Dear Christ the King Family,
This month of January is certainly a blessing for all of us connected with the Congregation of Holy Cross! This month, not only did we celebrate the feast of St. Andre Bessette, the first Holy Cross religious canonized as a saint, but we also celebrate the feast day of the founder of Holy Cross, Blessed Basil Moreau, which we are celebrating at our weekend Masses here at Christ the King since we are a parish connected with the Congregation of Holy Cross. I strongly encourage you to look up these two holy men if you haven’t heard much about them before and learn some more about their lives—like all of the saints, their particular witnesses to the Gospel and the life of Christ are inspiring!
Moreau was born in 1799, and came of age in the Church in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Fr. Moreau certainly grew up in a Church that knew turmoil and upheaval—with many in great need of zealous and committed catechists and teachers to help a Church that still persisted by God’s grace, but was certainly in need of rebuilding. It is certain today that, while we can be grateful that we in the United States have not experienced persecution as the Church in France did during the French Revolution, the debate seems stronger than ever among different groups within the Catholic Church in the United States over how we can rebuild, revive, and confront the challenges of our present day and age.
No matter how we feel about different contemporary issues, I find Fr. Moreau’s spiritual attitude to be a great source of inspiration for all of us. Fr. Moreau did not shirk the Cross (and believe me, he was a man who knew many personal Crosses!). Rather, he embraced it and strove to see even in the many Crosses and needs of his time an opportunity for hope—an opportunity to discover that through it all, God’s persistent, providential grace abides and remains for us to realize as a gift. The challenges we face today in our Church might look different from 19th-Century France and yet, the mission to make God known, loved, and served remains a continual part of the mission we all share across time as One Body in Christ. As Fr. Moreau so wisely puts it: “How we educate the mind will change with the times; how we cultivate the heart is and will remain timeless.”
Peace & Happy Feast Day!
Fr. David
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