Feast of St. Pius X
Tulay No Ng Kabataan Foundation
Barangay Centray, Quezon City, Philippines
August 21, 2024
Introduction
In the reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, the Lord speaks against the shepherds who profited from their ministry, who took advantage of the sheep, who harmed those they should have been protecting, who scattered the sheep by their indifference.
The Lord promised to be himself the shepherd of his people and to send shepherds after his own mind and heart, those who would work in his vineyard from sunup to sundown without stint and without complaint, but only out of love.
Pope St. Pius X
In Pope St. Pius X, the Church gained just such a shepherd. Born into poverty, Giuseppe Sarto loved the poor and shared their poverty. As Bishop of Mantua and then as Patriarch of Venice, he was a true pastor who ministered to his people with love and generosity. He also loved them enough to ensure that they were fed – not only with earthly food but with the authentic Word of God. In reforming the seminarians entrusted to his care, he sought to be one in whom God’s promise to send good shepherds would be fulfilled.
We, your visitors, have witnessed today, both great poverty and great love as we visited Aroma’s Shanty and a landfill named “HappyLand”. There, in the midst of abject poverty and much suffering and misery, are those who minister to the needs of the poor with great love and dedication. Thank you, Father Matthew, for your ministry and thank you for the ministry of the Foundation upon which so many people depend for their daily bread. You and your colleagues are shepherds after the mind and heart of Christ, the Christ who became poor, who emptied himself, who identified himself with the hungry, the homeless, the naked, the sick. In serving them, you are serving Christ all the while prompting those of us who see what you are doing to act with greater charity.
The Usual Daily Wage
Like Pope St. Pius X, who worked tirelessly for the Lord and the Church, you and your colleagues work from sunup to sundown, and you work in a very special part of the Lord’s vineyard. While the Lord looks with love on all that he has made, I think he has special love for those places on this earth where the poorest of the poor make their home. The preferential option for the poor is not an expression of human largesse. It is rather a reflection of God’s wisdom and love.
Encountering such great need on a daily basis, you understand the wisdom in today’s Gospel parable. We work for the Lord, it is true, but not as contract employees. Rather, we are sent on mission, on a mission of mercy, on a mission of charity, a charity that evangelizes. And love is its own compensation – love given and love returned. Thank you for sharing your ministry with us today!
Blessed Michael McGivney
The Founder of the Knights of Columbus was also a great shepherd after the mind and heart of Christ, a true priest of the beatitudes, who loved and served the needy and the outcast. This great shepherd did not count the hours he spent in the vineyard. Rather, he accounted it a privilege and joy to be in the vineyard, to do the Lord’s work in the place where God wanted him to be.
So, we pray that through the intercession of Pope St. Pius X and Bl. Michael McGivney, Jesus the Good Shepherd may bless your work abundantly, and bless those to whom and with whom you minister daily. And may God bless you and keep you always in his love!