Be Zealous In Reaching Out To All Who Suffer - Column Archdiocese of Miami

Archbishop Thomas Wenski’s homily at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Miami during the celebration of Mass for the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, Feb. 12.

This is not my first time here at Our Lady of Lourdes; but it is my first time since I have become your Archbishop. I congratulate all of you - and your pastor Msgr. (Kenneth) Schwanger and his assistant priests - for the vibrant life of your parish community expressed in the many ministries carried on here. Of course, one of your largest and important ministries is your parish school. Through the parish school, young families can draw closer to the life of the church - and the children receive a foundation of excellence that will help them as they grow up not only to do well but to do good.

On the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the universal church also observes a World Day of Prayer for the Sick. The shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France attracts thousands of people each year, many of whom come seeking healing. Some are in fact cured at Lourdes of their physical ailments; but even those who are not cured of bodily ills find at Lourdes spiritual healing - a healing that allows them to carry the cross of their illness with greater faith and hope. As a parish community whose patron is Our Lady of Lourdes, I ask you to be zealous in reaching out to all those who suffer - whether in body, mind or soul - so that they may experience the healing power of Christ's love in their lives.

Our Lady of Lourdes asked St. Bernadette Soubourous to pray for the conversion of sinners. Soon we will begin the Lenten Season - a time of grace and a time of conversion, a time to turn to the Lord and away from sin. We as Catholics express our desire to turn to the Lord, we manifest our need to be cured from sin, which disfigures the soul as leprosy disfigures the body, by availing ourselves of the sacrament of Penance, through which sins committed after baptism are forgiven. And, if in his public ministry, Jesus cured the sick and healed the leper, it was to show in this way that he also had the power to heal our hearts through the forgiveness of sins.

In his Lenten message for this year, Pope Benedict XVI reminds us Catholics: "We cannot be silent in the face of evil." To adapt to the prevailing mentality, out of human respect or convenience, to fail to warn our brothers and sisters against ways of thinking or acting that a contrary to truth and right conduct, is to fail in the charity that we owe them.

'On this World Day of Prayer for the Sick we do well to remember that one out of every six hospital beds in our country is in a Catholic hospital. And in this country and especially in the countries of Africa and Latin America, Catholic health ministries are at the forefront of helping those with HIV/AIDS who too often are considered as the lepers of our time.'

Archbishop Thomas Wenski

Spirituality in our Catholic tradition is more than just narcissistic navel-gazing or an over-simplified sentimentalism that reduces spirituality to a one-time acceptance of Jesus. It is not a self-absorbed seeking after self-fulfillment found through esoteric teachings or practices. Christianity’s invitation is to look outward and beyond. The heart of Christian life, the Holy Father insists in his Lenten message, is "charity". As Christians we are to express our concern for each other through the exercise of what the Catechism calls the "corporal" and "spiritual" works of mercy. Opening our hearts to others and their needs is an opportunity for each one of us for salvation and blessedness.

And over the years we Catholics have done just that - through our parish ministries and schools but also through our universities, our hospitals and our Catholic charities. On this World Day of Prayer for the Sick we do well to remember that one out of every six hospital beds in our country is in a Catholic hospital. And in this country and especially in the countries of Africa and Latin America, Catholic health ministries are at the forefront of helping those with HIV/AIDS who too often are considered as the lepers of our time.

For much of this nation's history, Catholics were regarded by many of their neighbors with suspicion if not with hostility because of the prevailing prejudice towards the Catholic faith in a predominantly Protestant America. Yet because of a healthy secularity promoted by our civil order and the Bill of Rights' first freedom, the freedom of religion, Catholics were able to put down roots in this country, build their churches and worship freely. They were also able to build institutions that not only served their fellow Catholics but also the broader community.

Today, the healthy secularity that provided for the separation of Church and State but not of Religion from Society, that healthy secularity that guaranteed the freedom of people of faith to serve the common good through hospitals, schools, orphanages and other charitable institutions, is increasingly under siege in America. A radical secularism has emerged that seeks to reduce religious belief to just a "subjective opinion" and to privatize faith by denying it any public expression. Such a radical secularism promotes a world view in which God is excluded; it pretends that society can organize itself, that people can live their lives, as if God doesn't matter.

Let no one deceive himself or herself. The on-going flap over the Obama administration's Department of Health and Human Services' mandate to force Catholics and others to violate their consciences is not about contraception or access to contraception. Contraceptive devices are easily found at corner gas stations; and a few universities have begun to sell "the morning after pills" like soda from coin-operated vending machines. What's at stake here is the first freedom of the Bill of Rights: our freedom of religion; and our freedom to serve according to the dictates of our conscience.

Your beautiful and inviting parish church with its shrine to Mary Immaculate stands here in southwest Miami-Dade County as a beacon of faith, hope and love. It is an invitation written in brick and mortar to all who pass by to consider how meaningful and fulfilling are the lives of those who worship here because they believe, against the prevailing secularism of our culture, that God does, in fact, matter.

You, the faithful and parishioners, are the "living stones" of this parish church, "built on the foundations laid by the apostles and prophets" (Eph 2:19ff). This church made of "living stones" must also be an instrument to help others experience the one Savior of all mankind, Jesus Christ. Here, where his Word is proclaimed and his sacraments are celebrated, God continues to call us to a “personal encounter” with him. Here in communion with the brethren, here in quiet prayer in the presence of the Most Blessed Sacrament, we can allow ourselves to be found by God.

Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Thursday, February 16th, 2012



		Be Zealous In Reaching Out To All Who Suffer *Archbishop Thomas Wenski’s homily at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Miami during the celebration of Mass for the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, Feb. 12.* This is not my first time here at Our Lady of Lourdes; but it is my first time since I have become your Archbishop. I congratulate all of you - and your pastor Msgr. (Kenneth) Schwanger and his assistant priests - for the vibrant life of your parish community expressed in the many ministries carried on here. Of course, one of your largest and important ministries is your parish school. Through the parish school, young families can draw closer to the life of the church - and the children receive a foundation of excellence that will help them as they grow up not only to do well but to do good. On the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the universal church also observes a World Day of Prayer for the Sick. The shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France attracts thousands of people each year, many of whom come seeking healing. Some are in fact cured at Lourdes of their physical ailments; but even those who are not cured of bodily ills find at Lourdes spiritual healing - a healing that allows them to carry the cross of their illness with greater faith and hope. As a parish community whose patron is Our Lady of Lourdes, I ask you to be zealous in reaching out to all those who suffer - whether in body, mind or soul - so that they may experience the healing power of Christ's love in their lives. Our Lady of Lourdes asked St. Bernadette Soubourous to pray for the conversion of sinners. Soon we will begin the Lenten Season - a time of grace and a time of conversion, a time to turn to the Lord and away from sin. We as Catholics express our desire to turn to the Lord, we manifest our need to be cured from sin, which disfigures the soul as leprosy disfigures the body, by availing ourselves of the sacrament of Penance, through which sins committed after baptism are forgiven. And, if in his public ministry, Jesus cured the sick and healed the leper, it was to show in this way that he also had the power to heal our hearts through the forgiveness of sins. In his Lenten message for this year, Pope Benedict XVI reminds us Catholics: "We cannot be silent in the face of evil." To adapt to the prevailing mentality, out of human respect or convenience, to fail to warn our brothers and sisters against ways of thinking or acting that a contrary to truth and right conduct, is to fail in the charity that we owe them. 'On this World Day of Prayer for the Sick we do well to remember that one out of every six hospital beds in our country is in a Catholic hospital. And in this country and especially in the countries of Africa and Latin America, Catholic health ministries are at the forefront of helping those with HIV/AIDS who too often are considered as the lepers of our time.' Archbishop Thomas Wenski Spirituality in our Catholic tradition is more than just narcissistic navel-gazing or an over-simplified sentimentalism that reduces spirituality to a one-time acceptance of Jesus. It is not a self-absorbed seeking after self-fulfillment found through esoteric teachings or practices. Christianity’s invitation is to look outward and beyond. The heart of Christian life, the Holy Father insists in his Lenten message, is "charity". As Christians we are to express our concern for each other through the exercise of what the Catechism calls the "corporal" and "spiritual" works of mercy. Opening our hearts to others and their needs is an opportunity for each one of us for salvation and blessedness. And over the years we Catholics have done just that - through our parish ministries and schools but also through our universities, our hospitals and our Catholic charities. On this World Day of Prayer for the Sick we do well to remember that one out of every six hospital beds in our country is in a Catholic hospital. And in this country and especially in the countries of Africa and Latin America, Catholic health ministries are at the forefront of helping those with HIV/AIDS who too often are considered as the lepers of our time. For much of this nation's history, Catholics were regarded by many of their neighbors with suspicion if not with hostility because of the prevailing prejudice towards the Catholic faith in a predominantly Protestant America. Yet because of a healthy secularity promoted by our civil order and the Bill of Rights' first freedom, the freedom of religion, Catholics were able to put down roots in this country, build their churches and worship freely. They were also able to build institutions that not only served their fellow Catholics but also the broader community. Today, the healthy secularity that provided for the separation of Church and State but not of Religion from Society, that healthy secularity that guaranteed the freedom of people of faith to serve the common good through hospitals, schools, orphanages and other charitable institutions, is increasingly under siege in America. A radical secularism has emerged that seeks to reduce religious belief to just a "subjective opinion" and to privatize faith by denying it any public expression. Such a radical secularism promotes a world view in which God is excluded; it pretends that society can organize itself, that people can live their lives, as if God doesn't matter. Let no one deceive himself or herself. The on-going flap over the Obama administration's Department of Health and Human Services' mandate to force Catholics and others to violate their consciences is not about contraception or access to contraception. Contraceptive devices are easily found at corner gas stations; and a few universities have begun to sell "the morning after pills" like soda from coin-operated vending machines. What's at stake here is the first freedom of the Bill of Rights: our freedom of religion; and our freedom to serve according to the dictates of our conscience. Your beautiful and inviting parish church with its shrine to Mary Immaculate stands here in southwest Miami-Dade County as a beacon of faith, hope and love. It is an invitation written in brick and mortar to all who pass by to consider how meaningful and fulfilling are the lives of those who worship here because they believe, against the prevailing secularism of our culture, that God does, in fact, matter. You, the faithful and parishioners, are the "living stones" of this parish church, "built on the foundations laid by the apostles and prophets" (Eph 2:19ff). This church made of "living stones" must also be an instrument to help others experience the one Savior of all mankind, Jesus Christ. Here, where his Word is proclaimed and his sacraments are celebrated, God continues to call us to a “personal encounter” with him. Here in communion with the brethren, here in quiet prayer in the presence of the Most Blessed Sacrament, we can allow ourselves to be found by God. Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami Thursday, February 16th, 2012