THIS IS GOOD ENOUGH
FOR ME
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for is, “This Is Good Enough for
Me.”
Some priests ask another priest to preach at their
Anniversary Mass. Sorry! I
wanted to say some things myself - on this occasion. It allows me to avoid a
roast or a toast. I wanted to look at my life and thank you and so many others -
as well as God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - for so many blessings.
Once more the title of my homily is, “This Is Good Enough
for Me.”
OPENING IMAGE
I was wondering - if every family has a private joke - a specific
saying - that everyone says - at family meals - or what have you - when a
specific behavior happens.
Ours is, “This is good enough for me.”
I was telling someone this and they said their family
saying was, “NS Sherlock,” when someone says the obvious.
NS! Obviously if you don’t get that, I can’t explain it in church …. But as
Father Tizio says - with his Brooklyn Italian accent - especially when someone
doesn’t get one of his puns, “Think about it!”
Here’s the story
where our family comment comes from. When we were kids, our mom told us a story
about when she was a young woman. She was working as a cook - a maid - in
Boston for this rich family: the Brandt’s. This one evening they were going to
have a big dinner. My mom made a 7 layer
cake. It was off to the side - on a side
board - the pièce
de résistance - the dessert for the end of the dinner.
Before the meal began this guy headed right for the cake
- with knife and plate in hand - getting ready to cut himself a nice slice. My mom spotted the turkey and
went over to stop him. She said, “There’s plenty of food over there on that
table!” and he says, ‘This is good enough for me.”
We all laughed and without knowing it, in time we found
ourselves often saying that saying when about to eat something delicious. With
fork in hand - with cake or prime rib on that fork - with a smile on our face,
someone would announce - holding up their fork, “This is good enough for me.”
MY LIFE
A Golden Jubilee is a good time to look at one’s life -
one’s wonderful memories and moments like this and say, “This is good enough for me.”
In O. L. P. H. grammar school, a Redemptorist priest came
into our 5th grade or so classroom and told us about what it was
like to be a missionary priest in Brazil. I don’t remember all the details of
that moment - whether he had pictures of priests on horses going into the
wilderness to say Mass and baptize and marry people. But I do remember that
this Redemptorist priest - the priests in our parish - asked us, “Who of you
would like to be a priest.”
I raised my hand.
Years later I read in Father Andrew Greeley’s autobiography
- Confessions of a Parish Priest - that
he raised his hand in a similar situation - but it was in the 4th
grade - and he added, “I never took my hand down.”
At times people ask, “When did you decide to become a
priest?” and I used to be embarrassed to say, “5th grade.” When
asking kids, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I found out that kids
often have an answer at a very early age and some say, “I have no idea. I’m
just a kid.”
I’ve visited many classrooms - especially when I did
many, many parish missions, I discovered that 79.5% of grammar school girls who
have pets want to be veterinarians. I
heard that my grandnephew Sean came to the Naval Academy to see the Blue Angels
as a kid. It worked. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 2013. Right now he’s in Pensacola, Florida
- training to work in navy planes - but not the Blue Angels. Wouldn’t that be a
great bragging right?
I’ve also been asked, “Why did you become a priest?” I’d tell people that I wanted to be a foreign
missionary priest since I was a kid - like many Redemptorists in our Baltimore
Province wanted to be.
So I went to a minor seminary for high school, then
college, our novitiate, finished college, then finished 4 years of theology in
our major seminary.
With an eye on Brazil, in December of 1966 after
finishing up our final four months of training here in Annapolis, surprise, I
found out the night before our first assignments, that I wasn’t going to Brazil
like 4 of my classmates did. I wasn’t going to be able to say: “This is
good enough for me.”
Fast forward. Looking back now at all that has happened
since then I’m saying today, “This is good enough for me.”
ANNE ARUNDEL
MEDICAL CENTER
Last year - some moment - like 2:35 in the morning - I’m
driving up Bestgate Road to get to the hospital. I was on duty and that means I
had the duty phone on a small night table next to my bed.
The phone rang - woke me up. A nurse said that someone
was dying and the family wanted a priest. I jotted down the info and got going.
I threw my clothes on and threw water on my face. I’m
driving fast to the hospital and thinking, “I wish they called last evening or
yesterday - because that would mean Father Flynn or Father Krastel would have
seen the person. Those two characters are fabulous to be with because they
cover the hospital weekdays and weekends and into the evening and it makes it easier - much easier - for the rest of us. Thank you Joe and Pat.
As I turned left off Bestgate and onto Medical Parkway,
an insight hit me. I’m talking to myself, saying, “Wow! Great! Next time when someone
asks me why I became a priest, I’ll answer, ‘So that some folks will have a priest, when they want a priest, at 2:30 in
the morning.’” I’ve heard many priests say about being a priest, “The reason I
entered is different than the reason I stayed.” I’m sure all of you who are
married have said the same thing.
