Weekly HOMILY for January 8, 2012: Epiphany -- What does it mean to be Catholic?

Solemnity of the Epiphany, Cycle B
Our Lady of Grace, Parkton, MD at 5:00pm
St. Mark, Fallston, MD at 7:30 and 9:00am
January 8, 2012

What Does It Mean to Be Catholic?
By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato


A MAN ASKS A QUESTION

Recently, in a parish where I help out, I had a very thoughtful conversation with a parishioner about Catholicism. The middle-aged man was asking, “Today, what does it mean to be Catholic? It was a good question and we talked about for a good bit of time.

This past week, as I prayed and reflected on the familiar story of the 3 wise men, I recalled that conversation about Catholicism and I did so because I began seeing the story of the wise men in an entirely different way.

In the wise men, I see some of the ingredients of what it means to be Catholic. Let me explain.


PRIMARY INGREDIENTS OF CATHOLICISM

First, perhaps most obvious, is that being Catholic means being FOCUSED ON JESUS. These wise men are seeking a Messiah that they have only heard about.

They find him and when they do, they go down on their knees out of respect and reverence.

So for both the parishioner and the wise men, Jesus – and a personal interactive relationship with him – is the center of what it means to be Catholic.

Second, it is from this relationship that CORE BELIEFS essential to our being Catholic flow.

The wise men leave Bethlehem convinced that Jesus is the Promised One of God and this belief leads them to return home without telling Herod where the infant savior is.

In a way similar to the Magi, we as Catholics have developed an understanding of core beliefs – beliefs central to our faith – of who Jesus and God are. And we’ll recite them as central to what it means to be Catholic in the Creed that will follow after this homily.

After Jesus and Beliefs, we notice that we also have DIVERSITY within Catholicism. The wise men symbolize this diversity well.

They are persons of a different culture, faith, and race from Jesus. So also in Catholicism, there are different ways of celebrating Mass in China, India, than there are here in the West.

And beyond this, people of our faith community can have different outlooks on things like the just war principle and still remain fully Catholic.


ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS OF CATHOLICISM

Being Catholic also means being a SACRAMENTAL PEOPLE. The wise men give gifts that are signs that point to Jesus’ future. The gold points to his spiritual power; the frankincense points to his divinity, that he is the Son of God; and the myrrh points to his death on the cross.

As Catholics we believe in the sacraments as sacred signs. They point to and make that reality present. So the consecrated bread and wine point to and actually become Jesus’ Body and Blood.

The Magi and we as Catholics are similarly present to sacred signs that reveal Jesus in our very midst.

The very WORD CATHOLIC – small “c” – means universal, that is, “everybody.” So Catholic – with a big “C” – means “including all in our big embrace.”

Once again, the Wise Men and the shepherds both at the manger speak to this.

The newborn Jesus draws the educated and the uneducated, the wealthy and the poor, the Jew and the Gentile, all.

Finally, being Catholic means that we are not just individuals ON A JOURNEY, but a community traveling together.

The wise men come to Jesus as a group or a community of three. And it is as a group that they complement one another in bringing different gifts that collectively tells us who he is.

We Catholics too are on our spiritual journey together, not just as individuals who happen to be traveling the same road. We’re in a party or group, with guidance from a leader we call a bishop and we do our part for this family of faith with whom we travel.


CONCLUSION

Today I’m grateful for that fellow who first asked me several months ago, “What does it mean to be Catholic?”

And today on this feast of the Epiphany I’m very grateful to the Wise Men who help me answer the question out of my own experience.