A selection of homilies and talks on St. Gabriel
Homily by D. Mark Daniel Kirby, O.Cist. for the Feast of St. Gabriel
Gabriel smiles again – Sandra Harper
Homily by D. Mark Daniel Kirby, O.Cist. for the Feast of St. Gabriel
Eighth Monday of the Year II
February 27
Commemoration of Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother, Religious
1 Peter 1: 3-9
Psalm 110: 1-2, 5-6, 9 and 10c
Mark 10: 17-27
February 27, 2006
Monastery of the Glorious Cross, O.S.B.
Branford, Connecticut
The martyrology for February 27th presents us with a compelling illustration of the Gospel we just heard. Today the Church remembers another rich young man: Francesco Possenti, Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother. Canonized by Pope Benedict XV in 1920, Saint Gabriel was declared the special patron of young people by Pope Pius XI in 1926.
Saint Mark describes in vivid detail Jesus’ encounter with a youthful seeker.
The Gospel does not say that the man is young, but his gesture and his discourse suggest the kind of spiritual idealism that rarely survives middle age. He is eager, spontaneous, and perhaps a little hasty. Our Lord seems to find these traits endearing. The Gospel does tell us that he is rich. He runs up to Jesus. Why does he run to him at the last minute? Was something holding him back? Fear perhaps? Does he realize that this may be his one opportunity to have a word with Jesus? He kneels before him: a gesture of reverence and humility. Only then does he blurt out his question: “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk 10:17). Our Lord tests him. He answers the question with another question: “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone” (Mk 10:18). Jesus does not deny that he is good. He identifies goodness with God alone. He treats the young man as he treated the Samaritan woman at the well. “If you but knew the gift of God, and who it is that is speaking to you” (cf. Jn 4:10). Jesus is no mere teacher of goodness; he is goodness itself. Saint Bruno, tasting the sweetness of God, used to exclaim, O Bonitas! O Goodness! If only the rich young man knew whom he was calling good! Jesus reviews the commandments for him. One comes to the knowledge of the goodness of God by imitating it. The commandments lead to purity of heart, and purity of heart leads to the vision of God. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” says Jesus, “for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). The young man’s answer is candid: “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth” (Mk 10:20). Looking into his heart, Jesus sees that he is ready for more. One of the most striking lines in Saint Mark’s Gospel follows: “And Jesus looking upon him loved him” (Mk 10:21). This is the radiant centre of today’s Gospel. The eyes of Jesus shine divine light upon him. And the light of his eyes is love. The Latin version of this Gospel says that Jesus looked into him and loved him. “Iesus autem intuitus eum dilexit eum” (Mk 10:21).
Then Jesus reveals the way forward. “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mk 10:21). This is not what the young man expected to hear. “At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions” (Mk 10:22). Note that the young man says nothing more. There is no discussion, no attempt to negotiate. He understands that it is all or nothing. He cannot give all and he is not yet ready to accept that having nothing will gain him everything. He goes away sorrowful, with the Face of Jesus engraved in his memory. “Jesus looking upon him loved him” (Mk 10:21). We are not told the rest of the story, but we can be certain of one thing: the memory of that look of love followed him for the rest of his days.
Even in the face of our refusals, even when we remain possessed by our possessions, Christ “stands at the gate, and knocks” (Rev 3:20). His Face reveals the unchanging, unconditional love of his Heart. He is ready, at every moment, to change our sorrow into joy. “All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out” (Jn 6:37). It is never too late to retrace our steps, to go in search of the Face that looked upon us and loved us, and to offer a humble and contrite “Yes” of reparation.
Francesco Possenti said “Yes” without hesitating. A native of Assisi, he was, like the other Francis, the Poverello, in every way the rich young man. Handsome and clever, he loved dancing, hunting, stylish clothes, and the theatre. For Francesco Possenti the love of Christ was mediated through the gaze of the Virgin Mother. During a procession in honour of the Addolorata, Our Lady of Sorrows, the icon of the Virgin spoke to his heart, echoing the words of her Son to the rich young man.
Francesco responded. On September 21, 1856 he received the habit of the Congregation of the Passion and the name Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother. Gabriel’s love for the Virgin Mary was tender and ardent. Practicing a ceaseless prayer of the heart based on the repetition of the Hail Mary, he lived in communion with the Mother of Jesus, meditating her sorrows and her compassion at the foot of the Cross. Ravaged by tuberculosis, he died before he could be ordained a priest. He was twenty-four years old and had worn the Passionist habit for six years.
