Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,
St. Paul recounts in this Sunday’s second reading that he begged the Lord to remove something that caused him great suffering and most likely shame, as well. The response he got from the Lord was “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” As our new parochial vicar, Fr. Joe Heisey, was recently ordained, I am reminded of a story about a young man who was about to be ordained a priest. He had doubts about his own capacities, so he approached his bishop and said, “I’m afraid I’m not strong enough to be a priest.” His bishop wisely responded, “I’m afraid you’re not weak enough to be a priest.” It is very counterintuitive, but it’s through our weaknesses that God’s power is most perfectly manifested. Our seminary rector told us that as he was approaching ordination, he made a list of all his strengths that would make him a good priest. He then said that after thirty years of priesthood he had learned that it wasn’t those supposed strengths that made him an effective priest, but rather his weaknesses and struggles. That same truth applies to everyone who is on the road of conversion and holiness: God can make much more use of our weaknesses than our strengths, which is a humbling truth to accept.
As we celebrate Independence Day, remember the quote of one of our Founding Fathers, John Adams: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” The task of preserving our freedom and transmitting the virtues necessary for preserving it falls to us.
In Christ,
Fr. Dave
