Members of the Cleveland Chapter of Legatus gathered at the Center for Pastoral Leadership on Feb. 19 for Mass, fellowship and a presentation from Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost.
Legatus is an international organization of Catholic laymen and laywomen, comprising CEOs, presidents, managing partners and business owners (with their spouses), from business and professional enterprises.
Concelebrants for the liturgy in Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd Chapel, included Father Patrick Schultz, Legatus chaplain and parochial vicar at St. Clement, St. James and St. Luke parishes in Lakewood.
Chapter members enjoyed dinner after Mass and listened to Bishop Woost’s presentation on “The Sacrament of Marriage: Living the Paschal Mystery.”
Referring to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the bishop explained that spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ, a union called mystical because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments, “the holy mysteries,” and in him, the mystery of the Holy Trinity.
“God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all,” he added.
Bishop Woost said those who participate in an intimate conscious awareness of the presence of God would also participate in the ordinary means of holiness in the Church. These include things like the discipline of prayer, a balanced approach to asceticism (daily consent), work of charity and participation in the faith community’s life.
“God promised he would not leave us alone,” he said.
Explaining mysticism and matrimony, the bishop noted that the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church.” The sacrament of baptism is an entry into the people of God, he explained, as well as a nuptial mystery and what the catechism called “the nuptial bath which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist.”
In turn, Christian marriage becomes a sign, the sacrament of the covenant of Christ and the Church. And since it signifies and communicates grace, marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the new covenant, he added.
“This sacramental union transforms the human person into the full image and likeness of God through the gift of sanctifying (deifying) grace and supernatural charity,” Bishop Woost said, making us wedded to God and each other. He said the catechism tells us that spouses, as ministers of God’s grace, “mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church.”
Therefore, through the sacrament, the spouses signify and participate in the mystery of unity and fruitful love between Christ and the Church, he added. As both embrace in conjugal life and accept and educate their children, they help one another to become holy and to have a place and particular gift among the people of God.
The bishop pointed out that we talk about mysticism because “We all desire meaning, happiness, peace, joy, well-being, etc. in our lives.” Our happiness is twofold: proportionate to human nature and a happiness surpassing human nature that is attainable only by the power of God. To reach this level of happiness, we must be divinely endowed with theological virtues. These adapt man’s faculties for participation in the divine nature, he added.
“They dispose humans to live in relationship with the Holy Trinity … They are infused by God into the souls of the faithful to make them capable of acting as his children and of meriting eternal life,” the bishop said. The theological virtues are faith, hope and charity.
Through every liturgical action, the Holy Spirit is sent to bring us into communion with Christ and to so form his body, the catechism tells us.
With God’s grace, Christ blends himself with the bodies of believers, Bishop Woost said. The Holy Spirit confers the righteousness of God on us, uniting us by faith and baptism to the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. “The Spirit makes us sharers in his life,” he added.
The bishop said marriage in the paschal mystery involves several things, including:
- You are how I know that God is near.
- You are how I know that God listens, cares, forgives, etc.
- You are the most significant sign of God’s love for me.
“Look at how Jesus lived, related and loved: rooted in God’s word, engaging in prayer, personally and communally and sharing fellowship,” he noted. “In addition, marriage in the paschal mystery serves the needs of others, attends to the Father’s will, embraces life and is willing to die for love.”
The Cleveland Chapter of Legatus was established in 1999 by prominent Catholic businessman Umberto Fedeli, CEO of the Fedeli Group, one of the largest privately held risk management and insurance firms in Ohio. In addition to his work with Legatus, Fideli is an honorary member of the Catholic Community Foundation of the Diocese of Cleveland and a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.