Memorial of Saint John Baptist de La Salle
(Acts 5:27-33; John 3:31-36)
Saint John Baptist de La Salle inherited a large fortune
from his nobleman father. He also felt
called to the priestly life at a young age.
But he used neither his money nor his vocation in traditional ways. He gave away his fortune to feed the
poor. He did not pursue a curate’s life
but founded an intentionally non-clerical religious institute to educate poor
boys. He was a man “born from above” as
Jesus says in the long discourse from which today’s gospel is taken.
Throughout the passage Jesus’ language appears strange. His mannerism also seems disengaged, even
distant. These effects were intended by
John the Evangelist to help his readers appreciate the difference between Jesus
and the world. As Jesus says here, he is
“’the one who comes from above (and) is above all.’” In reality Jesus
was quite like other people. He had
outstanding characteristics, but he was not odd or eccentric. He was sensible, thoughtful, and compatible.
Yet he testified, as the fourth gospel makes evident, to a way of life that the world cannot comprehend. Where the world seeks comfort, credit, and
control, Jesus’ Spirit moved him and those to whom he has given it to self-denial
for the sake of others.
By the grace of God, Jesus has shared his Spirit with
us. It is the greatest gift because it
provides us with an infinitely open future. But it entails dominance over our distorted desires. We are to re-channel our energies in love for others.
