Sunday's Homily

Several people have asked me for a copy of yesterday's homily - so here you go...

30^th Sunday of Ordinary Time

28 October 2012

Allow me to let you in on something about me…  I’m beginning, for the first time in my life, I’m beginning to feel like I’m getting old.  How, you ask?

-      not my HUGE bald spot back here

-      not my loss of strength or athletics (the military makes sure I keep up with those)

-      not even only learning last week what “Gangnam style” was…  (if you don’t know – ask anyone younger than 30 – they’ll tell you) do the dance…

-      know what’s making me feel old… it’s the constant search for my reading glasses!

Summer of last year – and Deacon Kevin can verify this cause it was much the same this summer – I spent lots of time asking Mark Wilke, “Have you seen my glasses?”  And where were they usually?  Right in my pocket!  I couldn’t find them because they were right in front of me! 

 

We all have that experience, don’t we?  We even have an expression for it – “We couldn’t see the forest for the trees.”   It means that we are not able to see the bigger picture because we’re so focused on one thing - that everything else gets tuned out.

If you have children you see what they do – they become SO focused on one thing – that nothing else matters.  Whether it’s a toddler focused on a piece of candy or a teenager focused on their boyfriend or girlfriend – the rest of the world kind of ceases to exist – because they get focused on that one thing…

I believe there is something similar happening in today’s Gospel: Bartimaeus, he’s so focused on calling out to the Lord that the crowd was not going to stop him or silence him.  It didn’t matter WHAT they told him – he was focused – he was intent – he was going to call on the Lord so that he could see.

But even here, there is a deeper blindness in Bartimaeus – when the Lord asks him, “What do you want me to do for you?” – he replies, simply, that he wants to see.  But the Lord gives him MUCH more than sight.  This man’s faith – his belief that Jesus was ABLE to cure him – enabled him, not only to see, but to leave everything and follow Jesus – to become a disciple.

As we’ve entered into this “Year of Faith” – we’ve already talked about this reality in our own lives – how what we believe (as we profess and proclaim in the Creed and what we discvoer in the teachings of the Church – her Magisterium) – how what we believe has (or should have) a PROFOUND impact on how we live our lives.

 

The faith and belief of Bartimaeus enabled him to follow Jesus.  The faith and belief of the crowd on the shore of Niagara Falls should have given someone the courage to get on the shoulders of the unicyclist.  Our own faith should have a profound impact on our daily lives as well.

But unfortunately, in the world in which we live – we are sometimes blinded to reality – we are unable to see the forest for the trees – though we say we are followers, we are actually blinded because our focus is on that tree – which keeps us from seeing the forest of which the tree is just a small part.

Blindness is all around us!  It is the light of Faith that can cure our blindness and help us to see – not just the tree – but the entire forest.

Alright, as much as this is a “lightning” topic – let’s look at this in terms of our lives today, right now, 2012, in the United States of America.  What’s going on?

Well, in case you haven’t noticed, there is a general election going on – and in just over a week, we will elect a President to set the vision and the direction of our country for – not just the next 4-years – but for a good part of our future.  Every 4-years people say, “this is the most important election of our lifetime.”  Perhaps they are finally right… this IS an election which will have profound implications, not just for the next 4-years – but probably the entire future of our nation.

But our electorate has become as blind as Bartimaeus – focused on only one issue or another – and they are failing to see the bigger picture – which will have a PROFOUND impact on us – most especially as people of faith.

What are the issues? 

-      as most people acknowledge the economy is an important issue

o  probably most disconcerting is the HUGE national debt – how will we address this issue? 

§  Continued borrowing

§  Cuts in services?  If so, to whom?  How?  How deep?  How broad?

§  Will we raise taxes?  On whom?  How many people really pay taxes?  Is the tax system fair – or probably a better question than “fair” is: is the tax system JUST?

-      Not as big an issue this time around is war – yet it still is a serious issue that we must deal with

-      National security is a serious issue – and the news media certainly keeps this in the forefront – especially as events and the sequence of events unfold. 

o  What one candidate will do is evident by what he has done – how he has acted in order to heal wounds, to build peace, and to defend and protect the lives of our citizens.

o  What the other candidate will do we can only assume from his words and pledges.

-      Abortion – and we need to spend some time on this one…

o  MANY issues are important and we must pay attention to them.  But I LOVE what Archbishop Chaput of Philadelphia recently said (responding to a question a woman had asked him).  He said, “I call you, as a Catholic, to forget about the labels, be a liberal sometimes, be a conservative sometimes, but [be] a Catholic FIRST.” [emphasis mine]

§  OK – as a Church, what do we teach about this important issue of abortion?

·      The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of [its] existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person -- among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life. (2270)

·      “Since the first century, the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law. (2271)

·      “The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation.” (2273)

§  Oh, but Father, some will say, – this is just ONE issue – you’ve become blind, like Bartimaeus – you can’t see the forest for the trees!  You can’t be a one-issue voter. 

YOU ARE RIGHT!  So, let’s look for the forest beyond this one tree (called abortion):

§  Quoting the United States Bishops: “As Catholics we are not single-issue voters.  A candidate’s position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter’s support.  YET, a candidates’ position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support.” (Forming Conscience, 2007, # 42) [emphasis mine]

·      To allow – and to PROMOTE – an intrinsic evil is morally reprehensible and unacceptable.  To support a candidate who vihemately supports ANY intrinsic evil (like slavery, theft, racism, murder, abortion) is, the bishops teach, not possible for us as Catholics.

