23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
St. John the Evangelist, Frederick
Blessing of New Windows
September 10, 2023
Introduction
It is a special joy to offer Holy Mass today here at St. John the Evangelist, and to bless the newly installed windows in this beautiful church. Let me begin by thanking you, Father John, for your leadership, not only in seeing this project through to completion, but also for your overall priestly leadership of this Pastorate. Let’s express our warmest thanks to Fr. John! In the same breath, I would like us to express our deep gratitude to Father Matt, Father Javier, and the parish deacons.
I also thank you, the parish community, here at St. John’s. Without your commitment and generosity, this project would not have been possible. And my gratitude extends far beyond this project. I appreciate so much the strength and vitality of this parish, as well as your readiness to live the faith, to bear witness to it in daily life, and your commitment to create strong and loving families where children and young people can grow towards Christian maturity.
The True Beauty of the Windows
Of course, stained glass windows are much more than decoration; they are not simply “art for the sake of art”. Rather, they are an integral part of a church building, a structure that is meant to lift our minds and hearts to God while at the same time serving as a gathering place for the Church. It is here where, as community of faith, we encounter the crucified and risen Lord, as we listen to God’s Word and celebrate the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
These newly installed windows here at St. John the Evangelist beautifully reflect the mysteries of the life of Christ which are re-presented in the sacred liturgy: his Birth, his Resurrection from the dead, his Ascension, the Sending of the Holy Spirit, as also the Kingship of Christ, his victorious reign over the forces of sin and death. Throughout the course of the liturgical year, these mysteries are re-presented to us so that we can encounter Christ in a living way and enter into what he did to save us. These very mysteries are proclaimed in the Gospels, so it is most appropriate that the windows include the symbols of the evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Gathered for prayer, we are always accompanied by the Blessed Virgin Mary whose sinless life perfectly reflected the mysteries of her divine Son’s life. How appropriate, then, that these windows depict her Annunciation, her Assumption, and her Coronation as Queen of Heaven and Earth.
These windows also respect the architectural harmony of this church structure. They respect the style of its design and the colors of its palette, but that is not all. They reflect a deeper harmony, a deeper sense of that beauty and integrity which bring us together as a family of faith, which gather us as the Church. For, as we have seen, these windows reflect the light of Christ in his mysteries. As we gaze upon these images and sacramentally enter into the mysteries they represent, we come to understand who we really are as the People of God, and what it truly means to belong to the Church. For indeed, our lives – as individual disciples and as a community of disciples – are to reflect the truth, goodness, beauty, and love shining on the Face of Christ. And when darkness falls, in the night of sin and error, the light of Christ must shine outward from this Church onto a darkened world, not just from this church structure but indeed in and through ourselves. As a family faith, we are to be light amid the confusion, indeed, a light brightly visible.
Reflecting the Light of Christ in the Practical Order
All of which brings us to the central message of today’s Scripture readings. The face of the Church must manifest the Face of Christ to the world. It is to show forth the beauty, integrity, and goodness of that holy Face on which the glory of God shines, for Christ is indeed “the splendor of the Father”. Manifesting the light of Christ before the world is the common and overriding responsibility of all of us, not only those who exercise authority in the Church, but indeed every member. This requires both vigilance, lest we lose our way, and oneness of mind and heart, lest we grow weary going it alone.
That is why God appointed the prophet Ezekiel as watchman of the people of Israel, charging him to correct those who went astray and holding him responsible if he failed to do so. In the same vein, St. Paul in Romans instructs us, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” When we love authentically, when we love in accord with what is true and good, we manifest in our daily lives the truth, goodness, and beauty of the Savior; we are like stained glass windows that reflect the light of Christ. Keeping the commandments, therefore, is not merely following a code of conduct. For with grace of God, we not only strive to refrain from evil but also do what is good, and to do so in a spirit of loving freedom, indeed, in the spirit of the Beatitudes. This is how we do our part to help ensure that the Church will brightly reflect the light of Christ’s mysteries in the midst of an often unbelieving world.
But we do go astray, you and I, and indeed every member of the Church. Often, with the prompting of God’s grace, we repent and return to the right way. But sometimes members of the Church may not see or be prepared to admit how their lives obscure the light of Christ and hamper the Church’s mission. In today’s Gospel Jesus offers us practical advice in such situations, where he tells us first to offer a word of advice, counsel, or correction in private, doing this in humility and love, with a goal of helping a fellow Christian freely embrace the truth and experience again the joy of believing and belonging. Often, that word of advice and counsel turns lives around, but not always. In that case, Jesus suggests that the testimony of two or three believers be sought, and ultimately the testimony of the Church as a whole – not simply for the sake of fairness but to attain unanimity of mind and heart. Finally, the Lord urges us to recognize it when someone has, in effect, exiled himself from belonging to the Church by a stubborn refusal to listen and to change.
By contrast, when the Church unites in prayer, it is powerful. “Where two or three are gathered in my name,” Jesus says, “there I am in their midst.” When we are one in Christ, our appeal to the Father is heard in the power of the Spirit. When we pray in union with the heart of Christ, then we will ask only for what strengthens us as disciples and as a community of disciples. Our prayer itself will reflect that fact that, as a Church, we have been called out of darkness to share in God’s own splendid light.
So just as these widows reflect the light of Christ, so too may we, as individuals and as a church community, reflect ever more brightly, the glory of God shining on the face of Christ, to the glory of God’s Name and for the salvation of souls. And may the Lord bless us and keep us always in his love!