Archbishop Miller celebrates the feast of St. Josemaria Escriva as part of a 'mosaic of holiness'
By Nathan Rumohr
The B.C. Catholic
VANCOUVER
The Holy Spirit changes lives, including that of St. Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, and now, as the Year of Faith dawns, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, is calling on Catholics to allow the Holy Spirit to change their lives too.
"I would ask all of you, in the spirit of St. Josemaria, to open yourselves to the action of the Holy Spirit, Who transforms your life, to be small pieces in the great mosaic of holiness that the Lord continues to create in history," the archbishop said during his homily at Holy Rosary Cathedral June 26.
"Let us not be afraid that God will ask too much of us, but let ourselves be guided by His word in every daily action, even when we feel poor, inadequate, sinners."
The Mass celebrated the 10th feast of St. Josemar°a since his canonization Oct. 6, 2002. His feastday, as is usual for saints, is on the day of his death, June 26. He died in 1975.
The archbishop said the founder of Opus Dei is especially relevant in today's society. Members of Opus Dei, established in 1928, aspire to holiness through their work, family, and social relations. The organization has some 83,000 lay members and 1,800 priests in about 60 countries.
"In this great contemporary saint, as in the figures of those holy men and women of all generations, we see a life marked by faith and charity expressing the powerful and transforming presence of the Risen Lord," Archbishop Miller said.
He also said St. Josemar°a anticipated the works of the Second Vatican Council and the Dogmatic Constitution that came from it called Lumen Gentium. The document affirms that no person is excluded from "that sanctity which is cultivated by all who act under God's Spirit."
But the archbishop warned the temptation for lay Catholics to become lukewarm will stifle this yearning.
"Spiritual masters like St. Josemaria remind us that in the life of faith those who do not advance inevitably regress," Archbishop Miller said. He said the faithful should move forward and accept St. Josemaria's invitation.
"Let us accept the invitation, today as timely as ever, to aim for what Blessed John Paul II called the 'high standard of ordinary Christian living.'"
The archbishop said one of the ways to demonstrate this is through the upcoming Year of Faith, to begin Oct. 11, which will mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II.
"In our archdiocese the Year of Faith will aim to support the faith of believers who, in their daily trials, are trying to live holy lives with courage and conviction," Archbishop Miller said.
He said there will be a concerted effort, which will explained in more detail in the coming months, to bring the faith to those who have fallen away.
"Every Catholic should take ownership of being part of the Church and doing discipleship work," said Father Fernando Mignone, an Opus Dei member and chaplain to Simon Fraser University. Father Mignone was the emcee for the Mass.
He said St. Josemaria preached evangelization, and stressed that St. Josemaria's accomplishments would not have happened without a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit.
"St. Josemaria lived on faith, and he is asking us to live on faith, because what the Holy Spirit is asking from us (in regards to authentic evangelization) is impossible humanly.
We have to trust that the Holy Spirit will give us the wherewithal to do this."
nrumohr@rcav.org
