H O M I L Y
"Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father's affairs?"
(Lk. 2:49).
These words of the twelve year old Jesus, my dear friends, were addressed
to His Mother, Mary, in response to the anguish she and her spouse, Saint
Joseph, had experienced on seemingly 'losing' him. Like any caring parents
they were deeply concerned but the response of Jesus left them none the wiser.
The Gospel account tells us: "They did not understand what he meant".
(Lk. 2:50).
What were the affairs of His Father which, in a sense, took precedence over
his relationship with His parents? The word 'must' in "I must be busy
with my Father's affairs" (Lk. 2:49), indicates a sense of divine compulsion
and reveals a necessity which rises from the inherent relationship of Jesus
to God, the Father, a relationship which demanded of Him obedience to His
Father's Will. These are the first recorded words of Jesus and they indicate
the lietmotif of His mission on earth, namely, to reveal His Father's plan
for the salvation of the world and to do it in obedience to His Will. Psalm
40 had foretold His coming in the cloak of obedience: "Here I am! I am
coming! In the scroll of the book am I not commanded to obey your will? My
God, I have always loved your law from the depth of my being"(Ps. 40:7-8).
Right throughout His life on earth Jesus would continue to remind His followers
that the Will of His Father was paramount in His life: "My food",
He said to them, "is to do the will of the one who sent me, and to complete
his work" (Jn. 4:34). This would lead Him to pay the utmost price so
that His Father's Plan of salvation might become effective in the world. In
the Garden of Olives, when His humanity was weakest, He cried out: "Father,
if you are willing, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, let your will
be done, not mine" (Lk. 22:42).
It was not easy for Mary and Joseph to understand the meaning of the words
this young twelve-year-old said to them in the Temple. They would gradually
be drawn into the Father's plan and realise that the Cross was essential to
that Plan. Joseph would care for the Child in Nazareth with paternal love;
Mary would follow Him all the way to the Cross and hear him say, as He bowed
his head in death, "It is accomplished" (Jn. 19:30). Now she understood
the meaning of those words spoken in the Temple: "Did you not know that
I must be busy with my Father's affairs?" (Lk. 2:49).
My dear friends, the Father's Will has been accomplished. The mission of His
Son Jesus, continues in the Church. The Risen Lord, through the power of His
Spirit continues to be "busy with His Father's affairs" (cf. Lk.
2:49), in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel. The proclamation of the
Good News is a Divine imperative and all of us who belong to Christ, and through
Him are children of the Father, are compelled by that same "divine compulsion"
to be up and doing, to be busy "with the Father's affairs" (Lk.
2:49). Indeed, we are all very busy with many things in our modern day world
and very often we just don't seem to get the time to be concerned for the
needs of our neighbour not to speak of God. Worldly affairs occupy so much
of our time - and these are necessary if we are to raise families and care
for the welfare of society. But in the midst of all the hustle and bustle
of this world, it is still necessary that the Good News of the Gospel be proclaimed,
that due praise and honour be given to God. I am reminded of the episode in
the Gospel when Jesus visited the house of Martha and Mary. Martha was annoyed
by the fact that Mary sat listening to and contemplating the person of Jesus
and she complained to Jesus. The answer she got is a good reminder to all
of us in our modern, busy age: "Martha, Martha, you worry and fret about
so many things, and yet few are needed, indeed only one"(Lk. 10:38-42).
That one thing is to live the "todays" of our lives in the presence
of the Lord, ever conscious of His loving care for each one of us. It means
looking at the priorities of our "todays" so that our "tomorrows"
can take care of themselves. I have heard so often the projections in regard
to our "tomorrows" which would dry up the sap of enthusiasm for
living and planning. Any young person, who is open to the call of the Lord
to become engaged in proclaiming the Good News of the Gospel, would be utterly
discouraged by the so-called "authoritative " predictions for the
future. Jesus never talks about our "tomorrows" except in the context
of living in the freshness of our "todays". The Holy Father put
this quite clearly in His letter to the World at the end of the Great Jubilee
Year: "The Jubilee", he wrote, "has made us realise that two
thousand years of history have passed without diminishing the freshness of
that 'today' when angels proclaimed……. 'for to you is born this
day……… a saviour, who is Christ the Lord' (Lk. 4:11). Two thousand
years have gone by, but Jesus' proclamation of his mission…….is
as enduring as ever: 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing'(Lk.
4:21). Two thousand years have gone by, but sinners in need of mercy - and
who is not? - still experience the consolation of that 'today' of salvation
which on the Cross opened the gates of the Kingdom of God to the repentant
thief: 'Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise' (Lk. 23:43)
(Novo Millennio Ineunte. 1.4).
