Photo of modern day Abbey of Monte Cassino, St. Benedict’s most famous monastery.
A Homily for Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of Saint Benedict
Thursday, July 11, 2024
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
Hos 11:1-4, 8e-9; Psalm 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16; Matthew 10:7-15
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In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus sends his Apostles out into the world to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is at hand. He tells them to take nothing for the journey no backpack to carry stuff, no money in their belts, no sandals or even a walking stick. In other words, don’t even take the most basic necessities with you. Rather, he wants them to rely completely on God for all of their needs.
Think about this. Imagine going on a trip and arriving at the airport without a suitcase or a wallet. No money, no credit cards, and no suitcase. Maybe just your plane ticket in your pocket. That’s how Jesus sends out the first bishops, the Apostles. And they did it; they founded the Church this way, completely reliant on God for everything as they went. Talk about faith!
Today we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Benedict, the Father of Western Monasticism. Like the Apostles, he began his ministry with nothing, completely relying on God, living as a hermit in a cave for three years.
After this period of seclusion, Benedict ended up founding twelve separate monasteries in the Subiaco area of Italy before moving 25 years later to Monte Cassino where he built his most famous monastery where he wrote the Rule of Saint Benedict which guided life in the monastery and is still used as the rule of life for Benedictines today. Benedict’s sister, Saint Scholastica, also established a monastery for women and it’s likely that she also used his Rule to guide the daily life of her nuns.
Getting back to the Gospel reading for today, one of the lessons I’ve learned and from reading about today’s great Saint Benedict, is that God’s greatest works throughout the ages have had very humble beginnings. The Catholic Church today has about 1.4 billion members, and about 5,600 living bishops, not to mention all those who preceded them. Every one of these bishops can be traced back to one of the Twelve Apostles who Jesus sent out with no belongings or money to proclaim the Kingdom, to evangelize.
Likewise, today there are about 400 Benedictine monasteries throughout the world with about 7,500 monks and 13,000 nuns who live by Benedict’s rule. From a humble cave in Subiaco 1,500 years ago where the hermit Benedict sought only to live in solitude to seek God’s will and overcome personal temptation and sin, rose a worldwide monastic tradition and a rule of monastic life that is still thriving today.
The lesson for us today is that God builds great things through the lives of those who trust in Him, those who have scarce resources, yet are willing to trust God and speak boldly about his love for them and their love for Him. Each one of us can be used by God in this way if we put all of our trust in Him.
One final thought concerning Jesus’ instructions to his Apostles, he says “Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.”
Did the Lord know from the beginning that some people would reject the gospel? Yes. Does he want all to be saved? Yes. But did he also know just as he was opposed, they would be opposed and we, too, would be opposed? We shouldn’t be surprised when we meet with opposition when speaking truth to a sinful world.
So when people reject you, shake the dust off your feet and move on. Pray for them, but don’t obsess over their rejection, even if they are close family members or friends. Jesus was rejected and you’ll be rejected. It’s par for the course. When the our preoccupation becomes “everybody’s got to like me,” then we’ve lost our way, period.
We should never think that the Church should conform to the secular culture, as so many other Christian denominations are doing. As Catholics we must preach repentance to the culture. There is only one truth, not an infinite number of truths where everyone is free to believe whatever tickles their fancy. Truth is hard to live because it requires us to change, and change is hard. It requires us to turn from sin and make every effort to live holy lives.
Dear friends in Christ, big things come through humble people of great faith, people who trust in God for all of their needs and are not afraid to speak truth to the world. Let us be those people and go forth in love to live our lives as witnesses of this truth. This is how we do our part to bring souls into God’s Kingdom.
Amen?