By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily while celebrating Mass Sept. 29, 2024, with the Filipino Apostolate on the feast of “San Lorenzo Ruiz” and the World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees at St. Mary Cathedral, Miami.
Photographer: COURTESY | SISTER, ELIZABETH WORLEY
Archbishop Thomas Wenski said in his homily that St. Lorenzo Ruiz is the patron saint of migrants, and the day of his celebration, Sept. 29, happens to be the World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees.
Mabujay! ¡Viva San Lorenzo Ruiz! ¡Viva!
Today we celebrate the feast day of the first Filipino saint whom Pope St. John Paul II beatified in Manila and later canonized in Rome. He died a martyr in Japan, far from the land of his birth, and so – in a very special way – he is the patron saint of all migrants, but especially of those who have migrated from the Philippines. Today, also by happy coincidence – or perhaps it is a God-incidence – the Vatican observes a World Day of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees.
The World Day of Migrants and Refugees is a call for our solidarity with people on the move. Globalization has made our world smaller. We are all neighbors now. We need to learn to live as brothers and sisters in one human family.
And the Scripture readings today give us some direction in how we should live as brothers and sisters. In the first reading we hear that Eldad and Medad receive a portion of the spirit even though they had not gone with other elders. Joshua wanted to shut them up and shut them out, but Moses refused, just as Jesus also told his disciples not to stop the man who casting out devils, even though he wasn’t with them. Solidarity requires a certain broadmindedness regarding the good deeds of others. Jealousy hurts solidarity whereas tolerance can help forge greater solidarity in the human family.
At the same time, we should afford no tolerance to evil, especially evil acts against the vulnerable, the “little ones.”
Photographer: COURTESY | SISTER, ELIZABETH WORLEY
Banners from the Filipino Apostolate of Miami enter St. Mary Cathedral in Miami, at the beginning of the Mass in honor of San Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint, celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Sept. 29, 2024.
Photographer: COURTESY | SISTER, ELIZABETH WORLEY
Banners from the Filipino Apostolate of Miami enter St. Mary Cathedral in Miami, at the beginning of the Mass in honor of San Lorenzo Ruiz, the first Filipino saint, celebrated by Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Sept. 29, 2024.
Jesus speaks some seemingly harsh words – he is not advocating “self-mutilation”. “Pluck out your eye”, “cut off your hand” are Semitic exaggerations to make a point. Namely, we should be intolerant of those people, places, or things that could lead us into sin by causing us to stumble on the path to life. Nothing is worth exchanging for heaven. This is also the witness of San Lorenzo, who endured torture and death so as not to be a stumbling block for others by denying his Catholic faith. In our easy compromises with the godless culture around us, in taking our religious obligations too lightly, in allowing ourselves to tolerate in ourselves sinful desires or actions we can give scandal to others and cause them to stumble.
Solidarity, in the words of St. John Paul II, is “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is, to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are responsible for all.” In other words, for John Paul II, solidarity entails a person's commitment to the well-being of others and to building up the common good. Today, we look to San Lorenzo and ask his intercession for us. As the patron saint of migrants, especially Filipino migrants, may his prayers help us to build solidarity among all – both within and without the Filipino community. With the help of his prayers, may we be more tolerant of the good in others and intolerant within ourselves of anything that could separate us from Christ.
San Lorenzo, as you know, was a married man, a father of three children. The example of his life reminds us that holiness is not just for some few in the Church – it is the common vocation, the universal calling, of each of the baptized.
He was, one could say, an accidental martyr. He did not go to Japan seeking to become a martyr. In fact, when he boarded the ship that was to take him to Japan, he thought it was going to Macao. But, once arriving in Japan, he would not deny his faith – and he persevered through long imprisonment and torture. “I am a Catholic...” were his dying words.
When we come before the judgment seat of God, C.S. Lewis wrote, “there are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says in the end: ‘Thy will be done’. All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice there would be no hell.”
San Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us, that like him, we say to God: Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven! ¡Viva San Lorenzo! ¡Viva!
