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World at Prayer blog
Reflections of Family and Faith
"The family that prays together stays together." - Venerable Patrick Peyton
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Mother St. Theresa of Calcutta once said; “God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.” On my first time to visit United States thirty years ago, we had a provincial assembly at Notre Dame, the provincial at the time, what he asked me to do made me sit up straight. He invited me to give a talk to two hundred some American Holy Cross priests, about my experience as an indigenous Holy Cross living with American expatriates. Everything about me and within me was screaming, oh no, what am I going to say, will they even listen, I felt like telling him please save me from the embarrassment. One priest who realized my predicament, just told me Fulgens you can do it, try. I ended up powering through it well.
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One of the things that characterized Jesus' life was that he was about searching and saving lives. As we celebrate Mass today, we will discover that Saints Peter and Paul were also about searching and saving lives, as did Saint Rose Duchesne. Hopefully, in some small measure, we followers of Jesus seek to do the same. We heard the remarkable story of the encounter Jesus had with a man named Zacchaeus, who was small in stature, and climbed a tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus as he passed by. We were told that he was a tax collector, which meant he probably did not have too many friends among his acquaintances. However, what we needed to note was the sacrifice Zacchaeus made in climbing that tree. He was a professional and had a significant employment. He had to have been well-known, and yet here he was, willing to risk his professional standing, submit to ridicule from those who knew him.
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Today, the 13th of November, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini. She was an Italian American nun whose life-long call was to care for Italian immigrants in the US at a time when they struggled with extreme poverty and discrimination. Mother Cabrini taught them the faith, provided for their needs, and she opened many schools and orphanages to take care of the needy. In a sense she was like the “Mother Teresa” of her time. She was the first US. Citizen to be canonized (1946), and she is the patroness of immigrants and migrants.
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The story before us today is one of the grateful Samaritan who was able to return and give thanks to Jesus while the other nine melted away. When we reflect on our lives, I am sure all of us have a place and moments in our lives where we have been graced by God, where we have received a great deal as a gift. It is possible, too, that just like the nine who never returned, we too fail to recognize and appreciate the gifts and graces we have received, that the ultimate source is God himself.
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It might not be common here, but at home in East Africa, priests find themselves in a position that require them to develop parishes, through construction of churches, schools, medical facilities. And some have been very successful at it, and eventually some lean into believing that without them nothing would have happened so to say they are indispensable. They demand respect and honor from others. “I built this,” “I made this”, becoming a slogan. It is ok to be proud of our work and achievements, but it is another thing to wear those accomplishments on your sleeves.
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We look out on the world, and we see it is very broken by sin. How can we respond? There are diverse ways, which actually have been lived out by various groups throughout the ages. You could withdraw from the world, with a small community of like-minded believers and try to form a new mini-society, uncorrupted by contact with the outside, your own little utopia. You could remain in the world as self-righteous folks, harsh judges and critics. You could just accept the world as it is, as a hardened cynic, an apathetic laxist, or even an enthusiastic joiner.
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