The call to all of us "to be busy with the Father's affairs" (Lk.
2:49), is as fresh today as ever it was. It is a call that is given to us
today and the grace given with the call is to be accepted today. The call,
to be engaged in the mission of the Church, is given to all of us as a Baptismal
gift but it comes to fruition in our lives as Christians - as a specific vocation
to the Priesthood, or Religious life, or in Missionary commitment or as a
lay-committed Christian - when, through the power of God's Spirit dwelling
within us, we respond to the freshness of a grace, given today, so that the
Lord may use all our 'tomorrows' for the building up of His Kingdom of peace,
truth and love. This will only happen if we have our priorities right, if
we truly believe that the gift of vocation, once given to the Church, will
never be taken away and if, in the busy schedule of our daily lives, we take
time to contemplate the Face of the Saviour who is constantly with us. If
the first words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel were "I must be busy
with my Father's affairs" (Lk.2:49), His last words, recorded in the
Gospel of Matthew, were in the context of His handing on the Mission He had
received from His Father to "make disciples of all the Nations"
(Mt. 28:19), when He said: "And know that I am with you always; yes to
the end of time"(Mt. 28:20).
It was with a view to keeping ever fresh in the minds and hearts of God's
People the need to pray that each succeeding generation of Christians would
respond to God's call by providing worthy vocations to the Priesthood and
the Religious life that Mrs. Olivia Taaffe established in Ireland in 1895
a society of lay people under the title of "St. Joseph's Young Priests
Society". Today, almost one hundred and ten years later the Society,
which has spread to every Diocese and is established in parishes throughout
the country, comes in National Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Mary in Knock.
In the name of the entire Church in Ireland I salute your President, Mr. Hubert
Reynolds, and through him each and every member here present or represented
here today. You continue to have faith in the gift of vocation and by your
promotion of vocations to the priesthood and religious life, through prayer
and sacrifice, and the generous financial support you give towards the education
of students for the priesthood, you keep before the minds and hearts of God's
people the priority of responding to God's call. You truly "are busy
with the Father's affairs"(Lk. 2.49). The presence of so many Bishops
and priests here today is a clear message of support for your good work and
that message says that we have need of you today, more that ever, so that
our 'tomorrows' will be taken care of and the mission of Christ may be preached
to the ends of the earth.
I salute today the great number of altar servers here present. In saluting
them I salute all the altar servers in every parish throughout Ireland. In
his letter to Priests for Holy Thursday of this year, the Holy Father asked
the priests to show special care for altar servers. Addressing the priests
directly Pope John Paul wrote: "Altar servers see you at the regular
Sunday and weekday celebrations; in your hands they see the Eucharist 'take
place', on your face they see its mystery reflected, and in your heart they
sense the summons of a greater love. May you be for them fathers, teachers
and witnesses of Eucharistic piety and holiness of life"(Letter to Priests
- Holy Thursday 2004, N.6).
My dear people, we give thanks to God for having called so many of our brothers
into priesthood, for having kept alive in them the freshness of their priestly
commitment and for having stood by them, even in these trying times, so that
they may continue to be "busy with the Father's affairs"(cf. Lk.
2:49). Pray for your priests, support your priests and do not forget to thank
your priests for the commitment they have made to be at the service of the
Gospel. While it is truly regrettable and shocking that some have failed in
their commitment and betrayed the trust placed in them and thereby hurt others
and the Church as a whole, the vast majority of our priests are shining examples
of dedication to Word and Sacrament, in their service of God's people. As
we pray today that many more young, and not so young, men may answer the call
to the ministerial Priesthood, we are reminded by the Holy Father, in his
letter to priests this year, that: "There can be no Eucharist without
the Priesthood, just as there can be no Priesthood without the Eucharist"
(Letter to Priests - Holy Thursday 2004.n.2).
St. Joseph's Young Priests Society was placed under the patronage of the Saint
Joseph, Spouse of Mary and Divine Guardian of her Son, Jesus. May he continue
to inspire its members to work so that there may be in Ireland an authentic
pastoral promotion of priestly and religious vocations. Through that promotion
may young people feel free to step out from under the peer pressure to conform
and experience the joy of responding to the divine compulsion within them
to put themselves at the disposal of the Lord for the good of His people.
May St. Joseph's Young Priests Society become a reality in every parish in
Ireland, so that the Bishops, who have the primary responsibility of promoting
vocations in their dioceses, may experience the support of dedicated Christian
families in their nurturing of the call which Christ continues to give today,
a call which requires a response, a call which is truly fulfilling. Mary,
Mother of Christ our High Priest, pray that the Church may always have numerous
and holy vocations, faithful and generous ministers of the altar!