Go and Make Disciples!
Fr. Luke Daghir's Mass of Thanksgiving
Editor’s Note: Fr. Luke Daghir celebrated a Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Mary’s Church in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, May 26, 2024. Fr. Ben Daghir preached the homily.
To watch Fr. Ben Daghir’s homily: Go and Make Disciples!
Fr. Ben Daghir’s homily:
Jesus gives His Apostles a mission in today’s Gospel: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” When we know our mission from Christ, life becomes a wonderful adventure.
Pope St. Paul VI said, “The Church doesn’t have a mission. The Church is a mission.” And what is this mission?
The Church exists to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
This mission is who we are.
Pope St. Paul VI says, [the Church] exists in order to evangelize.”
The Catholic priest plays a primary role in fostering this apostolic spirit in the parish. Fr. Luke, we must be all about “Go and make disciples of all nations.” We must publicly, courageously, and effectively proclaim the Gospel.
Consider Saint Paul’s statement to the Corinthians, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16). The priest must have the face of an apostle, be an evangelist, and open the doors of the Church and go out into the world.
Why do you think God gave you a remarkable education in the Daghir family home, St. Mary’s Parochial School, Elk County Catholic, St. Vincent College, Gannon University, and St. Mary’s Seminary & University?
Why do you think God has given you a natural ability to listen, converse, write, and preach effectively?
Because God has built you to “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
Never forget the words that Bishop Persico prayed over you at your ordination, “May he [Luke] be a worthy co-worker with our Order, so that by his preaching and through the grace of the Holy Spirit, the words of the Gospel may bear fruit in human hearts and reach even to the ends of the earth.”
You are entering a Church landscape that needs an apostolic spirit.
I want to be transparent about our current challenges because “Go and make disciples of all nations” requires we know what we are up against.
What are some of our challenges today?
For every one Catholic who enters the Church, six are leaving.
Of Catholics who are thirty and younger, 50% have left the Church (Pew Research Center Study).
Less than 25% of Catholics attend Mass weekly.
Our parishioners in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s remember the glory years. They remember pews filled with families.
Let’s look more specifically at the Diocese of Erie.
Bishop Persico provides difficult statistics for us to consider in his letter entitled Building the Future:
Since 1990, the number of people attending Sunday Mass in our diocese has decreased by 78%.
In 1990, we had 127 parishes in our diocese. Last year, we had 93 parishes.
In 1990, we had 210 active priests. Last year, we had just 92 active priests.
The diocese estimates that by 2031, there will be only 60 active priests.
Since 2014, the number of students in our Catholic schools has decreased by 38 percent.
I have always appreciated Bishop Persico’s willingness to face facts. He has the mark of an evangelist, the courage to look at reality, adjust, and effectively share the Gospel.
Fr. Luke, you will meet many Catholics who need hope. Many of our parishioners have a sibling or a child who has left the Church. Their spouse may no longer practice the faith. Their son or daughter (or grandson or granddaughter) may no longer practice Catholicism. Every family is impacted in some way.
I highly encourage you to soak in the wisdom of our older parishioners and priests. While many others have left the Church, they held firm to the faith. Many can relate to Mother Teresa, who once said, “God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful.”
I’d like to share one other statistic. In all honesty, it should alarm us the most.
A few years ago, the Pew Research Center studied Catholics' belief in the Eucharist. The study found that nearly 70% of identifying Catholics do not believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus at Mass.
How can we believe that Jesus will change us and others into disciples if we don’t believe He can change mere bread and wine into His body and blood?
What happens on the altar must also occur in the minds and hearts of every person. Jesus must change us.
Jesus has risen from the dead and rolled away the stone that covered His tomb. Indeed, Jesus can transform us and our world.
Jesus Christ is powerful. He gives us Himself in the Eucharist, the nourishment that fuels an evangelist to keep moving forward, no matter the challenges or the cost.
Fr. Luke, you can only “Go and make disciples of all nations” when the Eucharist is deep within your mind and heart.
