Un-Quiet Word for Today

Where is the face of Christ today?

This past week, I was on a six day only clergy, silent retreat.  Every year priests and religious are required to make a spiritual retreat, to re-examine, reset and refocus.  We were around thirty priests from the Northeast and the largest number was from Worcester Diocese.

The spot or location could not be better, Eastern Point, Gloucester, MA, right on the water.  I, frankly, had never heard of this place or been there.  I randomly joined a number of priests who were talking of it and they invited me to join them; I did and it was worth every bit.  Firstly, the area (really not me) is kind of exclusive, beautiful homes, expansive manicured lawns, impeccably clean roads and right next to the retreat house, the crystal blue waters.  The Retreat House is organized by the Jesuits (go figure!).  I kept asking myself how do these Jesuits always get these spots??   There is a saying that ‘Jesuits take the vow of poverty but we, the diocesan priests, live it (I guess so…).

My retreat company was really great. It is powerful to see priests retired, experienced who have served the Lord and us, the beginners, all together. They would seem to ‘know it all’ or have mastered it all by now, but they, too, need to ‘come away for a while’ to deepen their call.
The second day, I went exploring in the house library and I picked up a small old book by Father Pedro Arruppe SJ, a former and much revered Father General of the Society Jesus. The title is The Challenges of Religious Life Today.  In one of the chapters, he asks the question: Where is the face of Christ today?  Where is it, I kept asking myself? How do we uncover this face in the world of today?

These are some thoughts that came to mind:
It is in the beauty of creation and the world God created (in the earth and all its fullness) and gave us to be co-creators and stewards of it. Saint Ignatius says “find God in all things.”  When we sing the Hymn ‘America the Beautiful’ we repeat the line – ‘land that I love.’ Yes, we have a beautiful country that we should always be grateful for. The face of Christ is in the ‘other’: people of every nation, tribe, race and background, rich and poor, tall and short, dark and light, etc., and we must learn to discover the face of Christ in one another.

The Gospel command is more radical: love your neighbor and yourself.
But then there is some work to do. The face of Christ is not completely revealed. Today it is masked by many things and Christians must make the effort to reveal the face of Christ all the more. How can we not see that we live in uncertain times, the pandemic, divided by so many things, many are still struggling, famed, broken, sick and abandoned. Think of the things that divide us today, the things that make us stand back-to-back, even in our own house, family or church, the old wounds of injustice?  The face of Christ needs to be revealed all the more.

As Thanksgiving comes, there is a lot that we are grateful for and for this we say ‘thank you Lord.’ We also ask for the grace that in the season of Advent that follows after, we have evermore that courage from God, to resolve to see him in all things and reveal his presence/face to the world, and that all may know that a Savior unto us is born.

Happy Thanksgiving and a Blessed Advent!
Father Anthony
 

SELECT HERE for the Audio recording of the Readings of Sunday, November 22nd, 2020, Solemnity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, King of of the Universe.

SELECT HERE  for the Readings of Sunday, November 22nd, 2020, Solemnity of Our Lord, Jesus Christ, King of of the Universe.