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| Patrick Wheeler answers "present" at the beginning of the Pledging Ceremony |
Therefore, that I might not become too elated,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12: 7-9)
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12: 7-9)
R.
(9a) Taste and
see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. Taste and
see the goodness of the Lord.
Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for nought is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing.
R. Taste and
see the goodness of the Lord.
Come, children, hear me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Which of you desires life,
and takes delight in prosperous days?
R. Taste and
see the goodness of the Lord. (PS 34:8-9, 10-11, 12-13)
Patrick making his pledge and Father Jacob receiving it. Witnesses Madeline Pecora Nugent, CFP (left) and Lucy Fernandez, CFP (right)
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. (2 Cor. 8:9)
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. (2 Cor. 8:9)
Jesus said to his disciples:
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” (Mt 6: 24-34)
“No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’
or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” (Mt 6: 24-34)
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| The signing of Patrick's life pledge |
My joy could not be more
for you this day, Patrick, and not only for you and the Confraternity of
Penitents but, indeed, for the Church. And is it not the providence of God that
we have this beautiful ceremony on the day when we we have these glorious
readings for Franciscans? I mean, really? Do I have to preach?
The first reading is
about the thorn in the side. And no, Franciscans are not the thorn in the side
of the Church, although sometimes they might think they are. That thorn in the
side is our desires, our inordinate passions, our concupiscence. This beautiful
life of self-denial, this beautiful life of living the way of St. Francis, is
the remedy to the thorn. When the Lord says “My grace is sufficient for you,”
what does he mean? He means that through this beautiful life of sacrifice and
of penance, the grace that you receive is the very remedy for the thorn. And it
is the remedy for sin itself. For it is in denying yourself that the Lord gives
you the grace to master yourself, to master your passions, and so become as God
has created you to be. That is ultimately what this is about.
Patrick, this pledge that
you make is a particular way of life that helps you become who God created you
to be. You said, before we walked in here, that you really thought that God has
been calling you to this, and we agree! We think God has been calling you to
this because in this life, not only will you grow in holiness, but the Church
will also resound because the more people who live this way of life, the more
people who live the life of penance, the life of prayer, the life of sacrifice,
the greater conduit they become for grace to flow into the Church so souls can
be saved. Most especially yours, right? But then also, other souls of the
Church.
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| Madeline clothes Patrick in his crucifix pendant. |
And then of course we
come the Gospel verse, that beautiful verse in between the two alleluia’s. “Jesus
Christ became poor although he was rich so that by his poverty, we might become
rich.” In fact, that is the mystery of the Franciscan life. It is a giving up
of everything the world supposedly has to offer that we gain more than the
world could ever offer. Because it is just in giving up everything that the
world offers that we gain the greatest experience of the Lord and Savior, this
is how we gain trust in God and not only trust in God but also the ability to
live out that life in freedom and to show the world what it is that Christ
beckons them to. Out of the worldliness, out of the cares, so that we might
live the Gospel, so that we might have no more worries. The world has so many
worries.
One thing that I love
about the Confraternity of Penitents is the uniform. You know--the uniform! The
dress restrictions, right? I just think they are a great idea! As someone who
wears a uniform, I know what a blessing that is! When you wake up in the
morning, there is no anxiety! What should I wear? Is this appropriate? Whatever
it is, there is no question. For me it is even simpler. Black or black. That’s
it. I know you have a couple of variations. But regardless, it is beautiful.
When we get rid of the things of the world, we do not have to worry as the
world worries. And that is my prayer for you, Patrick, that as you continue to
deepen your life in this beautiful pledge, and this beautiful way of life of
the Confraternity of Penitents, that the worries of the world pass away and the
worries of God become your worries. That is the goal. Take on the worries of
God.
And what is the worry of
God? God thirst for souls. He thirsts for you and for every single person on
this earth. He cares not for food or for drink or for clothing. He cares for
the hearts of men. And my wish for you is that your hope might be his hope,
hopefully through your sacrifices and offering those for the sake of the whole
world, that many more hearts might be his, that many more hearts might come to
know him, love him and serve him. For that is what truly satisfies the heart,
the love of God. That is the only thing that will bring happiness to the heart.
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| Patrick receives the cord of life pledging. |
And so the readings could
not be more perfect except for this, and this puts the cherry on top. Today is
Saturday and today is a day dedicated to the Blessed Mother. And that makes
today so perfect. Francis knew this charism of poverty so well, but Francis
himself would say that he only falls in the shadow of the Blessed Mother,
following after her. And though I ask you to follow after her on this day of
the Blessed Mother, I ask you to do it every day. When I thought of this
beautiful pledging ceremony, I thought of seven ways that the Blessed Mother
can teach you what it is to live the Rule of the Confraternity.
