From Father Scott – Faith, Resurrection, and the Call to Holiness
As I write this, I am preparing to return to St. Meinrad School of Theology for the parochial vicar conference. I hope to see many classmates I spent three years with studying for the Priesthood. This is offered every year for newly ordained parochial vicars. It is a time for us to share our experiences, and several conferences are offered over five days (I will only be staying for two). It is hard to grasp that I have been ordained for 260 days.
The one-year mark is quickly approaching. But even if I had been given just one day as a priest, it would have been more than I could have imagined. St. Teresa of Calcutta told priests, “Celebrate this Mass as if it is your first Mass, your last Mass, your only Mass.” I strive to keep that in the forefront of my mind at every Mass.
St. Paul certainly speaks today about the truth of our faith, which finds its fullest and most basic expression in the Resurrection. Paul states, “If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain.”
Just as essential to our faith as the presence of Christ-Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist-is our faith in the resurrection of the body. At a funeral, we offer our prayers for the deceased person, and we seek to comfort the family. The vigil, Mass, and committal are how we show our faith that the body is created by God to be united with our immortal soul. Burying the body or the cremains is done in our hope of the resurrection. We show our respect for the person and our faith in God’s revealed truth of the Resurrection of Jesus and our resurrection when He comes again in glory.
Our faith is not in vain. This is our Apostolic faith, which St. Paul testifies to. Death is the great equalizer. I have worked in healthcare for over 40 years. I started in my 20s at a 1,000-bed state facility for the developmentally disabled-Home Health Aide, Nursing Home CNA, EMT-Paramedic, Emergency Room Paramedic, deputy coroner, and Sleep Lab Tech. I can tell you that death is the great equalizer. In giving us the Beatitudes, Christ offers us a greater equalizer and a way to ensure that we are living our life with hope in the resurrection when we will be satisfied.
In the Beatitudes, Christ tells us that it is our faith in Him, and not in our abilities and accomplishments, that will bring us to the Kingdom of God. As a priest, it is a great blessing to be called for someone needing the sacraments. While it is true that I have not always attended Sunday Mass for any number of reasons, it is also true that I attended daily Mass when my children were in school. I helped with faith formation classes if only to be sure my children behaved. I also served on any committee I was asked to-not because it made me more holy, but because I wanted, I needed, to grow closer to God.
Now is the time to live our lives closer to Christ. Now is the time to live the joy of the Gospel and to trust in Christ’s promise that we are blessed if we live with our faith in Him. Whether we are given one more day or many more days, let us live each of them committed to growing in our faith.
In Christ,
Fr. Bruce Scott
