PERSEVERANCE

XXXIII C November 13, 2022 Luke 21, 5-9 This past week, November 9th we celebrated the 290th anniversary of the founding of the Redemptorists. In Scala on the Amalfi Coast St. Alphonsus and six other priests joined together to begin our congregation. To preach the Gospel to the poor and the Most Abandoned. Those who had not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. There were 7 men on November 9th and by the end of the month there was 1. The other six all abandoned St. Alphonsus. Some missed their families, others didn’t want to live outside of the big city and some argued with St. Alphonsus. They wanted to do something other than what St. Alphonsus wanted us to do. One can well imagine what it must have been like for St. Alphonsus. But St. Alphonsus didn’t give up. A few days later Vitus Curzius joined St. Alphonsus and by the end of the year several others. Saint Alphonsus didn’t give up and today there are nearly 5000 Redemptorists working in over 70 countries throughout the World. All Religious congregations take three vows: Poverty; Chastity and Obedience. Others take different vows, additional vows but poverty, chastity and obedience are the key three. They are want makes a Religious congregation a religious congregation. The Redemptorists take a fourth vow: Perseverance. Why did St. Alphonsus add this fourth vow? Obviously, he didn’t want guys to give up. He didn’t want them to leave when the going got tough. He wanted us to persevere. Today’s gospel ends with the same word: Perseverance By your perseverance you will secure your lives. Just like Alphonsus didn’t want us Redemptorists to give up, Jesus doesn’t want us to give up. He wants us to persevere. Now in a certain sense the vow of perseverance doesn’t really mean anything. We take our vows for life, we promise poverty, chastity, and obedience until the day we die. So we the vow of perseverance. Much like a married couple. They promise to love, honor and respect each other always… until death do, they part. The priest doesn’t ask them to promise to persevere, he doesn’t say you can’t quit when it gets rough. That is understood. A Redemptorist once explained the vow of perseverance to me this way. He said that our vows of poverty, chastity and obedience are to God; our vow of perseverance is to one another. We promise to be faithful to God and to one another until the day that we die. Today’s Gospel is pretty grim. Buildings destroyed, wars and insurrections, Nation against Nation, kingdom against Kingdom; earthquakes, famines, plagues from place to place. It seems like Jesus is talking about today doesn’t it? But you know I think that it has always been like that. Unfortunately there has always been destruction, earthquakes, famines and plagues. Our days are no tougher than our parent’s days, or their parents, or their parents parents. Jesus tells us to persevere, but how? I go back to what that Redemptorist said to me in a retreat many years ago: Poverty, chastity and obedience are to God. Perseverance is to one another. We’ve persevered as Redemptorists for 290 years because we’ve been faithful to each other. We persevere as Church because we have one another. I think of the community that we have created here at St. Mary’s. The way we love, support and help one another. And not just to sell tamales, teach catechism or feed the hungry but to build up the kingdom of God. It is a tough world in which we live; that is why we form a community. To support one another and to know that we don’t go it alone. We have the support of one another. Now there is probably levels of community here at St. Mary’s. We have that core community of folks who come to mass every Sunday, some every day. People who are involved in ministry. People who are generous in their support of the church. There are others who come most Sundays and participate in faith formation have their babies baptized. There are others who come every so often and don’t participate very much. Others who only come one or twice a year or maybe only when they want to bury someone or to baptize their kid. They come and then they disappear. For us core people, isn’t that a wonderful service that we provide. That we have created this community and we freely receive anyone who comes through our door all calls on the phone. People who ask but never seem to give. Is it wonderful that we have created community for ourselves and for others. We do live in a tough world. I don’t think that I could face it alone. I would probably have given up a long time ago. But I don’t face it alone. We don’t face it alone. We have the support of one another. By our patient endurance we will secure our lives.