Catholics should be open to God’s call while remembering that
Christianity can be countercultural and “unsettling” for the modern
world, Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller said at his installation Mass in
San Antonio, Texas.
More than 1,800 people attended the Nov. 23 Mass at St. Mark the
Evangelist Church, where the former auxiliary bishop of Chicago was
installed as the sixth Archbishop of San Antonio.
At the Mass, papal nuncio Archbishop Pietro Sambi read an apostolic
letter from Pope Benedict XVI confirming his appointment.
He also
presented the 53-year-old archbishop with a crosier which had belonged
to Archbishop Jerome Droassaerts, Archbishop of San Antonio from 1918 to
1940.
“Today marks a new beginning in the wonderful history of the Catholic
faith in this local church of San Antonio,” Archbishop Gustavo
Garcia-Siller said in his homily.
He recalled the early Franciscans who evangelized the region,
including Venerable Fray Antonio Margil de Jesus and Fr. Miguel Calvo.
He also voiced “special gratitude” to his two predecessors, Archbishops
Patrick Flores and Jose Gomez, while also noting the diverse
non-Hispanic Catholic immigrants who have come to the city throughout
its history.
“In short, we thank God that, for nearly 400 years, the Roman
Catholic Church in Texas has continued faithfully to proclaim the Good
News here. We also rejoice that a personal and deeply pious Catholic
religiosity has matured here, including the beautiful devotion of Our
Lady of Guadalupe, our Mother, la Morenita.”
He then expounded upon the readings for the Mass, the first of which was the story of God’s calling of Samuel.
“God always speaks first. That is the way it should be. Creation is
to listen attentively and respond appropriately,” the archbishop
explained. Because Samuel was open to God’s call, “something new began
in the history of salvation.”
Archbishop Garcia-Siller connected this to his own response to
hearing that Pope Benedict XVI wanted to appoint him to San Antonio.
“I immediately felt real peace and joy tempered by a deep awareness
of the great responsibility I had been asked to embrace. I felt, in
faith, a deep affection for you, the people of the Archdiocese of San
Antonio,” he said.
The second Mass reading, about the apostles and the first day of
Pentecost, showed the disciples experiencing “something very wonderful”
that they needed to share with the whole world.
“No one is excluded from their proclamation that Jesus is Lord, that
God loves all people, that all of us are sisters and brothers, beloved
children of the one God, for God alone is able to feed the deepest
hungers of the human heart,” the archbishop explained.
The fact that some bystanders thought the apostles were simply
intoxicated with wine reminds Christians that their message is
“countercultural” and can be “profoundly unsettling and even threatening
to some,” he said.
“Ignorance, fear, and insecurity feed racism and hatred toward the
stranger. The worldly pursuit of possessions, pleasure, and power
militate against the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and
obedience,” he lamented.
“We live in a deeply divided nation and region
where the notion of brotherly love may seem quaint and naïve.”
Rather than withdraw into ourselves and seek only our own personal
good or “defiantly” stake out our own position while ignoring common
ground with others, the archbishop urged reflection on the gift of the
Holy Spirit.
“My friends, it is the Holy Spirit that enables the community of
faith to proclaim the gospel, to attract a crowd, to have something to
say worth hearing. The wind blows where it will. God has the power to
accomplish in our midst what he wants – in spite of all obstacles.”
This is possible only when Christians are open to God’s word and are in a loving relationship with Jesus.
“We are to love God fully, holding nothing back. And to love one
another as Jesus has loved us – continuously, without limits, throughout
our life,” he exhorted. “My brothers and sisters, I do love you, and I
am willing to lay down my life for you!”
He urged those assembled to be “Spirit-filled and Spirit-led
missionaries of the gospel in the world.”
Entrusting his mission and
ministry to Our Lady of Guadalupe’s intercession, he concluded:
“May the quality of our love for one another bring out to everyone that we are truly the Lord’s disciples and missionaries!”
He closed with the phrase “Viva Cristo Rey!”, the last words of the
martyred Mexican priest Bl. Miguel Pro, whose feast day coincided with
the installation Mass.
The San Antonio archdiocese reports that installation Mass attendees
included Archbishop Garcia-Siller’s 76-year-old father, Gustavo Garcia
Suarez, and his 75-year-old mother, Maria Cristina Siller de Garcia.
Many siblings and relatives of new archbishop, the eldest of 15
children, also attended.
Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of
Galveston-Houston, and the apostolic nuncio to Mexico concelebrated the
installation Mass with several other Texas bishops.
SIC: CNA/INT'L