In every age Christians have been challenged to stand up for what they believe. I would like to share with you the story of a little-known Saint. His name is Gaspar del Bufalo. It was 1810. He was only 24 years old, and had been ordained a priest just a short time. But now he was under arrest. Napoleon had conquered Rome and had imprisoned the pope. His intention was to close the churches and to force all the priests to swear allegiance to him.
So there Gaspar stood in front of the prefect. The prefect was a kind old gentleman, who did everything to minimize the event, downplaying it and reducing everything to a mere formality. It was just a harmless bureaucratic exercise.
The important thing was that Gaspar be put at ease, that he should not realize the seriousness of the choice to which he was being called. After all, many priests had already acquiesced and signed the oath of allegiance.
But Gaspar was not listening to the prefect, he was thinking of the blood which Napoleon had already caused to be shed. He was thinking of the imprisonment of the Holy Father, and he was thinking of the violation of liberty and the suppression of independence for the church.
So his response to the prefect was clear and decisive:
I cannot, I must not, I will not!
Just 200 years later, It is a different country and it is a different government. This time it is an American President. He has taken it upon himself to determine what is and is not religious. He has taken it upon himself to determine how I should live my faith in this time and in this place. Should I acquiesce to his demands?
I cannot, I must not, I will not!
The world health organization classifies oral contraceptives as a class one carcinogen right up there with tobacco. And the government wants me to provide this free with healthcare.
I cannot, I must not, I will not!
Women who use oral contraceptives for four years prior to their first full-term pregnancy have a 52% increased risk of developing breast cancer. And the government calls this health care and wants me to provide this for free, well...
I cannot, I must not, I will not!
Oral contraceptives do horrific damage to a woman's body, and should we call this health-care? Abortion destroys human life and is it reasonable or intelligent for us to call that healthcare?
I cannot, I must not, I will not!
The president proposed a compromise that would allow insurance companies to pay for the contraceptives rather than the church institution. My question, what if I belong to a church institution that is self-insured? I would then be required to pay for this.
I cannot, I must not, I will not!
What if I'm a Catholic business person who is required by my government to provide insurance that violates my conscience?
I cannot, I must not, I will not!
What will it be next and who will it be next? The New Mexico Court of Appeals has ruled that it is illegal for a photography business owned by Christians to refuse to photograph a same-sex wedding ceremony even though New Mexico law does not permit same-sex marriage. What will they say next? Will they say that it is illegal for me to refuse to do a same-sex marriage. Would we as Catholics allow the state to change one of our sacraments.
I cannot, I must not, I will not!
Saint Gaspar del Bufalo spent four years in prison for his profession of faith. We must pray too, that we have the strength to be firm in our faith.
We are not imposing our values on anyone. The government has dictated that employees at Catholic institutions are provided with free contraception, and that is the imposition on our faith and on our conscience. The government doesn't want so much to advance the cause of women's health, but rather, they seek to demonize a faith group that has the "audacity of hope," that they might live their faith free from government interference and intrusion.
I know it is just a mere formality, just a harmless bureaucratic exercise. I know that the important thing is that we should not realize the seriousness of the choice to which we are being called. After all everybody else is doing it. But let me be perfectly clear:
I cannot, I must not, I will not!
]]>Benedict XVI
April 23, 2012
"Herein lies the glory of the priesthood, instituted for applying the price of redemption to souls, so that the divine Blood will not have been shed in vain, due to our own fault, as we note in the Holy Scriptures: "What gain would there be from my lifeblood." (Psalms 30:10) ..."How much more shall the blood of Christ, who by the Holy Ghost offered himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our conscience from dead works, to serve the living God? "
St. Gaspar del Bufalo, 1825
]]>First, the acknowledgment of our shortcomings from which arises our deficiency before God.
Secondly, the examination of our observance of interior discipline, which may be called our Handbook for Heaven.
Finally, we shall direct our attention, prudently and reflectively, to the external aspects of our apostolic work, not merely to have a knowledge of good in general, but to seek the greater good which can and must be furthered...
this searching will make us eager to find the means for the attainment of our purpose.
These means are threefold:
a continuous inner conversation with God about our needs and interests;
a deep study of humility, that we may be capable of receiving special gifts from God for the renewal of our life;
and a burning desire for the inner and hidden life in the adorable wounds of the Crucified.
St. Gaspar Del Bufalo, 1829
]]>St. Gaspar del Bufalo
May 22, 1833
In other words, he performed the most wonderful exchange with us. Through us, he died; through him, we shall live.
The death of the Lord our God should not be a cause of shame for us; rather, it should be our greatest hope, our greatest glory. In taking upon himself the death that he found in us, he has most faithfully promised to give us life in him, such as we cannot have of ourselves.
