2005-05-22 An Australian friend gave me a book about St. Thomas Becket...

May 22, 2005

An Australian friend gave me a book about St. Thomas Becket written by a prominent judge in New South Wales who is Jewish. His interest is in St. Thomas’s significance for the development of common law but the great saint, known to many through Murder in the Cathedral, has affected civilization in many ways. St. Thomas began the celebration of the Feast of the Holy Trinity which we celebrate today. “The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. It is the mystery of God in Himself. It is therefore the source of all the other mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them” (Catechism, #234).

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in their perfect unity need nothing. Our Triune God created all things in an effusion of love. That divine love communicates with us most sublimely in Holy Communion. Some of our parish children are making their first communion on this great day. We thank their parents and the teachers of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine classes for bringing them to this moment when they will be in touch with eternity. The children also will crown an image of Our Lady. All this fits in the divine economy, for God chose to come to us through her. We can be certain that the “Mother of the Eucharist” made most perfect communions at the hands of the Apostles in the years that she remained with the Church before her Assumption. Pope Benedict XVI has called for a renewed sense of the sacred solemnity of the holy rites of the Church and in his gentle way he will be teaching this at World Youth Day in Cologne this summer. He has taught this in many ways already in his writings, and now his visible example will be a vivid teaching. The catholicity of our parish finds joyful expression in the magnificent variety of races and ages and professions of our worshipers. If we take this for granted, it is noticed by many others and is itself a means of converting others.

My first desire when I became Pastor nearly four years ago was that we have a tabernacle as worthy as possible for our Eucharistic Lord and that by centrally locating it, we might have a sign of His centrality in our lives. There were many debts to pay and the roof and walls were endangered, but this had to come first. All else has followed. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things shall be yours as well” (Matt. 6:33). Now our work must move into a new level of intensity. Much more can joyfully be done for souls if we seek God’s grace and try to make our communions with the purity, humility, and devotion of Our Lady and our parish children who receive their Lord.

Fr. George W. Rutler