Fr. Charles Currie s Homily Delivered April 29, 2012 at the Evening of Gratitude, St. Aloysius Church, Washington, DC

Transcription

1 Fr. Charles Currie s Homily Delivered April 29, 2012 at the Evening of Gratitude, St. Aloysius Church, Washington, DC Introduction: There are at least four reasons why I am privileged to be with you this afternoon: To be celebrating the Eucharist with so many good friends To be celebrating the good work and good people of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps To be once again celebrating with Norman Scribner and the Washington Choral Arts Society. And of course to be joined by so many of my fellow priests on this happy occasion. I have been familiar with and admiring of the great work of IVC since its earliest days with Charlie Costello and Jim Conroy. I am now privileged to serve on the IVC board and witness the outstanding leadership of Mary McGinnity. Over 20 years ago, when working on Georgetown s Bicentennial, I was fortunate to join with Norman and Paul Hume in producing a Musical Celebration of Religious Freedom at the National Cathedral, and experiencing first-hand the mastery of this giant in the world of music, who has so rightly been honored a remarkable 50 years leading the Choral Arts Society. It is indeed an honor to be with all of you. So with great gratitude for all that we share, let us begin.. Homily I don t know about you, but I have problem with the image of the sheep and the shepherd in today s Gospel. It is not only that sheep and shepherds are not part of our lives as city-dwellers, but more importantly the connotation the image has for the Church today. A true story helps make the point. A number of years ago, a rather authoritarian bishop began a column in the diocesan newspaper called The shepherd talks to his flock. Within days, an underground newspaper responded with a column called The sheep talk baaack.

2 2 Even if we know something about sheep and shepherds, we probably don t like to think of ourselves as rather dull-minded, if cute sheep, blindly following an authoritarian shepherd. We are also aware that many of the problems in the contemporary Church stem from the perception if not the fact that the increasingly impressive talents of the laity to often go unrecognized and untapped. The image of sheep may be part of the problem. We are very aware that the two tendencies one to seek control and the other to encourage freedom and participation are at work in the Church today and indeed have been throughout its history. Pope Pius X, over a hundred years ago, spoke for the control side of things when he wrote: The Church is essentially an unequal society, i.e., a society comprising two categories of persons, the pastors and the flock the one duty of the multitudes is to allow themselves to be led, and, like a docile flock, to follow the Pastors We saw the tension between control and freedom in the contrast between the legendary Spirit of Vatican II with Pope John XIII wanting to open windows on the Church, and his contemporary, Cardinal Ruffini, arguing that we no longer need to appeal to the Holy Spirit now that we have the Magisterium. Today we have the very unfortunate intervention of the Vatican with America s nuns. Of course, we have all heard of Christ as the Good Shepherd, and we know that the shepherd and his flock have long been a favorite image in the Church to relate Christ and Christians, Pope and church, pastor (the Latin word for shepherd) and parishioners. Some cynics would say it has been a good image to keep folks in their place. It is important to get behind the image to the true message of today s Gospel, especially in this critical moment in the life of the Church. The people who would have originally heard this parable of the Good Shepherd did not have our problem. In a culture where sheep and shepherds were commonplace, where people knew that sheep had to be led by their shepherd in search of often scarce food, where in fact sheep depended on the shepherd for everything, it was natural

3 3 that God in the Old Testament and Christ in the New Testament, would be taken to be the shepherd on whom women and men depended for everything. Since some shepherds were better and more responsible than others, it was natural that God and Christ would be a good shepherd, knowing each sheep by name, caring for each individually, like a good mother sensitive to the different needs of her different children. What would be extraordinary, even for the best of shepherds, would be that Christ would lay down His life for His sheep. So the message behind the image of Christ as the Good Shepherd is that: The Christian depends radically on Christ for life (why we are gathered about this altar to receive more of that life); That dependence on Christ is made credible because He has laid down His life for us: Our life in Christ is communal: we have one-on-one relationships with Christ, but Christians are also meant to form communities. If the sheep/shepherd image is not helpful in conveying that message, perhaps other, more contemporary images will be more helpful, e.g., the charismatic leader who inspires and builds a community. In this Church, we naturally think of a Fr. Horace McKenna, who gave his life for the poor. We might think of a Archbishop Romero, a Cardinal Bernardin, a Dorothy Day. Or looking ahead to Mothers Day, we can think of mothers on whom each of us has depended for life, who have given so much of their lives for us, and who are at the center of the first community, the family. The story of Peter in Acts helps further to put the bucolic sheep/shepherd image into perspective. We see a Peter fully alive in the risen Christ, transformed from the cowardly, denying Peter of the Passion story. Now, he is fully confident, curing people, preaching courageously, at no little risk to his life. He is energized by Christ, pouring out his life in service of to others. Peter is a new person, and he attributes it all to Christ. The pages of Acts are filled with stories of such transformations. Peter, Stephen, Paul are all examples of what happens when we truly hear the message of the gospel, whether we identify with sheep and or shepherds or not. Christ becomes the source and center of our lives. Because He has given His life for us, He merits a uniquely generous response. He knows and relates to each of us by

4 4 name, but together we are also meant to form Christian communities, sharing faith and life together. When we open ourselves to this experience of Christ, fear and weakness is transformed into courage and strength; self-centered introspection is transformed into a generous life for others. Families, campuses, parishes, dioceses, organizations like IVC, the whole Church, are meant to be environments in which we develop rich personal selves and enriching relationships which help to transform our lives. Vatican II challenges every Christian to a witness to the Resurrection, a symbol of the living God. Every baptized Christian has his or her own call to ministry. We are a Christian community to the extent that Christ is present and real in our midst, in our lives: as friend, as role model for what it means to be fully human, as model for our responsible freedom, as a continuing source of encouragement, and ultimately and most importantly, the very source of the life that sustains us. This is what makes us Christian, Catholic and what makes you Ignatian volunteers, not the accidentals of our faith that sometimes get in the way. Is the Christ of the Gospels real for us, and do we keep in touch with Him? The teaching, healing, challenging work of Christ in the Gospels must continue in us today. Somehow, for example, the tragic misunderstanding between Church officials and our beloved nuns needs to be resolved, and the personal hurt that many have suffered needs to be healed. We live in a world where millions of women, men and children live in inhumane refugee camps, and where hundreds and thousands face violence and death in Syria, Sudan, Afghanistan, and even on our own streets. These women and men don t have the luxury of questioning the appropriateness of the sheep/shepherd image. They know all too well what it is like to be sheep without a shepherd. There are no nice, neat and simple answers, no magic bullets for any of these difficult and tragic problems, but in the midst of our differences, we Christians have to emphasize what is most important to us, what brings us together and not what divides us, and that is our life in Christ. And it is that life that compels us to be concerned for the millions less fortunate than we, an essential part of the vision and mission of IVC.

5 5 We are all challenged to work at analyzing issues, strategizing, talking to those with whom we disagree, getting involved, reaching out to those who need us, building community in small steps, being honest and candid, but speaking the truth in love and being willing to reconcile when we have been hurt, or are angry and frustrated. We need to come together around what is most important. The work of IVC is an important part of this dynamic. Today, we can pray for one another that the transformation in Christ that took place in Peter takes place in each of us. That transformation into women and men of courage, enthusiasm and service, begins with the knowledge that Christ is present not only in this Eucharist, but in every day of our lives as much as we want Him to be. We are challenged to be the most active sheep this planet has ever seen, fully alive with the life of Christ.