7/1/2015 – Blessed Junipero Serra – Wednesday of the 13th week in Ordinary Time - Psalm 34:7-8, 10-11, 12-13

     In July of 1769, the Spanish missionaries founded what would become the city of San Diego.  This was the first of the missions founded in the state of California.   Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan missionary who was in ill health when he arrived in San Diego, went on to found 8 other missions in a mission system that would grow to 21 different locations.  These missions have played a significant role in the development of the state of California and in the history of missionaries in our Catholic faith.  While many other Spaniards arrived in Americas to search for gold or to claim land or to amass other riches, Father Serra and the other missionaries arrived to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the native people of California.  He was convinced that he was on a mission from God, that this was his mission and destiny. Having grown up as a teenager near Mission San Juan Capistrano in Orange County, California, I heard a lot of stories about Father Serra and the California missions. Pope John Paul II beatified Father Serra in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican in 1988.  Pope Francis will canonize Father Serra in Washington, DC on September 23 during his first visit to the United States as pope.  That will be the first canonization witness in the United States.  Pope Francis said that this was appropriate since a statue of Father Serra stands in our nation’s capital representing the state of California. 

     The Lord hears the cry of the poor.  We hear this proclaimed in the psalm today.  And I cannot think of any other Gospel message that gets to the heart of our Church’s missionaries.  Father Serra’s motto while working in the missions of California was to “always go forward and never turn back."  Father Serra attempted to bring the poor and the downtrodden into the Kingdom of God, to bring them redemption and salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ.  Pope Francis asserts: “In today’s world, religious freedom is more often affirmed than put into practice.” Defending religious liberty “guarantees the growth and development of the entire community.” As we remember Father Serra and his work in the missions, as we recognize the importance of defending our freedom to practice our faith during the Fortnight for Freedom, let us take personal responsibility in the practice of our faith and being evangelizers in our community.