Homily: Feast of St. Ambrose
Feast of St. Ambrose (Called by God Through the People)
In 325 there was a street fight between Christians who were loyal to the Council of Nicaea who said that Jesus was fully God and fully human and Arians who held that Jesus was the highest of creatures, but not God. It is hard for us to understand that such fights happened. Did people have fist fights over Christian doctrine? Yes, they did.
Into the middle of the fight stepped a man named Ambrose who was great civic leader. He was known as a talented administrator who was extremely intelligent. He stopped the dispute. A gathering ensued to elect a knew bishop. Ambrose was not even baptized, but the Christians who had come together began to chant that they wanted Ambrose as bishop.
In the 4th century bishops could be selected by acclamation. Ambrose was shocked that the people wanted him. But in the end, he accepted. He received the sacraments of initiation and was ordained a deacon, priest, and bishop all in the same week. He also gave away his possessions and took up his new post. He proved to be a tremendous church leader.
He was an orthodox bishop who believed fully in the Incarnation. One Sunday he was preaching a sermon and a man named Augustine heard him. Augustine was a skeptic towards the Christian faith, but as he interacted with Ambrose he gradually came to faith and was baptized. Augustine became a tremendous bishop and teacher of the faith.
Ambrose was known as a great preacher. He defended the church against political figures who tried to influence church governance. He was a brilliant scholar and writer. He had a background in philosophy but had to learn about Theology after he became bishop. We could say he was a lifelong learner.
As we struggle with finding talented church leaders today, perhaps we must think outside the box. Most of the time the faithful have a better grasp of the Holy Spirit than the hierarchy. Ambrose’s story reminds us of that.
Reflection Questions:
- Is the most likely candidate the best candidate for a job? Have I ever been surprised when asked to fulfill a responsibility?
- Should the church be more open to the laity helping with church governance? Would I step up if I were asked to lead?
Dear Parishioners,
December 12th is always the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe’ according to the liturgical calendar. This Sunday is the 12th. We do not suppress the observance of the 3rd Sunday of Advent, but it seems appropriate to remember Our Lady of Guadalupe.
We will be doing that at the 9:15 a.m. Mass. There will be a play at the homily which will reenact Our Lady’s appearance to Juan Diego. It will be put on by our religious education students. I hope that anyone who wants to learn more about his feast will come and pray with us.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark