The One and Only True Foundation
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“The One and Only True Foundation”
(What will come next?)
There are certain hymns I remember hearing at Mass as far back as my early childhood. Here are just a few: Faith of Our Fathers, Come, Holy Ghost, Immaculate Mary, and so on. Another has been on my mind for the past couple of days. It’s entitled, “The Church’s One Foundation.” Believe it or not, it was composed in 1866! So, yes, it’s been around for a while. Let me share the first verse with you and then why I’ve been thinking about it. “The church's one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; She is his new creation by water and the Word. From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.”
As some of you know, I was away last Sunday during the 9:30am and 11:00am Masses. Thank you again to Father David Allen, a retired priest of our diocese and previous pastor of Saint Jude, for helping out in my absence. I had been invited by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart to celebrate what is known as their Jubilarian Mass. All of the Brothers present renewed their vows that day, but several celebrated milestone anniversaries. Brother Ramon, for example, who served at Catholic High when I was a student there, celebrate 75 years as a Brother! What a privilege it was to celebrate with them, their families and friends, and other members of the Catholic High community. It was following the homily when the Brothers each got up individually and renewed their vows. As I sat there, I couldn’t help but notice that the youngest Brother there was my age. As with priesthood, the Brothers are struggling with vocations. For quite some time now, I have been struggling internally with the question, “what will come next for the church?” We are a sacramental community and will always need priests to celebrate eucharist, reconciliation, anointing of the sick. What, though, will come next? What will things look like in, for example, 10 or 15 years? The direct answer is none of us know. At times this causes anxiety and fear in me—and also sadness. However, it was during that moment on Sunday when I came to a realization. I looked out over the group of 100 or so people gathered there and was reminded of the effort made by the Brothers, the entire order, and those who work with them in education to constantly promote an understanding of “partnership with the Brothers.” We describe it as, “working with them in their mission and ministry.” Because of this, their efforts will endure.
In that moment, I realized that I need to place my trust in the words I say to our parish many times throughout the year; namely, “there is a resurrection side to everything. We just don’t always know when it will come or what it will look like.” It seems to me that the Brothers have collectively achieved a certain peace that I and many like me are seeking. They know that, while things will look differently and have to be done differently, their presence and their spirit will endure, as will their mission and ministry. It may look different, but it will be the same.
As the old hymn reminds us, the Church’s foundation is in Jesus Christ. We stand on him. We stand firmly on him. And, while we do not know what the Church will look like twenty or so years from now, we know one thing—we will still and always be Church. We will do more than survive. If we are open to the Spirit’s direction, we will endure and thrive. Why? Because we stand on Him. May Christ always be our footing. May our heart be always in union with His Sacred Heart, in all things.