When Christ established the Church to lead mankind to salvation, he also provided the means to this end. Truly, Jesus promises Peter and the apostles in today’s Gospel, “Do not be afraid, from now on you will be catching men.” This authority received from Christ includes all that is needed for the teaching of divine revelation, safeguarding the deposit of Faith and the right administration of the holy sacraments. Of the pope and “magisterium” it is good to recall

“As the rock he is the supreme principle of unity and stability, like the foundation of a house; as the holder of the keys, he has the power to admit others to the Kingdom of God; the power to bind and loose is the power to interpret and enforce the law. . . . The sense of tradition is perhaps best summarized in the common expression: “Vicar of Christ” and “Prince of the Apostles.” As St. Ambrose said it very succinctly: “Where Peter is, there is the Church.” (Fundamentals of Catholicism, Kenneth Baker, S.J., Ignatius p. 111f)

The reality of today’s Gospel that “they brought their boats to land, left everything and became his followers,” indicates that from the beginning those who gave mind and heart to Christ’s teaching committed every aspect of their lives to him.

Father Andrew Kim was a seminarian in Korea in the mid-nineteenth century. The Catholic Faith had arrived in Korea via Peking, China in 1784 when a recently baptized young Korean scholar by the name of Lee Sung-hoon returned with a few religious books and a spark of Faith that would last for generations. From 1784 until 1850 the Christians of Korea underwent severe persecution — often without the comfort of priests or bishops to teach, guide or provide the sacraments.

Ordained in 1845 Father Andrew Kim established many contacts with the Church outside of Korea — always working for the apostolicity of the Korean Church. Beheaded in 1846 — his death fed the strong desire to be faithful on the part of these dedicated Catholics. Severe persecution continued until 1882 when the influence of France and the United States helped end persecution. In 1886 there were five priests and 12,500 Catholics in Korea.

On May 6, 1984 Pope John Paul II named 103 new saints for the Catholic Church. St. Andrew Kim and his companions were canonized in Seoul, Korea; it was the first canonization to take place outside of Rome since the thirteenth century. These 103 martyrs represented the nearly 10,000 martyred Catholics who had “left everything” for the Gospel and Church of Christ. Pope John Paul called the canonization the “happiest day, the greatest feast in the whole history of the Church in Korea.” The 103 canonized included 92 lay people — 45 men and 47 women from all walks of life. Also included were Andrew Kim the first native Korean priest and ten French missionaries. The blood of the martyrs has yielded a rich harvest of those faithful to the See of Peter and the teaching of the apostles. Today the Catholic population in Korea numbers over one and a half million. (Modern Saints, Vol. II, pp. 26ff Ann Ball, Tan Books)

On August 6, 2000, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued the Declaration “Dominus Jesus” (On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church). Providing a beautiful meditation for the beginning of the Third Millennium, it states in part,

“The proper response to God’s revelation is the obedience of faith by which man freely entrusts his entire self to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals and freely assenting to the revelation given by Him . . . it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. With the coming of the Savior Jesus Christ, God has willed that the Church founded by Him be the instrument for the salvation of all humanity . . . it rules out, in a radical way, that mentality of indifferentism characterized by a religious relativism which leads to the belief that one religion is as good as another.”

No individual, no community can proclaim the Gospel to itself — #the mandate and the mission to speak in the name of the Lord comes from him alone. The grace and gift of Christ’s life is given and offered by his body the Church and guarantees the faithfulness to the magisterium and the apostolic mission. Whether in ordinary magisterium or the solemnly pronounced teachings of the papacy or ecumenical councils — we are still guided by the barque of Peter with Christ at the helm.

The Gospel today from St. Luke presents a clear presentation of beatitude or “blessed” living. The law of the new dispensation is to turn the other cheek, give more than is demanded, service of time and talent in a double portion, lending without reservation, treating enemies as friends and praying for our persecutors. The words of Our Blessed Lord take practical and effective meaning in the traditional seven corporal and the seven spiritual works of mercy.

Nelson Baker was born in Buffalo, New York in February 1841. He received a good business sense from his father and a deep love of the Catholic Faith from his Irish Catholic mother. Young Nelson served as a Union soldier in the Civil War and in one of his most courageous acts helped a wounded Confederate soldier who called out into the dark of night, “Please help me . . . please help me.” These words were to be prophetic in the life of this young man whose life seemed to be naturally directed to commerce and the business world. With a friend he opened a successful feed and grain business. At age 28 he left the business world and entered the seminary in Niagara Falls, New York. In 1874 he participated in the first national American pilgrimage to Rome. En route at Paris he stopped at the famous Shrine of Our Lady of Victory. This relationship to Our Lady’s patronage would influence his whole life.

Father Nelson Baker was ordained on the Feast of St. Joseph 1876 for the Diocese of Buffalo, New York. Soon after ordination he was appointed director of St. Joseph’s orphanage and St. John’s Protectory for boys. He formed the Association of Our Lady of Victory asking members to send twenty-five cents annually to help homeless and destitute children. The children came from everywhere, Canada, Ireland, England and France. With a growing population, Father Baker did in the name of Christ what the secular society could or would not do: he added new trade schools, built a home for abandoned and neglected babies and established a large hospital and nursing home. Aware that all were a “family,” Father Baker provided for meaningful Christmas celebrations, as well as summer camp and gardening tasks. He understood his boys well and knew each one by name. Many went on to become business leaders, doctors, priests and even congressmen. He was an instrument of compassion to those who suffered during the great depression. In 1925 he completed a beautiful basilica to Our Lady of Victory in Lackawanna, New York as testimony to the great apostolates of social justice and peace.

