Thursday 4th Week of Advent
Basilica of the Assumption, Baltimore
Dec. 22. 2022
Today, we observe the 145th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Blessed Michael McGivney. He was ordained by Archbishop (later) Cardinal James Gibbons, here in America’s First Cathedral, the Basilica of the Assumption.
On that December day in 1877, the newly ordained Father Michael McGivney could not foresee how God would inspire him to found the Knights of Columbus. Nor could Archbishop Gibbons foresee the role he would play in advancing the Knights of Columbus in its earliest years.
Yet, at the end of their lives – Blessed Michael McGivney’s short life of 38 years and Cardinal Gibbons’ long life of 87 years – both could say, as did the Blessed Virgin Mary in today’s Gospel, “The Lord has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.”
In fact, just as I have described Blessed Michael as “a priest of the Beatitudes”, so too, he could be described as “a priest of the Magnificat,
a priest who lived Mary’s Canticle of Praise, the same canticle he recited every day as he prayed the Breviary. Let me show you what I mean as we take a second look at today’s Gospel.
Mary begins her canticle of praise by saying, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked upon his lowly servant.” As a parish priest, Father McGivney daily proclaimed the greatness of the Lord, by living the life of an ordinary parish priest with extraordinary love and fidelity. Father McGivney did not think of himself as a cleric destined for “great things”. Rather, he gave praise to God by being the best parish priest he could be and allowed the Lord to work in and through his humble priestly heart.
Mary continues: “From this day, all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name.”
This line in Mary’s canticle has come to pass in our lifetime, for we now address our beloved Founder as “blessed” – although, sometime soon, we ardently want to go one step further and call him, not only blessed, but indeed “Saint Michael McGivney”. And we call our Founder “blessed”, not only because he was beatified, but because, like Mary, he was responsive to God’s grace – and filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit did great things for the Church. He stands as a model of effective pastoral ministry for every parish priest and bishop. And he founded the largest lay organization in the Catholic Church – 140 years later, under the inspiration of Blessed Michael McGivney, the Knights of Columbus continues to do great things,
especially the immense charitable works of the Knights at home and abroad.
Then Mary says: “He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation.” Father McGivney, as a parish priest, was a living instrument of God’s mercy. By his friendly demeanor, his preaching, and his zeal, he helped many to return to the sacraments of the Church, and attracted many others who needed to discover the Lord’s mercy. One can imagine how wise & gentle Father McGivney must have been as a confessor.
Mary goes on to say: “He has shown the strength of his arm and has scattered the proud in their conceit.” Let us simply observe that in his priestly ministry and in his dealings with everyone, Father McGivney manifested unshakeable integrity and strength of character, a strength that he transmitted to the Knights of Columbus, such that today we can rightly call ourselves, “the strong right arm of the Church”, even as the Knights of Columbus strives to observe the highest standards of integrity.
The Blessed Virgin Mary continues her song of praise as she says: “He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly.”
Indeed, the Church in 19th century New Haven was the object of social opprobrium but Father McGivney helped to topple much of the ill-will & prejudice that was afoot, much as we must do in our day and age through Blessed Michael’s intercession. And who can doubt that Blessed Michael “lifted up the lowly” as he strove to serve “the widow, the orphan, the needy, and the outcast.” We have only to think of how he ministered to the condemned Chip Smith or how he sought to alleviate the plight of families that were often left in dire financial straits by the death of the breadwinner.
Mary adds these words to her canticle: “He has filled the hungry with good things and rich he has sent away empty.” Again, we can think of Fr. McGivney’s immense charity as a parish priest and the charity which he inculcated in his Knights right from the start. And he continues to inculcate a spirit of charity among us as Knights as in a new era of “conspicuous consumption”, we seek to alleviate all manner of human need. But more than anything else, Father McGivney sought to satisfy the spiritual hunger of those he served, especially the men of his parish who tended to stray from the faith.
Mary concludes her beautiful hymn of praise by celebrating how God “remembers his promise of mercy” – a promise that begins with Abraham and extends to this very moment in time. In his perseverance and determination as a priest and as our Founder, Blessed Michael McGivney manifested a deep-seated trust in the Providence of God, a trust that God is with us through all the trials and difficulties of life. There were many times when Father McGivney could have given up on the Knights, many times when he could have “thrown in the towel” – for he was unjustly criticized. But he never wavered, for like Mary, his spiritual mother, he trusted in the mercy and goodness of God and his promises. So too with us: when we face challenges and unjust criticism in our personal lives, or as an Order, as a Church – let us remember the same happened to Mary and to Blessed Michael and let us have their same trust in the Providence of God.
Blessed Michael McGivney – priest of the Beatitudes, priest of the Magnificat, holy founder of the Knights of Columbus – pray for us! Holy Mary, Mother of God – pray for us! St. Joseph, pray for us!