The opening prayer or collect of this Mass asks of God a special favour for all of us: “that, faithfully walking in our own vocation, we may reach the perfection you have set before us in your Son”.
To reach this perfection we need prayer, the example of the saints, and a continual growth in charity. Saint Hedwig is the patroness of this parish. She had the reputation of a saint even during her life. It is her feast day that we celebrate today, and her special intercession that we invoke. We can spend some time reflecting upon how she lived her life, and how her example applies to us.
The readings that we have just heard speak of prayer: prayer is, at times, a battle, as in the case of Moses, whose intercession literally allowed Joshua to defeat Israel’s opponents. There will be times, when, just as you sit down to pray, many thoughts flood in from all sides: the things you have forgotten to do; temptations; angers and disappointments; pleasant memories; or perhaps plans for the future. The important thing is to keep on praying, even when, like Moses, our hands grow weary, and we find ourselves having to sit down. For us, prayer is a way to defeat our stubborn self-will, a self-will that obstructs our becoming a gift for the other – as the Constitution Gaudium et Spes says, “man cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself” (GS 24). Let St. Hedwig parish be a place of prayer: let this be a place where you’re able to drop in, get some quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament - a time that could be longer or shorter, depending on the day - and then go on your way, “faithfully walking” in your own vocation. Saint Hedwig’s vocation took her from being a mother of 7 children, the mother of royalty, to living in a cloistered monastery and using her wealth to care for the poor.
In the first reading, we also hear of Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ hands. We need the support of others in our prayer. The example of others holds up our hands, when we become tired, perhaps discouraged, and our hands grow weary. Coming into church, and seeing other people in quiet prayer, is a source of strength.
The Gospel speaks to us of perseverance in prayer. The judge from the parable, who neither feared God nor respected man, finally does act on the widow’s plea, because of her persistence. Saint John Chrysostom has this to say on this topic: “[L]et us give ourselves in earnest to prayer. And if we do not receive that for which we pray, let us persevere that we may receive it. And if we do receive it, let us persevere the more, because we have received. For it is not His will to withhold the gift we ask for, but, in His wisdom, to encourage our perseverance by delaying it. So He delays the answer to our prayers, and even permits us to fall into temptation, so that we may then turn to Him, and there remain with Him” (The Sunday Sermons of the Great Fathers, M.F. Toal ed., vol. 1, 1957, 87). At one point in time, Saint Hedwig’s husband, Henry, the duke of Wrocław, was taken prisoner by another duke. Hedwig went on a mission to plead for her husband’s release, and was so bold, convincing, and humble, that Henry was set free. Prayer allows us to discern our particular vocation, our unique mission in life, and then gives us the strength to fulfill that mission. This is important in the context of World Mission Sunday, which we observe today in the universal church calendar.
Finally, prayer is the fount of charity. And charity is the whole point. Lumen Gentium put it this way: “charity, as the bond of perfection and the fullness of the law, rules over all the means of attaining holiness and gives life to these same means. It is charity which guides us to our final end. It is the love of God and the love of one's neighbor which points out the true disciple of Christ” (LG 42). It is in charity that we can “proclaim the message” and “be persistent, whether the time is favourable or unfavourable” as the Second Letter to Timothy states. It is in charity that we can “convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching” (2 Tim 4:2). Saint Hedwig, in charity, provided for the needs of the poor. Last week we heard about lepers – in the year 1230, Saint Hedwig opened up a leprosarium, a hospital for lepers, in the town of Środa Śląska. Still, for Saint Hedwig, charity began at home: in the acts of her canonization, we read, “She considered the marital state a gift from heaven and lived it in a godly way. She was faithful in love to the Duke, until his untimely death, not by way of the fire of sensual passion, but through a prudent and heartfelt dedication”. [In the Polish original: „Ponieważ stan małżeński uważała za dar nieba, żyła w nim bardzo świętobliwie. Księciu była wierna w miłości aż do jego nagłej śmierci i to nie poprzez żar zmysłowej namiętności, lecz poprzez roztropne serdeczne oddanie”]. Such a heartfelt dedication leads to the gift of friendship between husband and wife, a friendship that cements the marriage bond. Saint Hedwig is considered a patron saint for Christian marriages and families.
The lectionary tactfully ends this Sunday’s reading from the Second Letter to Timothy at chapter 4, verse 2. However, the text goes on to say “For the time is coming when people when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths” (2 Tim 4:3-4).
The opening prayer for this Mass asked God a special grace for us all: “that, faithfully walking in our own vocation, we may reach the perfection you have set before us in your Son”. We do so through prayer, the examples of the saints, and growth in charity. Let us ask our patroness, Saint Hedwig of Silesia, that through her prayers, and the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our parish may grow in holiness, charity, and zeal for the mission.
(Fr. Pawel Ratajczak, OMI, Oct. 20, 2019)