In celebration of the Fourth General Congress of the Union of the Catholic Apostolate, the Catholic Apostolate Center will share weekly homilies from the Congress.
UAC – In view of a New Horizon
Homily for the Holy Mass on June 26, 2024
“You are witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48)
Dear Brothers and Sisters of the Pallottine Family,
It was Saint Pope Paul VI who wrote down these words in the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandii (n.41) “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” Evangelization becomes most powerful when one is able to witness to the Risen Lord through his or her very life.
It is the Holy Spirit that empowers us to bear witness to the power of the Risen Lord. These words were spoken by the Risen Jesus to his disciples just before his Ascension into heaven: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
In his message for World Mission Day 2022, based on the Scripture theme “You shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8) Pope Francis said: “They are sent by Jesus to the world not only to carry out, but also and above all to live the mission entrusted to them; not only to bear witness, but also and above all to be witnesses of Christ.In the moving
words of the Apostle Paul, 'we are always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.' (2 Corinthians 4:10) The essence of the mission is to bear witness to Christ, that is, to his life, passion, death and resurrection for the love of the Father and of humanity.”
Pope Francis added in the same message, “In the final analysis, then, the true witness is the “martyr,” the one who gives his or her life for Christ, reciprocating the gift that he has made to us of himself. “The primary reason for evangelizing is the love of Jesus which we have received, the experience of salvation which urges us to ever greater
love of him.” (Evangelii Gaudium, 264)
In our own Pallottine Family, the martyrdom of Blessed Jozef Stanek, Blessed Jozef Jankowski, Blessed Richard Henkes and our five Argentinean Martyrs are touching examples of witnessing to Christ and his Gospel by shedding their blood. As members of the Union, how do we witness to the Risen Lord? As individuals and as a Spiritual Family, how can we respond to this theme of the Congress?
As today’s Gospel passage (cfr. Matthew 7:15-20) tells us, a sound tree produces good fruit; any tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown to fire. We can always know a tree by its fruits.
What kind of fruits do we expect from the members of the Union? We are going to organize an international Congress in Rome. Certainly that is a good fruit. We support many social projects around the world. We have spread the charism of Pallotti in as many as 56 countries around the world and are serving God’s people. These are all good fruits.
What does our founder teach us about the most fundamental spiritual principles that should inspire and guide our personal lives and apostolic activities?
“You have the Gospel and this is enough.” These words of St. Vincent express his whole attitude and approach regarding spiritual life. His simple message is to follow Christ as presented in the Gospel.
Meditating on the Gospel, St. Vincent was inspired by the mission of Jesus who was sent by the Father for our salvation. So, “Jesus as the Apostle of the Father” was the center of Pallottti’s meditation and imitation. The interiorization of Christ led to holiness of life and a generous involvement in the universal apostolate which is the disposition of Christ towards his mission. For perfection and apostolate interpenetrate one another so much that there is not one without the other. The best example of living them together is Jesus, Apostle of the Father.
Thus Pallotti’s spiritual tenets and teachings aimed at forming the “apostolic man,” in that unity of contemplation and action achieved by the model Jesus. He proposed the Daily Practical Memorandum to help his followers to have their eyes fixed on Jesus, daily and practically. The motto “The Love of Christ impels us” must give us Christlike motivation.
As members of the Union, “we are witnesses of these things.” We are witnesses of Jesus, Apostle of the Father and His work of salvation.
As the entire Church is engaged in the synodal journey, as Pallottines, we are all the more called to witness to a Church of participation, a community of communion and a group of missionary disciples. These are core elements of our charism as well.
Finally, I share with you a very concrete example of Christian witnessing from a member of the Union. Mr. Gerard Joseph, of 56 years old, died of a massive heart attack on 13 June 2024 in Bangalore India. He was an active member of the Union for years. As per his wish and supported by his family, his eyes were donated, giving sight to four persons. His skin was also offered for drafting for needy persons. There are many members of the Union in Bangalore who have signed such organ donation contracts. These are concrete actions of fraternal charity, motivated by the love of Christ and inspired by St. Vincent Pallotti.
Let’s pray today that we may all become witnesses to the Risen Lord and his Gospel in our daily lives. Amen.
Fr. Jacob Nampudakam, S.A.C.
UAC President