We may not direct or build in the same fashion as Father Baker — however, we still build up the body of Christ. In the holy Gospel today Our Lord promises our reward in Heaven will be great if we enter into his “blessedness.” By enacting the spiritual and corporal works of mercy we continue to build up the body of Christ. To do anything less indicates we do not belong to him.

The historical success of Christ’s Church throughout the centuries rests on the principle that where Christ is preached, there the light to the nations shines. As the Gospel today teaches we are to be people of compassion, we are not to judge or condemn, we are to pardon and give, then will our recompense be great. These spiritual admonitions were given to us by Our Blessed Lord as a means to help others, but also for us to obtain the Lord’s “measureless blessing.”

Katherine Mary Drexel was born on November 26, 1858 in Philadelphia. Her father was a successful banker, her mother dying when she was only one month old. Francis Drexel soon married Emma M. Bouvier, a devout Catholic. Two daughters in addition to Katherine completed the family. A devoted mother, Emma taught her daughters the value of responsible charity and helped them realize the obligation of true stewardship for the poor and needy. The family attended daily Mass and cultivated a lively devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. It was this foundation that Katherine would later rely on so many times in her life.

Katherine made her social “debut” in 1879 and along with her sisters participated in the high society of her day. Losing both parents within three years of each other, the Drexel sisters found themselves heirs to a multi-million dollar fortune. In 1884 at age 26 Katherine responded to the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore which promoted missionary activity among native Americans and African Americans. In an audience with Pope Leo XIII she accepted the invitation to become a missionary herself and in 1889 began a novitiate with the Sisters of Mercy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From there Katherine began a new order entirely devoted to American Indians and Blacks — the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.

For the next fifty years, Mother Drexel engaged in the active apostolate of establishing institutions for the aid of Blacks and Native Americans. By 1942 this included foundations in 13 states — 30 convents, 40 mission centers and 23 schools. In 1935 Mother Katherine Drexel suffered a heart attack and changed the focus of her apostolate from the “active” to the “contemplative.” For the next twenty years she united herself more closely to that Christ who was the inspiration and heart of her charity. When she died on March 3, 1955 at the age of 97 she left three great legacies to the Church. 1.) She left over 600 Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament who dedicated their lives to working with ethnic minorities in America. 2.) She had spent nearly 12 million dollars of her personal fortune for the apostolate to help needy American Indians and Blacks. 3.) She carried on the age-old mission of the Church to fight injustice and racism and to help those who are in poverty or pain. (Modern Saints, Vol. II, Ann Ball, TAN Books)

Mother Drexel stands as a giant in the history of the Catholic Faith. For her, word and deed were the same, both inspired by an intimate union with him who is mercy and compassion itself. What was “given back” to Katherine Drexel for a lifetime of generosity and self-sacrifice was the beatitude of accomplishing the will of Christ and his Church.

As is often the case, Mother Drexel and her sisters were at the forefront of this unique apostolate for the American Indian and Black races. The Gospel commands us in Faith to often go where others have not yet trodden. The foundation of so much that is good and benevolent in the world is many times laid by the Church and years later continued or taken over by secular programs. May we always work for the “Peace of Christ” which can never be given or taken away by the world.

An interesting phenomenon of our techno/computer age is a simultaneous rebirth and hunger for things that are spiritual (although, unfortunately, for some young people today this is mistakenly directed toward the occult). As Catholics we need to provide the devotional and spiritual environment, which not only satisfies the soul but also gives honor and glory to the true God.

Junipero Serra was born on November 24, 1713. A scholar and professor of philosophy, he was known for his oratory. At age 36 he traveled to the new world as a missionary to Mexico. Ultimately his missionary ideals led him into what is present day California. He personally supervised the construction of nine missions and his successors another twelve. Each mission was begun in the same way. First a cross was erected and a church bell was hung that signaled the beginning of a chapel in the wilderness. The bell called one and all to educational, social and religious activities — the most important of which was Holy Mass. At the House of God, Father Serra would teach the Indians about Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament and about the richness of devotion to the Virgin Mary and the saints. Beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988, Father stands as a model teacher of reverence for God and holy things.

The lesson of Blessed Junipero Serra is as timely today as it was two hundred years ago. To visit the Blessed Sacrament provides us with the spiritual reflection needed to “produce goodness from our hearts.” Eucharistic reverence and devotion helps us better prepare to enter into the most sacred of mysteries — the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The great spiritual classic The Imitation of Christ encourages us:

Many people travel great distances to visit the relics of the saints and marvel at hearing of their remarkable deeds. They gaze upon magnificent churches dedicated to them, paying homage to their blessed remains. . . .

But you, my God, the Saint of saints, Creator of all things, and Lord of Angels, are here present on the altar before me! Men often are excited by curiosity and novel sights, and so they return with little inclination toward amendment of life, especially when their pilgrimages are made hurriedly, going from one place to another, and no thought is given to true contrition for their sins.

In the Sacrament of the altar, you are wholly present, God and man; and here also, in all its abundance, is the fruit of eternal salvation, as often as You are received worthily and devoutly. To this Sacrament we are drawn not by curiosity, levity or sensuality, but only by firm faith, devout hope and pure charity.”

(p. 241, Clare L. Fitzpatrick, ed., Catholic Book Pub.)

Our decorum in church should be entirely different from any other place or activity. Preparation for Holy Mass, and prayer in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament needs our silence and reflection so that our focus can be directed toward Christ and the good that comes from his grace. A reverent genuflection is our personal response to that real presence which is Christ among us in the Blessed sacrament. May the store of goodness in our hearts lead us into a deeper union with Christ and by our spiritual example lead others as well.