I’ll also add, if
you want a priest at 2:30 in the morning - make sure it’s not early, early, Thursday
morning - because I’m on duty 8 AM Wednesday morning till 8 AM Thursday
morning. Smile.
As I look back at lots and lots and lots of moments like
that in the past 50 years, I’ve said without thinking, “This is good enough for
me.”
Like all the priests here at St. Mary’s and all the
priests I’ve met and lived and worked with, we know the many, many experiences
that we pinch ourselves for being there.
In time, I got over my disappointment in not going to
Brazil.
In time, I got to experience many wonderful moments -
many of which got me to say, “Now I know why I’m here.”
Ann Marie who works the window and the phone at St.
Mary’s said to me recently, “When I die, I want to ask God about the What if’s?”
I had never heard that comment or wondering before -
about what if’s. Then she said, “I think I’m going to then say, “Thank you God,
for the What wasers!”
I love a comment by Alfred Lord Tennyson in his poem, Ulysses, “I am part of all that I have
met.”
I am part of my mom and dad - their seed and egg that
became me - and my brother and my two sisters. I’ve been often told that I look
like my dad and I have his smile - and I’ve noticed in family photographs that
my feet point outwards like his did. I have their Catholic faith which they
brought from Ireland. I heard their stories. We are family. Stress on we.
MEMORIES
I remember a moment when I was a little kid. I was in the
sunporch of our house. My dad was sitting on his green vinyl chair in the
corner reading the newspaper - and I was simply paging through some of my
father’s books - on a bookshelf. I
opened up one of his favorites - a brown covered book, entitled, Best Loved Poems of the English Language.
There on some page in the middle of the book was a rose
petal - dried and dead. I had never seen such a thing before. I walked over to
my dad carefully - with the book opened and the rose petal - lying like the
bread on the gold plate on our altars at Mass.
“Daddy,” I asked, “what’s this?”
“What’s what?” he said as he put down the paper.
He looked at the rose petal. He picked it up carefully. A
great smile came on his face. He said one simple word, “Memories!” That was
good enough for him - with his explanation for a moment of his life.
POET
I like poetry - and I don’t know if I got that gift from
my dad or what. I do have memories of him reading a poem now and then to us.
Thank you daddy for all you gave us - and also mom and
family - and my sister Mary. I’m the youngest of four. Sorry Mary - for
possibly giving away your possible age. We’re the last two. And lately we’ve
been revisiting our childhood.
Memories.
In time, I’ve
found out that Jesus was a poet and a story teller. So thank you Jesus for all
your poetry and all your parables.
As you know - Jesus said the same of the prophets -
especially Isaiah, “Thank you for your parables and your poetry.”
We heard poetry and parable in today’s readings in the
image of a tree. Each tree has to start small - as a seed or a seedling - before
it can become a majestic cedar tree on a high mountain - the image in today’s
first reading or the image of a lowly mustard tree in one’s back yard - the
image in today’s gospel.
WHAT’S GROWING
IN OUR BACKYARD OR IN OUR BACKGROUND
At a 50th Anniversary - one pauses to see
what’s growing in one’s garden.
I once gave a talk in Reading, Pennsylvania - in a park - in a band shell - up on a stage -
and they told me there was 15,000 people there that evening. With the lights
shining across a pond in front of that stage - I could not see anyone’s face in
the dark - people from many parishes in that area - celebrating the Eucharist
in memory of St. John Neumann and his work in that part of Pennsylvania in the
1850’s.
As I stand here today - looking out at your faces - I see
you. We’re not in the dark. It’s nice to have met you - and gotten to know some
of you - and to wonder what’s growing and going on behind your eyes - and in
the plot of your brain - called you.
As I stood there with you at times - I hope your felt
welcomed - wondered about - and loved. If I seemed cold or distant at times,
please forgive me. I’d love your mercy - a theme I’m hearing this pope being
off on. I mentioned in a homily just this past week - that this pope said, “No
sticks! Stop beating others with your sticks - as well as stop beating on
yourself.” Hopefully, you’re
experiencing a forgiving church - and forgiving priests - and forgiving
Christians - a forgiving self - rather than a judging one.
As I close my eyes I often see in the dark - many, many,
many faces in all the places I’ve been assigned - and I’ve worked in, Wisconsin,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, etc. etc. etc.
I hope in the Masses we celebrated and prayed together in
and with Christ, we experience the basic Christian meal called the Eucharist
I hope in my homilies you’ve heard more Jesus than me -
and I hope in my blog and in my books and poems and magazine articles, you’ve heard down to earth contact points with
God - as real as bread and wine - and once and a while - as elaborate as a 7
layer cake.
CONCLUSION
And I hope afterwards - you’ve say to yourself - many times - about your life and your
memories, “This is good enough for me.”
