Daily Gospel Reflection
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January 20, 2020
John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to Jesus, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus said to them, “The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.
“No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.”
I keep in prayer the Holy Cross family–sisters, brothers, and priests–and the people we serve in ministries throughout the world, in parishes and schools, classrooms and campus ministry offices, hospitals and clinics, prisons and shelters, senior housing and non-profits. The men and women of Holy Cross serve thousands of people, caring for souls and bringing the good news of God’s love and mercy to those they serve. My prayer is that God may continue to bless the ministries of our Holy Cross religious, and especially the life of prayer our senior members embrace as they age and face illness and infirmities. This is the family of Holy Cross that Blessed Basil Moreau founded. It is inspiring when I think about it, how his efforts set loose a flourishing religious community.
Blessed Basil Moreau had a vision for a community modeled on the Holy Family, a community of sisters, brothers, and priests serving the Gospel, women and men “with hope to bring” to those they serve.
Today’s gospel offers a context for reflection for today’s celebration of Basil Moreau. The image of a wedding feast and the gathering of the wedding guests invokes the shared longing for communion and participation, for celebration and table fellowship. In a world where people so often experience division and rancor, Moreau’s vision of family and community is the remedy for the healing of division, a sign that the Kingdom of God is in our midst, where all are welcomed and all have a place at the table.
More importantly, the work of creating a family and building a community, as Moreau envisioned, is only realized when we acknowledge that Jesus is the one who gathers, welcomes, forgives, heals, and loves. He is the bridegroom, the host, the “new wine” for the guests, the poor, the marginalized, the brokenhearted.
Blessed Basil Moreau’s vision for a family of religious praying and working side by side continues to inspire all of us of who remember today our founder and strengthens our mission to minister to those we serve. For all are longing to join the bridegroom at the wedding feast of God’s love and mercy.
Prayer
Lord, give us time today to be silent and prayerful, conscious of your personal presence, moment by moment, sustaining us in all our experiences and relationships. Call us to new decisions for faithfulness and generosity, and whenever you call us by name may we reply, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” Amen.
Saint of the Day
Blessed Basil Moreau founded the Congregation of Holy Cross—the order of priests and brothers that founded the University of Notre Dame.
Basil Anthony Marie Moreau was born near Le Mans, France, in 1799, and would be forever affected by the spiritual upheaval caused by the French Revolution. Church property was seized, priests were executed and arrested, and religious communities were expelled from France. Basil Moreau's hope was to fill this vast spiritual and educational gap.
In 1821, Moreau was ordained a priest for the diocese, later becoming a seminary professor teaching philosophy and theology, while enthusiastically continuing his pastoral duties.
By 1835, Moreau had organized a group of young and energetic “auxiliary priests” whose mission was to travel the diocese, assisting in educational and spiritual growth programs at parishes. That same year, the bishop asked him to oversee the Brothers of St. Joseph, a community of educators. Two years later Fr. Moreau merged the priests and brothers into one association, which took its name from the small French town outside of Le Mans where it was based, Sainte-Croix. The new order's name became Congregatio a Sancta Cruce (hence the initials that follow the name of every Holy Cross religious—C.S.C.), which literally means "Congregation of Holy Cross."
The cross soon became an integral part of this community’s spirituality. The motto of the congregation is Ave Crux, Spes Unica, which means "Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope"—calling on the community to "learn how even the Cross can be borne as a gift."
Blessed Moreau’s vision was to give this association “one heart, one soul” by modeling it after the Holy Family and bringing into it a group of sisters who would also be involved in education and evangelization.
Reflecting his congregation’s zeal to make God known, loved and served, Moreau started sending members to other countries, including Algeria, Canada, Bangladesh, and the United States. He sent seven young men—six brothers and Father Edward Sorin—to the United States, where, in 1842, they founded the University of Notre Dame.
Moreau later resigned as Superior General mid crises and controversies and disagreements with Fr. Sorin. Moreau lived his last days estranged from his community, and Fr. Sorin was the second man elected to succeed Moreau as superior general. Moreau died in Le Mans on January 20, 1873.
On September 15, 2007, Fr. Moreau was beatified in Le Mans, France, the city where he lived and died, the home of the Congregation’s Mother Church and the sacred place where he is buried.
Blessed Basil Moreau, founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross who sought to make God known, loved, and served—pray for us!