On Thursday, March 7th I had a “well, that doesn’t happen every day,” moment. I was invited to speak to a small group of Catholic employees at the United Nations Headquarters on 46th Street, Manhattan. The invitation had come several months before, when I found myself at a dinner, seated next to a spunky Singaporean woman who wore her faith on her sleeve. It occurred to me, “this is the kind of Catholic I want to get to know.”
Lo and behold, she told me that she is a doctor, and that rather than work in a medical practice, she puts her expertise at work by helping form world policy in medical issues. As a practicing Catholic, she knows that her professional life can’t be divorced from her faith, and so she started a sort of fledgling “Catholic Club” at the UN.
I arrived to the famous plaza, bedecked with flags from around the world, and was ushered in past various security checks to an inner meeting room for staffers. Within 15 minutes or so, a small group from countries as diverse as South Korea, Ireland, Italy, Singapore, Ecuador, Austria and the Philippines had all gathered together for the talk, together with another handful of participants via Zoom.
The theme of my talk was “The Words of Consecration at the Mass,” focusing on the religious, liturgical, and historical background of words we can so easily take for granted each Sunday. The talk was about 30 minutes long, with nearly another 30 minutes of Q&A. I was also able to spend some one-on-one time with a couple of the staffers who wanted to speak with a priest.
Before leaving, I discovered that I was following in the footsteps of recent speakers such as Fr. Jacques Phillippe and
Donald Haggarty, both renowned authors and spiritual guides!
What does all this mean to me? On the one hand, it was a clear illustration of the hunger so many Catholics around the world have, and how, despite their professional achievements, they are looking for guides to help them bring the faith into their personal and professional lives. On the other hand, it was an affirmation that our Legionary formation gives us the tools to bring the Gospel to just about any environment … even the UN!
