WEEK 08 03 – Year II
Loving Intensely from the Heart:
Optional Memorial of St. Paul VI
(1 Pt 1:18-25; Ps 147; Mk 10:32-45)
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Life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved.
The readings today invite us to live the mystery of our faith through redemptive suffering, servant leadership and intense love.
St Peter in the first reading waxes eloquently about the mystery of the gift of faith: we were ransomed by the blood of Christ; born anew through the living word of God that endures forever; our souls have been purified by obedience to the truth, and we are called to place our trust and hope in Jesus risen from the dead.
Two key words here – ransomed and purified – bring to mind the two-fold role of Jesus as the Messiah – to redeem and sanctify, to forgive and heal. Through his precious blood, we are forgiven; by his powerful Word, we are healed.
That process of redemption and sanctification makes us ready for the task St. Peter places before us – flowing out of this mystery of faith, we must have a “genuine mutual love,” and “love one another deeply from a pure heart.” How have we responded to this invitation?
Turning to the gospel, we see that admonition lived. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, where he predicted he would suffer horribly, die and rise again on the third day. Some were amazed; others were afraid, and the sons of Zebedee, James and John, did not get it all – they just wanted whatever glory Jesus could give them.
A lady shared her anguish with me after mass over her son who was suffering from a physical illness, addicted to the drugs he was given to treat it, and on top of that, too full of anxiety and paranoia to even seek help. Why, she asked, were they being asked to carry this cross? What was the meaning of this seemingly meaningless suffering?
The answer to this mystery of suffering is called redemptive suffering; servant leadership, or living Calvary in slow motion. There are life lessons we can learn only through suffering. If our lives are too easy, we remain superficial. It is our suffering that produces character and makes us deep.
The key to this mystery is to love intensely as Jesus did; to accept suffering as Jesus did, without bitterness or resentment. That is the secret of the kingdom. Jesus underwent his passion, or passio (which means “being done unto”) like a lamb being led to slaughter – without bitterness, resentment or violence – with only love and forgiveness. As Ron Rolheiser puts it, when we act like God, we get to feel like God – our peace, joy, dignity, innocence all returns when we can accept some redemptive suffering as Jesus did.
For most of us that won’t be as horrible as what Jesus went through. Instead, he speaks of servant leadership, of giving our lives away, of seeking to serve rather than to be served. The late Archbishop Emeritus Adam Exner OMI called this “living Calvary in slow motion.”
An example of servant leadership is Lillian Yonkers, who was president of the Oblate School of Theology some years ago. Our group of priests and sisters taking the sabbatical program Ministry to Ministers nearby were told that she would be attending our closing banquet. Full of expectation, we gathered for the banquet. A place was set for her, but it was empty and we were surprised when the director said the blessings without her. Suddenly, she came out of the kitchen with an apron on and served us for the rest of the evening. We were delighted and touched that the president of OST would attend our banquet, not as an honored guest, but as a humble servant. What a beautiful reminder and living out of the gospel that Jesus taught, especially when he washed his disciples feet just before his passion. As John Shea puts it, Jesus “took off the mantle of privilege, and put on the apron of service.”
Today the church invites us to honour Pope St. Paul VI, who in his own way loved both God and the church. Giovanni Battista Montini was born in 1897 in Italy. Ordained in 1920, he spent many years working in the Vatican Secretariat of State. Montini was appointed Archbishop of Milan and became known as the “archbishop of the workers.” During the council, however, Pope John XXIII died, and the well-respected Montini was elected on June 21, 1963, to succeed him, taking the name of Paul VI.
Committing himself to continuing the work begun by John XXIII, he continued the Council and implemented reforms in the areas of liturgy, Church governance and the attitudes of Catholics toward other religions. Paul VI’s papacy and writings aimed constantly at working toward lasting justice and peace. He brought a message of human rights, human dignity and human development to the world.
Paul VI died on August 6, 1978. He was beatified on October 14, 2018. In his homily at the canonization of Paul VI, Pope Francis said: “Paul VI spent his life for Christ’s gospel, crossing new boundaries and becoming its witness in proclamation and in dialogue, a prophet of a Church turned outwards, looking to those far away and taking care of the poor. Even in the midst of tiredness and misunderstanding, Paul VI bore witness in a passionate way to the beauty and the joy of following Christ totally. Today he still urges us, together with the Council whose wise helmsman he was, to live our common vocation: the universal call to holiness.”
The Eucharist itself is an experience of the intense love of Jesus for us through his passion. May our celebration empower us to love others intensely from the heart and express our faith and love through servant leadership.
