topleft05.jpg (18208 bytes)HOMILY
The Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
22 February 09
 


 

The first few chapters of the Gospel of Mark are all about “Jesus the Healer,” God’s only begotten Son who restores life to those who are suffering from the effects of sin.  Two weeks ago, we heard how Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, pointing the way for us to consider about how we might set about healing the mother-in-law problems that plague so many married couples.  Last week, we heard how Jesus healed a leper, pointing the way for us to consider how “microcomedone pustules blocked with sebum” (a.k.a., acne or, more colloquially, “zits”) challenge teenagers to let go of their unhealthy fear of being “different” from their peers and to be the unique and unrepeatable person in all of human history that God created each of them to be.

This week, Jesus heals a man afflicted by paralysis.  The image of someone confined to a wheelchair and not able to walk troubles many people.  It would be so much better and people who suffer paralysis would be so much happier, many believe, if they were able to amble about freely.  Perhaps that is true, maybe paralytics would be happier if they could walk.  It is also believed that paralysis constrains not only how a paralytic lives one’s life, but it also places limits upon the quality of life a paralytic is able to experience.  Again, perhaps that is true, maybe a paralytic’s quality of life would improve.  Healing the man of paralysis, Jesus overcame the power of evil and restored the paralytic man to health, making it possible for him to amble about freely and to enjoy a fuller quality of life.

Is that the end of the story?

As important as that physical healing may be and as important as it may have been for that man’s life, there is a spiritual healing that may be much more significant for us to consider because, after all, most of us aren’t paralytics in the physical sense.  But, when we find ourselves tested in matters of the Churchs faith and morals, many of us aren’t able to stand up on our own two feet.  In this sense, we are “spiritual paralytics” and need healing of this very serious disease.

How does spiritual paralysis evidence itself?

To be sure, one way is when we know whats going on around us is wrong, but we fail to stand up for what is right.  I’m not speaking here about moral relativism, that is, where people believe that any position on moral matters is equally as good as any other position on moral matters.  While indeed that is bad, what I am talking about is when we know deep in our hearts that something is wrong and we believe something should be done about it.  But, fearing the repercussions if we say or do something about it, we render ourselves incapable of standing up on our own two feet to confront what we know is wrong.

This happens so often that I am of the mind to name this particular demon “Legion,” because there are so many of them.  In just the past couple of weeks, here are some instances where I have seen and confronted this demon.

How many spouses, in their hearts, know they need to work on improving their marriages?  The sense of joy and happiness is imperceptibly slipping away day by day, week by week, and now it’s perhaps months or years since you really felt joy in being married.  You know this deep in your heart.  It used to be easy to communicate with your spouse, but now even chit chat is difficult.  Where kidding with, building up, anticipating needs, and performing random acts of kindness for each another up used to be the norm, now vindictive words with very sharp edges easily pour forth from your mouth.  Although things aren’t horrible, you know they aren’t good.  You’ve even contemplated making a Marriage Encounter Weekend to get back to the way things were before they somehow got derailed.  But, trying to stand up on your own two feet and discuss this with your spouse, your legs suddenly buckle beneath you.  Incapable of moving, you cannot do what’s necessary so that your marriage can thrive, as God intends.

How many parents fear they will offend their children, so they don’t stand up on their own two feet and tell their children what they need to hear?  It may be that a teenager’s behavior is changing and you believe this is due to the group of friends you teenager has recently been associating with.  It may be that your teenager may be getting involved with illegal substances and you know that you need to confront the problem head on.  But, as you try to stand up on your own two feet, your legs suddenly buckle beneath you as your teenager unleashes a torrent of statements like “I hate you,” “You don’t love me,” “I can’t wait to move out of this house.”  If this weren’t true, programs like James Lehman’s Total Transformation Program would not be so popular.  But, the simple fact is that fighting, screaming, annoying and defiance only make it more difficult for parents to take a stand, making parents feel paralyzed.  No matter how hard they may try, too many parents render themselves incapable of standing up to the endless arguments with and ceaseless hostility from a child.  Incapable of moving, parents cannot do what’s necessary so that your children will grow in grace and wisdom before God and humanity.

How many young people know deep in their hearts that what their friends are doing is wrong?  Yet, for fear of being made fun of, rebuked, or rejected, too many young people today fail to stand up on their own two feet to state what they know the truth is.  As Catholics, were you not once confirmed?   Did you not commit yourself to witness to your faith both when convenient but, more importantly, when inconvenient?  Do you really believe that hypocrisy is virtuous, especially when it comes to matters like faith and morals?  Why can’t you stand up on your own two feet to defend what you know is good?  Incapable of moving, you cannot do what’s necessary so that your friends will turn away from sin and be saved, as God intends, because you have failed in your commitment to God.

As most of you know, I have a policy when it comes to the performing the Sacrament of Marriage.  If a couple is sexually involved and/or living together before marriage, I will not perform a traditional church wedding for the couple.  Yes, I will marry them in a private ceremony with their parents and witnesses present, just as I would in order to validate any arrangement where a couple is living together without the benefit of the sacrament.  However, I cannot tell you the number of couples, parents, and yes, even priests, who are outraged at me when I inform couples of my policy.  You’d think that I was the devil incarnate for even insinuating that living together before marriage is immoral and, worse yet, holding a couple responsible for the choices they have made.  After all, many parents have asked, why should I stand as judge and jury, punishing their children by taking away from them the dream of a church wedding?

What’s interesting to me, however, are all of those parents who are paralyzed and incapable of standing on their own two feet to tell their children that living together before marriage is sinful and are willing to pay all of the expenses for that church wedding.  Also interesting to me are those parents who express their gratitude that I have “drawn a line in the sand” but weren’t willing to do so themselves.  Then there are all of those parents who tell me that I have great courage to confront this moral evil.  For my part, it isn’t an act of courage.  No, it’s something that is required of me.  Who else is supposed to reaffirm the teaching of the Catholic Church, if not those ordained by the Church to do so?

