REMEMBERING 

AND 

FORGETTING

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year B, is, “Remembering and Forgetting.”

These are 2 things we human beings do so well and so often. We forget things and persons; we remember persons and events.

Like the optimist and pessimist saying: some people only remember the mud and some people only remember the stars - and forget all the rest. How about you?

When hurting go outside on a clear night and stop to look at the stars; - if cloudy, drop into St. Mary’s Church and look at the ceiling - and sit and pray.

Remembering and forgetting ….

THE PSALM FOR TODAY

That’s the reality that hit me when I went through today’s readings to come up with a homily for this Sunday. Three, six, nine, forty five years ago, something else jumped out at me from the readings. As you heard today’s readings, what hit you? What questions popped up? This Sunday for me it was something in the Psalm for today: Psalm 137 - the theme of “Remembering and Forgetting.”.

As a Psalm, Psalm 137  has one of the strongest and most violent images in the Bible. Because of that, it is often skipped - or the violent verse is left out - like it is in today’s liturgy. However, once you hear it, once you hear the last verse, you won’t and don’t forget it. It comes back every time you hear the first verse of the song: “By the streams of Babylon….”

The Psalms are songs. Music plays on the strings of our memory. Someone was in love with someone - in some distant day. This day they are in a store. The music is playing. A certain song comes on. It was their song. Then they were dumped, dropped or divorced - or the loved one has died. This time that song hurts. Tell me where it hurts! Like sandpaper, the song rubs the scars in one’s soul the wrong way.

The movie Casablanca can get us every time. As time goes by …. Play it again Sam. Memories….

Psalm 137 talks about forgetting and remembering. The song writer is sitting by a stream in Babylon - an exile captured and brought north from Jerusalem. His captors taunt and torment him. They ask him to sing of song from back home. So the singer sings about sitting by the streams of Babylon weeping and crying. He sings, “We hung up our harps on the poplar trees there - because who wants to sing?” Yet the singer sings. He sings a lament - a sad song. He sings in the third verse, “May my right hand wither or be forgotten if I forget you Jerusalem.” In the next verse he sings, “May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I remember you not O Jerusalem and make you not the main joy in my life.” Then comes the last verse, which is not mentioned in this Psalm reading in church today. It’s an R rated verse because of it’s violence, The singer sends blessings on the one who takes Babylonian babies and bashes them against a rock. Talk about vengeance and mid-East and human violence. We still hear about the same kind of vengeance and violence till today.

THE AMAZING BRAIN

The human brain is amazing. We remember what we want to forget. We forget what we want to remember. Some memories we can’t shake. Some things we can’t remember.

The human brain is amazing. We can recall something our Aunt said to us when we were 12 years old and when we tell our Aunt about just that - she has no clue - no memory of the moment. Good news: that conversation, that compliment we give her then becomes a grateful memory for her - that she might remember for the rest of her life - on a train or a plane - or while sitting waiting in a doctor’s waiting room.

The human brain is amazing. In our lifetime we’ve seen computers go from just a tiny bit of memory to 500 Gigabytes and now Terabytes of memory. We are amazed at times while watching Jeopardy at what we remember and at other times we feel so stupid when doing a crossword puzzle. Our own Random Access Memory is a very interesting part of our territory inside our skull - called our brain or our memory. Sometimes we marvel at it; sometimes we yell at it.

REMEMBERING AND FORGETTING QUESTIONNAIRE

Here is a short questionnaire - just 7 questions. If at some time you want to answer them and you can’t remember what the questions are, I’ll put this on my blog - which you can access from the St. Mary’s, Annapolis, web site.

1) What is your earliest memory - and why do you think you remember that particular moment or incident?

2) What is your best memory of your mom or dad?

3) What was your biggest forget - something you wanted to say to your dad or mom or a friend - some place or event you were supposed to be at - and you totally forgot about it?

4) What is a memory of something you did that you’d love to erase or have it disappear?

5) What is something someone keeps bringing up and you wish they forgot about it?

6) What is something about you that you wish another would remember - but they seem to forget?

7) When you meet God - is there something you hope God remembers about you and is there something you want God to completely ignore and forget? Or if you think God remembers everything, then what is it that you want you and God both to have a great laugh about after you die - because you suspect you’re going to walk through death with the memory of it on your backboard?

HISTORY AND MYSTERY

Life is history and mystery.

Life is twists and turns.

Life is surprise and stuff around the curve that we didn’t know was there.

