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Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller greets donors to the Archbishop’s Appeal at a reception following the Jan. 14 Mass. Above, he speaks with Sara Bunch.
Carol Baass Sowa | Today's Catholic |
By Carol Baass Sowa
Today's Catholic
SAN ANTONIO • St. Francis of Assisi Parish served as host for the Archbishop’s Appeal appreciation liturgy on Jan. 14, celebrated by Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS, with a reception taking place afterwards in Henke Hall. The event was held on behalf of the many persons whose lives have been touched, uplifted or transformed by the ministries that the appeal funds.
Music was provided prior to the 11 a.m. Mass by the St. Mary Magdalen Catholic School Choir and, during Mass, by the Assumption Seminary Schola Cantorum. Father Larry Christian, pastor, welcomed those present to the church.
During the Mass, Archbishop Gustavo requested a few moments of silent prayer to remember the two persons who died in the murder-suicide inside Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Helotes on Jan. 11. “They were believers; they were part of us,” he said, noting that they, like those gathered together that day, were anointed through God’s grace at baptism to carry on the mission of Jesus Christ.
The First Reading, from I Samuel, recounted the anointing of Saul as king, and the archbishop likened this to our own anointing at baptism. “The Lord has placed his grace in each one of us,” said the archbishop, “and we are set on fire. We can connect with him and we can serve well.”
The day’s Gospel (Mk 2:13-17) talked of conversion. “This is a timely topic for our Mass of Appreciation for Archbishop’s Appeal donors,” said the archbishop, “because so many people have come to conversion in their lives through the work of ministries supported by the appeal.”
He related that he had visited every parish in the archdiocese this past year, where he had personally witnessed “the good use of talent, treasure and time that comes from all of you and many more not here present.” He exhorted the seminarians present to learn early not to sit still, but to “get out there with the people of God, bringing the sacraments, bringing the Gospel, bringing the message that God is challenging.”
Conversion “is more than just a dramatic, emotional experience leaving behind lingering warm feelings,” he said. It is a total change from one way of life to another and happens constantly.
He described how Levi, the tax collector in the day’s Gospel, underwent a conversion that changed his life when he gave up his comfortable life as a tax collector to follow a new life that Jesus was calling him to. Jesus has plans for us as well, the archbishop added, referring to Jesus’ words that he came not to heal the healthy, but the sick, and not to call the righteous, but the sinners.
The recent tragic deaths in a church sanctuary, he said, raised the question of how we as a church should react. “We are supposed to love and have mercy,” he said. “The final judgment is up to God.”
It is worth our time, our talent and our treasure so that people can get well, he explained. Jesus heals us “by giving us his grace, his love, his whole life” — a model of stewardship for us to carry on what we have received. We are not being asked to give something we do not have, but to give of what we do have, passing it on to those in need.
Noting that Pope Benedict XVI has proclaimed 2012 the Year of Faith, beginning in October, the archbishop related that he was proud to be elected to represent the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the church in the United States as one of four U.S. bishops elected to attend the synod in Rome during October. Faith and our Lord’s call to help in his mission of evangelization is one of the things supported by the Archbishop’s Appeal.
A call to conversion sometimes requires sacrifice, he explained. We must not only give up sinful practices, but give up activities that may not be helpful to us and sometimes we are called to give up our attachments to earthly comforts to help the less fortunate, just as Levi was.
Levi’s conversion, said the archbishop, was a total transformation of his goals from seeking to satisfy himself to seeking to obey God. “He changed his whole way of life. His treasure was no longer his; it was God’s.” The bottom line, he said, is the saying, “My house is God’s house.” Jesus is searching for those who need his help, he continued, and sometimes people need our help to come to Jesus.
Speaking of his recent visit with inmates in the Bexar County Jail, the archbishop called it a powerful experience in justice and mercy. He noted the inmates came to him with a Bible in one hand and the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the other and shared what they had received with him. “When we encounter Jesus, we are changed,” he said, noting the call to discipleship “is not for a selected few.” All are called to be his disciples and it is our duty as his disciples to help others to hear the call and respond to God.
In order to prepare ourselves, he said, we must spend time with the word of God, participate often in the sacraments and must lead our lives in a way that bears witness to the Gospel.
“Our church in San Antonio is beautiful,” he said. “There are people who have been, in many ways, sharing their gifts for many, many years.” The underlying mission of all the ministries funded by the Archbishop’s Appeal, is that of love, he added. “This is not hard; this is not tough.”
God wants us to multiply our time, talents and treasure on his behalf, the archbishop said in conclusion. “May God give us the strength and the courage to answer the call.”