ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends in Christ, especially you, Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth,

On this Laetare Sunday, the Church invites us to rejoice as we hasten through the rigors of Lent to the glory of Easter. This is a day most suitable to celebrate this milestone anniversary of a hundred and twenty-five years with the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in the United States. We do so with deep thanksgiving and love. As I greet all of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth those present and those united with us in prayer my thoughts go especially to the Sisters who reside at Mount Nazareth. I also greet all of you, dear people of God, who have been and continue to be enriched by the faithful witness and dedicated service of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, especially in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I greet my brother priests, especially Father Paul Kennedy, Pastor and Regional Vicar, and all the priests present here today. I offer gratitude for the gracious hospitality of Saint Katherine of Siena Parish for this celebration.

Today, the Liturgy of the Word presents to us the dramatic account of the healing of the man born blind. When first they encounter the man born blind, the disciples of our Lord immediately assume that this blindness was the result of sin either the sin of the man himself or of his parents. Jesus quickly dismissed this prejudice, so prevalent at that time, and stated: ANeither he nor his parents sinned; it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him@ (Jn 9: 3). As Jesus declared that He had come to do the works of the One who sent Him, He quickly took action. Using His saliva, Jesus made clay and smeared it upon the eyes of the man with the instructions: AGo and wash in the pool of Siloam.@ When the blind man did this, he was healed.

With great detail, Saint John the Evangelist describes the results and attitudes surrounding this miracle: the anger of the religious leaders, the apprehension of the man=s parents who feared the officials, and the evolving faith of the man born blind. Without seeing the face of Jesus, the man healed of blindness proclaimed that Jesus was a prophet. Once he saw the face of Jesus, the man professed his belief in Jesus as the Son of Man. His belief is then expressed in an act of worship.

The evolvement of faith from darkness to light, from ignorance to worship is a common experience of believers, albeit in various stages and expressions. Throughout the history of the Church, the transforming encounter with Christ has taken place thanks to the efforts of those who have borne witness to knowledge of and love for our Lord Jesus Christ. Our celebration today acknowledges the loving work of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, who for 125 years have facilitated for countless people in the United States a definitive and life-giving meeting with Jesus. The dedication of the Sisters has been conducted in the classroom, in the parish setting, in health care and in geriatric care, and, in each circumstance, through the loving witness of the Sisters, children, adults, families, the infirm, the aged all have come to experience the Light and Truth of Jesus Christ.

Today, we give thanks to God for raising up his beloved daughter, Frances Siedliska, known now as Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd, who was inspired by our Lord=s hidden life in Nazareth. In founding the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Blessed Mary sought to influence individuals and families by spreading the kingdom of God=s love. According to a biographer, Blessed Mary, Asaw this Kingdom in the Holy Family and was convinced that the sisters had the obligation to initiate and spread this Kingdom among themselves, in every soul, in every family, and over the whole world. That was the source of her zealous spirit of evangelization and her ardent desire to gain souls for God@ (Sr. M. Inez Strzalkowska, CSFN, Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd, p. 47).

What is the attraction of Nazareth? In answer, the Church offers these treasured words spoken by Pope Paul VI when he visited Nazareth in 1964. ANazareth is a kind of school where we may begin to discover what Christ=s life was like and even to understand his Gospel. Here we can observe and ponder the simple appeal of the way God=s Son came to be known, profound yet full of hidden meaning. And gradually we may even learn to imitate him@ (Liturgy of the Hours, Office of Readings, Feast of the Holy Family). A century before Pope Paul VI uttered those words, Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd understood the appeal of Nazareth, and, to this day, her spiritual daughters live and witness to the legacy of Nazareth: the need for silence through prayer, the influence of stable family life, and the dignity of human work.

The Venerable John Paul II also spoke of the atmosphere of Nazareth, of the privileges granted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph. He said: AJesus was the center of their great love from the beginning, a love full of concern and affection. He was their great vocation. He was their inspiration. He was the great mystery of their lives@ (Pope John Paul II, Prayers and Devotions). Like Mary and Joseph, the Sisters gaze upon the face of Jesus Christ, who is the Light of the World, the Light which dispels all darkness. Dear Sisters: by centering your lives on Jesus in the Holy Eucharist the same Jesus whom Blessed Mary observed dwells in the Tabernacle as He dwelt in Nazareth you have the tremendous ability to bear love. Through the apostolate of Catholic education, in the many aspects of health care, and in various services within the Church, you, dear Sisters, communicate to a world often shrouded in darkness and coldness the Light of Christ and the warmth of His love. Gazing upon the face of Christ, and reclining near His Eucharistic Presence strengthen those committed to the mission and sustain those in even the most perilous of circumstances. One need only look to the example of Blessed Stella and her ten companions, the Blessed Martyrs of Nowogrodek, who were executed by the Gestapo on August 1, 1943. In this ultimate sacrifice, these Sisters demonstrated that they belonged wholly to Jesus. Their witness spurs on all those who embrace the vocation and mission of Nazareth to bring to the world the love of God!

Dears Sisters and all associated with the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, in these often daunting times, continue to do your good work. Continue to spread the Kingdom of Love! Families need you to guide them to Nazareth to learn serenity and stability. The infirm and the aged need you to carry them to Nazareth to know that they are ever under the watchful care of the Holy Family. Children and youth need you to show them the face of Jesus of Nazareth, that they may learn the Truth and grow in wisdom and grace. In every circumstance, wherever you are called to serve, yours is the special task to proclaim with Saint Paul: AYou were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth. Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord@ (Eph 5:8-10).

Dear Sisters, dear friends, direct everyone you meet to Nazareth. As Pope Benedict XVI, reminds us: ANazareth has a permanent message for the Church.@ Our Holy Father observes that AThe new covenant did not begin in the Temple, nor on the Holy Mount, but in the Virgin=s humble dwelling, in a worker=s home, in an out-of-the-way place in >Galilee of the Gentiles= from which no one expected any good to come. The Church has always to start again from here@ (Journey to Easter, p. 86). Yes, the Church always has to start again from Nazareth. Amen.