INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 16 Sunday in Ordinary Time is, “Boo Boo.”
WHERE DOES IT
HURT?
A good 25 years ago or so I’m sitting there on a couch at
some family get together. This little kid named Patrick - my niece Patty’s kid
- walks across a crowded room and comes up to me - points at a Band-Aid on my
finger and says, “Boo Boo!”
He had spotted the Band-Aid on a cut on my right hand
from some 25 feet away - walked through the crowd - pointed at my hurt and
said, “Boo Boo.”
We forget most moments. Why have I remembered that simple
moment?
It has become a lifetime parable - story - example -
message for me.
I could walk through this church and stop at every person
in this crowded room - point at your heart or your mind and say, “Boo Boo?”
Better and clearer: “Where does it hurt?”
Pause …. Hopefully, that question could make you pause as
you think of places and experiences in your life where you were hurt and got a
boo boo.
FILL IN THE
BLANK: WHERE DOES YOU HURT?
I don’t have good skin - and it’s getting worse in my old
age. I tend to pick my cuts. So my doctor told me, “Everyone picks their skin
- more or less.”
People seeing me picking a scab - from a cut - often say,
“Stop. Stop picking.”
I thought my doctor gave the best comment. She said,
“Work on it.”
Yet, she was right about, “Everyone picks on their cuts - more
or less.”
Have you ever been cut?
Have you ever been dropped? Have
you ever been burnt? Make your list. Fill in the blanks. Name your boo boos. Do you pick your cuts?
Where
have you been hurt?
It could be something we did - some big mistake - something
we cannot forget and find hard to forgive ourselves for.
It could be something someone did to us. Abuse. Alcoholism. Addiction. Absenteeism. An accident. And those are just “Boo Boo’s”
that begin with the letter A.
Which letter in the alphabet would help us make the best
list? How about R’s: regrets, remarks, resentments, rejections, rape, someone
read us the wrong way - and we have remembered, maybe even regurgitated that hurt
all our life?
REDEMPTION
We Redemptorists - the priests and religious who staff
this parish - celebrate our patron feast this Sunday - every year on the Second
Sunday of July - as the feast of our Most Holy Redeemer.
We were founded back in 1732 in Scala above the Amalfi
Coast in Italy by St. Alphonsus de Liguori.
He spotted places and people - that other priests and church did not want to go
to.
Our goal was to work with those who were abandoned or
neglected or not acceptable.
When we came to Annapolis in 1853 - there was no parish
here.
Jesuits came here from down in the St. Mary’s County area
of Maryland - to say Mass in private house chapels - like at the Charles
Carroll House.
Backtracking, we came from Vienna, Austria in 1832 -
because of the shortage of priests for the German immigrants over here. So we
started churches in Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Rochester, New York City and
Baltimore.
From Baltimore, we came to Annapolis.
Backtracking even more, we came to Vienna and Warsaw from
the Naples area of Italy where we tried to reach out to serve Catholics in
those areas.
We then went from established places to new places where there was a shortage
of clergy: South America, Africa, Asia.
Right now our most growing places are Vietnam, India, Africa, the Philippines and other places
in Southeast Asia.
And our message is in our motto - from Psalm 130, “With
Him there is fullness of Redemption.” In Latin, as it appears on our coat of
arms: that is, “Copiosa Apud Eum Redemptio.”
In our Latin motto, I like to move the “eum” and put it after
the word “redemption.” Then the first letter of each word spells out the
English word “CARE”.
Redemption means caring.
Redemption means healing.
Redemption means helping.
Redemption means recognizing.
Redemption means being a Good Samaritan.
Redemption means saving.
Redemption means being freedom - as in the movie Shawshank Redemption.
Redemption also means salvation. They have nuances and
similarities.
Salvation: now that’s a big word - as in Saving Private Ryan or saving our soul.
In 1749 - when we were trying to get our approval to
become a Religious Congregation in the church - we were to be the Congregation
of the Most Holy Savior - only to find out in Rome - another group already had
that name. So we became the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer - the
Redemptorists.
Right now we have around 5,500 members in 77 countries around
the world.
Our job is to bring Jesus to folks - to redeem folks - to
bring mercy and forgiveness - to people.
Our job is to be there where people hurt - where there are
boo boos.
I like it that St. Alphonsus made it a great stress that
we Redemptorists help people with their conscience - especially when it comes
to moral decisions. He developed a Moral Theology called equiprobalism - which
calls for balance - neither being too strict or too lax.
