Feast of St. Louise de Marillac--15 Mar. 2014--Mt 25:31-46; Sir 35:12-14,16-19; Jm 2:14-19,23 Todays Gospel is an obvious choice for our Feast of St. Louise de Marillac because Jesus parable of the Last Judgment divides the sheep from the goats based on their observance of the corporal works of mercy, which is central to your vocation as Daughters of Charity. What you have done for the least of your brothers and sisters in 18 locations within our diocese during the last 40 years, you have done for Christ, who promises you the reward of your goodness. But this parable speaks to all of us, not just the Daughters of Charity. It is the last passage in Matthews account of Jesus public ministry and thus sets the stage for his total outpouring of self in love to set us free from the power of sin, death and everything else that keeps people bound unjustly. Matthew wants us to read his immediately following account of Jesus passion and death through the lens of this parable in order to emphasize that we too are called to live lives of sacrificial love modeled on that of Jesus and that by serving the needy with sacrificial love, we serve Christ himself. But experience teaches us that good intentions, by themselves, will not be sufficient to sustain us in this ideal over the long haul. What is required is that combination of action and contemplation that characterized St. Louise--not just good deeds alone--whereby we not only serve Christ in those we serve, but actually come to see Christ in those we serve. For St. Louise this meant moving from the high-minded altruism of her original group of charitable society ladies, to actually engaging the needy personally on their own level, which she discovered could only be sustained through a deep relationship with Jesus rooted in prayer. This is the vision that brought the Daughters of Charity into existence! Notice something else remarkable: this parable of the Last Judgment is the only passage in any of the Gospels where Jesus actually spells out his criteria for going to heaven or hell...and surprisingly, he doesnt say anything about moral rectitude, doctrinal correctness or religious observance--problem areas for many of the troubled, alienated people we serve. These are, of course, important things too--disordered lives can be a living hell!--but Jesus makes it clear that you could score highly virtuous in all these socially respectable areas of externally verifiable righteousness, but without the corporal works of mercy youll still end up being a goat headed for hell! This section of Matthews Gospel began with the disciples asking Jesus: ...what sign will there be of your coming, and of the end of the age? (Mt 24:3) and here we have Jesus response: the Kingdom is already coming into existence in the smallest and weakest members of society, and thats where you will discover the Kingdom of God. And isnt it true, Sisters, that it is precisely there that you have discovered the Kingdom of God? The 35 of you who have served in Arkansas and all those who have served elsewhere? And now also our Ladies of Charity, plus our Vincentian priests, deacon and lay missionaries. Your vocation--and mine!--is not just to serve Jesus in the poor, which you do with such generosity and love, and for which we are all immensely grateful! It also has a larger dimension also conveyed in Jesus parable of the Last Judgment, namely your charism of working to open everyones eyes--through the witness of your sacrificial love--to see the Kingdom of God already present among us right here and now, already present in Christ who is incarnate among us in the least of our brothers and sisters.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 18:30:31 +0000
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