Homily: Feast of St. Katherine Drexel

Feast of St. Katherine Drexel (Mt. 5:20-26)

Righteousness should be the aim of every believer. Achieving righteousness is a tug of war between the person we would like to be and the person we are trying not to be. We have two voices that are constantly competing for our attention. Most of us have a filter and we do not let ourselves give in to unbridled emotions.

Plato describes this interior struggle as if we are driving a chariot with three horses. The horse on the left is the horse of passion. The horse on the right is the horse of reason. If we find that our passions are running away with us we tug firmly on rein held in our right hand that leads to reason. This puts us back on course. If we find that reason is taking us toward an emotionless stance, we tug firmly on the rein held in our left hand leading to the horse of passion which pulls us back on course. We want the horse in the middle always to pull in the strongest way. Virtue should lead.

We could use the example of violence. We might grow angry with someone we are arguing with. At such times we can give in to that voice which tells us to physically strike them. Or we might hold ourselves back fearing the repercussions if we were to act on our desire to lash out.

The goal would be to come to the point where we do not have this inner conflict. If we loved our enemy as Jesus advocates, we would find it impossible to even contemplate acting with violence. If this is the case, we would achieve a level of virtue that is most admirable and reflects the person of Christ. Are we disciples who reflect Jesus to those around us.

We achieve virtue by living in community and learning to love our neighbor. When we have united our will to that of Jesus then our Christian life is not simply about following rules, but it is about uniting our will with Jesus’s will.

Reflection Questions:

1.    Do I have two voices that are competing for my attention? What voice do I follow most of the time?

2.   What is the difference between following rules and loving as Jesus loved? Does the first type of morality lead to the second?

 Dear Parishioners,

           This weekend at the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday we will open our new Gathering Center. This means that the ramp where people can drop others off will be open. Cars can drive up and unload and then pull away to park in the lot. Bathrooms will also be available for use. Our Children’s liturgy of the word will use the Gathering space during the 9:15 Mass. The northeast door was open last weekend. There are no steps there now.

          We have gotten into certain habits while construction has gone on (We park in certain places, and we come in certain doors). We now will have to figure out new ways of operating. Let’s be patient with each other. In the short term it will seem like we are walking on a different planet. It should be a welcome change. Remember the building will be blessed at the 4 p.m. Mass on March 18th.

          May St. Damian continue to pray for us as we seek to complete our building process.

          Fr. Mark