ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Friends in Christ,
especially you, dear Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament,

Jesus worked miracles everywhere during his public ministry, in every place, that is, except in his own home town. No miracles were worked there because the people just did not give him a chance. They simply did not expect one of their own to work miracles, so they were not receptive. The two proven miracles attributed to the intercession of Saint Katharine Drexel, in favor of Robert Gutherman and Amy Wall, happened right in her hometown, right here in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where Mother Katharine was born, where she lived and were she died and is now entombed.

So, why some miracles and not others? Why here and not there? Well, God works miracles in our lives when we have an expectant faith, when we believe in His power and are open to recognizing that power in our lives. The truth is that all too often we tend to get in God’s way and resist allowing Him to work in us and through us. God asks only for our willingness to be of service to others, like Saint Katharine Drexel, by clothing the poor, by bringing justice to the oppressed and relief to the hungry, and by daily striving to come closer to Him through prayer.

In his homily at the canonization of Katharine Drexel and 122 others as saints on October 1, 2000, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, said: " Mother Katharine Drexel was born into wealth...but from her parents she learned that her family's possessions were not for them alone but were meant to be shared with the less fortunate. As a young woman, she was deeply distressed by the poverty and hopeless conditions endured by many Native Americans and Afro-Americans. She began to devote her fortune to missionary and educational work among the poorest members of society. Later, she understood that more was needed. With great courage and confidence in God's grace, she chose to give not just her fortune but her whole life totally to the Lord."

Today, Jesus asks us to bring to Him our five loaves and two fish and to see what He can do with them. We should not wait until we are able to do things perfectly before we act. Rather, we are to give to Jesus our widow’s mite, our tiny mustard seeds, our little bits of leaven, and then let Jesus work wonders with them.

Throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament we are told that God brings strength out of weakness. Did not God make the elderly Sarah—Abraham’s sterile wife—fertile? Did not Mary, a young virgin from Nazareth, give birth to God’s Son? Why, then, should we insist on not getting involved until we feel comfortable or adequate? That is the very thing that prevents God’s saving action in our lives: putting up barriers and refusing to put our total trust in God.

We are called to overcome our pride and to offer God our weakness. Then God can act through us to bring freedom to those imprisoned in any way, joy to those in sorrow, and relief to those who are poor. Like Mother Katharine, we are to be attentive to the call of God’s Wisdom issued through the Book of Proverbs. It "calls from the heights out over the city: ‘Let whoever is simple turn in here.’" Is not God calling us to spend more time in prayer with Him before the Blessed Sacrament, as Saint Katharine did especially in the last two decades of her life? Then, we must not wait. The invitation is for now. Do we feel called to spend more time with a family member or friend who may be struggling with loneliness, illness, or some other burden? We must not wait until we have a lot of "spare time." Rather, like Saint Katharine Drexel, who was available to all in need despite her own physical illnesses, we are called to offer support now.

Is there a request on behalf of the poor? We must not hold back from giving until we can make a substantial contribution from our time, talent or treasure. From an early age, Saint Katharine used every penny of her vast trust fund to evangelize the poor and needy. She took to heart today’s words from the 145th Psalm: "You open your hand to feed us; you answer all our needs." She taught thousands of people among the Native American and the African Americans about their need to be dependent on the bread that always satisfies—the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ Himself.

Giving something is always better than giving nothing. Let us pray that we all become more open to God’s action in us. Too many people all around us, right in our very midst, in our own hometown, are hungry for food, for justice, for peace, for love, for employment, for acceptance, for honesty, for the Holy Eucharist. Like the crowds in today’s Gospel passage from Saint Luke, through us they can all eat and be satisfied. But if we cling only to the things we like to do or feel comfortable doing, we are not allowing God’s work to be accomplished in and through us. If we cling to what we have—to our own loaves and fish—those who are in need can sink into a worse form of hunger. They will deeply experience a famine for the presence of God which we failed to share with them.

So today, in the spirit of our very own Saint Katharine Drexel, who died just fifty-two years ago this very day, let us be generous in our service, generous with our gifts, insignificant as they might seem to us. We must let God handle the results and take care of the successes. Let us fearlessly and faithfully offer God our willingness. With God’s power and our willingness, miracles will happen and we will be unstoppable, as was this holy woman whose memory we venerate today: Mother Katharine Drexel.

Mother Katharine: share with all of us today the great secret of your success. Help us to learn why you could serve others so generously, so lovingly, so perseveringly. Let us really understand your mighty charism—the source of your strength and the wellspring of your relentless energy. For, like our Blessed Mother Mary, you were a woman of the Eucharist. In the Eucharist you embraced Jesus, and in embracing Jesus you embraced all those whom He loved and for whom He shed His Precious Blood. It was Jesus in the Eucharist who taught you how to work so effectively for justice and how to love so deeply. It was Jesus in the Eucharist who gave you true wealth: the power to give yourself and everything you had to serve others in His name. And finally it was Jesus in the Eucharist who gave you the power to share fully in His Death and glorious Resurrection. Saint Katharine Drexel of Philadelphia, pray for us. Amen.