Just Make Me Holy

Our canonical retreat in preparation for ordination as deacons has now concluded, which means that class has begun once again. Thankfully, we still have a few more days perched high above the Sea of Galilee on the Mount of Beatitudes with nothing but beautiful mountains, waving palm trees, and of course that iconic sea to look at in every direction. Being able to see the Sea of Galilee from our classroom window has made sitting in class a particular challenge; certainly we are coming to have a whole new perspective on what Jesus meant when said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

These last days have been firmly rooted in those beautiful Beatitudes given in Matthew 5 at the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Indeed, those sayings have seeped into everything we’ve done here, while hardly being mentioned out loud in any of the retreat talks or homilies at all. The Beatitudes and the entire Sermon on the Mount have less to do with what we are being prepared to do, whether as deacons in particular or Christian disciples in general. They do, however, have everything to do with who we plan to be as deacons and disciples. The Beatitudes form a basic outline and picture of every person’s life. In many and varied ways, we’ve all experienced what it is to be poor in spirit, to mourn, to hunger and thirst, to be persecuted; we all strive to be pure in heart, to be meek, to bring peace to the world, and to show mercy to all.

Father Ed celebrating mass inside the Mt. of Beatitudes chapel

Are we perfect all the time? Certainly not! Even in the midst of our struggle and failure, we are exhorted by Jesus to “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven!” Over the course of this pilgrimage, I have been so humbled and edified by the presence and example of my brothers who strive to live these Beatitudes – to be meek, and pure, and merciful – while reaching out to their fellow seminarians and to the many people we are meeting in our travels in order to offer them a bit of comfort and peace, and to remind them that Christ walks with them and that, indeed, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

A toast to Father Ed

We are preparing to say goodbye to one of the priests who has been with us from the start of our pilgrimage, Father Ed Pelrine, who must leave the land of Pita and Hummus and resume his duties at Mundelein. One of the greatest lessons that Father Ed has taught the group over these past six weeks has been very simple: without Jesus, we are powerless. So often, we can get lost in approaching God with an endless stream of petitions and desires, especially here on the Mount of Beatitudes. “Jesus, make me merciful, make me meek, make me pure; Jesus, take away this persecution and struggle; Jesus bring peace to this friendship, or help that brother to see my true intentions, or make that one stop reviling me!” In a sense, our spiritual lives simply become asking God to do what we think needs to happen in order to be truly “blessed.” Father Ed’s advice, and certainly his own prayer in these days, has been to approach Jesus with one request: “just make me holy.” This, he says, is the ultimate priestly prayer.

In these last weeks of pilgrimage, please pray that we might be able to pray with utter sincerity: Jesus, make me more like you. Jesus, come alive in me. Jesus, make me new.