On Wednesday, June 24, nearly 100 guests joined the the New York City Area of the Order of Malta, American Association, and the Subpriory of Our Lady of Lourdes at the Chapel of Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center to celebrate the Solemnity of the Birth of Saint John the Baptist, the feast of our patron. Rev. Msgr. Robert Ritchie, GCChC, Chief Chaplain of the American Association, was the principal celebrant of the Mass. During the Mass, special recognition and thanks were extended to the Carmelite Sisters, whose decades-long service at Mary Manning Walsh is soon ending.
The readings for the feast were rich with the theme of divine calling: Isaiah’s servant song—”The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name”—and the account from Acts of John’s mission to prepare the way for the Messiah.
In his homily, Msgr. Ritchie reflected on what it means for us, as members of the Order of Malta, to be heirs to the mission of John the Baptist. John was called by God before his very conception, announced by an angel, born of a miracle, and given a name that belonged to no one in his family. He became a celebrated figure, known throughout Judea and the Jordan Valley as a prophet who called people to repentance. And yet, when the moment came that mattered most, John’s response was one of profound humility: I am not the one. I am not even worthy to bend down and untie the sandals from his feet. His whole life pointed beyond himself, to the Lord.
Msgr. Ritchie invited us to see our own vocation in that same light. As Knights, Dames, Auxiliaries, and members of the Order, we are not called to aggrandize ourselves, we are called to point to Jesus. Everything we do in our service to the poor and the sick, every sacrifice we make, every ministry we carry out, is meaningful only insofar as it says: this is the one I follow. Our faith, he reminded us, cannot be a matter of lip service. It must be real, expressed in how we treat people, how we carry ourselves, and how unafraid we are to say, in whatever circumstances life places us, that we are followers of the Lord.
Msgr. Ritchie also spoke plainly about the world in which we live our faith. The prophets of the Old Testament, he noted, came to us as a gift through the people of Israel—our cousins in faith, the children of Abraham and Isaac—and we, as people who take our faith seriously, must always be willing to stand up against anti-Semitism wherever we encounter it. In a world that is not always hospitable to what we believe or what we stand for, we are called to wear the cross—outwardly, and above all in our hearts—and to be unafraid.
Following Mass, ArchCare generously hosted a special reception on the Mary Manning terrace, featuring special performances by students from Juilliard. Members and guests enjoyed warm fellowship, delicious food and refreshments, and the beauty of an early summer evening overlooking the city. We are deeply grateful for our partnership with Archcare and the opportunity to serve their residents.
Please scroll through the slideshow below to see more photos from the Mass and the reception.
