Dear Friends,

Dear Friends, In his first encyclical, Lumen Fidei (The Light of Faith), promulgated 29 June 2013, Pope Francis writes: “There is an urgent need, then, to see once again that faith is a light, for once the flame of faith dies out, all other lights begin to dim. The light of faith is unique, since it is capable of illuminating every aspect of human existence. A light this powerful cannot come from ourselves but from a more primordial source: in a word, it must come from God. Faith is born of an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals His love, a love which precedes us and upon which we can lean for security and for building our lives. Transformed by this love, we gain fresh vision, new eyes to see; we realize that it contains a great promise of fulfillment, and that a vision of the future opens up before us. Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey through time. On the one hand, it is a light coming from the past, the light of the foundational memory of the life of Jesus which revealed his perfectly trustworthy love, a love capable of triumphing over death. Yet since Christ has risen and draws us beyond death, faith is also a light coming from the future and opening before us vast horizons which guide us beyond our isolated selves towards the breadth of communion. We come to see that faith does not dwell in shadow and gloom; it is a light for our darkness.” (§ 4)

The message of today’s Gospel highlights the significance of faith in our lives as St. Luke characterizes the two others with whom Jesus was crucified. He puts in contradistinction, the two attitudes that we probably all have at different moments and/or seasons of our life: the first, accusing and blaming God, without an honest evaluation of one’s own personal choices; versus, the other, realizing that I am responsible (at least in part, by way of commission or omission) for the situation and, more importantly, I am responsible for the state of my own relationship with God. In other words, genuine faith, should always leave us feeling a bit uncomfortable, because the things which can only be grasped by faith are so far beyond our comprehension and control. Moreover, authentic faith requires us to be unsure of ourselves, so as to trust God striving intentionally to entrust ourselves completely to Him. As Christians, the life of Jesus should challenge and inspire us to be the person God created “in His image and likeness;” on some real level, it should get under our skin, not to discourage us, but to encourage us to move us toward being better versions of ourselves. On this solemnity of Christ the King, let us pray the prayer written in 1577 by the distinguished English naval officer and explorer, Sir Francis Drake, at the beginning of his most famous expedition, wherein he circumvented the globe in one voyage.

Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves; when our dreams have come true, because we have dreamed too little; when we have arrived safely, because we have sailed too close to shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly and to venture on wider seas, where storms will show Your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask You to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push back the future in strength, courage, faith and love. This we ask in the name of our Captain, Who is Jesus Christ!

May our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe rule and guide our hearts, our families, our parish, our nation and our world.

Be of good cheer and have a blessed week!

Msgr. Grous