Location: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church
What a joy to be at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish today, to help you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s life reflects the gift received through Confirmation by her unwavering commitment to her faith and service to others. Just as Confirmation empowers believers with the gifts of the Holy Spirit to live out their faith boldly, St. Elizabeth demonstrated courage, wisdom, and fortitude in her mission of education and charity. Her life serves as an inspiring example of how Confirmation equips individuals to be active witnesses of Christ in the world. Ven, Holy Spirit, Ven!
“Is this not the son of Joseph?” It is not strange that the residents of Nazareth did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. The Lord’s youth and young adulthood are rightly called his hidden years.
From the viewpoint of the people of Nazareth, why wouldn’t God choose someone from the ruling class, from Jerusalem, to be the promised leader of his people? Why send his Anointed One to a dusty little town? Why make him part of a discreet working-class family?
The mysterious gospel scene we have just heard, gives us an important clue about the way God makes himself known to us. Saint Paul says that “the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” (1Cor 1:25).
If the creator of the universe humbled himself to become man, why would He not choose to appear before us in the humblest ways? In his approach to us, we could almost say that God has come too close. So much so, that his people did not recognize him. Only a few received the gift of recognizing who He is. Only “those who are led by the Spirit of God” (Rom) can identify the Son of God in their midst.
However, the distrust of Jesus’ neighbors also shows a sign of hope planted in their hearts by the Holy Spirit himself. The reading that the Lord read in the synagogue – which is the same one we heard in our first reading – is a confession of a prophet’s own vocation and mission. The people sensed that there would be a greater fulfillment of those words. The prophets themselves could not fully understand the meaning of the words they spoke. Those words were better grasped later. God’s gift always exceeds any expectation.
Likewise, the Incarnation of the Son of God not only exceeds the capacity of our reason. It has consequences for our lives that exceed the best dreams we have for ourselves.
God has deigned to mercifully gaze upon us to save us. He does not gaze upon us that way despite our sin and our unworthiness as creatures.
God gazes upon us with mercy precisely because of who He is and what we are like. At the same time, Jesus wanted to make us partakers in his own mission. God’s mercy unfolds from itself, surpassing our misery with his greatness. God has become man so that human beings can participate in the divine life and mission of Jesus. Pope Francis wanted to include this mystery in his motto, “miserando atque eligendo.” It means that, through his merciful gaze, Christ chooses us as disciples, anoints us with the same Holy Spirit with which the Father anointed Him, and sends us.
The same Holy Spirit whom you received when you were chosen to be baptized, will increase your faith through Confirmation. With the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you will be able to recognize Jesus even better, as He wants to be recognized.
You will find Him in the humble and helpless of the world; in his Church and its sacraments, and particularly in the people gathered for Mass every Sunday; in prayer and sacrifice for the service of God and neighbor. Increased hope will make your love grow, as you allow the gifts of the Holy Spirit to bear fruit through you. Make yourselves available to the mercy you receive from God, so that others may receive it through you. May the Holy Spirit bear witness through your lives that you are truly children of God, through Christ, and with Him, and in Him!
Our Lady of Guadalupe, look after your children who are being confirmed today, so that, through them, the gifts of the Holy Spirit may radiate the light of Christ around them.
