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Brother Columba O’Neill, CSC died one hundred years ago today. He is buried in our community cemetery at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. His life is being examined for the possibility of being named a saint. His devotion to the Sacred Heart already names him a believer. His desire for people to be healed in God’s tender heart already names him a compassionate man.

Brother Columba was physically disabled, suffering from clubfoot. Ironically, he became a cobbler for our community. He had a fourth-grade education, and yet he joined a religious community known for education and lived his vocation on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. He lived a simple life of faith and service. However, 14,000 letters in the community archives tell the stories of people requesting healing from his intercession and prayer. He did not take credit for any healing even though 1,400 letters contain physical healings and favors received from the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Last week, I visited his grave. Even after all these years in the Holy Cross community, I was not aware of Brother Columba’s devotion to the Sacred Heart which led him to be known as a healer. I touched the ground where he is buried because for years after his death, people scooped up small amounts of topsoil from his gravesite believing Brother Columba would still intercede for their needs and ailing bodies.

Brother Columba’s devotion to the Sacred Heart speaks to me. As a Holy Cross religious, the Sacred Heart of Jesus remains at the center of my faith. In our very complex world, we need to touch the mystery of love. When wars rage and divisions become our way of life, God’s healing love is available to us. When we argue over the correct way to live our faith, we need to discover God’s compassion, integrity and consolation. When we think ministry is about what we do, we need to come back to our essential relationship with Jesus Christ. When the very earth we live upon is at risk, we need to touch the soil of those who believed in God’s wisdom, healing and compassion.

Brother Columba said, “If you trust in the Sacred Heart, the Sacred Heart will cure you.”

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Click here to read my latest article for the Congregation of Holy Cross Newsletter, November 2023.

I presided at Saint Mary’s College yesterday. I had not presided there for over twenty years. How beautiful it was to see so many people I have known throughout my formation and priesthood. I am so grateful.

November 19, 2023

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

For all who lead our Church. May we move toward love and not condemnation, hope and not despair, concern for others and not self-protection.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who seek Christ Jesus in prayer. May Christian unity offer hope for our world. May justice be our common ground and love be our daily work.

We pray to the Lord.

For all who live in anguish. May people who live outside find healthy shelter. May people who suffer in body and soul discover the healing miracles of Christ Jesus.

We pray to the Lord.

For a new road to peace across the globe. May wars end and light be shed upon every land and nation. May hope for people’s future be restored and nourished.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who expand our imaginations about life. For artists, musicians, and authors, that creativity may become grace for our common good and nutrition for our souls.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who live with mental illness or emotional decline. May fear be eased and love be a source of healing for our loved ones who suffer with dementia or mental illness.

We pray to the Lord.

For all healthcare workers and those who ease people’s pain. May love be among those who support the welfare of our loved ones. May hope feed those who stay up all night in hospitals and nursing homes.

We pray to the Lord.

For ill members of our families and friends. May God’s compassion become hope for people facing loss of health and mobility.

We pray to the Lord.

For our beloved dead. May our November remembrance of our loved ones bring us all closer to our heavenly home. May love and gratefulness be counted among our departed.

We pray to the Lord.  

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November 12, 2023

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

For our leaders in faith. May Francis, our Pope, and ____, our Bishop, seek wisdom for all people burdened by loss, poverty and injustice.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who wait for the wisdom of justice and lasting peace. May all people who work to pick up the pieces from war and violence be given our hands and resources to survive in such tragedies.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who speak only bitter words. May our words and actions speak of wisdom and goodness. May our relationships be based on love and not fear.

We pray to the Lord,

For people who are bedridden and separated from those they love. May each life on earth bear the mark of God’s love and fidelity. May we seek the stability of wisdom even in our bodily pain and emotional unrest.

We pray to the Lord.

For our children who seek brilliance and hope. May we all learn to play, to laugh and to be ready for love. May wisdom flow within our children and their children.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who feel lost in the dark. May our loved ones living with depression, anxiety and severe dementia be offered a light of faith, hope and love. May we walk together hand and hand to the promise of God’s Kingdom.

