Feast of Saint Turibius

Good morning. Those of us who have a calling to marriage must follow it, and like Jesus there will be sacrifices required in our choosing to follow our calling in life—no matter what it might be. We cannot remain quiet when there are challenges presented or injustices executed which diminish the sacredness of matrimony and family. No, no matter the cost we must stand up and let our voices be heard. As married couples, as baptized Christians, we are called to evangelize, to speak to the truth. This is our calling as married Christians. 

 We see this bold response to God’s calling both in Jesus’ response in today’s Gospel reading and in the daily response lived out in the life of Saint Turibius whose life we commemorate today. Saint Turibius diligently spoke out against those who would twist the will of God to suit their own desires, as he noted, “Christ calls Himself to the truth, not custom.” I was struck by this being the concern in Peru that it apparently was in the 1580’s. This tendency to fashion ones beliefs to suit one’s fashion so rings true in 21st Century American Church, quite simply to pick and choose which church teachings to follow is inconsistent with the Gospel and with Church teachings. There are those who want to look upon Church teaching as congregational, breaking the faith community into various camps of “pro-life Catholics” versus “pro-choice Catholics”, and liberal versus conservative Catholics, when the bottom line is you cannot be anything but Catholic. It is not an either or proposition. There is no such thing as liberal or conservative, to be Catholic is to be about Truth, and there is no truth to be found in equivocating over at what point it is okay to take the life of an unborn child. There is no truth in suggesting it is somehow okay for people of the same sex to marry; they might opt to engage in some type of civil ceremony recognizing their mutual interests and loyalties but as defined by the Church they cannot marry. 

True joy, true happiness can only be found in appreciating the cause of things, of knowing its beginnings in the truth, the Truth Who is God. The Sacrament of Marriage is not a slave to the whims of popular culture. There are those who wish to trivialize, to speak of the Gospel as being relevant, to force us to put aside our beliefs, but the Church will not allow itself to be compromised, she will not pushed about by current social trends. As his Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan has noted, we, the Church, are presently under attack. Those who are true to their baptismal promises will have the fortitude to stand-up and likewise not allow themselves to be influenced by cultural trends. Stand-up, stand-up and let our voices be heard. Make a great day! 

Today we recall the good life, gifts, and work of Saint Turibius of Mogroveio.