In the world, yet not of it

Treasures of Our Faith with Deacon Richard Vehige

Today, January 4 , as our Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, we are first invited to reflect on a passage from the letter of the apostle Paul to the Ephesians (4: 1-24), entitled “Grace has been given to each one for the building up of the body of Christ”. Our treasure, which follows, is from a homily on the Gospels by Saint Gregory the Great, pope.

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was born Elizabeth Ann Bayley in New York City on August 28, 1774 to a prominent Episcopal family, and lost her mother at the age of three. In 1794, at the age of 19, Elizabeth married William Magee Seton, a wealthy businessman with whom she had five children. William died of tuberculosis in 1803, leaving Elizabeth a young widow. After discovering Catholicism in Italy, where her husband had died, Elizabeth returned to the United States and entered the Catholic Church in 1805 in New York.

After a number of difficult years, Elizabeth moved in 1809 to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s, the first community for religious women established in the United States. She also began St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School, planting the seeds of Catholic education in the United States. Her legacy now includes religious congregations in the United States and Canada, whose members work on the unmet needs of people living in poverty in North America and beyond.

Mother Seton, as she is often called, was canonized on Sunday, September 14, 1975 in St. Peter’s Square by Pope Paul VI. She was the first citizen born in the United States to be given the title of “Saint.” Her remains are entombed in Emmitsburg in the Basilica at the National Shrine that bears her name.

Gregory the Great occupies a key position in the development of Christian commentary on the Scriptures. Using simple words to preach to the nobles and common people of Rome, Gregory employs metaphors, analogies, stories, and images to answer basic questions of faith.

Ephesians is the great Pauline letter about the church. It deals, however, not so much with a congregation in the city of Ephesus in Asia Minor as with the worldwide church, the head of which is Christ, the purpose of which is to be the instrument for making God’s plan of salvation known throughout the universe. Yet this ecclesiology is anchored in God’s saving love, shown in Jesus Christ, and the whole of redemption is rooted in the plan and accomplishment of the triune God. The language is often that of doxology and prayer, indeed of liturgy and hymns.

The majestic chapters of Ephesians emphasize the unity in the church of Christ that has come about for both Jews and Gentiles within God’s household, and indeed the “seven unities” of church, Spirit, hope; one Lord, faith, and baptism; and the one God. Yet the concern is not with the church for its own sake but rather as the means for mission in the world. The gifts Christ gives its members are to lead to growth and renewal. Ethical admonition is not lacking either; all aspects of human life and relationships are illumined by the light of Christ.