ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Greetings and a heartfelt welcome to all of you gathered here for this special Mass in which we recognize and honor the Altar Servers of our Archdiocese. Boys and girls, young men and women, how good it is to be here with you! Here, in this Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, we gather with altar servers from 63 parishes of the Montgomery, Bucks and Philadelphia North Vicariates. Here, on this Sunday, we gather with so many of our priests, deacons, religious sisters, seminarians, parents, family members and friends. Here, today, we gather to celebrate and to participate in this Eucharist with our Lord Jesus Christ. It is indeed good to be here today!

In the course of any day, wherever we may be, people ask us questions. In school, teachers ask us questions. For it is through questions that they find out what we have learned and how well we have studied our lessons. At home, our parents ask us questions. They love us, care about us and they want to know what’s going on in our lives. At Confirmation, the Bishop who comes to our parish church will at times ask questions. For he wants to show the congregation that we are properly prepared to receive the Sacrament. Even our best of friends, in the course of every day events, will ask us questions. While this is common in our relationships with one another, it is interesting to note that even God—He who knows everything about us—will at times ask us questions!

In fact, in the very opening scene of the Bible, we find God asking Adam and Eve some questions. You might remember the scene. It was right after Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, after they sinned. God asks them "Where are you?" Here we have an interesting scene. For we see here that God, who sees and knows everything, is looking for Adam and Eve! It seems rather comical. And while God knows where they are, His question reveals to them His love, His great concern and His fatherly care. It is clear that Adam and Eve are important to God. God loves them, and where they are matters to God. He cares for them very much and desires them to be with Him.

Dear Friends: what is true for Adam and Eve, is true for you and me as well. God cares for us. We, too, are important to God and where we are matters to God for He loves us so very much. Today, as we gather at this Eucharist, we are reminded of this truth. We are reminded of who we are. We are God’s children, we are His people, members of His family, members of Christ’s Body, the Church. As such, where we are is important to God; it is important for us as well.

Today, as we gather here in God’s house, to celebrate and share at His altar, we are invited to consider carefully our place in God’s Plan—where we are in our lives, in our relationship to God, in our relationship with one another and in relationship to God’s Plan for our salvation. Certainly, God knows where we are. But we ourselves need to know where we are, and where he is calling us to be in His plan for our salvation.

In the first reading today from the Prophet Jeremiah, we see two very different places where human beings may find themselves. Two places where you and I might be. The first is a dry and barren place, a wilderness, an uninhabited land. Not a very nice place, not a good place to be. It is here that we find a man who trusts not in God but in himself. Such a man can be found in this rough and dangerous place. But then we hear of another place, a beautiful place where we find a man who trusts in the Lord. Unlike the first scene, which is dry and barren, here we find a running stream. The man found here who trusts in the Lord is well provided for. In fact, we are told that he is like a tree that grows strong, stretching its roots into the stream. And no matter what the weather may be, no matter what season it is, this man is safe. He is provided for, he has everything he needs. This is the place of the man who trusts in the Lord. He is found in this good and healthy and safe place. And this, dear Friends, is obviously the place where we ourselves would like to be, where God desires us to be, and where we will be if we trust in Him.

In the Gospel today we see where Jesus is. He has just come down from the mountain. He has just selected his Twelve Apostles and called them by name. And now, we find Jesus standing before a large crowd of people. Saint Luke tells us that Jesus is on a plain, a flat and level stretch of ground. The crowd has gathered around Him and Jesus, looking toward His disciples, begins to teach. He teaches the people how to be good. He teaches them how they can be blessed; how, if they trust in Him, they can arrive in that good and safe place. Furthermore, as a good teacher He also warns them of dangers, how they need to avoid trusting in themselves or in worldly riches. He teaches them how they can avoid that dry and barren place.

In this Gospel scene Jesus teaches the crowds the Beatitudes. And it is here in this teaching that Jesus shows the people how to be with Him, how to be like Him, indeed how to represent Him in the midst of this world. Dear Friends, these teachings of Jesus are very important for us. They serve as a roadmap, guiding us and showing us where we are in our lives and how we can move closer and closer to Jesus.

As Altar Servers, you have a very important role to play in the Church; you are indeed very close to Jesus. In fact, when you serve at the altar, next to the priest, you are the closest to Jesus. For unlike the other people in the Church who are in the pews, you as an altar server are right there, next to the priest, very close to the altar. As altar servers, then, you find yourself in a privileged and holy place: very often kneeling right there at the side of the altar or in front of the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer. You are close to Jesus. In the crowd of many people, you have a front row place! You are in a good and holy place!

Now from the sanctuary, dear young people, Jesus invites you to act like Him, to be like Him. He invites you to trust Him, like the man in the first reading, so that you may come to that blessed place where all is well. Jesus invites you to trust in him, to be loving and kind toward others so that you can be close to Jesus always, and serve Jesus not only at the altar but everywhere else as well. You are called to be His presence in the midst of this world, like Mother Teresa, like Pope John Paul II, like all the Saints whom we know so well. This is God’s Will for you. This is the place where God wants you to be: to be always with Jesus, to be like Jesus, to represent Jesus and to be Jesus in this world.

Right now, for most of you, your place in the world is with your families and at your schools. This is where God wants you to be. Someday, however, that will change. You will grow older. You will graduate from your schools and God will be there leading you to a new place. Young people: it is important for you to know where that place is. It is important for you consider carefully, to discern where Jesus is leading you.

For many of you it will eventually be the vocation of Christian married love, the Sacrament of Marriage. This vocation is very important for the Church and the world. It is so much a part of God’s plan. Your parents will tell you that it involves sacrifice and requires a great deal of self-giving, a great deal of love.

Others of you Jesus will lead to serve Him one day as a religious brother or sister. To be set aside and consecrated to Jesus in religious life is another form of love, a wonderful form of special service in the Church and in the world.

Some of you young men may be called by God to be priests, to share the ministry of Jesus the Good Shepherd. You know that it is through the priest that all of God’s people are able to have the Eucharist, which is the Body and Blood of Jesus. Without the priest, there is no Eucharist. Without the Eucharist there is no Church! If God is calling you young men to this vocation, He will give you the grace to be generous and say yes.

Jesus will call still others here to different forms of service. But no matter where Jesus is calling you, it is your duty and privilege as His friends to listen to His voice and to live according to His way of life. Each and every one of you has the calling to be with Jesus, to be like Him, and to live according to His way of life, according to His commandments, His Beatitudes.

Today, dear Friends, as we gather close to Jesus at this Eucharist and join with Him here at this high altar, let us respond to Jesus who is asking us that important question, "Where are you?" Let us answer like Mary and like all the Saints of God. Let us say with joyful and excited hearts: "Here I am Lord! Where you are, Lord, is where I want to be! Keep me Lord Jesus ever close to you, today and forever." Amen.