5th Sunday of Easter
Blessing of Windows/Relics/First Communion
St. Joseph, Eldersburg
April 28, 2024
A Day of Joy and Grace
It is a joy to return to St. Joseph Parish, and on this occasion, to bless the beautiful new stained glass windows, to bless the relics of St. Victorian and his companions that is [to be] embedded in the altar, and finally, to give First Holy Communion to some of our youngest parishioners. What a day of joy and grace! Thank you, Fr. Worgul for inviting me, and thanks to you and Fr. McCain, the parish deacons and staff, your lay leadership, and all of you, who form the parish family of St. Joseph –thank you for your steadfast faith and commitment to be disciples and to spread the Catholic faith whenever and wherever possible!
Gathered together Sunday after Sunday, and certainly today, we sense our connectedness with the Lord and with one another. We also sense our connectedness to the holy women and men who have gone before us in faith and with whom we are united in the communion of saints.
The Two Josephs
A case in point are the two Josephs – the Joseph of the Old Testament and the Joseph of the New Testament. Your stain glass windows tell the story of Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob, whom we meet in the Book of Genesis. In an uncanny way, proper to the providence of God, Joseph’s story is like a forecast of the life of the Joseph we meet in the NT, Joseph who loved the child Jesus like a father. So too, the life of Joseph in the OT sheds light on the life and ministry of Christ in the NT.
These beautiful stained glass windows, as you know so well, are more than merely a way of decorating your church. As the sun illuminates these windows and the images of the two Josephs and Jesus himself shine upon you, you are attracted by them, drawn into their story, blessed by their example. Even though they lived eons ago, we sense our connection with them. They are not dead but alive, Joseph the great figure of the OT, Joseph the Patron of the Universal Church, and Jesus risen from the dead. These windows help us to sense our connectedness with them.
The Relics of St. Victorian and Companions
In the same way, the relics of St. Victorian and his companions are more than mere reminders of the heroic faith of these 5th century martyrs. These relics are a tangible connection to these Christians who believed and hoped in Christ with such passionate love that they were willing to lay down their lives in imitation of Christ who died for our sins and rose to restore our life.
So it is that we lovingly place the relics of the saints beneath and within the altars where is offered under the appearance of bread and wine the One Sacrifice that brings salvation to the whole world, the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross leading to his triumphant Resurrection. The relics of the saints connect us to Christ, to those who have gone before us in faith, and to the saints in heaven.
The Vine and the Branches: First Holy Communion
Thus far we have spoken of how the stain glass windows and relics serve as “connectors”, as points of connectivity within this parish community. But perhaps it could be said that I saved the best for last. For today, five young people from St. Joseph Parish will receive First Holy Communion, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. Dear children, I congratulate you on this very happy day when the Lord Jesus comes to you in such a beautiful way. I hope you will always remember this day with joy, and that you will continue to attend Mass and receive Holy Communion, not just now and then, but every Sunday and every day if at all possible.
And why do I say this? Only because of what Jesus said in today’s Gospel: “I am the vine, you are the branches.” By listening to the Word of God, by sharing in Jesus sacrifice on the Cross, and by receiving his Body and Blood under the form of bread and wine, you are being joined to Christ as closely as branches are joined to the vine. When we receive Holy Communion worthily, the new life of grace that Christ won for us on the Cross enters us. Christ himself becomes nourishment for body and soul. Through the Eucharist we can truly say that Christ lives in us and that we abide in Christ. Even though Christ is the Eternal Son of God shrouded in glory, he nonetheless draws near to us in the intimacy of communion, and it is our union with Christ that joins us together as a Church, the way all the branches draw their life and strength from the vine, and thus bear good and abundant fruit – especially the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Eucharistic Revival
As most of you know, the Church in the United States is in the midst of an historic Eucharistic Revival, a renewal of Eucharistic faith, and beautiful focus on the Eucharistic Lord, for as the II Vatican Council taught, the Eucharistic liturgy is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’ As we think of all the ways we are connected to the Lord and one another in the life of the Church, beautiful as they are, let us never forget that nothing brings us closer to God and closer to one another than the Eucharist. Meditating on the parable of the vine and the branches, let us as the Holy Spirit to revive our Eucharistic faith, to remind us each day that, without the Lord, we can do nothing, to remind us each day that the Lord has made himself so available to us, to remind us each day that God of infinite glory and majesty, the God who loves us like no other, is literally at our fingertips – if only, if only we have the faith to open our hearts to him who has first opened his heart to us.
Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, St. Victorian and his companions, and all the saints, may we unite as a parish family and as an archdiocesan family of faith in drawing our life, our strength, our hope, and our holiness from Christ, just as branches draw their life and strength from the Vine. And may God bless us and keep us always in his love!