FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Dear Beloved St. Mary’s Parishioners,
How do we want to be remembered when we die? When our end finally comes, the words that people will say about us will be our legacy. The stories that people will tell about us will be a testimony to how we lived. What will they say? He was kind. He was a loving father. He sacrificed his life for the good of the family. He was a person of deep love for Jesus Christ? He was a faithful Christian. St. Paul in the second reading in today’s Mass, speaks to the heart of the matter. “No one lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord.” (Cf. Romans 14:7-8).
He is speaking here of the mystery of our baptism. When the cold water flowed over our heads and the priest said the ancient words, “I baptize you in the name of Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit”, our eternal lives were changed forever. We became part of the body of Jesus Christ in a radical new way. We were incorporated into him. A baptized Christian becomes intimately united to Jesus, so much so, that he lives in us, and we, in him. Another way of thinking about this great mystery is to imagine two pieces of melted wax infusing together. That is the theological background of which St. Paul is speaking about. He would intensify this meaning in his Letter to the Galatians, when he famously wrote, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.” (Cf. Galatians 2:20).
The goal of the Christian life, therefore, is to allow the life of Christ to be lived through me in the world. People who lived such a heroic life like Jesus, we now call them the saints. The saints are our brothers and sisters who took upon the great challenge of following Jesus with all of their heart, mind, and strength, and were awarded the ultimate gift of Heaven. They remind us that we are made for God. Our hearts will always be restless without a relationship with him. Now, as we go forward in our lives from the Church, we must ask ourselves, how do we want to be remembered? Do I live my life like a selfish jerk, thinking only about my needs, thinking about how much money I can make, how much jewelry I can wear, or how amazing my body looks? We can live a life focused on those things, absolutely. Or rather, do we walk the narrow way and follow Jesus with more noble passion and love? The choice will always be ours. There is no greater reward in this world than to lay down one's life for Jesus Christ. When my funeral day comes, I hope someone will say, “Man, that Fr. Brian… he sure loved Jesus.” That would be the greatest compliment anyone could give.
A Slave of Jesus Christ,
Fr. Brian J. Soliven
