Thanks for teaching us 'language and grammar of love'

By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily Sept. 3, 2016 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, during the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Sisters of St. Joseph from their home in France to the mission lands of Florida.

Dear Sisters, my brother bishops and priests, members of Christ’s faithful: We gather to celebrate the presence in the State of Florida of a particular charism embodied for 150 years in the lives of these consecrated religious women known as the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine. It is the charism of service of the “dear neighbor” with “cordiale charite” in the manner of St. Joseph. Two of us at the altar today, Father Tom Willis and yours truly, were taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph.

The presence of this congregation in Florida began in 1866 with the arrival of the original eight sisters from LePuy, France at the invitation of Bishop Verot. They were eight ordinary women with no outstanding accomplishments, riches, eloquence, great talents or doctoral degrees. As the present general superior, Sister Jane Stoecker, said in an interview: They were “just ordinary women with a very great love of God, of the ‘dear neighbor’ and of the Congregation.”

Today’s scripture readings, especially Mary’s beautiful Canticle, the Magnificat, remind us that it is the prerogative of God, the very work of God, to bring significance out of insignificance and the extraordinary out of the ordinary, as life out of death. And for 150 years, the Sisters of St. Joseph have been a greatly significant and extraordinary presence in our state.

They came from France to educate recently freed slaves � and they did that and even were arrested in 1916 for teaching African American children. And it is important to note that while today many invoke the separation of Church and state as a justification for the denial of state funds to children in Catholic schools, the real reason for the original laws denying state funds to Catholic schools in this state was to keep the sisters from teaching poor blacks.

Yes, it is the very work of God to bring significance out of insignificance and the extraordinary out of the ordinary � and for 150 years the Sisters of St. Joseph, with zeal, courage, tenacity and determination, have pursued their mission of bringing “neighbor to neighbor, and neighbor to God, that ‘all may be one’ (John 17: 21). Seized by God’s love, the Sisters have worked in collaboration with others, especially with the bishops that have led the Church in Florida, to bring union and reconciliation to our world.

The Sisters of St. Joseph have built and staffed schools, both elementary and secondary, hospitals and orphanages, homes for unwed mothers, nursing homes and schools for exceptional children. The Sisters have served in parish ministries, in migrant ministry and even in diocesan administration. All very significant and extraordinary � for the history of the Church here in Florida would be much different, and certainly very impoverished, were it not for the contributions of these women of faith � and of action � over the last century and a half from one end of the state to the other.

Like the Lord’s handmaid, Mary, you, Sisters, have allowed God to exercise his prerogative through your lives. And like Mary, you have done so humbly � not in those first places where you could bask in the approval of the crowds but in the “last places,” working often unnoticed and often unappreciated. But, as Jesus often insisted, the place of the disciple is the last place.

The consecrated life is a call to humble service within an exalted vocation: by belonging entirely to God, you belong entirely to your brothers and sisters. As such, your lives encourage many, and your lives challenge many others to take a position regarding Jesus � a Jesus who is not a remote figure from a long past history, but a living person, a person with whom one can have an intimate friendship, a friendship that has inspired you to follow him without compromise.

It is no secret that recent years have been challenging times for most religious communities. And Sisters of St. Joseph do not live in some bubble protected from these challenges. Yet, you have lived through them; and, you have done so with perseverance, commitment, fidelity and with the unique charism of your congregation.

We pray that you all will continue to respond to these challenges with the same zeal that inspired the sisters who have gone before you as they faced the many challenges and overcame the many obstacles of their times. At San Lorenzo cemetery and in seven other cemeteries where Sisters of St. Joseph have been laid to rest, flags will be placed at their headstones to herald the commitment of these very significant and extraordinary women of faith to their missions here in Florida.

Pope Francis, in the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, has urged all of us Catholics to rediscover and put in practice again with renewed vigor the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. And this is what the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine have been doing for 150 years as you helped build the Church in Florida, by seeking to bring “unity neighbor with neighbor and neighbor with God” to cite a phrase from your own tradition.

Love is the language the Holy Spirit teaches us to speak � for Pentecost defeats Babel. But if love is the language we are to speak, mercy is its grammar. Sisters, we thank God for your 150 years of service to the Church of Florida � and as Metropolitan Archbishop I can say this in the name of all the bishops of this state. We offer grateful prayers on your behalf to God, for by the eloquence of your words and deeds, you have taught so many not only the language of love but its grammar as well.