Life is lots of reminscing and rehashing and remembering.

Has anyone ever read the complete works of Marcel Proust [1871-1922] - Remembrance of Things Past - who seems to have written down everything that ever happened to him? Why read him when we have our own inner library to intrigue us?

In today’s first reading from the Second Chronicles - part of the historical writings of what happened to the people of Israel - we read about something that happened to them in some 500 years before Christ. It’s something that I wish would happen every other year in our world.[Cf. 2 Chronicles 36: 14-16, 19-23]

If you know Jewish Biblical History you know that one of greatest moments and memories that was never forgotten and always remembered and re-enacted, was the Exodus. We know the Passover was not passed over every year - but remembered. Surprise a group of people who were enslaved escaped - passed over the waters with the hope of entering a Promised Land - a Land of Milk and Honey. The Passover Feast was celebrated every year in memory of that event - starting in that first year in the desert as we heard about in today’s gospel - with the story of Moses and the serpent in the desert.[Cf John 3: 14-21]

If you know Jewish Biblical History you also know that the Israelites were dragged out of Jerusalem and Israel in 587 BC and brought up to Babylon as heard about in today’s first reading. This was called the Babylonian Captivity and it lasted till 537 BC. Surprise Cyrus - a Persian - now Iran - conquers the Babylonians and sends an edict to send people back home.

Like our personal histories and memories - the histories and memories of the Bible go through a lot of reconstruction in the retellings - but there are rough basic truths in the stories.

I don’t say that flippantly. I say that because that was the way I was taught to understand the riches in our Biblical History - both the Jewish Covenant and the Christian Covenant. I agree with what Ulrich Neisser once said, “Most of our oldest memories are the product of repeated rehearsal and reconstruction.” [Quoted by Sharon Begley, “Memory”, Newsweek, September 29, 1986]

So the Exodus was a surprise. Slavery can end. The end of the Exile was a surprise. It ended by an edict. Isn’t that the dream of history?

PIECE OF THE ROCK

I have here a piece of the rock - which I keep on one of my bookshelves in my room. It's a small plastic case with a piece of the Berlin Wall - which was up from 1961 till 1989. It came down. To me it's a symbol of hope - that walls can be removed.

I was totally surprised that the wall of Apartheid in South Africa came down without the bloodshed I expected.

Don’t we all pray and hope that surprises like that would happen in Afghanistan, Korea, Sudan, Iran, and so many other places in our world? Don’t we wish people in our families would forget something that happened 25 years ago - that those personal walls will fall? And on and on and on.

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Remembering and Forgetting.”

We come here to Mass to lift up bread and wine in memory of Jesus that we might leave Mass each time and lift up each other in memory of Jesus who lifted up so many people in his lifetime.

We come here to Mass and look at the cross and remember he said from the cross, “Father forgive them because they don’ t know what they are doing.” In other words, “Forget about it. Forget the hurts and the words and the nails that sting - and forgive one another.”

This is the stuff of Lent and the Stations of the Cross and the upcoming Holy Week and Easter celebration.

Don’t forget. Remember these moments.

MEMORY

March  18,  2012

Quote for Today

"Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it."

Michel de Montaigne [1533-1592]

GEE GEOGRAPHY!

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this feast of St. Patrick is, “Gee Geography!”

And I’m not stuttering. And I’m not spelling G, “G”, but “GEE!” as in calm or exited amazement.

Haven’t we all said, “Gee!” when we look around at our surroundings - as in a mountain meadow or we’re in a small boat on a luscious lake or bay or standing midtown in a big city or we’re a visitor at the bottom of Main Street - Annapolis, Maryland and looking up the street on a Sunny Crowded Saturday afternoon, we say, “Gee. Look at all those Red Bricks! Did some mayor own a red brick factory? Gee, look at all the people. Gee, look at the T-shirt and Trinket Shops, Ice Cream Places, restaurants, O’Brien’s and McGarvey’s. Am I in the middle of Ireland? Gee, and I thought there was also a place named Riordan’s around here.”

Turning around 180 degrees, “Gee, look at the water - the yachts, the sails." Looking to our left, “Gee, the Naval Academy for the whole United States.” Turning to our right, “Gee that’s an old, tall, church spire up there: St. Mary’s Annapolis.”

AM I MY GEOGRAPHY?

Geography - we’re in it up to our shoe laces - if we’re standing. Geography we’re in it up to the seat of our pants - if we’re sitting. Wherever we are - we’re in geography.

