By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily at the opening Mass of the annual Catechetical Day, celebrated Oct. 19, 2024, at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami. The Mass was celebrated next door at Epiphany Church.
Welcome, Byenvini, Bienvenidos! Welcome to Catechetical Day 2024, a day to refresh ourselves, to recharge ourselves, to recommit ourselves to passing on the faith to our young people and to all those who seek to encounter Jesus Christ. Thank you, Sister Karen Muñiz and all those who worked to put together this day. And a special “thank you” to our speakers and, of course, our exhibitors.
But I want to thank all of you, catechists, for your generosity, a generosity already shown in your commitment to formation. I am pleased to see the numbers who are enrolled in our catechist certification program and every year more of you are receiving certification which is more than just getting a “paper;” the process is about giving you the tools you need to be effective catechists. Your involvement in parish religious education programs is truly an exercise of great stewardship and, balancing the demands of family, work and Church, you give of yourselves and your time, talent, and treasure for the building up of the Kingdom.
And building up the Kingdom requires more than just goodwill; it requires planning, preparation, training and formation. And given the fact that today the culture does not support us, we need to look always for more effective means in order to better evangelize and catechize our people.
But I am convinced that, if we are to evangelize seriously, we have to take up the task with the seriousness that planning, preparation, training and formation imply. We should always strive to give our best. God and his people deserve no less.
Today the Church celebrates the feast day of St. Isaac Jogues and his companions. They are referred to as the North American Martyrs. They were Jesuit missionaries who came from France to preach the Gospel to the Native Americans and were martyred for their efforts. Father Isaac Jogues, some years before he was martyred by a tomahawk blow to the back of his neck had been taken prisoner; he was tortured, his fingers were eaten or burned off and for 13 months he was kept in slavery until he escaped and made his way back to Europe. Without fingers, he could not celebrate Mass, especially since at that time, liturgical law required a priest to hold the host with his thumb and forefinger. He requested a special dispensation so that he could celebrate Mass which the pope granted saying, “It would be shameful that a martyr of Christ not be allowed to drink the Blood of Christ.”
And so, with a special dispensation from the Pope to celebrate Mass with his mutilated fingers, he returned and was, in short order, martyred by the Indians along with John de Brebeuf and his other companions they wished to win for Christ.
We hear Jesus in the Gospel reading today tell us, everyone who acknowledges me before others the Son of Man will acknowledge before the angels of God. Today we honor these North American martyrs because they, even in the face of great adversity, acknowledged Jesus before others. You too acknowledge Christ before those who come to our religious education programs. And what you do has its challenges to be sure – but hopefully you get to keep your fingers, and your heads.
Earlier this week, we also celebrated the feast day of St. Teresa of Avila. She famously said: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”
St. Isaac Jogues, who also left a significant amount of correspondence, said: “My hope is in God who has only us with whom to fulfill his plans. It is for us to be faithful and not to spoil his work by our cowardice.”
I appreciate what you do to help me and the pastors of our parishes to teach our people and to help them, and especially our young people, to grow in the faith and love of the Lord. I thank you for your commitment, for your joy, and for your hard work.
