Hope in the Face of Darkness

Hope.  I have never had hope in another before in you, O God. 

The readings for this past Sunday's liturgy were Elijah praying over and restoring the life of a young boy, Paul's own account of his conversion in the letter to the Galations, and Jesus raising a dead man to life.  Fr. Steve gave an absolutely beautiful and inspiring homily in light of many of the struggles faced by the people of Selma, the Society of St. Edmund, and really most anyone.  He spoke of how every now and then we are brought to such low places in life, where it would be far easier to give up, to die out, or simply cease bothering to care; those places and times where we lose hope.  One of the things he related this to was Fr. Mike Jacques' death, which has been very difficult for many people.  Mike leaves behind a huge legacy, but also a large hole in the works of St. Peter Claver, the Southern Missions, and the Edmundite community.  It would be easy to look at this event, this loss of our dear brother, and think, "Gee, we are such a small community, with numbers dwindling in the low 30s for fully professed members.  Can we really stay viable?  Can we really continue?"

Fr. Steve urged us on with a resounding, "YES!"  For often it is when we have lost our sense of hope, that we so desperately cling to our faith.  This pulls us through, and the love that unites us to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, accompanying and magnifying that faith, gives us vision, gives us solace in the face of sorrow and perceived defeat.  It gives us hope anew.

The other day I was praying in Fr. Mike's old room here at the mission house.  It was really difficult sitting there thinking how we had lost such a giant and at a relatively young age.  As the tears began to subside, some pleasant reminders of all the peoples' lives he had touched, all the places and hearts he had helped transform, and the joy and hope he shared with so many, popped into my mind.  Here was a man who had for decades spread such unbounded hope with countless people in situations where all odds seemed against everything.  That is so inspiring to me.  And I know it was his faith and our community (and yes, the parishioners of Peter Claver) that got him through that.  Mike was a man of tremendous faith.  There is simply no other way he could have accomplished all that he did, except through constant trust in Christ.  That speaks volumes to me and to all who knew him.  It stirs me to deeper faith and trust in God.

A few weeks back Fr. Steve reminded me of the radical faith of the two Edmundites who founded the Southern Missions.  In response to the pope's call to increase the Roman Catholic Church's presence among African Americans, they came down here in 1937 with $50 and a Pontiac.  $50 and a Pontiac.  They were two Northerners who knew nothing of Southern or black culture, nothing of the Ku Klux Klan (who would threaten them many times), nothing of the climate, economy, or political scene.  All of this with $50 and a Pontiac.  Then Steve asked me, "Do you think they had any idea that anything close to what has been accomplished here in the past 75 years and what is still being accomplished could ever happen based on their decision to say,'Yes'?  I doubt it.  But they did take that radical step of faith and look what has come."

That faith is what I need now, it is what our Edmundite community going through this tough spell needs now, it is what all Christians need now.  We pray that God will raise up young men to join us, to continue our common life, our works, our tradition here in Alabama, in Vermont, and everywhere else that we Edmundites live and work.  And we trust, as difficult as it is at times, that despite our numbers, despite the hardships we face, despite the hope that we sometimes lose sight of, God will provide.

And yet, we have hope.  In two months, Bro. Lino will be taking his final vows as an Edmundite which will last for the rest of his life.  The same day Bro. Michael will make his first profession of vows and will join Lino and me at Boston College for seminary this Fall.  If you know anyone who may be interested in the Society of St. Edmund, get in contact with our vocations director whose information you can find on our website:
http://www.sse.org/vocation.html

Left to right: Bro. Michael, me, Bro. Lino
on the Feast of St. Michael the Archangel.

I share with you the lyrics of one of my favorite songs.  The author is unknown, but the text draws from various passages in the Old Testament.  Thomas Tallis, a 16th century English composer, arranged the 40-part motet:
Spem in alium nunquam habui praeter in te
Deus Israel
qui irasceris
et propitius eris
et omnia peccata hominum in tribulatione dimittis
Domine Deus
Creator coeli et terrae
respice humilitatem nostram

Translation:
Hope, never in any other have I had hope
Before in you, O God of Israel,
Who but for a moment are angry
And the next, gracious,
And you take away all sins 
Of humankind enduring distress.
O Lord God,
Creator of heaven and earth,
Look upon our lowliness.

And because I know you couldn't deal with reading those lyrics and not hearing it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnBNDTpZRq4