Reflection for Monday of the First Week of Lent

‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

One of my favorite quotes is found in a small book by the great Anglican apologist of the Christian faith, C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory. To paraphrase, he says that the holiest object presented to our senses is our Christian neighbor, for in him or her, God the Glorifier is to be found.

With that challenging maxim in mind, there is no more powerful summary of the Good News of the Lord than what is found in the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. This chapter presents the ultimate litmus test for one who authentically wants to walk in the footsteps of the Master. It will not be an obsessive adherence to right doctrine that will ultimately save us, but rather whether we have feed the hungry, welcomed the stranger, clothed the naked and visited the ill and imprisoned. For when we do that, we have reverenced the very presence of the Lord himself.

msgr. Arthur a. holquin, s.t.L.

Msgr. Art was ordained to the priesthood on May 25, 1974 for service in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Shortly after the creation of the new Diocese of Orange in 1976, he completed post-graduate work at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium, obtaining an S.T.L. in Sacramental Theology and an M.A. in Religious Studies. He has served the Diocese in a number of ministerial capacities: Director for the Office of Worship, Director for the Office of Evangelization, Rector of Holy Family Cathedral and finally, Pastor and Rector of Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano. In 2009 he contracted a rare neurological condition (Primary Lateral Sclerosis) that gradually impacted his walking and speech. In 2014 he was named Rector Emeritus of the Basilica parish. Msgr. Art’s favorite quotation is from Blessed Henry Cardinal Newman: To live is to change and to be perfect is to have changed often.