Be the Light of Christ

Today is World Day for Consecrated Life, and US parishes will mark it this weekend. Begun in 1997 by Pope John Paul II, the commemoration is intended “to help the entire Church to esteem ever more greatly the witness of those persons who has chosen to follow Christ by means of the evangelical counsels” - poverty, chastity, obedience - and “to be a suitable occasion for consecrated persons to renew their commitment and rekindle the fervor which should inspire their offering of themselves to the Lord” (John Paul, 1997).

The pope selected the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord for this event. This feast is known as Candlemas Day, when the church blesses all of the candles to be used in the year in parishes, homes, and places of worship. All disciples, by virtue of our baptism, are called to be the light of Christ. Our tradition teaches us that vowed religious life is an intensification of the baptismal call to live Jesus.

As the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales profess these vows, we look forward to this day which coincides with the anniversary of the death of our founder, Blessed Louis Brisson, OSFS. His exhortation that we “reprint the Gospel” with our lives is an appropriate reminder for all of us, whether in religious, married, or the single life. Just as a small candle is lighted from the large paschal candle at every baptism, our lives are meant to be a flame of faith, hope and love to join with all the flames flickering throughout the world to set it ablaze with the love, peace and joy of Jesus.

Yes, this weekend we will have an opportunity to pray for those sisters, brothers and priests whose poverty, chastity and obedience inspired, taught, or animated us to be stronger and more faith-filled disciples. We also pray that each of us cooperates with the grace to deepen our commitment and renew the fervor of our own baptism for a world in great need of our light, which is the light of Christ.

Prayer for Consecrated Life

O God, throughout the ages you have called women and men to pursue lives of perfect charity through the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. We give you thanks for these courageous witnesses of Faith and models of inspiration. Their pursuit of holy lives teaches us to make a more perfect offering of ourselves to you. Continue to enrich your Church by calling forth sons and daughters who, having found the pearl of great price, treasure the Kingdom of Heaven above all things. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Father Michael Murray, OSFS

Provincial Councilor, Wilmington-Philadelphia Province

Parochial Vicar, St. John Neumann Parish, Reston, VA

Responding to the Invitation: What if you said YES?

In each of the gospels, we hear Jesus invite men to follow him and it is by the example of these men that we may learn how to respond to the invitation He offers each of us.  

We really don’t know much about the apostles before their calling. We can imagine that they may have heard of Jesus and became curious or witnessed a miracle of His and became amazed. They may have seen Him in the streets and were inspired or perhaps heard His tender voice and were moved. Whatever it was, it was enough for them to say ‘yes’ and to follow.  

The interest, desire, or urge placed upon our heart to consider religious life and the priesthood has not happened by chance. C.S. Lewis reminds us of this fact saying, “For a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work." There is a  reason we find ourselves contemplating a call to this vocation. In the gospels, Jesus tells us, “It is not you who chose me, but I who chose you” (Jn 15:16). The interest, desire, or urge that Jesus  has placed on our hearts ought to be enough for us to follow the example of the apostles and consider saying ‘yes.’  

While studying at the University of Toledo, I was introduced to the Fellowship of Catholic  University Students (FOCUS), which is a Catholic collegiate outreach whose mission is to share the hope and joy of the gospel with college and university students. And it was at a national  FOCUS conference that I came across the powerful slogan: What if you said YES?

For two years since hearing this short question, it comes to my mind whenever I find myself contemplating my vocation and deciding on whether or not to take it one step further.  

I have always concluded that my ‘yes’ could result in something really great, and in knowing this  I have found the peace and encouragement to keep responding to His invitations. I didn’t know where these responses would lead, but I knew I had to take the chance, and I am thankful I did.  I said ‘yes’ to learn more about the Oblates as an Associate; I said ‘yes’ to entering religious life as a Postulant; I said ‘yes’ to intense spiritual discernment as a Novice.  

What is Jesus inviting you to right now?  

• Is He inviting you to start going to Mass again? To go to confession?  

• Is He inviting you to attend a Bible study? Or to start one?  

• Is He inviting you to learn more about religious life? The priesthood?  

• Is He inviting you to talk to a Vocations Director? Or perhaps to join a discernment group?  Jesus is calling. What is His invitation? Will you respond?… What if you said YES? 

Joseph Kochendoefer

OSFS Novice 

St. Charles, St. Francis and the Call to Holiness

Today is the feast of St. Charles Borromeo. Shane Flanagan, a seminarian studying for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, reflects on the similarities between St. Charles and St. Francis de Sales. Shane is a 2014 graduate of Father Judge High School in Philadelphia. Father Judge has been a Salesian school since it was founded by the Oblates in 1954. Shane will be ordained a deacon in the spring of 2022.