Just the other day, for example, a wanna-be groom approached me about performing his wedding.  When I outlined my policy, the wanna-be groom responded: “Would it be a problem if we were to move in together before the wedding?  I know that’s not the conservative way of doing things but am pretty sure I know people in the parish who have lived together before marriage.  Just wondering though!!”

I responded: “If you decide to move into the townhouse together before the wedding, I will not perform the marriage and it would be best to not get me involved.  For me, it is not a matter of being ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal,’ but a matter of Catholic morality and sound social science research.  The Church rightly teaches that the Sacrament of Marriage involves two aspects, ratum (the ceremony part) and consummatum (the sexual relations part) and in that order.  Furthermore, if 99% of other people violate Catholic moral teaching, that does not make what they do correct.  In fact, there is a growing body of secular social science research which indicates that living together and having sexual relations before marriage correlates positively with divorce.”

The wanna-be groom’s response?  “I understand completely, and agree.  I will discuss this with [my fiancée] this weekend and get back to you early next week….This doesn’t change anything for me, and I don’t foresee it being a problem with her, but will discuss with her and our parents and respect your wishes.”

Would that all of this was just a matter of my “wishes.”  But, it’s about the Church’s faith and morals and standing up on our two feet when our faith and morals are tested.  It’s just as St. Paul told the Corinthians: “As God is faithful, our word to you is not ‘yes’ and ‘no’....the one who gives us security with you in Christ and who anointed us is God....”  God has anointed us and standing up on our two feet when faith and morals are tested is something all of us are supposed to be doing, and especially Catholic politicians.

Just this week, the Speak of the United States House of Representatives, Mrs. Nancy Pelosi, had a private audience with Pope Benedict XVI.  Even though Nancy Pelosi was educated by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Towson, MD, she adamantly believes abortion is a woman’s right, for any reason and at any time.  The Madame Speaker’s views about abortion are well-known, as are the Pope’s.  The Church teaches that abortion is the taking of innocent human life and, therefore, is a sin.  Furthermore, a doctrinal note issued in 2002 specifically enjoins Catholic politicians to oppose any law that attacks human life (i.e., abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide).

Rather than gloss over these differences, Pope Benedict XVI graciously but directly confronted Mrs. Pelosi during the 15-minute private papal audience.  The Pope’s official report of their conversation noted:

His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoins all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.
 

Of course, that’s “diplo-speak.”  Pope Benedict XVI stood his ground and admonished the Speaker of the House of Representatives concerning her views about abortion.  The teaching of the Catholic Church is unequivocal in this regard.  Again, as St. Paul noted and the Pope demonstrated, it’s not a matter of “yes” and “no,” but standing up on our two feet when faith and morals are tested.

What makes this 15-minute private papal audience interesting in light of today’s topic of “spiritual paralysis” are two facts.  The first: there was no “photo op” allowing Mrs. Pelosi the opportunity to brandish about a picture showing her standing side-by-side with the Pope (or mano-a-mano, as the case may be), denying the Speaker of the House the opportunity to represent herself as defending her beliefs (and those many who hold the same beliefs) against the Bishop of Rome, suggesting that it is possible to be Catholic and pro-abortion.  The second fact: Mrs. Pelosi’s press release reporting her private audience with the Pope did not mention the subject of abortion or whether the subject even came up.  One would think that, if Madame Speaker truly believed she was infallibly correct in her position, Mrs. Pelosi would stand up on her own two feet and defend her position, especially given the fact that the Pope had admonished her.

Following the audience, Mrs. Pelosi’s office released the following statement:

It is with great joy that my husband, Paul, and I met with his Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI today.  In our conversation, I had the opportunity to praise the Church’s leadership in fighting poverty, hunger and global warming, as well as the Holy Father’s dedication to religious freedom and his upcoming trip and message to Israel.  I was proud to show His Holiness a photograph of my family’s papal visit in the 1950s, as well as a recent picture of our children and grandchildren.
 

What?  Nothing about the sanctity of life?  Nothing about Mrs. Pelosi’s obligations as a Catholic politician to promote a culture of life?  Was this merely simple disagreement about what exactly happened during the papal audience?

Quite likely not.  Pope Benedict XVI stood his ground and didn’t play politics with the Church’s faith and morals.  Courageous?  I don’t believe the Holy Father would say so.  The Pope probably would say it was his obligation to reaffirm the teaching of the Catholic Church about the absolute right to life from conception to natural death and to remind a Catholic politician about her obligations regarding the Church’s faith and morals.

The most likely explanation: not being afflicted by spiritual paralysis, Pope Benedict XVI educated Mrs. Pelosi just as Jesus commanded St. Peter to do (i.e., “Feed my sheep”).  Now she, and all Catholic politicians as well, have no excuse for pretending the Church is ambiguous about the sanctity of human life or for misleading the public about Church teaching.

Theres an old saying thusly stated :  “It’s hard to steer a parked car.”  This is another way of saying “when we are spiritually paralyzed, then we can’t be moving.  When we suffer from spiritual paralysis, we become an impediment to the salvation of other people because we are not capable of standing up on our own two feet.

The solution?  Jesus said: “I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”  Today, let our prayer be that God heal our spiritual paralysis so that those around us will have no excuse not to know exactly what the Church teaches with regard to faith and morals.  Let us also allow our hearts to be changed as we contemplate the following statement each day this week: “I do not fear at all what people can do to me for speaking the truth. I only fear what God would have to say were I to remain silent.”

 

 

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