This Is A Wonderful Day For Us

Bishop Charles C. Thompson opened the 10:30 a.m. Mass on Jan. 1 at St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville with the thought that serves as the headline for this story.

“This is a wonderful day for us as we conclude the octave of Christmas with the Feast of Mary Mother of God, the Patroness of our diocese,” he said, in welcoming St. Benedict parishioners and guests. “It’s also the 50th anniversary of the World Day of Peace in our Church, as Pope Francis reminds us.”

Bishop Thompson added that we all “seek, like her, to embrace the will of God to carry forth the message … the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

Benedictine Father Godfrey Mullen, Rector of St. Benedict Cathedral Parish, concelebrated Mass with the bishop and served as homilist. Deacon Thomas Kempf assisted.

Father Mullen opened the homily with the story of a card game his family has enjoyed for four generations, which has grandmother taught them – despite her lack of skill in playing.

“She didn’t wait until she was perfect at playing the game to teach it to those she loved,” he said. “She, in fact, was horrible at the game and still taught it to us; and now, as I say, four generations later, we’re still playing that game and enjoying the competition and each other’s company as we play.

“If we wait for perfection, we’ll wait for a long, long time,” he continued, turning to the day’s readings for the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. “Mary knew from the message of the angel that perfection was about to dawn upon the earth. Mary knew that her son was coming among those who lived (at that time) so that He might set people free from sin and from violence … from death and from fear. But the circumstances that surrounded the birth of the perfect Prince of Peace were anything but perfect.”

He talked about the lack of room at the inn, which meant the Savior of the world was born in “a smelly barn” and placed in a manger – “a feed box, filthy feed box there for the animals to eat,” he said.

“And if that weren’t enough, who comes along to proclaim that the Savior of the nations has been born?” Father Mullen asked “ … the smelliest of all; the shepherds, who had been working the field.”

He suggested that, over time, Mary came to understand that Mary had given birth to the Good Shepherd; that God had taken hon human flesh for our forgiveness and salvation. And he again noted that the circumstances surrounding Jesus; birth were anything but perfect.

“My brothers and sisters, how easily we will miss the King of Kings, how easily we will ignore the Prince of Peace if we wait for the perfect to dawn upon us each day,” he added. “And the longer we wait for perfection, the more we will miss the presence that we celebrate in the church today.

“May God give us the true humility we need to seek and find the newborn King in every instance of our lives,” Father Mullen said. “May we all lay aside our expectation of perfection of anyone but the Almighty and find in those most imperfect around us the One who comes … the One who comes in Peace.

“Come let us adore Him … Christ our Lord. “