DO YOU WANT TO BE SAINTS?
Homily to young adults and professionals on the 15th anniversary of Juventutem, Friday 24th May 2019, Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, St Mary Moorfields, London, UK, by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP, General Chaplain to the Juventutem International Federation (cf www.juventutem.org). See typed summary below video screen – click on picture or link to start video.
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On the 15th anniversary of the Juventutem movement, on the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, Fr De Malleray, FSSP, gives a sermon on the sanctification of youth. He begins with an overview of Juventutem, which gets its name from the psalm “Judica Me”, and was created with the purpose of helping young Catholics become saints through the Roman traditions of the Church.
Fr De Malleray reminds us that sanctity is our most important goal. But we can often be persuaded that it’s far too ambitious, that sainthood is only reserved for others. Nevertheless, he says, every human being is called to become a saint, and they are called right now in this moment. Indeed, such a calling will not be easy. The youth of today are beset by media, celebrities, allured into false paradises, while the teaching of the Church is out of focus. Meanwhile, the Magesterium is losing some of its precision and determination. All of this makes it objectively more difficult for us to become saints. Yet we must remember: “where sin abounds, grace over-abounds”.
Fr De Malleray asks: “do you want to be a saint?”. It is the will of God and He has given us the means, if we will only dispose ourselves to them. What stands in the way? The frailty of our human condition, and the voice whispering in our ear that sainthood is beyond our reach. Difficult though these are, we should have some perspective. The youth of the historical church had it far tougher than those of today. We still enjoy freedom and we should make use of it to live a sacramental life. The sacrifice of the mass; confession; daily meditation; devotions – such as those to Our Lady – all of these enable us to draw closer to Our Blessed Lord.
He reflects on the emblem for Juventutem. It is a monstrance, and signifies the importance of deepening our Eucharistic faith. Fr De Malleray identifies the Traditional Latin Mass as the best means from which our sancrification must be drawn. This liturgy, which most eloquently expresses the salvific truth of Christian revelation, is unique. There has not been found a rite more adequate, fitting and fruitful than this. Countless saints, down the generations, have been nourished in their love for the Holy Eucharist through the words and gestures of what is called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
Fr De Malleray concludes: “Do you want to become saints?” It is possible. There is only one problem. Sin. But this problem can be addressed if we are willing. If we cooperate with the grace of God, through the Sacrifice of the Mass, and welcome Our Lord into our hearts. Then, having received the truth, it is fitting to share it with others. We should tell our friends of this saving truth. God will help us in our mission. His grace has been made available. All it needs is our co-operation, of self-surrender in our daily lives. Fr De Malleray then invites the faithful, to give the Lord a blank cheque that He might dispose of our talents in the way that He knows best, in order to be His apostles, and facilitate the conversion of London, and England back to Our Blessed Lord and Our Blessed Lady.
“This we ask through the intercession of all the young canonised saints and Our Lady Help of Christians”
FSSP
