CELEBRATING THE PRESENCE

SAINT ALPHONSUS MARY DE’ LIGOURI, BISHOP, DOCTOR 

Levi 23:1,4-11,15-16,27,34-37; Ps 81:3-6,10-11; Mt 13:54-58

The Solemnization of the Presence

The first reading is from the book of Leviticus. It reveals the measure Yahweh took to prevent the people from taking the divine presence for granted, which God established among the people for the flourishing of communion between him and the people. If the construction of the tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting among the people, though a bit separate from them, was to promote their communion with Yahweh, there was a need to prevent the people from sinning gravely against the Holy God by treating his presence as something banal. God, therefore, gave Moses and Aaron the list of solemn festivals the people must celebrate throughout the year, to help them recall the great events that marked their covenant relationship with Yahweh. “These are the Lord’s solemn festivals, the sacred assemblies to which you are to summon the sons of Israel on the appointed day.”

The solemnities are: the Passover of the Lord, the feast of Unleavened Bread for the Lord, the harvest which is a form of dedication of the work of their hands, the Day of Atonement, the feast of Tabernacles for the Lord, The purpose of these celebrations is to keep the people mindful of their origin or where they are coming from, and their mission or destination, given their present situation. “These are the solemn festivals of the Lord to which you are to summon the children of Israel, sacred assemblies for the purpose of offering burnt offerings, holocausts, oblations, sacrifices, and libations to the Lord, according to the ritual of each day.” These are various levels of rededication of the people to God, who dedicates himself to his people. God gave these stipulations for celebration that conform to our nature, for human nature is prone to forgetfulness. We easily forget the past and are carried away by the present. The Church celebrates these solemnities in her various celebrations throughout the seasons of the liturgical year. Apart from these common solemn celebrations, we must individually mark out times during the day to intensify our devotion to the presence of God within and among us. All these contribute to our ongoing sanctification. Thus, the psalmist invites us: “Raise a song and sound the timbrel, the sweet-sounding harp and the lute; Blow the trumpet at the new moon, when the moon is full, on our feast.” It is the spiritual law that the Lord imposed on us through the Holy Spirit he gave us.

The Gospel illustrates the danger of our taking God for granted as he dwells among us. “Coming to his hometown, Jesus taught the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did the man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? This is the carpenter’s son, surely? Isn't his mother the woman called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Jude? The people refused to accept his solemn and holy words because they knew him. “And they would not accept him.” The task of blending the sacred and the common in our daily life is what Saint Alphonsus helped us to do in his many spiritual treatises. He was born in Marianella near Naples in 1696. The firstborn of a noble family with many children. He had an education in humanities, classical and modern languages, painting, and music. Had a doctorate in civil and canon law and practiced his profession before committing himself to God. He joined the seminary in 1723 and was ordained in 1726, at the age of 30. He lived and worked with homeless youths in Naples, founding centres of prayer, community, word of God, social activities, and education, called Evening Chapels. He founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, or the Redemptorists, in 1732, to preach the Gospel to the poor and abandoned. He wrote so many spiritual treatises and moral theological works. One of his works is ‘Prayer: The Greatest Means of Salvation.’ The summary being that without constant communion with God through Jesus Christ, we cannot be saved.

Let us pray: O God, who constantly raise up in your Church new examples of virtue, grant that we may follow so closely in the footsteps of the Bishop Saint Alphonsus in his zeal for souls as to attain the same rewards that are his in heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.