Bernard Haring, CSSR
I like it that another great Redemptorist, Father Bernard
Haring, developed a Moral Theology which he called The Law of Christ. It was
very personal. It was very freeing. It was very helpful. I think that is where
I discovered my favorite Bible Text. It's from Galatians
6:2: “Bear one another’s burdens and in this way you are fulfilling the Law of
Christ.”
Both St. Alphonsus and Bernard Haring were attacked in
their times for being too liberal. At
another time St. Alphonsus was attacked for being too conservative.
In theology - in church stuff - as in politics and in
life - expect people to have different opinions - different takes - different viewpoints.
In a way, I like it that in the past few years, two of our
priests in Ireland, are in trouble with some people in Rome because they were
calling our Church to be more open and to reach out to people we weren’t. They
have been more open to preaching the mercy of Jesus - too much - for people in some
marriage cases and people situations - forgiveness etc. etc. etc. They were
addressing some issues that Pope Francis and our recent synods were beginning
to address.
I like it and don’t like it that some people are
complaining about Pope Francis that he’s not tough enough - and they don’t like
his “liberal positions” - and they will wait him out. It tells me that he is addressing
issues that call for complaints to kill messenger - the stuff Jesus got into.
I like it that this year is a year of mercy. If you come
through these doors, please experience mercy, healing, forgiveness, acceptance
and welcome.
Please hear the song: “All are welcome. All are welcome. All are welcome in
this place.”
I like it that this parish is very, very generous with
helping people in the St. Vincent de Paul Society - folks who come here every
Monday night and Wednesday afternoon for help. Thank you for your money in the
poor box. It goes to the poor.
I like it that our high school classrooms are used for
the ESL - the English as a Second Language program.
I like it that our Hispanic parishioners are well over 1000 - and I’m sure some
are illegal.
I like it that America was discovered and then America
discovered the richness of immigrants. Of course, we did a horror story on the natives in
place.
I like it that the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island is
still proclaiming Emma Lazarus’ poem:
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed
to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
For the sake of transparency, I am first generation. My mother and father
were immigrants - coming here from poverty.
For the sake of transparency my father took us every
Sunday down to the Narrows - just 4 blocks away - from where we lived - that
water that leads into the New York Harbor and Ellis Island within view of the
Statue of Liberty.
For the sake of transparency I am a Redemptorist. All
our priests and brothers who came here were immigrants - who spoke a different
language.
For the sake of transparency I am a Christian - and I
believe Jesus the Redeemer - was all about removing walls - barriers - blocks
between people. If in doubt read Ephesians
2:13-14: “But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have brought
near by the blood of Christ. For he is
our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the
hostility between us.”
Hey, when Jesus healed people - on the Sabbath - when he
reached out to sinners - and ate with them - when he rubbed hands and eyes with
folks that you should not associate with - he triggered anger. At those moments
he told people to drop the rocks of rejection. They dropped them - walked away
one by one - but soon began plotting on a way to kill him.
TODAY’S
READINGS
In today’s reading we hear about hospitality.
In today’s readings we hear about welcoming.
Where are you hungry?
Where are you thirsty?
Where are you in need?
In the first reading from Genesis, Abraham and Sarah help
3 strangers who are going by. They bathe their feet, tell them to rest under
their tree, and here’s something to eat.
In today’s second reading from Colossians Paul tells his
brothers and sisters - those he meets - that Christ and his church is all about
helping folks with their sufferings - their boo boos.
In today’s gospel from Luke - our Gospel Reading for this year - we hear about
Martha and Mary - that hospitality is about feeding - but especially listening
- being attentive - being one to one with each other.
Sometimes those who serve - don’t look in the eye - the eye of the person they are serving - just
doing, doing, doing, without being, being, being with the other. The Martha in
them has taken over and the Mary has been neglected.
Augustine said: both Martha and Mary is each of us.
I know I can be so impersonal at time - mechanical at
times - just a functionary at times - and not being with the ones I’m with.
CONCLUSION
I have to keep in mind my little grandnephew Patrick who
spotted my boo boo in a crowded room.
Isn’t that the call for all of us - to be like little
children - as Jesus put it - and to see where others hurt.
To know others hurt. To know others need redemption. To
know others need personal contact and love.
To look across the crowded rooms we find ourselves in and
to ask, “Is there any person across this crowded room who could use a visit
from our very best?”
