Here is part of the homily given Sunday by Bishop Kevin Doran for the 2015
National Novena to Our Lady of Knock, which is underway through Aug. 22. "Giving thanks is a central theme in the writing and preaching of St.
Paul. I think it comes, in the first place, from a deep down sense of
gratitude for everything that God has done in his own life and
especially for the experience of the Risen Jesus. Today, St. Paul
encourages us, "always and everywhere" to give thanks to God. It is not
just a formality or a routine, but an attitude and - as Paul knew well -
that attitude of gratitude sometimes had to be lived in the face of
adversity. In his work of proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ, he was beaten,
shipwrecked and imprisoned many times, but he remained grateful to God
who, as he says, gave him the victory through Our Lord Jesus Christ. Today and during the whole of this novena, our focus is on the family
and it seemed appropriate to reflect on why we might give thanks to God
for the gift of the family. Very early on in the Bible, the beginnings of faith in a creator God
are very closely linked with the idea of family. The account of creation
in the Book of Genesis is not meant to be history. It is really a
proclamation of faith in a God who made all things good and who, as part
of this created man and woman in his own image. This ancient profession
of faith includes the idea that, as part of their own mission, man and
woman were to share with God in passing on to their children the gift of
life and love. It was not, of course, without its struggles and its
failures. The account in Genesis leaves us in no doubt that failure and
recrimination and fighting among the children were part of the
experience then as they can be in our own families today. But that
doesn't take away from the original goodness of God's gift of family."
Born during the turbulent era of the French Revolution, Saint Jeanne Jugan rose above hardship and a lack of formal schooling to become a profound vessel of Christ’s mercy. After losing her father at a young age and working through her youth as a kitchen maid and nurse, her life radically changed one freezing night when she encountered a blind, paralyzed elderly woman with nowhere to go. Jeanne carried the woman back to her own home, placed her in her own bed, and began a lifelong mission of radical hospitality. This act of profound love blossomed into the Little Sisters of the Poor , a thriving community dedicated to sheltering and honoring the destitute elderly. Despite later facing heavy trials—including being unjustly sidelined and stripped of her leadership by a controlling chaplain—Jeanne accepted her obscurity and exile with a joyful spirit, resting her complete trust in God's hidden providence until her death in 1879. In our daily lives, Saint Jeanne Jugan invites us to lo...