ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

Dear Scouts and Scouters,
Dear Parents and Families,
All you, dear Brothers and Sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,

To appreciate and understand fully today’s Gospel selection, we must recall our Gospel reading of last Sunday. Jesus had just returned to Galilee, to His hometown of Nazareth. Going to the synagogue to worship on the sabbath, He was called upon to proclaim the Scriptures. He read from the text of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor . . . .”

When He had completed the reading, He told the congregation: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

This afternoon, the Gospel takes us back to the synagogue in Nazareth. At first, we are told that “all spoke highly of him” but not for long. Jesus finds it necessary to confront the people with their lack of faith; indeed He praises the faith of two non-Israelites, the widow of Zarephath and the Syrian Naaman for their response of trust in God’s words.

Suddenly praise and amazement turn to anger and rejection on the part of the crowd. Who does this Jesus think he is? How dare he challenge us! He was just a hometown boy—nothing special! Then they began to ask: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”

But Jesus stood His ground. He knew exactly who He was and He was committed to doing the will of His heavenly Father. He came to proclaim the truth. Yes, Jesus could have chosen to be politically correct, say what many wanted to hear —be Mr. popular—but instead Jesus chose what was right rather than what was easy.

Dear young people, as in the case of the youth Jeremiah, God knew us before we were formed in our mother’s womb. Before our birth, He dedicated us. On the day of our baptism, God anointed us with the Chrism of salvation to be His messengers in the world—we can even say: His prophets. Having opened our ears to receive His Word, we must also open our mouths to proclaim our faith in Him, and in this way give praise and glory to God our Father. We must, moreover, live our lives according to our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this Year of the Priest, I especially ask you to pray for your priests. While all baptized Christians are called to live and proclaim Christ by the holiness of their lives, this task is entrusted to the ordained priest in a unique way. Without the ministry of the ordained priest, we the People of God, could not be nourished by the real presence of Jesus in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist or receive the Lord’s merciful forgiveness of our sins in the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation. Don’t forget to express your gratitude to your priests for accepting God’s call to the priesthood and for their fidelity to their vocation. Pray for them often that they may remain steadfast in their commitment to represent Christ, the Head and Shepherd of the Church, by faithfully proclaiming the Gospel and celebrating the Sacraments of our salvation. Jesus, who eternally loves and cares for His Church, never stops calling boys and young men to be His priests. Pray earnestly for an increase in vocations to the priesthood, especially for more priests here in our Archdiocese of Philadelphia. In fact, Jesus may be calling some of you young men to follow Him as His priests. Open your heart to His call. If He should call you to be a priest—respond with a total and generous YES! He wants to hear you say freely: Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will!

This year’s observance of Scout Sunday is very special as we celebrate the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Boy Scout program in our nation as well as the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the plan of cooperation between the Catholic Church in the United States and the Boy Scouts of America. Sensing a need for more spiritual development in the Scouting program, Father James E. Dolan created the Ad Altare Dei program back in 1926. Originally developed for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, it so successfully blended Scouting with religious activities that it quickly became very popular. At the annual Bishops’ Committee meeting in 1939, approval was given to the Ad Altare Dei Award in principle and a subcommittee was appointed to develop a suitable emblem. On December 14, 1939, the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America approved the wearing of the Ad Altare Dei Emblem on the Scout uniform. The first emblems were presented nationwide in 1941.

This concept of a Religious Emblem program would later lead to the creation of the Pope Pius XII Emblem for explorers in 1960.

Previously, in 1953, the Parvuli Dei Emblem was established for cub scouts, and, with the introduction of the Tiger Cub program in 1982, the National Catholic Committee on Scouting established the Light of Christ Emblem.

The development of the Religious Emblem Program over the years demonstrates the strong bond between the mission of the Church and the core values in the Scouting movement as summarized in the Scout Oath and Law.

As Catholics participating in the scouting venture, your living commitment to Jesus and to His Gospel give even deeper significance to your allegiance to the Scout Oath and Law. Filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, may you remain steadfast in your duty to God and neighbor by keeping yourself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight. Filled with the gifts of faith, hope and love, may you join Saint Paul in a life-long commitment to Jesus and to the determination of Jesus to do the will of His Father in Heaven. No matter what others may choose to do, your choice must always be what is right and true and pleasing to God. And remember always, dear young people, that a life of service exercised in the name of Jesus will always bring you true joy and happiness. Above all, it will bring honor and glory to God: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And may our Blessed Mother Mary be close to you and your families, always. Amen.