August 4th, 2018 Homily for
Mass in Honor of St. Katharine Drexel
Fellows Gathering Katharine Drexel was born
into a wealthy family of bankers in Philadelphia in 1858.
She and her siblings were raised in a very Catholic environment,
privately educated and well traveled both in the US as well as in
Europe. She developed a strong sense of commitment to the
underprivileged, and a special concern for the education of Native
Americans and African-Americans.
When her parents died, Katharine inherited a huge trust fund. On a visit to Europe she had
the opportunity to meet Pope Leo XIII and asked the Holy Father to urge
missionaries to care for this underprivileged segment of the American
population. The Holy Father
responded: “So what are YOU going to do to further the work of the
Church?” At the age of 31 she founded
the “Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament” dedicated to ministering to the
Native Americans and black people.
She helped found Xavier University in New Orleans, an
historically black Catholic College.
And across the US founded various schools to educate
African-American and Native American children.
One of those normal schools was in Rensselaer and is what has
become known today as Drexel Hall. St. Katharine said:
“If we wish to serve God
and love our neighbor well, we must manifest our joy in the service we
render to Him and to them.” Having said this, let´s look
briefly at the readings for today´s Eucharist. The first reading is from
The Song of Songs and speaks of love.
It describes love as a seal on our arm, stern as death and whose
flames are a blazing fire which neither deep waters nor floods can sweep
away. In diverse scriptural texts
from the Gospel of St. John and from his letters, a central teaching is
about love. The love
of anyone of us for another is a power that can bring the other back
to life, give him or her reason to live, and to awaken us from somnolent
existence. We have all experienced
how life-giving love is.
It brings out the best in us: generosity, hope, joy and courage
in those who are loved and awakens dormant potential.
Love makes people bloom who would otherwise stay stunted
or undeveloped. Warmed by
love, they come out like those daring crocuses that poke their heads out
of the snow in early March. This is what we did so well
at Saint Joe´s and is one of the beautiful results of our Core Program.
Much of the good in anyone of us is the result of parents,
teachers, coaches, friends who took the time and effort to live into
life some vaguely formed quality or talent of ours… to encourage what
another without love would never see. This was the love that
motivated Katharine Drexel to dedicate her life and her fortune to
touching the lives of many young men and women, African-American and
Native Americans, who's potential would never have been discovered and
stimulated otherwise. We are all capable of giving
this kind of love and to receive this kind of love and flourish! However, we take another
look at the life of St. Katharine so as to discover the source of this
love and passion which burned within her.
The Gospel reading can shed some light on this.
We are all familiar with the story of Jesus´visit to the home of
Mary and Martha. This
gospel is often used to depict two aspects of our discipleship:
contemplation and action. Often these two aspects are
seen as separate, even contradictory.
Mary chose “the better part” and Martha was left cooking and
setting the table! Yet BOTH
are SAINTS! Jesus often
speaks in ways which contrast in order to make a point.
The truth is that BOTH contemplation and action are essential in
discipleship. St. John Paul II put it so
succinctly when he addressed the Missionaries of the Precious Blood in
Castelgandolfo in a General Assembly in 2004.
He told us that “contemplation must be the ground of our
missionary activity” and that “we must contemplate the face of
Christ until we see Christ in the suffering faces of humanity!”
Contemplation leads us to action!
As disciples of Jesus we
need to sit at the feet of the Master to listen to His Word and then go
forth in mission. Pope
Francis calls us to be “missionary disciples.”
Both aspects are essential in our following of Christ. Katherine Drexel
founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and urged us to maintain a
prayerful and constant friendship with the Blessed Sacrament. We must
kneel before the Blessed Sacrament to fill ourselves with him, because
only then can we give ourselves and our love to others in their need.
This contemplation fueled her passion and led to action and
commitment. The Eucharist This is what we celebrate
today: our call to be missionary disciples of Jesus!
We hear and meditate the Word of God, we are then nourished by
the Body and Blood of Christ, called to become what we celebrate
and sent forth to be Christ´s Body and Blood for others, that is, a life
poured out in loving service in order to love others into life! John Paul II once remarked
to religious: “You have a great history to celebrate, and even a greater
future lies before you.” We
pray today to St. Katharine Drexel that we might capture her spirit in
our own lives and that the new Saint Joe´s might carry on the rich
heritage which we have received and for which we are so grateful. Let us join ranks in working
together to birth that future into reality! Rector and Puma Forever |