Wednesday Morning Connection

For Sunday, October 18, 2009

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 53:10-11
Hebrews 4:14-16
Mark 10:35-45

Earlier this week, when Pope Benedict declared five new saints of the Church, he praised their “luminous example” and said they were people who “did not put themselves at the center, but chose to go against the current and live according to the Gospel.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/12/world/europe/12pope.html?_r=1) We can certainly appreciate that in the life of arguably the most famous of these new saints, Fr. Damien of Molokai, who elected to live among the lepers of Hawaii, before contracting leprosy himself, and ultimately dying from it. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father_Damien). There was a profound kind of martyrdom in the selfless way he sacrificed himself for the outcasts of Molokai.

But less familiar is the story of another new saint, Jeanne Jugan, the foundress of the Little Sisters of the Poor. The order’s website has an extensive biography of her and the order (http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org/about_jeanne_jugan.html) that makes for compelling reading. One of the most surprising details of her life, though, is that so much of it was spent in utter obscurity.

Shortly after Jeanne Jugan started the order, a young priest named Fr. Le Pailleur became involved with the sisters, and arranged to have Jeanne Jugan transferred to another convent. As one biographer noted: “She was to devote herself entirely to prayer and overseeing the manual work of the postulants.” By the time of her death, even the young novices who lived and worked with her had no idea that this aging nun was, in fact, the woman who had founded their growing order. It wasn’t until an inquiry 11 years after her death that the truth came out. (http://www.catholicfounders.org/jeanne.htm).

Incredibly, during that entire time, Jeanne Jugan submitted to every order from Fr. Le Pailleur with obedience, humility, charity and love. She never sought to set the record straight, never demanded credit. She considered it God’s will.

Who among us could be that humble?

Yet, in this Sunday’s scripture, that is precisely Christ’s call to all those who seek to follow him.

As he explains in Mark’s Gospel: “Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

In their selfless service, Jeanne Jugan and Fr. Damien did not seek greatness - but they achieved it, anyway, through a tireless commitment to the needs of others. They sacrificed everything for those who had nothing.

Their lives serve as a beautiful testament - “luminous examples,” indeed, of what it truly means to give one’s life “as a ransom for many.”

Deacon Greg Kandra

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
we ask you to give us the heart of a servant,
serving others as we serve you.
Help us to offer our talents and our lives
in service of your Word.
May we always see in daily life an opportunity to give
rather than to receive,
and to continually manifest in our service to others
your will and your love.
We ask this through the servant of all, Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Notices

CATHOLIC RELIEF SERVICES RESPONDS TO FOUR EMERGENCIES
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is responding to four emergencies in the Asia Pacific region. The Philippines and Vietnam have been hit by typhoon Ketsana, while a tsunami struck Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, and an earthquake affected the island of Sumatra. CRS is working with Caritas Internationalis to plan for the long-term reconstruction vital to recovery efforts even while providing immediate emergency relief. For more information, and to learn how you can encourage parishioners to help, visit: http://crs.org/.

THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR
Continuing the charism of their founder, Jeanne Jugan, the Little Sisters of the Poor serve the elderly throughout North America. For more information on their homes and their community, visit: http://www.littlesistersofthepoor.org.

LPi PARTNERS WITH PONTIFICAL MISSION SOCIETIES
Liturgical Publications Inc (LPi) has partnered with the Pontifical Mission Societies (http://www.onefamilyinmission.org/) to distribute clip art and cover art in support of the World Mission Sunday Collection on October 18, 2009. To learn how your parish can receive free access to these materials, click here.

For Sunday, April 5, 2009

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion
At the Procession with Palms:
Mark 11:1-10
or
John 12:12-16

At the Mass:
Isaiah 50:4-7
Philippians 2:6-11
Mark 14:1-15:47

The church at Mission San Miguel before the 2003 earthquake

The first Mass on Sunday morning is at 7 am. The 200 year-old church building can no longer be used. It was rendered unusable in the earthquake that struck more than five years ago. The early Mass group gathers in what was originally a storeroom, which in recent years (before the earthquake) had been converted into a display area. Now, the museum is gone and the altar stands in front of the large, open stone and adobe wine vat, while the five-person choir sings from the steps at its side (http://www.missionsanmiguel.org/tour/page2.html). Only fifty or so can fit in the room, and during the Mass the ambo and other furniture is moved from place to place to accommodate the communion procession and the other movements of the liturgy.

This little community at Mission San Miguel Arcangel has endured a lot. While being built over 200 years ago, the church was destroyed by a disastrous fire. But in those same early years more than a thousand newly baptized lived in its immediate environs. Years later, when the mission was secularized, the church became a stable, an unintended reduction to a place like that which was the first shelter for the incarnate majesty. When the Padres finally returned in 1879 they were determined to stay.

A rollator

Fr. John is one of those. Though he’s officially “retired” he keeps on serving. When you walk in for 7 am Mass he is already sitting on his rollator behind the altar, his back against the wine vat. When he proclaims the Gospel and preaches, his voice is strong, even though he has to lean against a wall and hang on to the ambo for support. At communion time he slides his rollator out into what suffices as an aisle and waits for the Eucharistic minister to hand him the plate of hosts. In some ways, Fr. John is like Mission San Miguel itself: crumbling, but strong; weakened, but perseverant; humbled, but exalted.

My Sunday at San Miguel two weeks ago, when the Gospel contained the words, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,” reminded me of how great is the Christian mystery that we celebrate: “He humbled himself… [but] because of this, God greatly exalted him.” In weakness is strength. In death is life.

We enter into that transcendent mystery this week, even within the very liturgy of this weekend, when the triumph of palms becomes a reed proffering a sponge soaked in wine. Mission San Miguel, and the friar that serves it, are but two simple examples of what takes place in the life of every Christian as Christ permeates our life. May we stand firm like those Mission walls even when the facade crumbles. May we hold on as the cross comes near and so find life even in death.

Paul Michaels

Prayer

God of Love,
your Son humbled himself for our sake
but you exalted him on high.
As we follow his path this week through suffering and death,
may we also come to share in the joy of the resurrection.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God forever and ever.
Amen.

Notices

GOOD FRIDAY COLLECTION FOR THE HOLY LAND
Many parishes will take up this annual collection to support the care of the sacred places. For more information visit: http://www.myfranciscan.org/goodfriday.aspx.

VIA CRUCIS
Looking for something special for the Way of the Cross during Holy Week? The meditations from previous year’s celebrations in the Coliseum are available on the Vatican web site. Consider adapting a version for local use by adding song and communal prayer. You’ll find nine different English versions (and eight in Spanish) at: http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/documents/index_via-crucis_en.html.

LENT AND HOLY WEEK ON THE VATICAN WEB SITE
A special page offers Stations of the Cross, sacred music, and live television. Go to: http://www.vatican.va/liturgical_year/lent/2009/index_lent2009_en.html. Watch for an update for Holy Week.

MISSION SAN MIGUEL ARCANGEL
The 16th mission founded in the 21 mission chain in Alta California, Mission San Miguel’s appearance is much the same as it was when founded. You can learn more about this small community and take a virtual tour of the mission at: http://www.missionsanmiguel.org/.