Holy Mass: homily for October 28

The Gospel chosen for the feast of the Ss Simon and Jude is the passage from Luke which accounts for us Jesus spending the night in prayer on the mountain, after which he called his disciples, chose twelve of them, and named them apostles. These are the men that Jesus selected personally to walk closely with him, to be formed in the mysteries of the Kingdom, and to be sent to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom to all the world.

We celebrate two of the Twelve today: Simon & Jude – named in the Gospel as disciples who were called to a further commitment to Christ, in mission, as apostles. They were sent to be faithful witnesses in the word (preaching/teaching) and in the blood (service), giving up everything in sacrifice with Jesus Christ. Both, Simon and Jude spent their lives preaching the Gospel to a pagan world, and it is believed that each died a martyr’s death for his faith.

By our baptism and religious profession as Passionists, we, too, are called, chosen and sent to give such radical witness as Passionist apostles, and to make sacrifices for Christ and his mission in our world today. We are no strangers to the mysteries of Christ. Indeed, we share in his passion and in his dying and rising. Through the power of the Holy Spirit our faith overcomes our fear and makes our witness unashamed and bold. We are not temporary residents in the Church. Indeed, we have signed on the dotted line. We are at home in the Body of Christ; our life doesn’t make sense anymore without Christ and his Church. In the words of today’s first reading from Ephesians:

“We are no longer strangers and aliens, but citizens with the saints and also members of God’s household, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.”

This commemoration of the apostles today – the foundation upon whom we are built – should rekindle the “fire in our bellies”, that original fervor and zeal which we all experienced when we were called, chosen and sent by Christ, as Passionists, to proclaim the Good News of the Passion – the message of God’s Compassion and Love for all of creation, as expressed in the giving of His Son, Jesus, through his passion, death and resurrection.

Our work during this Synod has been to listen, review and reflect on the continuing work of Congregation Restructuring which, we believe, is a result of the movement of the Spirit, encouraging us to not become complacent or mundane in our life and mission, thus risking being irrelevant and ineffective in our increasingly fragmented world. We know that as Passionists today we cannot “keep on going” as we have always done; the world has changed and so must we be creative in finding new approaches in our life and mission.

Our process of discernment has led us to take bold steps in opting for Solidarity as our focus, our way of being in the Congregation, so that our mission – that for which we exist and are sent – may be given greater vitality and be more effective in the reality of today’s world.

The apostolic witness of Ss Simon and Jude was their commitment and zeal in preaching the Gospel to a pagan world and dying a martyr’s death as a consequence of this mission. While we hope that no such life threatening demands are put upon us, yet we know that we are being challenged at this time of our Congregation’s history to make other sacrifices which impinge upon our personal and communal lives, that is, the call to conversion (renewal) and Solidarity.

How willing are we to shed our comforts, attachments, luxuries – and even our blood – to give witness to Christ?

P. Joachin Rego