By Father Anthony F. Raso
In 1974 and 1975, I served as a transitional deacon at SS. Simon and Jude in Gravesend, a parish that has been very fortunate in the deacons (of both sorts) who have been sent there through the years. Almost all of the transitionals were wonderful deacons who became outstanding priests: Msgr. Ronald Marino was there before me. He was, predictably enough, great. After me came Father Peter Gillen, who was, also predictably enough, terrific. In between, there was me.
I tried hard and worked hard. I learned a lot from all priests with whom I served. When I left after priestly ordination, I told them that this had been the best 15 months of my life and I look back on that period with great affection. However, I was no Ron Marino or Pete Gillen: I was the epitome of the new deacon who is sent to a parish to clear off the rough edges and learn from my mistakes. Boy did I do my part in supplying the mistakes!
Despite that, I was treated in a wonderful and kind way, and whatever I may have accomplished as a priest I owe to that experience. I was pretty goofy, but I learned a lot. Some people start off slow and I was one of them. But eventually, I started hitting the ball, thanks to the parish of SS. Simon and Jude, priests and people alike.
One cannot help but notice, in the first reading today from the Acts of the Apostles, that the first deacon, Stephen, came out on the field and was hitting home runs from his first at-bat. He was in every way one of our most inspiring saints. He needed no time to learn his craft. He understood from the beginning what was expected of him and when the moment came, he was ready.
He clearly remembered the example of Jesus on the cross and faced his own death not only with the same courage, but also with the same understanding that the people around him needed his forgiveness because they simply didn’t know what they were doing. Just as Jesus haunted the centurion on Calvary, Stephen haunted the young man at whose feet the cloaks of the killers were laid. In this Easter season, we are called by our Risen Lord to do the same: To haunt others with our goodness so that they will never be the same people again.
It was precisely for this that Jesus was praying at the Last Supper, as our Gospel relates today: That these imperfect men, the Apostles, might be so united to Him and to one another that through their example the world might know that He had sent them the most powerful gift of all: “I have made known to them Your name and I will make it known, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them and I may be in them.”
Unstoppable Force
The Love of God is so powerful – much more so than the power of sin – that even death on a cross couldn’t stop it, nor the imperfections of the Apostles, nor the mistakes or unreadiness that might have been present in the first Christians. When faith was strong and the love of God was empowering it, nothing was going to stop that love from conquering the world. The Romans thought they had “solved” their problem when they crucified Peter upside-down, but they did so on Vatican Hill from which location much has been heard since then, and not about the Romans.
When the leaders of the people “solved” their problem by stoning Stephen to death, they laid their cloaks at the feet of Saul who, later on as Paul, would also be heard from again. As the great Christian teacher Corrie ten Boom once said: “No pit is so deep that God is not deeper still.”
We are being called today to remember that now, as we take the places of Peter, Paul, Stephen and all the rest, we will not be any more alone than they were, not for a moment. In the second reading today from Revelation, St. John tells us that Jesus is coming again and He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the root and the offspring of David, the Morning Star. If we really believe that from our hearts, then when our own moment comes, we, like St. Stephen, will not fail Him.
Ironically Inspired Others
Now, to be fair to myself, I didn’t fail as a deacon! My efforts – more often than not kind of breathless – were noticed by the parishioners and clergy, and were appreciated. It was precisely in my goofiness that I ironically inspired others. Some people are Babe Ruth in the game of life. Others are Bucky Dent, surprising others and really surprising themselves. In the game of Eternal Life, the Lord stands beside all of us, if we will just do our best to serve Him with all of our hearts.
What do we have to do to prepare ourselves to serve Him? Just say, “Come, Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water” as St. John tells us today. Jesus knew that, of course. Peter remembered it later on and so did Stephen. Because of them, when the chance came for the centurion, those on Vatican Hill and a young man named Saul, God reached them.
There are others He needs to reach tomorrow and all we have to do to help Him is be ready, do our best and swing at that ball
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Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter
Acts 7: 55-60
Psalm 97: 1-2, 6-7, 9
Revelation 22: 12-14, 16-17, 20
John 17: 20-26
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Father Anthony F. Raso is the parochial vicar at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, Dyker Heights.