Our Gospel reading today occurs in the middle of the mission of the 72 disciples. Depending on which set of readings Father Schroeder decides to use for the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, you may hear the conclusion of the mission where the disciples returned rejoicing at the great things God had done for them and through them throughout the mission.
As some of you know, I, along with a group of parishioners, just returned from a Jubilee pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. They too were rejoicing at all the great things God had done for them and through them throughout the pilgrimage.
Our readings today also focus on the importance of obedience in light of these great things done by God….the rewards that await those that are diligently obedient to Christ through His Holy Catholic Church, as well as the consequences to those that would rather live life on their terms as opposed to humbly submitting in obedience to the Church.
A gentleman recently told me, we “just have different ways” of following Jesus and we need to “see Jesus in our own ways”. But, we know, that is a problem, isn’t it?
In all the pages of the Gospel, I do not recall Jesus saying there are multiple ways. In fact, He said He is “the way”, which is the sacramental life of the Catholic Church that Jesus instituted for our salvation. The sacramental life in which Jesus said we have to “do this” to have eternal life.
In addition to the Jubilee theme of the pilgrimage, we were very intentional to create space for sacramental renewal. Each day was intended to be a true encounter with Jesus Christ through the sacramental life (through “the way” Jesus gave us); particularly through the sacraments as we renewed our vows for Baptism, Holy Matrimony, and even Confirmation. We challenged ourselves to forgive ourselves and others as we received Reconciliation and the Jubilee indulgences, and we strengthened our communion through the Eucharist.
On the pilgrimage, we also talked about the “buts” in our lives. All of us have attachments to people, places and things that limit our ability to follow and to grow in the sacramental life. Purging these elements of a false identity, just as Jesus said at the beginning of the mission of the 72 when He said “to carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals”. This level of detachment is often necessary to eventually find out who we truly are in Christ and who we truly are in the sacramental life.
That is part of the invitation of our readings, to discern what the "buts" are in our lives? To discern what the things are in our material lives that prevent us from growing closer to Jesus Christ through the sacramental life? To discern what the things are in our material lives that prevent us from rejoicing over how God works in our lives. To discern what the things are in our material lives that lead us to follow “our way” as opposed to “the way”.
As a result of opening ourselves more to the sacramental life, we witnessed incredible things during the pilgrimage. The pilgrimage was nothing short of life changing for many (their words, not mine). One pilgrim experienced something that I can only conclude was an episode of true spiritual ecstasy, in the vein of a Saint Teresa of Avila or a Saint John of the Cross. At least one other pilgrim experienced a miraculous healing. Many in the group experienced significant spiritual awakenings: Marian awakenings at places like the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. Eucharistic awakenings at the Duomo of Orvieto, which houses the relic of the 13th century Eucharistic miracle that inspired the Feast of Corpus Cristi. And, Franciscan awakenings at Assisi. Throughout the trip, most everyone expressed a significant increase in spiritual freedom, peace, joy, and hope.
The good news is that these are things that each of us can experience without going on a trip a third of the way around the world. We can learn to simply and diligently live the sacramental life Jesus Christ gave us in the Catholic Church with the correct intention and disposition. We can simply be obedient to “the way” of life Jesus gave us in His Catholic Church.
For the gentleman I mentioned earlier, he chooses to follow “his way”, and he thinks I follow “my way”. But we realize from the words of Jesus Himself that there is not a “his way” and there is not a “my way”, nor is there a “your way”. There is only “the way”.
There is only “the way” Jesus gave us in His Church. That is “the way” that I strive to follow. I pray that others following their “own way” will soon see “the way” Jesus gave us so they too can experience the same grace of sacramental renewal that many of our pilgrims experienced the past few days.
The reality is this: the more we can lean into, submit to, and be obedient to the sacramental life of the Catholic Church, the more God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.
For the glory of His name the Lord delivers us, heals us, and saves us through the sacramental life of His Holy Catholic Church.
Thanks be to God!