"Geo" - the Greek word for earth, soil, ground….

Gee Geography - having a sense of space and place - sights and sounds - being grounded where we are and where we are from.

How good were you in Geography when you were a kid?

When your brought your report card home to be signed by a parent when you were a kid, did you get an A, B, C, D, E, F or a G - G for Good?

Are we our geography - where we’re from - where our parents are from? Are we nature or nurture or both? Do we have the geography of our parents in our body - in our looks. De we have our dad’s ears, our mom’s nose, our grandparents smile? Do we have the accent or our neighborhood - from our family and from the kids and teachers of our schools? Are we our geography?

Would we be any different if our roots were Switzerland compared to Sligo or Syracuse in Sicily or upstate, New York State?

Would we be different if we were brought up along the waters of Galway Bay - where my mom and dad were brought up in Ireland - and where their brother and sister - who also married each other - raised their children - while their brother and sister went to America and married over here and brought up their children a few blocks from the waters of the Narrows in New York Harbor - in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn New York - at 326-62 Street?

How much are we our geography?

MARK DORLEY - SHEEP AND SHEPHERDS

Mark Dorley - a big broad shouldered - Holy Name Society Man - in Lima, Ohio, my last parish before coming to Annapolis, heard I was going to Israel for 13 days in January 2001. He asked, “Every night when I watch the Evening News and they show pictures of Israel, I always see dust and desert, brown and tan earth - and no grass. Well, when you get over there, find out what the sheep eat?”

The plane landed in Tel Aviv in early evening - but I had an aisle seat, so the only geography I saw was the inside of our big plane. By the time we got in the bus, it was dark and so I saw very little geography of Israel on the way to our first hotel - in the north - in the town of Tiberius - on the Lake of Galilee.

The next three days we toured the north - and there was green grass in lots of places - but especially - I could see great green fields and stuff growing as I looked down on the valleys and the plains from up top - on the Mount of the Transfiguration. So when I got back home to Lima, Ohio two weeks later, I was able to tell Mark Dorley, “The sheep are well taken care of, mind you.”

Gee Geography. As I stood there at the Lake of Galilee - as I looked there from bus windows - as I walked there in Nazareth - I kept thinking, “I’m seeing what Jesus saw. I’m seeing what Jesus saw: the birds of the air, the flowers of the fields, the fish of the lake of Galilee and the mountains and hills around and surrounding him.

How much did geography become Jesus? When he got down south to Jerusalem, they noticed the accents of Peter and the disciples and the hint is they looked down on these hillbillies from the north. “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” [Cf. John 1:46]

Gee Geography. How much does geography form and mold and sculpt us?

In America, as they say, the first question is, “Where are you from?” or “I noticed your accent. Where are you from?” When asked that I love to answer, “62nd Street, between Toid and Foooorth Avenue, Brooklyn New York. Why do you ask?”

I grew up hearing my mom and dad speaking Gaelic to each other at times - and English to us. And the only Gaelic they said to us - especially my mom - were sayings with a smile when she called me an “Amadan” or a “Gom” - or when she’d describe a short, clumsy person, as a “Crabadan”.

How much did their Geography form them?

My mother often said in English to us, “Ireland has nothing!” Then she sometimes added, “When I got back to America after my first visit home to Ireland, I got down and kissed the earth of Boston.” She loved Boston, but she came down to Brooklyn to marry my dad - after working 10 years as a maid and servant in Boston to make money to bring her brothers to America.

I also loved to hear stories about Ireland from my mom and dad - especially on a day like today - St. Patty’s Day - when we’d go over by subway to the big parade - and then visit some relatives in Manhattan - who were also from Ireland. They lived in an apartment that had the smallest kitchen in the United States.

These memories and their comments - plus the photographs - I looked forward to the day I’d get to see where they were from in Ireland.

In 1996 - I finally got the chance to go to Ireland. My mom and dad were both dead many years by then. I went with my two sisters and one brother-in-law. My brother Patrick had also died - from Melanoma - the fair skinned cancer killer - back in 1986.

We get smarter as we get older. This time I had a window seat. Getting closer to Ireland - after coming across the waters from America - the pilot announced - early in the morning, “There she is, down below - the great green fields and hills or Ireland.”