The first is something
that you have already done. You have received the call. The Angel Gabriel came
to her and she did not shy away or run away. She listened. I think that is the
first thing that you can learn from the Blessed Mother. The angel of God will
come to you in many different forms, many different disguises, but however he
comes, you must listen. Continuously listen to the word of God especially in Holy
Scripture. The tradition of the Church says that is what Our Lady was doing
when the angel came to her. She was studying the word of God. And so I hope
that you study the word of God often so you, like her, might be ready to
receive the call to do whatever it is he asks of you in your life.
The second thing is obedience
to the Holy Spirit. The Blessed Mother is the spouse of the Spirit. When called
upon by the Holy Spirit to take on this great task of bearing Christ to the
world, she obeyed. I hope that you have that obedience as well, that you might
bear Christ to the world and that her words might be yours, “Let it be done
unto me according to Thy word.” May you not only meditate on the word of God
but may you, more and more each day, seek to practice it, to bring the word of
God into the world.
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| Patrick receives an embrace of welcome from all life pledged members present at the pledging Mass. |
Thirdly, you might not be
surprised if I point this out, but her poverty of life. She left all. She left
all. She embraced not only poverty in physical things but most especially
poverty in those emotional things. She gave up her good name. She gave up her
credibility in the eyes of the world. She gave up caring about what people
might think of her, all for the sake of God. For when she received our Lord, she
did so in a precarious situation. How many people do you think believed her?
“I’m pregnant, but it’s by the Holy Spirit.” “Mmm hmm, Mary.” Do you think she
was free from judging eyes, from gossiping lips? In this life, you will be
judged as well. You will look different. You will act different. You will live
different in because you have accepted Jesus Christ radically into your life.
Poverty of life. Not just poverty from material things but poverty in the way
you live, and your life is not your own. So live it well, knowing that if you
bear Christ, you will have a beautiful relationship with Christ. Fear not.
Trudge out into the world . No gossiping lips will harm you. No judgmental
stares will distract you for Christ is in your midst.
Number four. The Blessed
Mother teaches us to avoid all evil. When the Holy Family fled into Egypt, what
were they fleeing? Herod, right? They were fleeing from persecution. They were
fleeing from evil. They were fleeing in the sense that they wanted Christ to
dwell in their life. Guard your life, Patrick, so that the Lord might grow.
This day the Lord is going to come into your life in a very special way and so
you must guard this life. You must make sure that you flee from the world, in a
sense. Do not allow the allurements of the world or the dangers to come in and
to tarnish this way of life. Pray to St. Joseph who protected the Holy Family.
May he protect this beautiful life of a pledged member of the Confraternity.
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| Patrick with his mother, brother, and Fr. Jacob following his life pledge. |
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| Patrick cuts his cake as the celebration begins! |
Number five. Intercede
for those who are in danger. In this life you will encounter those who do not
realize the beauty of your life and do not realize that they themselves need to
live this life, and do not realize that they need to draw away from the world.
And so intercede for them just like the Blessed Mother did at Cana. The bride
and groom were most especially in need of joy
which wine symbolizes in the Gospel. Be like the Blessed Mother and go
to Christ our Savior and intercede for the world. This pledge is not just for
yourself. It is for the Church, for all of the people of the world. Intercede
for them. Offer up your sacrifices so that the world might have joy, which
consists in drawing away from the world towards Christ.
Number six. Suffer for
the sake of the world as Our Lady did at the base of the cross. How often you
suffer in this life! You will suffer because of poverty. You will suffer
because of want. You will suffer because of so many things, but in your
recognition that God is more important, you take the sufferings and turn them
into joy. May you offer those sufferings up so that the world might know the
joy of the Gospel.
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| At the Confraternity of Penitents Headquarters, Confraternity members and friends celebrate a breakfast brunch buffet with Patrick and his family. |
And last. Remember that
all of these events in the Blessed Mother’s life led to her coronation in
heaven. Remember that this life that you lead ultimately has a promise. And the
promise of eternal happiness with the Lord is for ever. St. Paul says, “So run
the race so as to win the crown.” So follow after the Blessed Mother and long for
a crown like hers, a crown of humility and majesty, a crown of sorrow but of
joy, a crown that brings you closer to our Lord and Savior. May this day be a
day of joy for us all. May Mary, the Mother of us all, intercede for you today,
Patrick, as you take on this beautiful life for yourself and for the Church.
--Father Jacob Meyer, Visitor,
Confraternity of Penitents
