Fr. Kevin Dillon is the Pastor of St. Boniface Martyr Parish, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY.
As many of you know, I attended St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary in Uniondale. Pius was the high school Seminary for our Diocese. The faculty was composed of several priests, a religious sister and a good number of lay men and women. The priests were very supportive and certainly served as good role models for young men who were considering a vocation to the priesthood. Sadly, due to declining enrollment and few priestly vocations from the school, Bishop McGann closed it in the early 1980’s.
I remember once speaking to one of my favorite teachers, Fr. Brendan Riordan about the life of a priest and how I was concerned about being able to give a homily at mass. Fr. Riordan gently said,
“Don’t worry; God will take care of that for you.” Then he said, “It’s a wonderful life and Our Lord will be with you every step of the way. Now as a priest I realize what he meant, especially with regard to preaching and that is reliance on the Holy Spirit. In and of himself, the priest can accomplish very little; it is Our Lord who does the inspiring and the priest simply cooperates with that.
Many biblical passages clearly indicate that there is no Biblical basis for self-esteem, self-love, self-reliance, self-confidence, self-image or any of the other isms advocated by the worldly system of psychology. The Bible’s answer for many of our emotional problems is to turn away from self to Christ and His all sufficient word. Some examples of this include “I can do all things in Christ, who strengthens me.” (Phil 4:13) and Jesus, said “With humans it is impossible, but not for God. For God all things are possible!” (Mk. 10:27) Christmas is exactly three weeks away, and many people find this time of year busy and hectic to say the least.
Our scripture readings for Sundays and the weekdays of Advent are indicative of a good number of people who were filled with hopeful enthusiasm and optimism regarding God’s active presence in their lives. Mary, the Mother of God is a prime example when she was asked to be the Theotokos, or God-bearer. Although a bit unsure and perhaps somewhat anxious, Our Lady cooperates with God’s plan for salvation and responds to the angel Gabriel, “Let it be done unto me, according to Your Word.” In other words, Mary directs it back to God and helps fulfill God’s plan of redemption for humanity.
Saint John the Baptist and his mother Elizabeth also acknowledge that it is God who is in charge, not them. Elizabeth, despite her old age, has complete and utter confidence that with God, all things are possible, and her son, St. John the Baptist reminds us that it is He who must increase and us who must decrease. Even John’s dad, Zechariah, who in the beginning refuses to believe ultimately, realizes that it is God who is at work, when he writes his new son’s name on the tablet, “His name shall be called John.” Customarily, Zechariah’s son should have been named after his father, but Zechariah now realizes that God has a hand in this.
Take some time during these busy days to recognize God’s active presence in your life. Perhaps attend daily mass one or two days a week, attend Handle’s Messiah concert this Sunday at 4pm followed by our Tree Lighting and Christmas Around the World Celebration or our Advent Mission Christmas in Story, Song Word and Art this Tuesday, December 6 at 7:30pm in Church, or avail yourself of the sacrament of Reconciliation to help you prepare for the great feast of the Incarnation.
— Fr. Kevin
Fr. Kevin Dillon’s letter appears here weekly online and in the St. Boniface Martyr Parish Bulletin.
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