.  That decision to make the Eucharist a daily part of my life was one of the primary catalysts that led to my entering the seminary and eventually becoming a priest.  Frequent reception of the Eucharist transformed my life drastically, and very much for the better.  The Lord wants to do the same in your lives as well.  Will you give Him the opportunity to do so?

Father Alford