Sunday, August 1, 2010 Fr. Pat Grile

18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Alphonsus was born in a pretty noble family, born in the year 1696 in Naples, Italy. And his father was a very successful lawyer. His mother was of nobility as well. And Alphonsus was also trained to be a lawyer. He studied civil law and actually had his degree at a very early age. And then unfortunately he had a case where he missed something in the presentation and lost a very important trial. And it threw him. He was almost devastated. Because of that he decided he wasn’t going to practice law any more, much to his father’s displeasure. Then he decided to study church law and eventually he got ordained, he became a priest.

And he was one day out near Naples, where he was born. He went outside the city. In those days and times the cities probably were filled with priests. Almost every family maybe had a priest in it. They even had little private chapels in their homes that priests would say Mass. But out in the countryside, where the shepherds were and a lot of the poorer people, nobody was ministering to them. And Alphonsus saw this and he decided right at that moment, “I want to find an order, other men, other priests who would join with me and that will be our mission—to go out to the poor, the most abandoned, to those who do not have the gospel being preached to them. And we will minister to their needs. Make sure they have all the sacraments.” And that was the original idea of a mission. Alphonsus’ group would come into an area, a community, stay there as long as it took so that everybody who wasn’t baptized could receive baptism, Eucharist, Confirmation, Marriage and Confession. Then they would move on to another territory.

The modern mission as you and I know now takes only five days or seven days because you are here this morning for the Eucharist, you are receiving the sacraments. But the original concept of Alphonsus’ mission, make it as practical as you can, get down to the level of the ordinary people, minister to their needs, then as a group move on to another territory.

The spirituality of Alphonsus could be put down in four basic words: Crib, Cross, Sacrament and Mary. You will find in all of his writings—he wrote over 120 books. His publications have been put into 70 different languages. I was reading something the other day that perhaps the amount of his readings has even surpassed what Shakespeare wrote and has had published down through the years. Pretty remarkable for a man, who in part of our liturgy today we are going to do an anointing or a blessing for those who suffer from arthritis. Alphonsus in his older years was afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, confined to a wheelchair, bent over, crippled, yet he still ministered. He did what God asked him to do.

His four areas of spirituality: Crib—he preached incessantly about the idea that Jesus came to be one among us, in Incarnation. You go through his readings and his writings and you will find that theme consistently. God loves us to become one of us. Jesus, true God and true man, the Crib.

The Cross: That Jesus died for you and me. God so loved us that He send His Son Jesus, who overcame the power of death to give you and me the glory of the Resurrection, to give us the strength, the help that we need in our daily lives. Alphonsus constantly always told people, “Look at the Cross, look at the Crucifix and know how deep is the Lord’s love for you.”

The Sacraments: That Jesus is always with us still. He just didn’t come upon us 2000 years ago. He just didn’t die 2000 years ago but He is still among us and with us every time we celebrate the Eucharist. We can come to this church, any church throughout the whole world, receive the Body and the Blood of Jesus, receive the Lord Himself. Constantly Alphonsus in his writings is always reminding people, “Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament.” One of his beautiful little prayers is called the “Visits with the Blessed Sacrament”.

He was an Italian so he is very passionate. When you read any of his books and his writings you’re going to say, “Oh this is kind of mushy.” But he was an Italian through and through. He loved that idea of love, of sensuality, of passion. You read it and you just kind of say, “Whoa, this is really flowery.” But that’s who he was. He knew that that’s where the people lived on an ordinary level. So don’t be afraid of his writings. Go through some of them and say, “Wow, you know, he’s too much in the emotions and feelings.” That’s where a lot of us live isn’t it? On that level?

So the Sacrament which we are celebrating this morning.

And Alphonsus had a great devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Every time he ends one of his prayers he always adds a little thought to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary, keep me close to your Son. Mary, you are my hope. Mary, pray for me. That’s why we as Redemptorists have a devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help. That icon was entrusted to us as the Redemptorists and throughout the whole wide world we have spread that devotion. Any Redemptorist community you go you will find that picture of Our Mother of Perpetual Help.

