Votive Mass Blessed Stanley Rother
Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary, St. Bernard Chapel
September 24, 2024
Who Knew?
As you move more deeply into this current year of formation, we pause to consider prayerfully the life and example of an alumnus of this seminary, Blessed Stanley Rother. I am sure you know the basic outline of his life – his upbringing in rural Oklahoma, his struggles with seminary studies, his transfer to Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary, and his ordination in 1963, his service in parishes in and around Oklahoma City, and his being missioned to the rural highlands of Southwest Guatemala.
Sitting where you now sit, little did he think he would be a martyr. Perhaps he had no idea he would be missioned to Guatemala. From a classmate, a priest of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, I learned that Stanley Rother was prayerful, worked hard, played sports, and had good friends among his fellow seminarians. But his classmates didn’t suspect that a saint-in-the-making was in their midst, nor were they aware of how the Holy Spirit was working in his heart, planting there the qualities of the Good Shepherd who never deserts the flock.
Heroism
Stanley Rother said of himself, “I am not a hero. I am just a simple priest.” Yet, we see clearly that the courage of a martyr was building throughout his life. Imagine the courage of someone who struggled with Latin going to a region where a completely strange dialect was spoken. Imagine the courage of someone from a tightly-knit farm family going off to a place where he was a stranger in a strange new land. Think about what it took for this humble parish priest to speak truth to power, to defend his people while putting his own life at risk. His courage did not suddenly surface; it was building in his heart. His martyrdom was not an isolated instance of heroism; he routinely bore witness to Christ while putting his life on the line.
In the power of the Holy Spirit, with the strength that comes from Christ, Fr. Stanley surmounted all these challenges. He not only learned the dialect, he translated the New Testament into it and offered Mass in it. He arrived as a stranger but quickly endeared himself to the people he served, becoming known as Fr. Apla, or Father Francis. He became one of them and their names and faces were inscribed on his heart. In defending the people he served, he put himself in the crosshairs of death squads.
Like the figure in the Book of Sirach, Stanley Rother was encompassed on every side – he knew that he was in grave danger – but he after a retreat here at his alma mater, here in this very chapel, he returned to Guatemala and became that grain of wheat that falls into the ground so as bear good and abundant fruit, for he remembered the mercies of the Lord.
A Model for Us
Perhaps it’s my advancing years, but from where I stand Blessed Stanley seems like a contemporary. He does not hail from the distant past but from living memory, at least the living memory of many of us who are your elders. And like all the holy ones, there is something timeless about his example, because it was not merely a life of personal achievement and heroism, but rather a witness written in blood to the Christ who is the same today, yesterday, and forever.
As you come into this chapel day by day to make a holy hour, to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, no doubt you notice, if only out of the corner of your eye, the shrine set aside to honor this blessed alumnus of ours. No doubt you reflect on what it would mean for you to become priests like Blessed Stanley.
Let us pause and reflect on that point, if only for a few moments. The Collect of today’s Mass sings of his fidelity as a martyr, and prays “that the humble flock may reach where the brave Shepherd has gone before.” To be a priest like Blessed Stanley, you and I must pray to be faithful, not simply to the letter of the law but to its spirit – for when Christ lives in us through the Spirit, we are of one accord with the Savior and we “think” with Church. To be a priest like Blessed Stanley, you and I must pray to be brave. Blessed Stanley once said, “the shepherd cannot run at the first sign of danger.” He did not run away even when danger had reached a fever pitch. Again, it was more than personal courage. It was the Good Shepherd who dwelt within that did not run away, the very Shepherd who suffered, died, and was buried.
And something in us might be tempted to say that we will never have to cultivate fidelity and courage to the degree that Blessed Stanley did— because we won’t be sent to the missions. But you will! The Church everywhere is a vast mission field that requires all the fidelity, love, and courage you can give in Christ Jesus. As priests, we may think of fidelity as a matter of right teaching only, but it is a matter of loving our people for better or for worse – not seeking greener pastures, be it another parish or another type of ministry. In these times, some think of courage in terms of fiery podcasts and postings, whereas true courage requires that we stay with those entrusted to our care, speak the truth in love, give ourselves generously, and let the chips fall where they may.
I have no doubt that Blessed Stanley is exerting an influence on your formation: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral – and what a good thing that is! It is my prayer that you’ll tap into the example and intercession of this priest, who not too long ago, walked the halls in which you walk, sat in the classrooms where study, and worshipped in the chapel where you now pray. Through his intercession, may you become, God willing, shepherds after the mind and heart of Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen.