Friday, April 30, 2010

Homily – April 30, 2010 – St. Pius V

+ On this last day of April we celebrate the feast of St. Pius V, Dominican and Pope, who lived in the sixteenth century and had the duty of enforcing the counter-reform decrees of the Council of Trent. His zealousness as a young Dominican earned him great status and power within the Church and eventually led to him being elected pope. It was a time when an enthusiastic and focused mind was needed to hold the Church together as the so called "reformers" were busy dismantling the unity of the Body of Christ. He was instrumental in publishing a new Roman Catechism, Breviary and Missal used for Mass – up to the Second Vatican Council. All of these at that time stood in need of overhaul and revision again – which was among the primary tasks of that council. Further restatement and updating of these is still underway – with the publication of the new Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Roman Missal even as we speak – which will impact very strongly the way we celebrate Mass beginning late next year. Pius V, as a Dominican, insisted on wearing his white habit as pope, and thus comes the tradition of all popes since him wearing white. White is appropriate so long as it has some symbolic value, but here it is always in danger of the symbol being "holier than thou;" which is a false symbol. The pope, any pope, is as much a sinful man as any other – and this must never be forgotten. And this goes for bishops and priests as well. Otherwise, as we heard in the gospel passage yesterday – we make God a liar when we parade around as apparently sinless.

We are all, not only pope and bishops and priests, stewards of the mysteries of God – the great reality of his being and his breaking into history as one of us, for us and our salvation. May we, this day, help the pastors of the church feed the flock, by tending the needs of one another as we have been commissioned by the chief and good shepherd himself to do!

I am the good shepherd says the Lord; I know my sheep and mine know me.

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