When I was ordained as a priest, my first assignment was the parish of St Richard of Chichester in Jackson. At the time, I really did not know a lot about St Richard. He is not a very well known saint and there are not a lot of churches named after him in the United States. However, when St Richard parish was established in Jackson, Richard Gerow was the Bishop of the Diocese, so the parish was named after the Bishop’s patron saint. St Richard, born in the late 12th century in the Midlands in England, he was orphaned at a young age. After studying in continental Europe, he served as Chancellor of Oxford and studied in the Cistercian abbey in Pontigny, France. He was ordained Bishop of Chichester in England in 1245. Richard was known for the strict discipline he demanded of his priests, the help he gave to the poor, and his denouncement of corruption and vices of the Church and the royal government. Dying in 1254, he was canonized soon after in 1265. His tomb in Chichester became a popular place of pilgrimage until it was destroyed during the reign of Henry VIII when the Church of England was established.
St Richard faced a lot of rejection in his life. King Henry III of England wanted someone else as bishop, so there was a lot of struggle and turmoil before Richard was finally approved as bishop and was able to take his post. We hear of rejection in our first reading, as Jeremiah talks about how the people rejected his prophetic voice as he called them back to God. In John’s Gospel, the people pick up stones, intent on stoning Jesus for what they consider blasphemy, rejecting Jesus and his message.
Our psalm today proclaims: “In my distress, I called upon the Lord, and he heard my voice.” Our only hope can be found in the Lord when all else seems dismal. Sometimes we just don't understand the circumstances we are in, which is probably how we feel at this moment in the national crisis we are in, when our reality is confusing us and frustrating us. Sometimes it is difficult to have hope, to truly believe that things will get better, but God calls us to believe in him in all the circumstances of our lives. God calls out to us no matter where we are.
As we continue our journey during Lent, may we not be afraid to struggle with those things that bother us. May we continue to ask questions & search for answers. May we continue to unite our sufferings with the sufferings of Jesus when we are hurting or frustrated or confused. May we continue to have hope and faith in the God of life –the faith to believe.
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