Feast of Saint Mathias, Apostle

As the Father loves me, so I also love you.

Remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments
and remain in his love.

I have been fortunate to live since I was thirteen years old in the immediate presence of a church or chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is kept. When I announce the dismissal to the congregation, “The Mass is ended; go in peace.” I don’t have to leave the sanctuary very far behind.

Even when I was a boy the church was not far away. Occasionally, as I bicycled through the neighborhood I visited the church. It was open, of course, and as familiar to me as any room in my house. I think one of the great tragedies of American life, a signal too often ignored, is the locked churches. When homes are possessed by televisions in every room and the churches are locked against our own children, where will people go to find their peace of mind?

As we celebrate the feast of the thirteenth apostle Saint Matthias, we hear Jesus command us, “Remain in my love.”

On a practical level we need a neighborhood church or chapel nearby. Some people build small chapels on their own property; many can afford to dedicate a room or a corner of a room to worship.

We must remain in his love even as we leave the Church. There are many ways to do this, of course. Daily prayer with the Liturgy of the Hours, the Dominican rosary or the Franciscan Crown, daily attendance at Mass, and keeping a Holy Hour are only a few of the more common practices.

Keeping my commandments also entails honest dealings with others, abstinence from unhealthy behaviors, sharing faith with others, and so forth. Just as a pregnant woman must be continually aware of the baby within her and a husband is always a husband whether his wife is beside him or not, so does the Christian practice the presence of God. This is a joy and a privilege, similar to living continually under the same roof with the Blessed Sacrament.