From a sermon by St. Augustine, Office of Readings, Monday of Holy Week
]]>He knew the care and love of the woman who bathed his feet with the expensive ointment.
He knew the weakness of friends, who could not remain awake, persisting in sleep in the face of a neighbor's tragedy.
He knew the conniving of an associate who may have thought that arrest would force Jesus to use his power.
He knew the hatred and violence of a temple and state that would exert full power over the weakest of our society.
Yet Simon, Alexander and Rufus became believers in the face of this. The Centurion makes a profession faith that "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
We know the care of friends, and the closer the friends have been we have seen as well their weakness, and we have had so-called friends that did not stand by us. And we know the power of society and government to wage a war against the truth.
But do we allow the struggles and tragedies of our lives make us doubt or turn away? No, this is when we take up the silence of Jesus who came and traveled this way for us and before us.
And now we see this cross as where our sins our destroyed, and where Jesus has turned this darkness in to light and life, we shall find this light and this life in Him, if we but belong to him and are found in him.
So let us mark this week as Holy. It is the center of our year. Let nothing else be found to be more important, because we are loath to be chasing shadows.
The centurion who came to faith had his life completely changed by this event. May it turn us too, so with him today and everyday for the rest of our lives , in whatver joy or sorrow, we acclaim, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
San Gaspare del Bufalo
July 29, 1825
For us who are devoted to the Precious Blood, Eucharistic devotion should be a specific and generous feature of our life and prayer. "The spirituality of Saint Gaspar ... is truly at the heart of the Christian life: the Most Precious Blood of our Lord has always been the object of a special attention on the part of all the saints: it is the school of sanctity, of justice, of love... Never cease...to delve deeply into this mystery of justice and love: diffuse it into the whole world." (2) Adoration was to be a regular feature of the missionary's life according to instructions left by St. Gaspar.(3)
If all this is true, if we indeed believe that this is true, that God is truly present to us, for us to see and to taste, what is it that prevents us from spending hours with this divine guest? To be in relationship with someone, one needs to spend time in their presence, to listen to them speak and to engage them in conversation. If one is to be intimate with another, meals and times for sharing are the center of this experience. This is precisely what the Lord wishes for us and from us. He desires that we respond to his invitations to friendship and intimacy.
The perfect means to enter into the grace of this relationship is Eucharistic Devotion, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Flowing from the Celebration of the Eucharist, this gives us an opportunity to relish the words that we shared there and to cherish the presence of one who loves us beyond our imagination. (4) The liturgical reforms of Vatican II were meant to restore a balance in Celebration of the Eucharist and Eucharistic Adoration. The Celebration of the Eucharist leads us to Adoration, and Adoration prepares our hearts and leads us to a fuller celebration of the Eucharist.
Here at St. Edward Catholic Church there is Eucharistic Adoration every morning at 5:30am, and every afternoon at 4:15pm. Eucharistic Adoration is from the 9:00am Mass to 5:30pm every first Friday. Once a year we have an over-night period of adoration in reparation for the abuse of the dignity of life. Eucharistic adoration can take place at other times during the day even though the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the tabernacle. When the Blessed Sacrament is exposed we are more attentive, but when he is reserved in the tabernacle, the door does not impede his presence or attention to your heart.
Times of silence in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament are a rich opportunity for God's people. We are bombarded each day with a variety of media, radio and television and newspaper. We listen to all sorts of voices from idle conversation, to news and opinion from the world and the neighborhood. Silence in the presence of the living Word of God helps us to recognize the one voice calling to us above all the others to the fullness of life. We are his people and how we respond to his voice indicates how we belong to his flock, to his people. "My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (5)
Occasionally people would be anxious if Sunday liturgy is more than an hour. If we truly believed what we do as Catholics, we would have a desire to spend at least an hour each day in the presence of the one who loves us. Indeed God is present to us in many ways; in his people and in his word, yet here we have the true presence of God par excellence.
NOTES
(1) I no longer call you servants, but friends. (John 15:15)
(2) John Paul II to the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, 1986, and repeated in 1989
(3) Letter from St. Gaspar, March 1831, to Pope Gregory XVI: "The sacred functions of each day have been described above. The weekly functions are the following: On Thursdays, the adoration of the most Blessed Sacrament in memory of the institution of that divine mystery. Each Missionary, in turn, is asked to direct this tender exercise"
(4) See also the 1967 Instruction on the Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery, "Eucharisticum Mysterium," 50. "When the faithful adore Christ present in the sacrament, they should
remember that this presence derives from the sacrifice and has as its
purpose both sacramental and spiritual communion."
(5) John 10:27