The seed of the Church

FR. TOM'S HOMILY FOR THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD, February 2, 2020:

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This is one of the oldest feasts in the Church and it is the oldest feast that honors our Blessed Mother. As we heard in our Gospel, following the precepts of the Law, Mary and Joseph, brought Jesus to the Temple to be presented to God 40 days after his birth and so we celebrate it today, 40 days after our celebration of Christmas.

Today’s feast is really a feast for families, to celebrate family, and in particular to celebrate the great responsibility and privilege that parents have in raising their children in the faith. It is a day, also, for us to reflect upon the great gift of our own baptism. After all, the Presentation in the Temple is reminiscent of what parents to today when they bring their children to the church to receive the Sacrament of Baptism.

I keep thinking of one particular line from the Baptismal ritual that stands out for me. During the rite, the priest or deacon reminds the parents, “You are the first teachers of your children in the ways of faith. May you also be the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what you say and do.” It is a powerful moment in the rite of Baptism, but I think it is a powerful reminder for all of us who have received the grace of Baptism.

Certainly for the parents and the godparents, it is a strong reminder of the great responsibility that they take on when they bring their children to the Church. It is not just a matter of becoming a part of the Christian community. They are not merely fulfilling an obligation that is expected of them from the church and their own families. But, they, too, are pledging to live a certain kind of life – a life that gives witness to their faith through all that they are – in what they say and in what they do.

This is a point that is so important, I want to spend a moment with it. We know that we live in times when the numbers of people practicing their faith are in decline.  The greatest increase each year are among those we call “nones.” In other words, when asked what faith tradition they belong to, more and more Americans are responding “none.” But, less we lose hope, there is one category that shows promise. A 2014 study entitled Young Catholic America took a deep look at these trends. The authors found something really interesting – they found that more than 80% of young people who have parents that are active in their faith maintain an active faith life into adulthood. The study remarked, “The single most important measurable factor determining the religious and spiritual lives of teenagers and young adults is the religious faith, commitments, and practices of their parents.”

“You are the first teachers of your children in the ways of faith. May you also be the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what you say and do.” As parents, leading an active Catholic life is not just a good thing, but it has a real impact on the faith life of your children. I often ask our parents – whether in our faith formation program or our Catholic school – where do you want to be in 20 years. When your beautiful young person is an adult, and married, with children of their own; and that beautiful child – now your grandchild – is ready to receive First Holy Communion – where do you want to be? Do you want to be right here with a beautiful tear in your eye as your grandson or granddaughter receives Communion for the first time? Or do you want to be somewhere arguing with your kids about why they have abandoned the faith?

“You are the first teachers of your children in the ways of faith. May you also be the best of teachers.” Parents who are active in their faith have kids who likewise maintain that active faith into adulthood. That’s how it works. It is how it works for you and me, it is how it will continue to work for succeeding generations. So, when someone asks you why you go to Church every week tell them – it is because I want to continue to hand down the faith from my generation to the next.

And, none of this should surprise us. For the more than 2,000 year history of the Church, the faith has been spread – not by printed book or newspaper; not by television broadcast or the internet – it has been spread through the witness of faithful followers of Jesus. One of the most ancient sayings about the Church is that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” The word martyr means witness and it refers to the early followers of Christ whose witness was so powerful that they often gave even their lives for the faith. This kind of witness has a powerful impact. The threat of martyrdom didn’t leave people running away from the faith in fear, but rather running toward the Church so that more and more could have even just a seed of the same kind of faith that those early followers did.

When we look at the state of the church or the state of the faith in our world today, it is an incorrect assumption to think that the end is near. Rather, this is a moment in time when we are all called to be the best teachers of faith to those around us – by what we say and what we do. Mary and Joseph challenge all of us to reflect on the example of living faith that we’re setting. Do we make the practice of our faith important? Do we let the people closest to us, those whom we live with, know how important that faith is? Do we pray together as a family, with friends, in the community of the Church?

The renewal of the church today is no farther away than the person on your left and right. We have the power to be the seed of the Church today exactly as those who went before us were. We all share the privilege of witnessing to our faith in such a way that others are inspired to follow. Joseph and Mary show us that the best way to achieve this is by the good example of our own lives; knowing God’s law, following it; and working together for the spiritual wellbeing of the whole.

Let us all take up this challenge anew today. I’ve seen many times the power of one person renewing their commitment to the practice of their faith. It can change your life. It can change your family.

Let us pray today through the intercession of Joseph and Mary that we all be renewed as the best teachers of the faith to all those around us. This will renew our lives, the lives of those around us, the life of our community of faith.

“You are the first teachers of your children in the ways of faith. May you also be the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what you say and do.”
May the Lord give you peace.
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