HOMILY WEEK 24 03 – Year II
Chosen as God’s Own:
Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian
(1 Cor 12:31-13:13; Ps 33; Lk 7:31-35)
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St. Eugene de Mazenod, founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, traces his vocation as a priest, and eventually as a bishop, and finally, as a saint, to a conversion experience at the foot of the cross when he was in his early twenties. The immense love of Jesus powerfully overcame him and he shed copious tears. Having grown up as part of the French nobility, the decision to become a priest meant a rather radical change of life. He then spent the rest of his life serving especially the poor and marginalized of southern France. In 1995, the Church recognized his holiness by declaring him a saint for the universal church.
The psalm response for today would apply to him, and to us: “Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.”
In some ways, we don’t have to strive for holiness. It is already ours in that we have been chosen by God, through our conception, birth, baptism and life in the church. We simply have to live who we are, the Chosen One’s of God, as did Eugene de Mazenod. In a similar vein, St. Augustine would give communion to catechumens for the first time with the words, “Receive who you are!”
The Gospel today records a rather sad and negative response to the message of God’s love in Jesus, on the part of the scribes, Pharisees and perhaps even the ordinary people of Jesus’ day. They claimed John the Baptist had a demon, and that Jesus was a drunkard. That is quite comparable to the reaction that St. Eugene experienced as many of the clergy and church people of his day resisted his creative, unique and compelling way of serving the poor, including learning and using the local slang, Provencal.
Fortunately, St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians provides us with a blue print for a life of holiness. I find it helpful to substitute the word “I” for Love in this familiar passage verses 4-8. I am patient; I am not envious; I rejoice in the truth; I bear all things, and so on. I would submit that all of us are on a common path of healing leading toward greater wellness and wholeness, holiness.
In the end, St. Paul asserts, holiness involves only three things – faith, hope and love, and actually, boils that down to one thing – love. To be able to truly love God, others, ourselves and all of God’s creation, is to be holy as Jesus was holy; holy as St. Eugene was holy.
Today the church invites us to honor two martyrs, saints Cornelius and Cyprian, who truly lived out these readings. When Cornelius was elected pope during the Decian persecution (250-251), the Roman See had been vacant for many months following the martyrdom of the previous pope Fabian. A priest name Novatian tried to usurp Cornelius’ place as Bishop of Rome. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, supported Cornelius, his friend and ally, and the teaching of Novatian was condemned in a synod. In 253, under renewed persecution, Cornelius was arrested and banished. He died in exile the same year. Cyprian of Carthage is an important figure of the early church. Brilliant and learned, he became a priest soon after his conversion to Christianity and in 249 was elected bishop. When the Decian persecution began, he went into hiding and supported his flock by letter. In 257 persecution was renewed under Valerian. Cyprian, one of the first arrested, was banished. In a retrial a year later, he was condemned to death.
The Eucharist is food for our journey into greater loving and being loved, into deeper and deeper wholeness and holiness, so that we can say with conviction about ourselves, as could Saints Eugene, Cornelius and Cyprian – happy are the people the Lord has chosen as his own.
