By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach, Oct. 22, 2021. A reception and dinner followed the Mass, which kicked off the annual Friends of the Seminary fundraiser.
We welcome the friends of this seminary to this Mass — and the festivities that follow. We also greet those friends who are following this Mass livestreamed. Whether you are here in person — or attending virtually — we do appreciate your support. This seminary exists to form good and holy priests — the priests that God’s people deserve — for Florida and beyond. Thank you.
Today, by happy coincidence — or perhaps — by a God-incidence, we gather on the feast day of Pope St. John Paul II. His Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores Dabo Vobis, (I will give you shepherds), has helped shape and revitalize priestly formation in this seminary and in seminaries through the world.
In his ministry, Pope John Paul II embraced the Second Vatican Council’s renewed emphasis on the universal call to holiness. He reminded us that to ask catechumens: “Do you wish to receive baptism?” means at the same time to ask them: “Do you wish to become holy?” Throughout his 26 years as pope, he never tired of placing before us the radical demands of the Gospel and he urged us not to be afraid to embrace them. By exhortation but also by example, an example given even with much pain and suffering, he reminded us that for a Christian “it would be a contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity.”
We remember that in his young days, Karol Wojtyla was an athlete and a sports’ enthusiast. It would be curious to know what he thought of the new “extreme sports” now popularized on T.V.: “extreme” golf, “extreme” skiing, etc. As one pundit said at the time of his passing: The pope has invented a new sport: “Extreme holiness.” But for John Paul II, holiness was not just a pastime; it was the pursuit of his life. And it should be ours as well.
He canonized more saints than any pope in history to underscore the fact that it is holiness which expresses best the mystery of the Church. Holiness is, he taught us, “a message that convinces without need for words and is a living reflection of the face of Christ.” John Paul II, in his words and in his life, has given us a message that is convincing, a message of hope, a message about Jesus Christ, the source of our hope, the hope that does not disappoint.
“Follow me,” Jesus said to Peter. And we in turn can never reach Jesus except by the path of faith, the path of Peter who once said to Jesus: “Lord, to whom else should we turn? You have the words of Everlasting Life.”
To know the Risen Lord means to walk in Peter’s footsteps. Again, St. John Paul II reminds us: “Only the faith proclaimed by Peter, and with him by the Church in every age, truly goes to the heart, and touches the depth of the mystery: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’”
“Follow me,” Jesus said to Peter. As Peter follows Christ, we must follow Peter. And thanks to the ministry of Peter and the Apostles and to their successors, Jesus’ call has been addressed to each one of us. “Follow me.”
John Paul II came from Poland where, even in the dark days of Nazi and communist oppression, the Faith permeated Polish culture. Yet, he always insisted that “for all the baptized it is essential to pass from a faith of custom to a mature faith, which is expressed in clear, convinced, and valiant personal options.”
Like a lobster’s exoskeleton that protects it from predators and disease, a “faith of custom” at one time protected the believer and even “formed” him in faith. But today, secularistic culture has stripped away the outer shell of custom that one time supported religious practice. Only a mature faith — freed of false fears, confident and unashamed — can witness convincingly to the truth of the Gospel in today’s world.
As we look towards moving towards a new normal — once we can leave the pandemic behind in our rear-view mirror — we need to recommit ourselves so that all our formation programs, especially those involving our young people, are aimed towards challenging us to a mature faith “expressed in clear, convinced, valiant personal options.” In other words, since the exoskeleton of religion-friendly custom has collapsed, to proclaim the good news into the Third Millennium we will need to be Christians with “backbones.”
Pope St. John Paul II, pray for us.
