Hope Is Never Futile
“I Thirst.” These were some of the last words spoken by Jesus on the cross. He knew that all things would be accomplished by His death, and that Scripture would be fulfilled.
Jesus proclaimed on the Sermon on the Mount that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness would never be left unsatisfied. He was not speaking about ordinary hunger. This thirstiness is an extraordinary human drive, which comes from our desire, passion and appetite for a life with God, and to be in communion with the Holy Trinity. This is what we profess: “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.” The words we speak on earth are also important to the Kingdom of God!
The first three centuries of early Church history were filled with persecution, seclusion, and theological disputes, particularly concerning the divinity of Jesus Christ. Constantine the Great won control of the Roman Empire in 312 A.D., and elevated Christianity to a favored status. In the city of Nicaea in 325 A.D. a council convened, and from that assembly came our standard of beliefs. Most significant to our salvation is this verse: “For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” We recite these ageless words at the Eucharistic celebration; do we listen, or just recite them?
Some people do not know the history of our local Church, or the heroism of our first bishop, Simon Guillaume Gabriel Brute de Remur. He is buried with three other bishops in the crypt of the first and oldest church of Indiana, St. Francis Xavier, better know as the Old Cathedral, in Vincennes. Fr. Brute named the church after St. Francis Xavier, Patron of Missionaries. It became the first cathedral of the Diocese of Vincennes in 1834, when Fr. Brute was named the first Bishop of what included the entire state of Indiana and the eastern third of Illinois. The Diocese of Vincennes, first in Indiana, was the 13th diocese in the United States. The Old Cathedral was elevated to the rank of Minor Basilica in 1970, and along with St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville, is one of two “Doors of Mercy” in the Diocese of Evansville for the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis.
People should know the history of their Indiana Catholic roots and how they were cultivated. I want to promote the cause for canonization of Servant of God Simon Brute. More history can be read in a book by Sister Mary Salesia Godecker O.S.B. PhD. She wrote the book in 1931, St. Meinrad Historical Essay, about the life of Simon Brute. The Most Rev. Daniel M. Buechlein, O.S.B., wrote “Reflections on the Life and Times of Simon Brute” as he opened the cause for his canonization on Sept.12, 2005. The booklets can be obtained through the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, or Brute Seminary on the Marian College Campus. This documentation incorporates the childhood of Brute during the French Revolution, his valor in creating our first diocese, and the events leading to this great cause for sainthood.
It is recorded that Brute’s last words on June 26, 1839, were those of Christ on the cross, “Sitio,” “I thirst.” With the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the efforts of Constantine, Brute and countless others, we have an incredible faith to quench our own thirst! Someday our own contributions to the Church will be remembered. I pray the memories are worthy of sainthood! Amen!