Two days before the beginning of Lent, Saint Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother encourages us to say the “Yes” we have been putting off, the “Yes” we have been afraid to say, the “Yes” that we judge too costly. He invites us to meet the gaze of Jesus who, looking into each of us, sees us as we are, and loves us. And he shows us that for one who keeps company with the Mother of Jesus, meditating her sorrows and sharing in her compassion, there will be, in the end, a joy that no one can take away. “You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice” (Jn 16:22).
Sunday 26 February was a day of great celebration for the Passionists at the monastery of St Gabriel in Munich. Guest of honour and guest preacher was none other than the vice-director of the Vatican Press Office, Fr Ciro Benedettini, also a Passionist, who had flown to Munich from Rome for the occasion. He had come to preach the sermon at the Mass and to bless a statue of St Gabriel Possenti who was being ceremoniously transferred from the monastery to the nearby church now under the care of the Passionist Congregation. The statue has an interesting story to tell. It was discovered by chance in September 2004 in the pretty Cotswold village of Broadway, England, by the Passionist Provincial of South Germany and Austria, Fr Gregor Lenzen and myself. My husband and I were on holiday there at the time and were showing Fr Gregor round the Broadway church and the large Victorian house next door that used to be the Congregation’s novitiate in England. Neither of us knew of the existence of the statue until a resident of the large converted house, who happened to be breakfasting in the garden on this beautiful warm late summer morning mentioned that there was a Passionist statue stored in a dark, damp and dusty cellar at the rear of the house. He took us round to investigate. Fr Gregor was visibly upset both by the condition of the statue (which by coincidence was of St. Gabriel after whom his monastery in Munich was named) and by its situation. He began to reflect on how much he must have previously been treasured and prayed to and I began secretly to wonder what I might do to rescue him. On my next visit to Munich I was talking to a member of the Congregation’s confraternity and somehow the conversation turned to the damaged and abandoned statue. The lady’s husband, a painter and artist, offered to restore the statue if I could manage to get it to him. This I did and in October 2005 on October 19, the Feast of St Paul of the Cross, the Congregation’s founder, the newly restored statue was presented to Fr Gregor at the monastery. This came as a great surprise and he immediately decided that on the Feast of St Gabriel (27 February) the statue would be ceremoniously transferred to his final resting place in the church where the congregation might honour him and pray to him again. I was invited over for the occasion. If Fr Gregor’s surprise had been the unexpected arrival of the beautifully restored statue at his monastery, then it was no greater than mine at the wonderful day that had been planned for the solemn transfer of Gabriel to the monastery church of Maria Geburt. Four bearers carried the statue up high and we walked in procession (in the middle of a snowstorm!) from the monastery, around the park and into the little church. Gabriel was then placed to the left of the altar next to the painting of St Paul of the Cross, the father of his Congregation. This was followed by a beautiful concelebrated Mass at which Fr Ciro spoke about St Gabriel’s life. He was born on 1 March 1838 in Assisi, Italy, attended primary school with the Christian Brothers, then secondary school with the Jesuits where he excelled in most subjects, but especially in literature. He was a lively and high-spirited young man who loved parties and dancing but nevertheless apparently lived a model life balancing the world and God. While watching a procession on the octave of the Assumption in 1856, an image of Our Lady appeared to come to life and to speak to him, saying “What are you doing in the world? Religious life is awaiting you”. Immediately afterwards and to everyone’s surprise he entered the Congregation of the Passion where he learned to contemplate the Passion of Jesus in the sorrowful heart of Mary. At his clothing ceremony he took the name of Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother. He died of tuberculosis on 27 February 1862 aged 24 shortly before he was to be ordained. Beatified in 1908 by Pope Pius X and canonized in1920 by Benedict XV, he is one of the patrons of youth.
The placing of the statue in his final resting place is not the end of the story. In fact, it is just the beginning since the congregation already seems to be showing an increasing devotion to the saint. It is difficult not to detect a smile on the face of the young saint as I sit and look at him, surrounded by white lilies and roses, cared for as once he must have been in the little village church in Broadway.
St Gabriel, pray for us!
Sandra Harper
