He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

Bishop John T. Steinbock’s

Red Mass, 2007, Message

“Anyone who loves me will be true to my word, and my Father will love him; we will come to him and make our dwelling place with him.”  Our Lord Jesus with these words, speaks of a personal relationship with each one of us, a personal relationship with both the Father and the Son.  The Catholic Catechism of the Church, promulgated by Pope John Paul II in 1994, uses these words to state emphatically that the whole purpose of life is to come into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity.  And it is the Holy Spirit that brings us into that unity.

I state this because being just in our decisions and attitudes, does not bring the presence of God to us.  That is like putting the cart before the horse.  We must have the presence of God to do works of justice, as we must be led by His knowledge and His wisdom to guide us in those works of justice.  It is the Holy Spirit, as the gospel states, who instructs us in everything, and enables us to make just and right decisions.

In order to be led by this wisdom and knowledge of God, we must live in the presence of the Lord.  This phrase means that we are aware of God in our lives, of his power and love, of his wisdom and knowledge, of his tempering justice with love and truth, present to us through the day.  And the only way that this is possible is to spend time alone with the Lord, with the Father and Son, allowing the Spirit within our hearts to speak for us to the Lord, and listening to the Spirit speak to us in the quiet of our hearts.  I encourage everyone here to be faithful to the Lord for at least 10 or 15 minutes of quiet prayer each day of your lives.  Sometimes we will sense the presence of the Lord, other days may be dry, but what is important is to give the time to the Lord, acknowledging our complete dependence on him to act justly not only in the sight of the people, but also in His sight.

Much has been said of the dryness of the prayer of Mother Theresa, how she passed years without feeling the presence of God in her time of prayer.  In fact she herself stated how she felt unloved and unwanted by God, the greatest suffering she could endure in this world.  But this was a special grace to enable her to identify completely with the people to whom she found Christ and served Christ, in those who felt like the most unwanted and unloved in the world.  Yet, she was faithful to her prayer time, knowing that all depended on the Lord, even though she did not feel His presence, and that faithfulness to prayer enabled her to bring the love and compassion of Christ to everyone in her life.

I don’t think anyone of us could begin to experience the desolation Mother Theresa felt. That is reserved for the great saints, but we must realize that we also are called to be little saints, as Mother Theresa said, to do everything out of love, even the little things of our lives, and that is where saintliness is found, bringing Christ’s love and knowledge and wisdom into every aspect of our lives, especially our professional lives, which are meant to build up a community of justice and love.  Thank you for all you do in your profession.  You are a gift for all of us, for without you, there could be no order in society.  As Paul in the first reading tells us: God gave us new life in company with Christ.  Let us live in His presence, in His company, one with the Father and Son through the Holy Spirit, and the virtue of justice and peace will fill us.

+++