By Jay Nies
ST. MARTINS, Mo. — God can work miracles with every person, and “he wants you to perform a lot of miracles by loving him intensely and loving our brothers and sisters,” Bishop W. Shawn McKnight of Jefferson City, Missouri, told the children and teachers of St. Martin School in St. Martins.
He made the remarks in his homily at morning Mass in St. Martin Church Oct. 4, the feast of St. Francis of Assisi.
It was a historic day for the growing community just west of Jefferson City — “probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us,” said Father Jason Doke, St. Martin’s pastor.
Bishop McKnight concelebrated the Mass with four fellow bishops, including an eparch of the Eastern Catholic Church, who serves on the U.S. Conference of Catholics Bishops’ Subcommittee on the Catholic Home Missions. Bishop McKnight is the subcommittee chairman.
The visiting prelates were: Bishop Chad W. Zielinski of New Ulm, Minnesota; Bishop Michael W. Warfel of Great Falls-Billings, Montana; Bishop Anthony B. Taylor of Little Rock, Arkansas; and Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat, which is based in Parma, Ohio, and covers all or part of seven states.
Bishop McKnight noted the visiting bishops’ home dioceses are in many ways like the Jefferson City Diocese — “a little bit more rural, perhaps not having as many Catholics, but nonetheless very vibrant.”
Nearly 40% of Catholic dioceses in the United States and its territories are classified as home mission dioceses.
For many reasons, including geographic isolation and a high instance of poverty among the larger population, they need outside help in providing basic pastoral ministry to all or some of their people.
Grants from the annual Catholic Home Missions national collection, taken up in parishes throughout the United States, help fill the gaps.
The collection “supports dioceses like ours and the works of the church,” said Bishop McKnight. The Jefferson City Diocese has received home missions grants for Hispanic ministry.
In his homily, Bishop McKnight reminded the children in St. Martins that all who are baptized receive a calling from God to love and serve him and other people.
“St. Francis lived that vocation very, very intensely,” the bishop said. “He had a very special call. Not everybody has the call to live in a religious life, with the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience.”
But because St. Francis decided to embrace the life God intended for him, “he had great joy, even in his poverty.”
It took St. Francis a while to get there. He indulged in worldly pursuits throughout his youth until a spiritual encounter with God changed everything.
In a decaying, neglected chapel, St. Francis heard Jesus, from the cross, tell him to “build my church.”
Misunderstanding the call, the young man went about rebuilding the chapel.
“And then he discovered, that’s not what God was calling him to do,” said Bishop McKnight. “God was calling him not simply to rebuild the church building, but to help reform the church, which is the people.”
St. Francis spent his entire life fulfilling that vocation, of loving God and his neighbor intensely.
“He discovered that he had nothing to lose and everything to gain by loving God. It’s that simple,” said Bishop McKnight.
The bishop told of how Francis’ intense love for God led him also to love all of God’s creation.
Even the birds and a formerly vicious wolf responded to the saint’s preaching and direction.
“You see,” said Bishop McKnight, “the person who loves intensely is able to accomplish a lot of things that we think are unimaginable.”
He said everyone is called to live with a sense of spiritual poverty — “where we have everything to gain and nothing to lose by accepting all of God’s gifts with a profound sense of gratitude.”
Bishop McKnight said the most profound expression of that gratitude is the celebration of the Eucharist, through which the people offer God bread and wine made by human hands.
Then, “we’re given the great gift of giving Jesus Christ himself back to the Father,” in deep gratitude for all the good things God has done and all the blessings he has bestowed, the bishop stated.
“Let us ask him for the gift of his Spirit,” said Bishop McKnight, “that we might witness our faith and love for God by how we treat one another.”
Shortly after the closing strains of “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name,” the bishops, the children, their teachers and some parents gathered in the churchyard as Father Doke called down a blessing upon the animals.
Signs welcoming the bishops and highlighting their home states adorned the walkway outside church.
The bishops and the children then looked on as a procession of vintage tractors rumbled past the school.
St. Francis of Assisi – Pray for us.