Most Christians will not be famous or great, but all of them can aspire to be faithful followers of Christ, and form part of the house where God’s Spirit dwells.
Wellington Coadjutor Archbishop Paul Martin, SM, made this point in a homily at the end-of-year Mass for Te Kupenga-Catholic Theological College at Sacred Heart church, Ponsonby on October 29.
Archbishop Martin said that, during his year as a school principal, around half of the 150 boys would apply to be prefects. Only 18 were chosen, and those who didn’t make it were always disappointed.
“I wanted to tell them that the majority of the year group wouldn’t get picked, so don’t feel too left out. But somehow that reality didn’t quite hit them,” he said.
Archbishop Martin tied this up with the celebration of the feasts of Saints Simon and Jude, two disciples who are not well-known.
From the little that is known about them, Jude, son of James, who is often mixed up with Judas Iscariot, is the patron saint of hopeless cases, while Simon was called the Zealot.
“And yet there is something wonderful about the fact that these two apostles were not that well noted for what they did, because that is, in fact, what it will be for the great majority of us,” he said.
“For most of us, our lives will not make the history books. We won’t have podcasts made about our exploits. Our photos won’t be blown up on big screens for buildings. No edifices will bear our names. Yet we hope that we will be able to carry the badge of being faithful followers of the Lord.”
Picking up on the first reading from St Paul to the Ephesians, the archbishop reminded the congregation that ”we are not aliens or foreign visitors to God, but members of his household”.
“We belong. We aren’t just people invited for a visit. We have residents’ rights, as well as responsibilities. We are part of the same Church as Simon and Jude and all the apostles and prophets,” he said. “We are part of the building that has Jesus Christ as our cornerstone.”
He stressed that the wonderful reality is that this is the building where “God lives in the Spirit”.
“So often we focus on the Church as a human institution with all its faults and foibles. We lose sight of its holy nature, its transcendent calling and reality,” he observed.
“The apostles remind us of this, because they were called by Jesus personally and physically, and they responded in that same way. We, too, receive that same calling and are invited to respond.”
Archbishop Martin reminded the students at the Catholic Theological College of the “wonderful privilege” they have in studying and building up their knowledge of God.
“And what is it for? It is for the growth in your own holiness and relationship with God, and for the spread of the Gospel in our country, Aotearoa New Zealand, and beyond,” he said.
“The work of the CTC is not just about an academic qualification, it is about being well prepared, and having the knowledge and experience to be able to proclaim the Gospel, just as the apostles did.”
The archbishop acknowledged the difficulties and struggles this year has brought, but called on the staff and the students to offer these up to God “for the sake of the mission, which doesn’t change”.
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