The
following Homily was given by Fr. Herbert Nicholls on May 29th at the Mother of
the Light Convent
In the Gospel today,
Jesus refers to the hour which in some circumstances refers to the End Time,
other times however, like here, it refers to the moment of Redemption through
His death and glorification.
Our Lord has spoken
about His sacrifice being a condition for entering into His glory. What holds
true for the Master applies also to His disciples, then, now and forever.
In his letter to the
Ephesians, to no surprise, St. Paul continues on this general principle as he
has done in his previous letters. Enormous consequences flow from the fact that
we are called to form a Church through Baptism and by being members of a holy
nation.
All of the faithful
have received this call to holiness, and we must strive to respond to God’s
grace. Our Lord expects his people to continually strive for holiness. For
if they fail to respond in thought, word and deed; not only shall they not be
saved, but they shall be severly judged, for to whom much has been given, of
him shall much more be required (Lumen Gentium 14).
To show the importance
of unity in the Church St. Paul quotes an acclamation which may have been used
in early Baptismal Liturgies. Just as you are called to one hope that
belongs to your call, there is one Lord, one faith, one Baptism. Recognition
of only one Lord underlies the unity of all members must seek as a single body.
Since there is only
one Lord, there is a common dignity deriving from a common grace through
Christ, a common vocation, perfection and salvation, a common hope and
undivided love. This unity of souls is more intimate and more perfect than that
of any natural being. It is however, maintainable only by the bond of peace. It
cannot exist in the midst of disorder or enmity.
St. Paul goes on today
to present the flip side of the coin, so to speak. Internal discord is not only
division, there is also the abuse of charisms with which Christ endows each
individual. This diversity of grace or charism given to individuals in the
Church does not in any way undermine its unity, rather they enhance it.
St. John Paul the
Great wrote in Redemptor Hominis, 21: As a community of the people of God,
under the guidance of the Holy Spirit’s workings, each member has his own
unique gift….although this gift is a personal vocation, and a form of
participation in the Church’s saving work, it also serves others, and builds
the Church in the various spheres of human life on earth.
This building up of
the Body of Christ occurs to the extent that its members strive to hold firm to
the truths of the faith and to live in charity. As Christians develop in faith
and love they become more firmly inserted into the Body of Christ and make a
greater contribution to its development (Pius XII, Mystici Corporis, 34).
St. Paul says in verse
13 that this building up of the Body of Christ must continue until we all
attain the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son, which brings us back to the
letter to the Thessalonians: Love one another, let it increase and abound to
one another and to all; so that your heart may be found unblemished in
holiness.
St. Augustine said: we
must try not only to be good, but to conduct ourselves in such a way in
humility we everyone as our superior. As members of the living Christ,
incorporated into Him by Baptism, all of the faithful have an obligation to
collaborate in the growth and spreading of His Body, so that they might bring
it to fullness as soon as possible.
Twice, earlier this
month, we encounter the symbol of the Church as a Boat—what is a boat? A boat
is not just the vessel, but it is the sum total of the gear and crew, officers,
and cargo which fill the boat and make it ready to weigh anchor and set out.
Having presented this
teaching we can now look at the life of St. Theodosia, born in the city of
Tyre, Lebanon in 287AD. The historian Eusebius, writes that she appears to have
suffered and been eventually martyred for refusing to sacrifice to idols at the
order of Maximinus. The persecution lasted about 5 years.
When she was 19, she
came to Caesarea, where she approached some prisoners who were awaiting their
sentence of death. She asked the prisoner if they would ask the Lord to
remember her when they came into the presence of God. Soldiers immediately
seized her as if she had done something criminal or impious.
She was led before
Urban, the Governor, who being in a foul mood ordered her to be tortured. Her
flesh was torn to the bones by iron combs. She endured this suffering with a
joyful and silent face. Again the governor ordered her to sacrifice to idols
but she refused saying: You fool! I have been granted to join the martyrs in
the glory of Jesus in heaven. Urban ordered a stone to be tied around her
neck and thrown into the sea, but angels rescued her. Then they threw her into
a den of wild and hungry beasts to be eaten; but the beasts would not touch
her. Finally she was beheaded on April 2nd, in the year 307, on the
day of Our Lord’s Resurrection.
We have diversity of
gifts, of vocations, not all are called to witness by death, but all are called
to witness with truth.