It is interesting how the feast day of Blessed Michael McGivney was chosen. It is celebrated annually on August 13, falling between his birthday on August 12, 1852 and the day he passed away, August 14, 1890. Father McGivney is the American Catholic priest who founded the Knights of Columbus in the year 1882 in New Haven, Connecticut. Last year, when I had a mission appeal in Rhode Island, I made it a point to visit his museum and visitor center in New Haven, quite an amazing place of pilgrimage. On March 29, 1882, as the 29-year-old assistant pastor of St. Mary’s Church in New Haven, he gathered a group of parish men to found a lay organization with the goal of uniting men in the Catholic Faith and protecting the families of deceased members. Through that act, he became the founder of the Knights of Columbus and a central figure in the growth of Catholicism in America. He is a model for us in the modern world of faith in action. His example of charity, evangelization and empowerment of the laity continues to bear fruit and guide Knights of Columbus around the world. Pope Francis, in his Apostolic Letter that was read at the Mass for Beatification in 2020, stated that Blessed Michael McGivney’s “zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel and generous concern for the needs of his brothers and sisters made him an outstanding witness of Christian solidarity and fraternal assistance.” The Holy Father set the annual feast day for the new blessed as August 13, the day between Father McGivney’s birthday (in 1852) and the day of his death (in 1890). His cause for sainthood was officially opened in 1997, and he was beatified on October 31, 2020.
This week we’ve been hearing from the prophet Ezekiel at daily mass. Earlier in the week, we heard about Ezekiel eating the scroll of God’s word according to instructions he received from God, with the scroll being sweet to taste, even though the scroll contained a very harsh message. Today, we hear of Ezekiel performing actions for the people of Israel for them to see, a sort of mime that foretells their future. This future that is foretold is not a happy one; it alerts the people of their upcoming exile into Babylon. God sees the people as not only rebellious, but as having eyes that do not want to see and ears that do not want to hear. They have shut themselves off from God. When Babylonians invade Jerusalem and take the people to exile into Babylon, King Zedekiah and his troops try to flee. They are captured and the king is made blind before his is marched off to exile. The king’s blindness is a symbol of the blindness of his people. In the Gospels, Jesus often heals the deaf, the blind, and the mute as signs of God’s kingdom. May the Lord open our eyes, our ears, and our mouth to see his truth, to hear his word, and to speak of his glory.
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