·      Yes, we do and will have differing opinions on how to solve our serious economic problems,

o  how to fund education,

o  how to provide healthcare to the poor (remember, an issue that the bishops FULLY supported),

o  BUT – on the issue of an intrinsic evil – an act that in and of itself, regardless of situation or circumstances, is always and everywhere WRONG – we CANNOT and MAY NOT support. 

·      As the bishops said, “a candidates’ position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support.” [emphasis mine]

§  THAT is the forest that lies beyond the tree of the one issue.  But wait, there’s more!

§  If we devalue life at its beginning – when it is MOST vulnerable and in need of protection and care and concern – it merely teaches us to devalue life at other points. 

·      If life at the beginning is an “inconvenience,” it is not a big leap to think that the elderly, the terminally ill – are an “inconvenience” – and if I can dispose of an “inconvenience” in my womb – can’t I do the same with that sick, elderly lady next door? 

§  This is what abortion teaches!  And we keep providing the lesson!

But, let’s keep going – why do I (and many people in the Church) believe that this election really IS the most important election of our day?

Because the basic belief on which our nation was founded is being threatened.  What basic belief is that?  The right of Religious Freedom.

If you were forced to choose between our great country and Jesus, which would you choose?  THIS is the issue, really.  Praise God, we have not had to make that decision… yet – but the time is coming – SOON – when we WILL be forced to make that decision – and it will even hit us right here at Saint Andrew’s.

Our Bishops – and the Catholic Church in the United States, will very soon have to decide how to respond to the HHS (Health & Human Services) mandate that requires us to provide health care coverage for abortion causing drugs, sterilization and contraceptives to every employee.  (and do NOT be fooled – there IS NO EXEMPTION!)  (see the bishop’s response to the vice-presidential debate)

-      YOU, the people of Saint Andrew parish – will (in paying the bills of the parish) give part of your weekly collection to provide for the availability of these services to every one of our employees. 

-      Part of your school tuition will be used to pay for contraceptives and drugs that purposefully cause the destruction of human life in the womb. 

-      This is NOT just a big Church issue – this issue hits every one of us sitting here in this church today.

It goes BEYOND our firm belief in the intrinsic evil of these acts (abortion and contraception & sterilization) – and it goes to us – a Church - being FORCED, by the government, to provide something to which we have a moral objection.  Our nation was founded on religious freedom – and that freedom is about to be violated – if we don’t stand up and speak out. 

Who we elect will have a profound impact on whether our religious freedoms are protected or violated; on whether our country will continue to live the constitution – or if it will be thrown aside as a vestige of principles that no longer apply to our lives. 

Archbishop Chaput asked people for a show of hands – I might do the same – but instead, you answer in your own mind…

-      are you “more serious about being a Democrat than being a Catholic?” 

-      Are you “more serious about being a Republican than a Catholic?” 

-      “All of us should be more serious about being Catholic than a Democrat or a Republican.”

We can be!  If we are not blinded by the tree in front of us (of the economy, and taxes, and education funding, care for the poor) – and begin to see the greater forest in front of us: the intrinsic evil of abortion – and the violation of our religious freedom and conscience.

“Lord, I want to see,” Bartimaeus called out to the Lord as He walked by.  LORD, help US to see!  Help us, by the light of Faith – to see the forest, to step back from our single-most important issue – to see the forest – to see how our participation in this wonderful democratic process is an important way of living our Faith – protecting and respecting life and religious freedom. 

Help us, O Lord, never to turn a blind eye – but, with the courage of Bartimaeus, to ask your guidance by the Light of Faith – to allow my Faith to cure my blindness – to see the forest beyond the tree – to put my Catholic faith ahead of political affiliation – to “Glorify God by my life.”

USCCB Responds to Inaccurate Statement at VP Debate

USCCB Responds To Inaccurate Statement Of Fact On HHS Mandate Made During Vice Presidential Debate

October 12, 2012

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued the following statement, October 12. Full text follows:

Last night, the following statement was made during the Vice Presidential debate regarding the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to force virtually all employers to include sterilization and contraception, including drugs that may cause abortion, in the health insurance coverage they provide their employees:

"With regard to the assault on the Catholic Church, let me make it absolutely clear. No religious institution—Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital—none has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get contraception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact."

This is not a fact. The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain "religious employers." That exemption was made final in February and does not extend to "Catholic social services, Georgetown hospital, Mercy hospital, any hospital," or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served.

HHS has proposed an additional "accommodation" for religious organizations like these, which HHS itself describes as "non-exempt." That proposal does not even potentially relieve these organizations from the obligation "to pay for contraception" and "to be a vehicle to get contraception." They will have to serve as a vehicle, because they will still be forced to provide their employees with health coverage, and that coverage will still have to include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacients. They will have to pay for these things, because the premiums that the organizations (and their employees) are required to pay will still be applied, along with other funds, to cover the cost of these drugs and surgeries.

USCCB continues to urge HHS, in the strongest possible terms, actually to eliminate the various infringements on religious freedom imposed by the mandate.

For more details, please see USCCB's regulatory comments filed on May 15 regarding the proposed "accommodation": www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/rulemaking/upload/comments-on-advance-notice-of-proposed-rulemaking-on-preventive-services-12-05-15.pdf
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Keywords: vice presidential debate, HHS mandate, U.S. bishops, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, insurance plans, Catholic hospitals, charities, social services, sterilization, contraception, religious liberty, USCCB

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