by MICHAEL OTTO
Cardinal John Dew has referenced teaching by Pope Francis in stating that joy and a sense of humour are among the signs of holiness in today’s world.
Cardinal Dew gave a homily at a commemorative Mass at Our Lady’s Home of Compassion in Island Bay, Wellington, on June 19 to celebrate Venerable Suzanne Aubert’s 186th birthday.
The cardinal started his homily by saying how fitting it was to celebrate Suzanne in this year of St Joseph, when she carried the saint’s name herself as Mary Joseph.
Preaching on rejoicing, gladness and holiness, with reference to Pope Francis’s 2018 apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and be Glad), the cardinal said St Joseph and Suzanne shared many attitudes which helped make them holy, such as patience, perseverance, meekness, joy and a sense of humour, boldness and passion, being in community and constantly praying.
Speaking about joy and a sense of humour, Cardinal Dew echoed the Pope’s words from the apostolic exhortation, saying that “the saints are full of good humour”.
“We know from her writings and the stories about Suzanne that she was full of wit and humour, and I can only imagine that St Joseph was the same.
“They were not, and none of the saints are, timid, morose, acerbic, or melancholic. They don’t put on a dreary face. We, too, are all called to radiate a positive and hopeful spirit, while, at the same time, remaining completely realistic about life. This is the realism of faith, trusting that God is with us.”
Referring to “boldness and passion”, Cardinal Dew said that he also uses the words “enthusiasm and magnanimity”.
“If we live with boldness and passion, with enthusiasm and magnanimity— or generosity — we will grow in holiness, and help to create a better world. There is also no doubt that Suzanne lived with passion and a bold, undaunted, and audacious gift for life.”
Speaking about patience, perseverance and meekness, the cardinal said this means for holy people that there is a solid grounding in God who loves and sustains us.
“God, who is the source of inner strength, enables us to persevere amid life’s ups and downs, and to endure hostility, betrayal, and failings on the part of others. Again, look at St Joseph and at St Grandma (Suzanne Aubert)!
“Today, such inner strength makes it possible for us, in our fast-paced, noisy, and aggressive world, to live a life of prayer, patience, and constantly doing good for others.”
Cardinal Dew went on to say that, in the communities to which we belong, we are called to create a “God-enlightened space in which to experience the hidden presence of the risen Lord”. St Joseph created ‘God enlightened spaces’ for Jesus and Mary. Suzanne created the same spaces for her sisters, the poor, the ‘foundlings’, the lost, the lonely, and the little ones. We could change our world.
“A question we can all ask ourselves is, am I intentionally creating God-enlightened spaces in my life? What do these spaces look like?”
Reader Interactions