(This homily was given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde at Queen of Apostles Church in Alexandria, during the Mass in which Sister Eloina Alvarez renewed her vows as a Poor Sister of St. Joseph on the occasion of her 50th anniversary of religious profession on Sunday, Dec. 7.)
The image of John the Baptist is clearly projected before us in today's Gospel account just proclaimed in our hearing. ” " the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.” How does the Gospel describe John's role? He led or “introduced” people to Christ. In a world where people were experiencing insecurity and fear, he gave the people hope; he pointed them in Christ's direction. He gave them Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Is this not the responsibility of every baptized person: to lead people " to “introduce” them " to the One Saviour of the world, to Jesus Christ, God's only-begotten Son become man? Yes, in virtue of our being baptized into Christ Jesus, we, like John the Baptist, are missioned to lead people to Jesus, to “introduce” them to the Source of hope and life " salvation itself. In doing this, are we not carrying out the core mission of the Church: to evangelize? As Pope
Paul VI wrote, “evangelization is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize” (“Evangelii Nuntiandi,” no. 13). We are to proclaim Jesus as Lord and to lead people to Him, just as Andrew led his brother Simon to Jesus.
Where do we lead or “introduce people to Christ? In those places where we live and work and interact? Notice that is exactly how St. Luke describes John the Baptist's evangelizing activity. St. Luke tells us that “John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” John went to the people who were his contemporaries in that area, inviting them to prepare the way of the Lord. And in so doing, he was beginning to lead them, to “introduce” them, to Christ.
We cannot lead people to Jesus, “introduce” them to the Lord, unless we first know Him and love Him ourselves. Therefore, even as we evangelize others, we ourselves must be evangelized; even as we lead or “introduce” people to Christ, we too must be led more closely " “reintroduced” " to the same Lord and Saviour. During this Advent season, we too must heed the preaching of John the Baptist and put his counsel into practice: ” … 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths " .'” Today's Opening Prayer expresses this so well: “" Remove the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy " .”
What are the things that hinder us from receiving Christ with joy and thereby cause us to be remiss in our responsibility to lead people to the same Christ? Using the imagery in today's Gospel, we can ask: what are the road blocks to Christ's drawing close to us? What needs to be made straight in our lives? What valleys should be filled and what mountains or hills should be made low. In other words, what is it in your life and in mine that prevents us from knowing Jesus better and loving Him more so that we would be more able to lead Him to others by the witness of our lives? Maybe, it is being too busy " “later on, Lord, but right now, I do not have time for You.” Maybe, it is pride or a false sense of independence " “I will do it my way " alone.” Maybe, it is apathy " “I do not care” or fear " “I am afraid of what You may ask, Lord.” It may be none of these, but one thing is certain: each one of us has some obstacle that needs to be removed as we journey through Advent.
Once this obstacle is identified, we must ask the Lord to remove it, that is, to transform by His grace our efforts to make the winding straight, the valleys filled in or the mountains made low. This request God will not refuse, for His own Word in the second reading assures us: ” " the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
The more we are drawn closer to Christ, the more we can lead others " “introduce” them " to the Only One who can heal their hearts and give them salvation. In doing that, we are truly sharing in the work of the New Evangelization to which our Holy Father continues to call us. Because the Advent Season points to Christ, let us this Advent be transformed more into His image, so we, like John the Baptist, can point people to Christ, that is, lead them " “introduce” them " to their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
I began this homily by pointing to John the Baptist. Permit me to end the homily by pointing to another person " to Sister Eloina Alvarez, a member of the Poor Sisters of St. Joseph. Today, we honor her and rejoice with her as she observes the fiftieth anniversary of religious profession. Throughout her entire life, and especially in these past fifty years, Sister Eloina has been leading people " “introducing” them " to Jesus. Many years ago, she heard the Lord's call, inviting her to live out more specifically the baptismal consecration she had been given when she was born again of water and the Holy Spirit. As a Poor Sister of St. Joseph, living the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, Sister Eloina has been carrying out the work of evangelizing: inviting people to go to Jesus, “introducing” them to His Saving Word and witnessing before them to Him in prayer and through the apostolate.
Dear Sister Eloina, we rejoice with you on this joy-filled anniversary, the golden jubilee of your religious profession. We join you in thanking God for His countless blessings and unfailing mercy toward you throughout the years. We thank you for saying “Yes” with a willing and joyful heart to His call and in doing that, modeling for us all the way to say “yes” to our own individual vocations. We pledge you our prayer-filled support so that you may continue to enrich the Church by your faith-filled prayer and dedicated witness of life. May the Lord bless you, through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother and her spouse St. Joseph. Congratulations! Ad Multos Annos!
