If you weren’t here last weekend, I began my homily with a prayer to the Holy Spirit and invited everybody to join me in that prayer. This will be a regular thing with homilies going forward. So let’s all pray together, inviting the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts through my preaching this weekend. Our prayer is simply, “Come, Holy Spirit.”
I don’t know about your smartphone, but mine has a feature I really like which pops up old pictures on the anniversary of when you took them. I enjoy being able to reminisce about those good times from the past. A few days ago, my phone popped up with a notification showing me pictures from 4 years ago when I first brought home little 8-week old Benny. And I don’t mean to brag on my dog, but let me just say those are some cute pictures.
I remember that day well, because I had to drive out to Grove City to get Benny and then I had to race back from there to Tuscarawas County in time to say Mass. Other than being totally in love with him from the very first moment I held him, I remember feeling a sense of responsibility almost immediately. I never had a dog growing up, so it was a new experience for me. On that first drive home, I felt fully the weight of responsibility for this adorable little 7-pound puppy. And my love for Him only drove me further to embrace that responsibility.
OK, now let me tell you about one of my favorite child Saints, St. Tarcisius. It’s a weird transition, but stay with me. There’s a connection! St. Tarcisius was only 12 years old when he became a martyr for Jesus. He lived in the 3rd century during a time of heavy persecution of the Church at the hands of the Romans.
At that time, many Christians were in jail and unjustly condemned to die, so Deacons would bring the prisoners Holy Communion, or as they called Communion at that time, the Holy Mysteries. There came a time when no Deacon was available and so young Tarcisius, who was an Acolyte (a fancy term for an altar boy), volunteered to go. He was given the precious package containing the “Holy Mysteries” and sent off to the prison. Along the way, though, some non-Christian boys encountered him and demanded to see the “mysteries” that Tarcisuis carried. When he refused to put the package on the ground out of respect for Jesus in the Eucharist, the other boys beat him savagely until being chased off by another Christian. Tarcisius was then carried to the catacombs and died from his injuries on the way. He is known as the “Boy Saint of the Eucharist.”
Tarcisius died because he felt deeply the responsibility toward the Precious Gift He was bearing. Nothing would make Him disrespect Jesus, because He loved Him and would care for His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist to his dying breath! I felt a strong sense of responsibility from the very beginning with Benny because I recognized that this precious little dog was dependent on me for his survival. In both cases, that sense of responsibility guided our action. Of course, St. Tarcisius was bound by a much deeper love because He was bearing not just anyone, but SomeONE, and someone of infinite preciousness.
Have you ever noticed that some of the most precious things in this world are also the most delicate and vulnerable? It is the same way on a supernatural level as well. God has allowed the most precious gifts He has given us–faith, hope and love–to be delicate. It is all too easy to misuse and thus squander them. And think of Jesus in the Eucharist! He gives Himself to us hidden under the delicate signs of bread and wine, so easily taken for granted! I believe God does this because it helps us to take responsibility for them. The gift of bearing Jesus within us as we go forward from Mass calls us to a different type of life, one of responsibility toward the Precious Gifts we bear within. Let us heed the challenging words that Jesus puts to each of us in the Gospel: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
As I drove back from Grove City with Benny, I was so careful in the way I drove because I had this teeny puppy curled up in the seat beside me, totally vulnerable. I can only imagine the love and care burning in the heart of young St. Tarcisius as he walked that Roman road carrying Jesus in His young arms! What way is God calling us to live our lives as we go forth from Church today, having received the Living Jesus in the Eucharist and bearing His precious gifts of faith, hope and love in our hearts!
It is all too easy to forget our responsibility to the one who has loved us and given us His precious and vulnerable gifts. It is easy to slip into foul language, forgetting that our tongues are made to speak the truth. It is easy to abuse our sexuality, forgetting that our bodies have been redeemed by the costly and Precious Blood of Jesus Himself. It is all too easy to disrespect and judge others, forgetting that God has called us to love and pray for even our enemies.
Brothers and sisters, let us pray for a deeper sense of responsibility to Jesus, who gives Himself, His Holy Spirit, and many precious gifts to us today and every day. With this great responsibility, God gives us everything we will need to live in accord with His great Gifts. Jesus reminds us: “Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.” God the Father is pleased to give us everything we need to live with Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit, carefully and bravely using the gifts of faith, hope and charity. Let’s ask Jesus for His help every day, that with His help, we will live in accord with the Treasures of the Kingdom of God entrusted to us.
+ Father, thank you for making us part of the Kingdom of your Son. Jesus, help us to carry You and Your grace in our lives with the care you deserve. Help us to feel more deeply the responsibility we have to You and the gifts You’ve given us. Holy Spirit, help us to sense Your abiding presence in us and to trust in you to guide us in living in accord with the gifts we’ve been given. We ask this through Christ, Our Lord. Amen. +