Fr. Luke, it’s an apostolic spirit that Bishop Persico shared with you at your priesthood ordination. Bishop Persico looked you in the eye and said, “Understand what you do, imitate what you celebrate, and conform your life to the mystery of the Lord’s cross.”
When I hear Jesus's words, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” I immediately think of Saint Paul.
When Paul heard, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” he took it literally.
Saint Paul embarked on four great missionary journeys throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. His travels surpassed 10,000 miles as he visited countless cities and towns.
Fr. Luke, I encourage you to follow Saint Paul's example. We need priests who have their footprints everywhere. This means regularly visiting the hospital, visiting the school, visiting nursing homes, visiting funeral homes, and visiting parishioners.
This means being present in the community at festivals, local sporting events, fundraisers, dinners, parties, the town square, coffee shops, restaurants, and whatever the local customs may bring. Be visible.
You must live a priesthood encouraging people to say, “I see Fr. Luke everywhere. He was there for my family, my friend, and me. Fr. Luke is everywhere.”
You are built to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” You’re ordained to do so.
It’s hard for me to believe our challenges are more difficult than previous generations.
Listen to what Paul says, “Five times…I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep… in dangers from rivers…robbers…dangers in the city…in the wilderness…at sea, dangers among false brothers…through many sleepless nights…hunger and thirst…frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:24-28).
Also, St. Paul was martyred in Rome because he preached the Gospel.
Our present-day challenges are not more complex than those of previous generations. But I can say that Jesus gave Saint Paul the same command He gives you and me: “Go and make disciples of all nations.”
We are encountering a culture that increasingly doesn’t know the Gospel and doesn’t know the teachings of the Catholic faith. I’m reminded of a quote from Archbishop Fulton Sheen, “There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”
As priests who seek to evangelize the culture, we will constantly encounter misperceptions and misconceptions of the Catholic faith. We must shake the dust from our feet, get back up, and continue to evangelize.
Bishop Persico asked you, “Do you resolve to exercise the ministry of the word worthily and wisely, preaching the Gospel and teaching the Catholic faith?”
You answered, “I do.” Allow your priesthood to shout “I do” by constantly preaching the Gospel and teaching the Catholic faith.
But, most importantly, we must remember that something far more powerful is at work than the words we share through preaching, teaching, and writing.
Pope St. Paul VI said, "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
Take a good look at the people present here today. Many are witnesses of the Catholic faith. Continue to learn from them.
I conclude this homily with words from the master evangelist. She is very important to this town and church, for both are named after her.
Think back to the Wedding Feast at Cana. There was no more wine, and the problem seemed to have no solution. There appeared to be no hope, and the servants felt defeated.
Doesn’t this seem familiar to our current challenges in the Church? We feel like the wine has run empty. Our pews are empty. We have empty rooms in the seminary. We have empty seats in the Catholic Schools. It appears that we’ve exhausted all of our efforts. It seems that there is no hope. We feel defeated.
Yet, what does the Virgin Mary do when she notices the wine has run empty? Mary directs the problem to Jesus with deep faith and trust.
Mary then says to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Jesus then takes water and transforms it into wine. Jesus can transform hopeless circumstances into a remarkable feast. Jesus can change us from sinners into saints. Jesus can make disciples of all nations.
Fr. Luke, and to everyone here today, we are the servers at the Wedding Feast. We are evangelists.
The Virgin Mary says to us, “Do whatever he tells you.”
And what is Jesus telling us to do?
“Go and make disciples of all nations!”
+ Fr. Ben Daghir
So many beautiful words. Tears still streaming down my cheeks. Yes I remember the church from yesterday. I no longer am able to leave my home without great effort and can’t stand or sit upright for very long and my mass is daily on Utube. What a privilege we were given and yesterday we recognized
that. Today only if it is convenient do we let out faith prevail. I pray daily for you both. You are young and strong and charismatic and I am praying that you both well leaD all these lost sheep back home. I want so badly ,before I am called home, to see or church rise once more. Whether we were born Catholic or converted we still have so much to learn. It is STILL such a privilege that we MUST
embrace. GOD bless you both.
Excellent homily and Godly advice for your dear brother. Thank you both for answering the summons.“Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?”