The statue of Alphonsus is back there right by the baptismal tower. A couple weeks ago somebody was walking by and said, “Who is that?” And I said, “That’s Alphonsus, the founder of the Redemptorists.” We also have his picture up here. So you look at it and say, “Whoa, you can see the nobility in that picture.” Other pictures show him bent over because that was his life later on in years. Eventually he was chosen to be a bishop and he ministered to that community but still founded the Redemptorists.

The Redemptorists were started in 1732. Spread through Italy. Went over the Alps into Austria, and it is from Austria, Vienna Austria that the first Redemptorists in 1832 came to the United States. Six Redemptorists came to the United States in 1832, primarily to work with German-speaking immigrants in America. They started in Pittsburgh, PA and out through there spread a lot into Ohio and Michigan.

Interesting, in Michigan they worked a lot with the Native American Indians, the Ottawa Indians on the west side of the state of Michigan. Some of our first foundations were in Ohio, then it spread throughout the mid-west.

The Redemptorists, there’s a tip-off too, working with German-speaking immigrants. It has always been a part of the Redemptorist charisma to see who most needs the gospel being preached to them at this moment in time and then to find ways to reach out to them.

There are over 5000 Redemptorists throughout the whole world. We are in just about every country of the world. Where we are growing the fastest, probably is in Africa as well as Southeast Asia. In Europe we are struggling. Even here in America we don’t have that many vocations. Probably more men die every year than are ordained from the Redemptorists.

So in front of me there are some vocations here. This is where it is going to come from. It’s going to be your sons who will be the future Redemptorists to make sure that there’s a priest standing here in St. Alphonsus Parish 30 years from now. That journey has to start through your family.

I noticed out there in the vestibule they put up a couple little of those things you can poke your head through the thing and there is somebody there in a Redemptorist habit and it looks like there’s a nun one too. So, Emerick, here’s your chance. You always said you wanted to come back as a priest. Well you can get your picture taken now in a Redemptorist habit. Alright, so it’s never too late.

But this is where we have to pray for vocations. We have to make them come from our families. I came from a family, and a parish community in Grand Rapids where Page Street, only 4 or 5 blocks long, 25 Redemptorists came from that street. There were the 4 Miller brothers, the 5 Patin brothers, the 3 Earle brothers, the 2 Grile brothers. There were the 3 Buche brothers. Fr. Schumaker, who our Knights of Columbus Council is named after, lived on Page Street. It had to be in the water, I don’t know what it was. Actually the last Redemptorist to be ordained from Grand Rapids is Fr. Bueche who serves with us now. He also had two other classmates that were from Grand Rapids too. So there has been a big gap.

This day in Grand Rapids a very close friend of mine, a young man that I knew in grade school when I was stationed there before I came back here, Aaron Mizura is his name, is being professed as a Redemptorist at our parish in Grand Rapids. It’s my fond hope that this young man, three years from now will be ordained a Redemptorist priest. I like to think that I had a part in fostering his vocation as he was in grade school. This again is where it’s going to come from.

So it’s a great feast today that we can celebrate. You’ve known a lot of Redemptorists here in 50 years at St. Alphonsus Parish. We are very happy to be here. There isn’t a Redemptorist who’s ever served here who said, “I can’t wait to get out of there.” They love it here, they love being with you and serving you.

So pray for a lot of these men. Fr. Nugent, who is in our retirement home down in St. Louis. Brother Raymond Bowersox. Fr. Quinn who was visiting here this week, he said the 7:00 Mass this morning. Others come and go. So you know a lot of these men. Keep them in your prayers and your thoughts knowing that every day we as Redemptorists pray for you, for all of our benefactors, for all those who walk with us as well in the journey of life.

So it’s a great feast to celebrate. A great heritage to be proud of. Something we want to pray that will continue.

As Alphonsus always would say, “Go to Jesus through Mary.” All of us know too, when you wanted something in your home you tried Dad but you know if you went to Mom you’d probably get it. So Alphonsus very wisely said, “Got to Jesus through Mary.”

So let’s be grateful that Alphonsus had that kind of a vision, that kind of a spirituality, passed it on to us and we in turn can try to pass on to you.