Several weeks ago, a missionary I visited in Bangladesh several decades ago, died. I thought of him as I reflected on these Scriptures today. Like St. Paul, he did not come among his people with eloquent words rather with the power of Jesus.
Father Gene Homeric, C.S.C., ministered to a minority people who for centuries had been exploited by the majority. He helped to free them. Like Jesus, Father Homeric stood before the people and told them they were loved, and that Jesus could set forth a path for them to follow that would set them free.
In an ancient Easter homily, it was said that Jesus did not baptize us to be in prison. He came among us to set us free, to affirm that God is, that Jesus is, the path to life. This was the message that Paul preached to the people of Corinth and what Jesus preached in the synagogue that day he got up to preach. It was the message that Father Homeric also preached.
Father Gene came before people with a power - the power of faith - and he shared that with people in the different missions during his half century in Bangladesh. That power and light was unleashed through the sacraments he celebrated among them. It would be this light that would enable the people to truly discover what it means to see because, up until Father Gene’s arrival, they were a people in darkness.
Through Father’s simple words and example, the light of Christ entered their lives. Profound discourse was not needed to experience this power. All that was needed to unleash God’s power was faith.
But it was not just Father Gene Homeric who was able to unleash this power. I also saw it in the lives of other missionaries and lay catechists. It is a power that we too are called to unleash. It is a power that families release every time they come together to pray.
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