I had the opportunity recently to attend a very powerful ceremony: the consecration of the new altar in the chapel of St. Mary’s House, located next door to St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix — one of the four houses that make up Nazareth Seminary here in the Diocese of Phoenix. It was an intimate and moving experience.
During his homily, Bishop John reminded us that while altars and chapels are important, they are not the Church. We are. The living, breathing Body of Christ, the communion of saints and our loved ones who have gone before us. It’s a reminder of why we are here on this earth, and that the life we live doesn’t just touch the lives of those in our immediate vicinity, but the Church as a whole.
It got me thinking, what does it mean to leave a legacy — in our families and our homes, but even beyond that, in the Body of Christ as a whole?
I think this is something we do every day in the way we serve our families and collaborate with our coworkers and walk with our neighbors. But it’s also something we do every time we receive the sacraments and encourage a seminarian in his vocation and invest our time, talent and treasure at the service of the Church.
One way Fr. Paul Sullivan, rector of Nazareth Seminary, has done this — aside from daily walking with our seminarians and living the life of a pastor at St. Agnes Parish — is by creating an estate plan and naming Nazareth Seminary, his parish and the parish school as part of his legacy gift. I was deeply moved by this gesture! I expressed to him gratitude for his forethought.
When I asked what inspired him to leave this sort of legacy, he shared that he has an awareness that life is precious and cannot be taken for granted. So, one afternoon he sat down, prayed and created an estate plan so that no matter what life brings, he has peace that his service lives on and that the mission of the Church will continue through these incredible communities that he feels so blessed to serve.
This inspired me, and I hope it inspires you too!
We have a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the ways in which the Lord is inviting each one of us to invest in the Church, the living Body of Christ. Most of us support our parishes week after week, and we view this as stewarding the gifts that God has given us. True and beautiful! What happens when our time on earth ends? How might our weekly investment in the mission of the Church continue? How might we partner with the Holy Spirit?
Whether that’s through helping to design and build an altar like the one that was recently consecrated, or thanking a seminarian for saying “yes” to discerning a vocation to the priesthood or naming a Church ministry in your own estate that personally resonates with you, we all have an impact to make in the Church. We all have a legacy to leave.
What will your legacy be?
