You witness that God does, in fact, matter

By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami

Archbishop Thomas Wenski preached this homily during a Mass marking the 150th anniversary of St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Fernandina Beach, in the Diocese of St. Augustine. The Mass was celebrated Feb. 20, 2022.

I am very happy to celebrate with you and with your pastor St. Michael the Archangel Parish’s 150th anniversary. This makes me feel young — in South Florida where I serve, I’m older than most of the churches. In fact, one time, I was in a parish church, and I overheard somebody ask: Where did they put the relic? And somebody answered -pointing at me — he’s standing over there.

Well 150 years might not seem like a long time for a Church than is almost 2,000 years old; but here in Florida, where almost everything seems to have been built the day before yesterday, 150 years is certainly something to celebrate! And while the cornerstone of this church was laid on September 29, 1872, the history of this parish can be traced back some 450 years to the earliest Spanish missions in Northeast Florida and on Amelia Island. Tertullian once said, “the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church,” and here in September of 1577, Franciscan Father Miguel de Aunon was martyred. The Catholic faith has deep roots in this part of Florida, its soil nourished by the blood of martyrs.

The word, parish, is derived from the ancient Greek — pa-roi-ki-a —; the Spanish, parroquia, is much closer to the original Greek than its English equivalent. It meant a sojourn in a foreign land, or a community of sojourners. And, so when the Hebrew Scriptures were first translated into Greek, pa-roi-ki-a was used to describe the Israelites as they sojourned through the desert on their way to the Promised Land.

As Catholic Christians, to say that we are parishioners of this or that parish is to identify us as members of a pilgrim people, a group of sojourners called forth by God. To say that we are parishioners is to acknowledge that we sojourn in the way that his Son Jesus opens before us. We Catholics are members of the new People of God, the New Israel, established by Christ on the foundation of the twelve apostles. We know that here on this earth we have no lasting dwelling place, for our citizenship is in heaven, our true Promised Land

Our parishes, where the community of sojourners meet, are then like way stations, rest stops, along our pilgrim way. St. Michael the Archangel Parish, of course, is much more than just a simple way station or rest stop: It is truly an oasis. To tell the story of this parish is to tell the story of people, clergy, religious, and most of all parishioners who created an extraordinary community of faith through hard work, courage, and dedication. This is the story of historical heroes, martyrs, and ordinary parishioners who over 150 years made a difference in education, in the life of the needy, and in so many people’s lives. And since I was taught by the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Augustine, I would be remiss if I do not mention the early work done by sisters in educating children of freed slaves after the Civil War and later their work tending to the victims of Yellow Fever in 1877. Also, the Sisters of St. Joseph started the parish school that today is once again serving the young families of this parish as St. Michael’s Academy — a Catholic school where God can be talked about and talked to every day.

And what a beautifully expanded and remodeled church! Congratulations to your pastor, Father Jose (Kallukalam), for this fine work. This expansion along with recent completion of your parish hall shows that this parish community, while revering its past with gratitude, looks to the future with great confidence.

Yes, with great confidence! Despite the strong head winds we face in our contemporary culture, in which the ascendant secularism is eroding the faith of so many people. “Secularism,” I tell kids at my confirmations, “is a 50-cent word — but it describes what happens when a person or a society pretends that they can live their lives or organize their society as if God doesn’t matter. That’s “secularism” in a nutshell. And today, where do you hear outside of Church that God matters? And if God doesn’t matter, people made in his image and likeness won’t matter either. If God doesn’t matter, the unborn child won’t matter; the migrant, won’t matter; battered woman or trafficked child, the infirm or the lonely, aged person, won’t matter.

For 150 years in Northeast Florida, St. Michael the Angel has stood as a witness that God does, in fact, matter; and the various ministries over the years also witness that man, made in the image and likeness of God, also matters.

Parish life is not something merely incidental to us as we make our life’s journeys. Perhaps this might be the most enduring lesson to be learned as we put the pandemic in our rear-view mirrors. We are social beings — we need each other, we need community, and we need God. Parishes should be “schools” of prayer and communion, places where love of God and neighbor come together and thus parishes — as way stations along our sojourn — keep us from becoming “of the world” and they enable us, as we sojourn in the world, to be always “for the world.”

For 150 years, St. Michael the Archangel has welcomed God’s pilgrim people. Over the years, thousands of people have met Christ in Word and Sacrament. For 150 years, here at St. Michael the Archangel, the Lord has fed you and met your needs. However, the history of this parish — like any history forged by fallen human beings — is full of lights and shadows. We should not be surprised that the Church which Christ founded to save sinners is — well — full of sinners. Yet, the Church is holy — and she is holy not because of us but because of the Spirit that is given to her.

Despite the shortcomings and foibles of her human members, the Church of God has continued to grow here in Florida — and here at St. Michael the Archangel. Thanks to the presence of the Holy Spirit, who could say that these past 150 years have not been years of grace?

Many have come and gone — among them were some saints, and to be sure many sinners — and today we lift up in prayer those pioneers — priests and people —who were here at the beginning and have gone home to the Lord. They built the original structures that first served the parishioners of Fernandina. And, in future years, to be sure, others will no doubt add on new structures. But during these 150 years —with the help of God’s grace which is always more than enough against our own inadequacies — you have built more than buildings — you have built community, a community of faith, hope and love, a community where Christ is known, adored, and encountered in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

And, for 150 years, this has been your mission here at St. Michael the Archangel; this will be your mission for the next 150 years and beyond. So, as we celebrate this jubilee today, may we remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look forward to the future with confidence.