Tears and cheers - but no beers in the morning. I don’t drink - but the beers would come later at my Aunt Nora’s place in Ballynahown, County Galway, a half hour from Galway City - past Salt Hill and Barna on the road along the Sea. On the ground, green, green, hills and earth were everywhere.

When I saw where my mom and dad were from, I realized from the geography what my mother meant when she said, “Ireland has nothing.” I could see poverty and possibility - but the possibility would be elsewhere. My grandmother - on my mother’s side - raised her children with the message, “America!” She had been here, but her father tricked her back home with the words and letters, “I’m sick and I’m going to die soon, so come back.” Guilt, Irish guilt brought her back home to Ireland where she got married off to my grandfather.

That trick by her father got my grandmother to send my mother, her oldest to Boston, to make money, to bring her 3 brothers over. The rest is history - but oops, I’m talking geography here.

In that first trip and my other trip to Ireland in 2008 with Dave and Hilda Alland and some of you, I saw that my mother was wrong. Ireland has riches - wonderful people - beautiful green mountains and hills - and the Celtic Tiger was let loose and was roaring. Right now Ireland has to start rattling in her cage again and get out and get loose again. And of course, if Ireland saved Western Civilization - she can save herself. Her people have plenty of Irish brains and slippery thinking to do just that. I love the story - I never found out if it was told by a graduate of the Blarney Stone or not - that when Irish farmers and shepherds found out that the European Union gave subsidies in  Euro’s based on the number of sheep you have, and they counted them by plane, the Irishman painted lots of rocks down below white!

CONCLUSION

The title of my homily is, “Gee Geography!”

On a day like St. Patrick’s Day, we celebrate our roots, our heritage, our stories, and how we got to be where we got to be where we are today.

On a day like St. Patrick’s Day, we who are Catholic, American Catholic, Irish Catholic, we come to a sacred place and space like St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City or St. Mary’s Annapolis, and we sit and stand and kneel in prayer - prayers of Thanksgiving.

On a day like St. Patrick’s Day, we who are Catholic, Irish Catholic, American Catholic, we worry that some of our children, some of our brothers and sisters, have strayed like lost sheep, looking for green grass, and they are not finding it in the geography of church - for various reasons - bad, mediocre, bored, lazy or sinful priests and bishops - whatever or whoever -  or what have you - so we hope and pray, the geography and the people in our church - will roar again - with a renewed faith and hope and charity - and the tiger of Celtic Spirituality will roar again in the geography of our souls. Amen.




++++++++++++++

PICTURES

Picture on Top - by Jim Malloy - from our Irish Trip in 2008

Picture of Galway Bay by Mary Connolly - Pittsburgh - what my mother saw when she looked out her back door.

Picture of the lake of Galilee in the distance - by someone.

THE  IRISH

March  17,  2012

Quote for Today - St. Patrick's Day

 “This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.” 


Sigmund Freud (about the Irish)

QUESTIONNAIRE: 

KINGDOM, CHURCH OR WORLD? 

INTRODUCTION 

The title of my homily for this 3rd Friday in Ordinary Time is, “Questionnaire: Kingdom, Church or World?”  

My homily for today is a question: "Which of these 3 would you put first, second and third: Kingdom, Church and World?" 

WHAT TRIGGERED THIS QUESTION? 

Jesus says to the scribe in today’s gospel, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

Then the closing line in today’s gospel follows: “And no one dared to ask him any more questions.” Well, here are a few more questions and they can be asked in  prayer, “Jesus, where do you see me? Am I in the kingdom? Am I close or am I far from being in the kingdom?” 

TYPES OF PEOPLE 

Are there 3 types of people: those who put the Kingdom first, those who put the Church first, or those who put the World first? Then what people put second would bring out nuances amongst those who are clear on their first choice. 

When I used to do lots of Kids Retreats, I would ask the whole group on retreat to get up and stand in the middle of a big room or auditorium. Then to get kids used to making choices and to be able to say why they are saying, “Yes” to one thing and “No” to another thing, I’d say, “Look on the wall down there. I have a piece of paper with “1” on it. Now look at the wall on the opposite side, I have a piece of paper with a “2” on it. I’m about to give you 3 choices. 1, 2, or you can choose to stand still in the middle. That’s a third choice.” 

Then I’d say, “You are hungry, would you rather go to McDonald’s - that’s # 1 or would you rather go to Wendy’s - that’s #2 or if you don’t want to choose either, just stand in the middle - that’s #3.” I noticed that kids sometimes look to see what their friends are choosing - and really don’t choose for themselves. I would tell them this - and tell them this is a chance to think for yourselves - walk on their own - and choose for yourselves. 