We pray to the Lord.

For people who carry the light of faith along our path. May spiritual directors, therapists, and social workers encourage us along our journey. May we discover the light of love within our hearts.

We pray to the Lord.

For people whose faces are stained with tears. May our loved ones who grieve discover hope to continue to live on earth. May we rejoice for our loved ones in heaven.

We pray to the Lord.

For our loved ones who have taken their last breath. May our beloved dead be led to God’s eternal and gracious Kingdom of Heaven.

We pray to the Lord.

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CLICK HERE TO READ article for All Souls’ Day

Today is All Saints’ Day. I love the official catalogue of canonized saints. I take great consolation in their commitment. I am inspired by their lives here on earth. Some saints are quirky, some may seem eccentric and even weird. Yet, they all gave their lives to God in the ways in which they were called to love and serve. 

The saint is really someone here on earth who discovers love of God and love of neighbor. Saints discover an intentional life, that is, they pray in the moment, they love with integrity and they act with great discernment. Saints reveal that a relationship with God is absolutely possible here on earth. They learned in the deepest places of their hearts to trust God, to surrender everything to the mystery of God’s love for them. The amazing thing about saints is that we can’t imitate their lives. We can learn from them about God’s fidelity and grace, but to imitate them exactly does not make us saints. We have to do the work of prayer in our own lives. In other words, we can’t live someone else’s life. That does not make us a saint. 

The only way into the depths of God’s love and fidelity is to live the truth of our own lives. This may take us years to discover. Theresa of Avila and Oscar Romero show us that it takes many years to finally realize our call and act upon such a reality. Some people know it early in life or give up all they possess in order to carve a new path. Francis of Assisi is such an example. Mary Magdalene had the privilege of gazing into the eyes of Jesus and many other saints came to know the face of Christ in the poor, the suffering or disabled. Some saints are intellects and some are hermits. Some are clerics and some are widows. Each life on earth is a mystery, and each life on earth has the potential of becoming a mystic, that is a person who realizes that God’s love is the guide for his or her life. In many ways, each of us is called to become a mystic, to live a life of prayer and service and to realize that God is our true identity. 

The road map to becoming a saint is today’s gospel, Matthew 5: 1-12. The Beatitudes are always read on All Saint’s Day. We may hear this gospel at a funeral or even an ordination. These Beatitudes are the commandments of Jesus given to the disciples in his voice on the side of a mountain. They are often overlooked as a path to holiness because they are not as dogmatic as the Ten Commandments. This list is centered on Christ Jesus and at its core is love. Love is often dismissed as a way to faith because it is often seen as only romantic silliness. However, this list gives us the real mission of the Church. This list is far more difficult than the Ten Commandments.  

The Beatitudes offer us a path to heaven and a saintly life here on earth. They do so because they first lift up the poor. They affirm our challenge to offer mercy and not hatred, love and not violence. This list is the most radical statement of faith in the gospels and it is the list that is seldom trusted or made real. It changes not only hearts, but society and the world. It overthrows what we may think life should be and what justice is all about. It turns the tables on our notions of how to live and how to survive in society. Perhaps the Beatitudes are the reason why there are so few saints today, because at first glance, they turn life inside out. 

How difficult today it is to act mercifully. Mercy after all is not a commodity; it is a result of knowing God from within our hearts. We can’t manufacture mercy or peace or comfort toward the grieving. The Beatitudes are lived in hearts that first know and understand the fidelity of God. The Beatitudes carve an empty place within our hearts only to be filled with God’s love, integrity and power. These words from Jesus are radical and the concepts are countercultural. Yet, they remain a blueprint for sainthood. 

We all desire to live in the love God has for each of us. We can’t duplicate a life set free in God’s faithfulness nor can we copy exactly how God desires us to serve and to act in our Church and world. The fire of faith is given to each of us as God desires. Collectively in the Church, we call people who know such fire, saints. We celebrate such a gift and mystery this day on the Solemnity of All Saints. 

“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”