Suffering With Joy

A Path to Holiness

July 5 2010

St. Josemaria Escriva

One of my favorite bishops in this country is Robert Finn of the Kansas City-St. Joseph diocese in Missouri.  On the feast of St. Josemaria Escriva at Our Lady of Good Counsel parish he preached a great sermon that reinforces the “Little Way” of St. Therese of Lisieux and “The Work” of St. Josemaria which is very like the “Little Way” applied to modern times in the world.

When St. Augustine wrote that “Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee,” he was speaking of man’s search for peace, joy, and meaning in life. These desires can only be fulfilled by the all-holy God who fills us with His holiness when we open our hearts to Him. As a practical matter, doing this is not easy because with all the cares of the world we often become side-tracked, chasing after everything else but God.  It is just this condition that makes St. Josemaria’s message so appealing for the modern person who is not called to the cloister, the hermitage, or the priesthood.  Holiness is for everyone.

Here are some excerpts from Bishop Finn’s sermon:

I know that one of the primary things that has attracted me to St. Josemaria is his humble devotion, his fidelity to the Church at a time when there was much upheaval, and his simple plan to help us see all of our most everyday tasks and efforts, our daily work, as a path to holiness…

And he was given such a profound God’s-eye view of the way that ordinary men and women, lay faithful, family men and women, and diocesan priests as well, could be holy in accord with God’s plan: not by leaving the world but precisely by living close to God in the world – and offering all that happens, and all they do as a gift to God for the end of sanctification…

We can reach heaven surely and safely by being contemplatives in the middle of the world. This is so important because, in fact it is the vocation of probably 95% of humanity!…[So important for the sick, suffering, disabled, and war-torn to understand.  Our lives are not useless or meaningless no matter what the politics of the day may say.]

Emblematic of the simplicity and depth of St. Josemaria’s vision for holiness is the truth that God is our Father… [And trusting in Him is fundamental.  "Ours not to reason why, ours but to do and die..." - Kipling's "Charge of the Light Brigade".]…

[Jesus] has a Father, and…we can call Him “Our Father.”…this truth is not for a few. It is for all the sons and daughters. It is for you and me. WE have a Father. We must never forget it. We must, again and again, surrender ourselves onto His lap, into His arms…

We are, as St. Josemaria said, like God’s donkey, quietly pulling the load and doing the work. [Donkeys are beautiful (to me), dependable, and sure-footed.  One bore Christ into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  Being a donkey bearing the Son of God to others through daily work seems like a very good thing to me.]

To read the entire sermon visit The Catholic Key blog, written by the staff of the diocesan paper for Kansas City – St. Joseph.  I promise that if you liked these excerpts, you will like all the rest.

Tags: Catholic Church, peace and joy, trust in God