Saint Therese of Lisieux once said, “you cannot be half of a saint, you must be a full saint or no saint at all.”  During a dark moment in the Church’s history two men rose up and embodied what it means to be a “full saint.”  Saints Charles Borromeo and Francis de Sales were leading figures in the Church during the Counter-Reformation.  Both men called for the sanctity of everyday life, through the faithful living out of one’s vocation.  Both men preached firstly by the way they lived and then by their words. They were examples to the people they were called to lead, showing them the way to salvation, by providing direction on how to live well.  

St. Charles and St. Francis shared strikingly similar paths in life.  Both men were born into noble families, educated at the finest schools, overcame family objections to their ordinations, and received their offices within the Church initially because of family connections.  God used the culture and atmosphere of the 16th Century to elevate these humble and holy men to the office of bishop.  While St. Francis called the lay-faithful to holiness, St. Charles dedicated himself to correcting the abuses found within the clergy of his time.  

As Bishop of Milan, St. Charles became an advocate for the more structured education and formation of priests, a precursor to the modern-day seminary.  He stressed the importance of being with the people entrusted to his care, choosing to remain in the city of Milan during the plague while most noble members of society fled. His desire to stay was fueled by the people’s need for the sacraments, especially in their final hours.  St. Charles led with humility and called others to do the same. The challenge to be a humble steward was met with much resistance and even resulted in an assassination attempt on his life. Despite all of this resistance, St. Charles remained on course.

Personally, God has blessed me with the opportunity to learn under the patronage of both men.  As a student at Father Judge High School, I was introduced to St. Francis de Sales and Salesian spirituality.  The motto “be who you are and be that well '' was not just a sign on the wall but a challenge to know myself through the eyes of God, so I could become the best version of myself.  The gentle challenge of St. Francis created an atmosphere in my heart, which created a space in which the quiet call of God could not only be heard but also acted on.  Upon entering St. Charles Seminary, I was presented with the priestly example of how one “loves without measure,” through my reading about the life of St. Charles.  The motto of St. Charles was to do all things with humility.  The Salesian basis of introspection provided the foundation needed to humbly accept my shortcomings and strive to “live Jesus” in all aspects of my life.  Self-knowledge and love underline the teaching of St. Charles and St. Francis, and both aspects are needed in our current culture. Through the intercession of Sts. Charles and Francis, I strive to be a light like them and work to bring Christ into every action of my day.  May we all strive to “be who we are'' and be “full saints” today, like St. Charles and St. Francis.  

Shane Flanagan

Father Judge High School, Class of 2010

Seminarian for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Wynnewood, PA

Wherever Life Leads You, God Meets You

Next week is Vocation Awareness Week, a time to prayerfully reflect on one’s vocation in life, the vocation to which God has already called us or the vocation to which God is perhaps now calling us.

Our Christian belief in Providence affirms, among other things, that God has had from all eternity a plan or path for each of us, even by name.  At this point in their lives, most of the readers of DeSales Weekly will have embraced one of life’s major vocational options: the single life, the married life, the religious or the priestly life. 

In whatever path of life you now find yourself, God wants you to bloom right there; God wants you to flourish there and to maximize its potential, especially as it leads to the fulfillment of love’s commandment toward God, one another, and of all creation.

A special focus of Vocation Awareness Week is, of course, on those who are still in the process of discerning which life path God is inviting them to follow. One thing is absolutely certain: if what we discern and decide upon is also what Providence has planned for us, then that vocation will more surely lead us to God –to union with God and God’s will for us in this life and for an eternity of blissful communion with God in heaven.  

No matter whether you are now on your life’s path or still discerning that path, this bit of wisdom from a fellow Oblate is certain: wherever life leads you is where God meets you.  

Life, any life, will have its happy moments, its joys and emotional highs, as well as its challenges, disappointments, reversals, and setbacks. Faith assures us that no matter where or when in life we experience the happy or the sad, the high or the low, wherever life leads you is where God meets you.

Our God is a faithful God.  He is there, always there. No matter where we are in life; no matter our health or wealth status, no matter who our companions are or are not, we are never alone: the God of love, mercy, compassion, and fidelity meets us there. God is our life’s Companion.

For those of us who are already on our chosen life’s path, let us thank God for being “Emanuel,” God with and for us.

For you who are still discerning your life’s path, pray to know what God desires for you and pray also for the courage, once it is known, to follow wherever God leads.  Happiness --true happiness—lies there. 

For both groups, have a firm and steadfast trust that wherever life leads you is where God meets you!

Rev. Lewis S. Fiorelli, OSFS

Provincial

Wilmington-Philadelphia Province