Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Feast of St. Hiliary of Poitiers
Church of Ss. Ildefonso and Tommaso
Knights of Columbus
January 13, 2024
A Bit of Spain in Rome
We’ve gathered in a venerable church named for Spanish saints, St. Ildefonso, Bishop of Toledo and St. Tomasso, Bishop of Villa Nueva. It is a church established, in the 16th century, by Spanish Augustinian friars as a house of prayer and penance, a community of strict observance, and as an infirmary that ministered to the sick and poor. It was (and is) like a bit of Spain in the midst of Rome.
Early in the 19th century, this church temporarily passed into the hands of the French, so perhaps it is also fitting that we are here on the feast day of St. Hiliary of Potiers, an amiable Gallic bishop of the 4th century, a Scripture scholar and a brilliant Trinitarian theologian who nonetheless endured exile for his strenuous efforts to defend the faith against the heresy of Arianism.
God Calls Whom He Wills
All of these were called by God to some specific service: St. Ildefonso; St. Tommaso; the Augustinian monks; St. Hilary of Potiers. God calls whom he wills, when he wills, and for the purposes he wills.
This pattern was set in Scripture where we read about the calling of Saul to serve as king of Israel. In the end, it didn’t work out well, but that was Saul’s fault, not the Lord’s. And in the Gospel we read of the calling of Matthew, or Levi, a tax collector deemed unworthy by the Pharisees but known by Jesus to have an open heart and a generous spirit. Both Saul and Matthew were called by God for his purposes, to fulfill the designs of his heart that last from age to age.
The Lord Continues to Call
The Lord continues to call, continues to raise up disciples, whom he charges to fulfill his will, his design, his unchanging purpose as it manifests itself in our day and age.
This is true of those of us in leadership of the Knights of Columbus. It is true of those who are called to priesthood, religious life, and marriage.
A calling from God is not cause for pride but for humility. For the Lord knows how to work with us, through us, and at times, around us. It is said he does not need us to fulfill his purposes but he will not fulfill his purposes without us. What a wondrous mystery! What we do day in and day out is not merely a job or a task. Rather, we are co-workers with the Lord and with one another in the mission of evangelization and building up the Church.
Speaking only of myself, I can say that not everyone agrees with the Lord’s personnel decisions! But aligning myself with the Holy Father’s motto (taken from Venerable Bede’s homily on the feast of St. Matthew) I can say that, though I am unworthy, I have been chosen…miserando atque eligendo! Perhaps all of us can say that in one way or another.
Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and Blessed Michael McGivney – may we prove ourselves supple and effective instruments in the hands of the Divine Craftsman, and may God bless us and keep us in his love! Vivat Jesus!