Homily for the Feast of Blessed Basil Moreau

In our first reading today, St. Paul writes from prison to the Ephesians urging them to “live in a manner worthy of the call” they have received by “striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit.”

Paul says, “you are called to the one hope: one Lord, one faith, one Baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in all.” Paul is speaking to a group of Christians – some of whom were once Jews, and others of whom were once Greek pagans – who had to struggle, as we all do, to maintain connections with people that were considerably different from themselves.

Paul makes the point that whatever their past, and even present differences, their current unity in Christ – their shared membership in the Body of Christ, the Church – trumps all divisions. They must therefore live in a unity of heart and mind that shows to the rest of the world the oneness of our Christian hope: “one Lord, one faith, one Baptism.”

Friends, this is therefore the perfect reading for us to proclaim on the feast of Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of our Holy Cross family.  Basil Moreau was a man singularly possessed – haunted even – by St. Paul’s vision, which declares unity to be the fundamental Christian value and an irrepressibly powerful source for good in the world.

As many of you know Blessed Basil was born in France at a time when that nation was torn apart by revolution and civil war. The king of France had been murdered, a Republic had been declared, and the Church was being persecuted – its schools and parishes closed, its lands confiscated, its priests and nuns murdered or exiled. Just a few years before Basil Moreau was born barely 150 parishes in all of France had Mass on Sunday. And Basil’s own parents had to have him baptized in secret because of the suppression of the Church.

It’s no wonder, therefore, that when Basil Moreau entered the seminary and was ordained a priest, he became so convinced that unity was the crucial Christian virtue. How else would the Church in France encourage, defend, and rebuild itself after such disaster if not by remaining united to one another? How else could the Church witness to the truth of the Gospel, in a land torn apart by war, except by giving the nation an example of unifying love?

And so Basil took heed of St. Paul’s statement that Christ “gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, or evangelists, or pastors, or teachers” all to equip the holy ones, the People of God, for the work of ministry: in order to build up the Body of Christ. Basil gathered together first a group of priests, then a group of religious brothers, and finally a group of religious sisters, and he unified them into one religious family, the Congregation of Holy Cross. And he sent the members of that family out to parishes and schools instructing them to use their call to work with and for the People of God, forming, teaching, and instructing them so that they too could be united to Christ and to one another, and so that they too could play a part in building up the Church.

But this mission would only succeed if the members of Holy Cross themselves remained united to one another, to their founder, to the Church, and most of all to Christ. When disputes and divisions appeared anywhere in his religious family, even over his own leadership, Moreau begged his sons and daughters – even at the expense of his being unfairly and unjustly treated – to always maintain unity with one another.

Blessed Basil wrote to his priests, brothers, and sisters: “Since we form with Him one body … Jesus urges us to remain united among ourselves in order to be one like the branches and the vine: sprung from the same root, and nourished by the same sap, and forming one plant.”

Still, the question remains: precisely how do we stay united to one another? We all know from our experiences at home and at school that it is not easy even to remain always united to people we truly love, and people we are very much alike – let alone to stay united to people we find annoying, or to people that are very different from us.

We tend to stick within our own little clique of friends, and we separate ourselves from others because we see them as too different from ourselves because of their skin color, or because of how much money they do or do not have, or because they are more or less athletic than we are; or smarter, or less smart; prettier, or less pretty; etc., etc.

So how do we overcome this tendency to division and build unity? Well, St. Paul tells the Ephesians in our first reading: “I urge you to live … with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love.” And Blessed Basil said almost the exact same thing to his Holy Cross family: “Root yourselves in love,” he told them, “practicing humility, meekness, patience in all things; supporting one another, and working with care to preserve union by the bond of peace.”

Being meek, and humble, and patient is easy. Forgiving others, and being gentle in order to preserve peace doesn't always come easily. These things require us to sacrifice our own egos, our own wants and desires – to lay ourselves down in loving service of others.

And that’s why Basil Moreau was also so dedicated to the Cross of Christ, which gave its name to his Congregation, and to this school. Jesus Himself said in today’s Gospel: “whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Friends, the true unity that comes from living in peace, in patience, and in forgiveness, can therefore only ever exist when we willingly pick up our Cross and follow after Jesus – when we lay down our lives, as Christ did, out of love for anyone and everyone. And any person, whether they’re a politician, or a preacher, an actor, or an activist, who promises you unity and peace by some other means is simply lying to you.

So, we should ask ourselves: do we want our families, and the family of this Academy to be peaceful and joyful? Do we want our parish and school communities to be powerful sources of good in the world, to help rebuild the Church, and serve the poor, and witness Christ’s love and mercy to all the world?

Then we must strive, as our holy founder Blessed Basil Moreau has instructed us, to live in unity of mind and heart – the unity that comes when we share the mind and heart that was in Christ Jesus Christ, who, “though He was in the form of God … emptied Himself … and accepted even death, death on a Cross.”

May Our Lady of Sorrows and Saint Joseph, Blessed Basil Moreau and Saint Andre Bessette intercede for us, that we might have the strength to accept the Cross, so as to live in the peace and unity of Christ’s Church, and thereby become a source of good for all our brothers and sisters.

Given January 20th, 2012 at the Academy of the Holy Cross, Kensington, MD