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I want to talk to you today about two upper rooms. The first room is the room in which we meet the disciples this morning. We know that immediately after the crucifixion, they had huddled in that upper room and had locked the doors, as the Scriptures tell us, for fear of the Jews. So there they were, isolated, set apart, fearful. And then Jesus comes and stands in their midst. He Is Still StandingEvery word of the Gospel is significant and we need to look at every word: He comes and He stands in their midst. He’s standing. He’s no longer bowed under the weight of the cross. He’s standing. He’s no longer crumpled on the ground, as we read in the Stations of the Cross, fallen beneath its weight. He’s standing. He’s no longer beaten down by the rods of His executioners and persecutors. He’s standing. He’s not standing before Pilate as that Lamb before the slaughter, but He is standing now as the Prince of Peace, the King of kings, the Lord of lords. He comes and stands in their midst and speaks the simple words, “Peace be with you.”He didn’t chastise them for their fear, He didn’t chastise them for their anxiety, He didn’t chastise them even for hiding. He did come and witness to them that He was still standing, that His wounds had not destroyed Him, that He was still in their midst. I think the Apostles faced a world not dissimilar from our own in many ways. We see a world which the present pope has described as one afflicted by the “dictatorship of relativism.” And we who are faithful to the teachings of the truth, who affirm the existence of an objective truth, we are being persecuted, we are being ridiculed, we are being criticized. There is an attempt to do away with us. There is a persecution. There is an attack on the truth and it is pervasive in our country. I think the Apostles were facing the same kind of thing. So they huddled in fear in that upper room, perhaps remembering the jeers of the executioners, ‘He saved others, let us see if He will save Himself.’ They didn’t want to find themselves in that same situation, so they hid. They hid until the Lord came. They hid until He came and said, “Peace be with you.” Even then, though, they did not take to the streets; they did not immediately go out and proclaim what they now knew more firmly. No, the Lord told them to wait, to wait until they were in another room, in another space, where He would send His Holy Spirit. A Second Upper Room
So they waited in a second room, but that waiting was different from the fearful hiding after His death. The Apostles now waited with a kind of expectation and a kind of eagerness, with a hopefulness, a conviction that they needed to wait until that truth permeated and penetrated them to the very core of their being, so that it was no longer simply a message which they would proclaim, but rather a way of life. Ultimately that Spirit did come, in wind and in fire, and He inspired them and filled them with those wonderful gifts. In a particular way, perhaps, He filled them with courage —the courage to go out into that relativistic world and proclaim that unpopular truth that there is a truth, there is a Lord, and He is risen, and He loves us, and He died for us, and He has for us a plan, a way in which He wants us to live that is consistent with the nature of our creation. And because they spoke with the power of the Spirit, people listened, and were converted. You students of Thomas Aquinas College have here a kind of period of Pentecost during which time the various gifts of the Spirit that you received in Confirmation —wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord —these gifts will grow in you by the grace of God over these years at Thomas Aquinas College, your Pentecostal upper room. The Spirit will not come in one fell swoop or one night of fire and wind. Rather, gradually, that Spirit will grow within you in each discussion that you will have with your fellow students, in each grace-filled conversation with your tutors, in each time you gather at the holy sacrifice of the Mass, each time you kneel down in prayer, each time you renew you consecration to the Sacred Heart, each time you devote yourselves again to God and to the works of God. Eventually, you will come not to a convocation like today’s, but a sending forth, a graduation, a commencement. As the Apostles did after the Spirit came, you, too, will go out into that hostile world with confidence, with faith, and without fear because you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
An “Island of Spiritual Concentration”Even before Pope Benedict spoke about the “dictatorship of relativism,” he called for the establishment of “islands of spiritual concentration” —and I commend you because I think Thomas Aquinas College is such an island, a place where spiritual souls are gathered together, or heaped together. I like to use the analogy of briquettes in a charcoal grill. You do not spread them all out and try to light each one individually; you light a couple of them, and you pile them all up together, and you let them sit there, and soon that whole pile of coals is blazing red hot. Only then is it safe to spread them out to allow them to do the work they were designed to do. Make no mistake about it: the world will hate you for speaking the truth, because, as the Holy Father says, the real threat to this dictatorship of relativism is the assertion that there is one truth, valid for all. That conviction undercuts relativism. You must recognize that what you do here at this college is important not only for the individual salvation of your soul, but really as a witness to all of society, and particularly the society of Western Europe—our Western society, where that dictatorship of relativism is much more powerful, much more damaging, much more dangerous perhaps even than the dictatorship of communism which Pope John Paul II so successfully worked against. Now Pope Benedict has set his sights on the dictatorship of relativism. It is a much more severe battle, a much more difficult battle, a much more pervasive battle. But here I am convinced you will receive the tools that you need to underscore and undergird your convictions and acquire the tools to walk out into that very world and to say with great boldness, without fear: ‘There is one truth valid for all. There is a Lord who loves us and who teaches us how to live.’ Form Solid CommunitiesYour time here is a kind of Pentecost. But remember, the disciples did not meet just once in that upper room to wait for the Spirit. Rather, they met constantly to hear the Apostles teach, to share the common life, to break the Bread, and to pray. Think about that first Christian community, even after they graduated, even after they went out from that island of spiritual concentration, they sought other smaller islands wherever they were. And they gathered regularly. It is very Christian, it is very Catholic, it is Apostolic, it is traditional, it goes back to the time of the Apostles themselves. You could do no better than to persevere in this for the whole of your life—to meet constantly, to hear the teachings of the Truth, the teachings of the Apostles, to share the common life, to mingle with others who share the same values. That is not a sign of fear, it is a sign of prudence. It is a virtue to recognize that you need to foster Catholic friendships, supportive friendships that help you sustain and maintain the values that you hold and want to continue to hold. There is nothing more important for us to do than to gather around the table of the Lord to hear Him, and for Him to come into our souls when we are fearful and lost and to say, “Peace be with you.” And always and everywhere we must pray, not only in time of distress, and not only when you have upcoming tests or oral exams, but to pray always. And pray for your tutors. And I beg you to pray for bishops; we are not necessarily on the front lines, but we are close. We do need your prayers. So listen to your tutors, listen to the Truth, listen to the Church, listen to the Apostles, form good, solid communities, pray in the Eucharist devoutly and fervently always. And pray. This is your four-year assignment, your Pentecost event. Enjoy it. Throw yourself into it. Know that here you will find great things, not from yourselves, and not from your tutors, but ultimately, from the Spirit of God, to whom we open our minds, hearts, and souls and say ‘Fill me with your Spirit, Lord; give me wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and a reverential fear of the Lord.’ It is good to be with you. I pray you have a grace-filled and holy year. Editor’s Note: An interview with Bishop Vasa will appear in the Winter 2006 issue of the Thomas Aquinas College Newsletter.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Fall 2005 |
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