Then I would do about 15 of these choices - always giving them the opportunity to stay in the middle. The choices would continue to get tougher. “Someone has bad breath. You would go and tell them - that’s #1. You would write them a note. That’s #2. And # 3 is to think of an alternative or you’ll do nothing.” Then I’d invite those who moved to either side back to the middle. “You have bad breath, would you ….” “It’s Sunday and ….” “You find a wallet and ….” [1]

CHURCH, KINGDOM, OR WORLD? 

So if I asked all of you to move to the center aisle and then said, “All those who would put Church first - stand up here in the sanctuary. All those who would put establishing the Kingdom first - go out into the lobby or narthex. And all those who would put World first go outside. It’s a beautiful day. And if you don’t want to make a choice or you’re not sure, stay where you are.” 

Wait that’s four choices! Correct. I’d do 4 choice exercises as well. 

Now there are Christian thinkers who say that Jesus didn’t mainly come to start a Church. Jesus came to proclaim the Kingdom. 

Others would say, “The Kingdom yes, but you need a Church first to be the proclaimers of the vision of Jesus and a Church to help keep the dream coming.

Others would say, “Jesus’ first mission was to come to this World - to save the World and to bring all people together as one.” 

I would hope people would stand in the middle because they would ask, “Tell me more!” Or they are not sure just what I’m talking about. To be honest, I’m not sure about what I’m trying to figure out in this homily. It’s a first draft - and I’m trying to get my hands on this for years now. 

THE KINGDOM 

If you listen to the Gospels you hear Jesus talking about the World and the Church - and you also hear him talking about the Kingdom. “The Kingdom of God is like this…. The Kingdom of Heaven is like that…. It’s like a farmer who…. It’s like a king …. It’s like a merchant….” 

For years I’ve also tried to come up with a modern word for “Kingdom”. Would it be: “the Vision of Jesus?” Or the “Dream of Jesus?” Or “the Plan of God?” 

The person who sees Kingdom first can be any denomination Christian or even outside those categories. Matthew 25: 31-46 might be their favorite text. “I was hungry…. I was thirsty …. I was sick …. I was in prison and you visited me…. 

The Feast of Christ the King might be their favorite feast day - which has in the preface of its Mass. “As king he claims dominion over all creation, that he may present to you, his almighty Father, an eternal and universal kingdom: a kingdom of truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peace.” 

THE CHURCH 

Jesus talks about his Church - the “EKKLESIA.” That’s Greek for “the gathering”. 

Jesus gathered disciples and said, “Where 2 or 3 are gathered together in my name….” 

Jesus named Peter the head - the rock - upon which he would build his Church. The person who puts this first might stress the Pope, the structure, the organization first. 

They might put the Mass, praying together - but a lot more first. The Acts of the Apostles would be very important - especially those early chapters where the Gathering was coming together and growing day by day. [Cf. for example, Acts of the Apostles 2:47]

THE WORLD 

What about the World? Would anyone put this first? 

In the mid-1970’s I became part of the Better World Movement - started by the Jesuit, Father Ricardo Lombardi, in response to Pope Pius XII’s radio address known as his “Proclamation for a Better World.” 

Of all the retreats and programs I have made, their material had the most substance and insights that I have ever become part of. 

The goal was to reach out to the Whole World and try to see all people in the net of the Trinity. It was a movement from the I to the We, from the Me to the Community. 

It’s a long story. I'll just say that much - in case you think of World in a negative sense - and if you read the scriptures and theology - there is that negative take on the world - as in avoiding the World, the Flesh and the Devil. [Cf. for example, John 8:23; John 15:9; Romans 3:19; James 1:27; 2 Peter 2:20; 1 John 2:15]

If you read the Gospels you’ll notice that Jesus leaves home and starts to walk the roads of our world and visit its villages. Jesus talks about seeing and serving one’s neighbor who is beaten up on the road. Jesus notices the lady in the market place who touches just the edge of his cloak to be healed. Jesus says to see the birds of the air and the flowers of the field. Jesus feeds the 5000 and heals the sick. 

The person who puts this first might be concerned about an end to racism, a spirit of welcome for all people, an end to division. 

There is the hope for fresh air, good water, a wonderful atmosphere for all. 

There is the call for all to work towards a world where justice is for all - and our structures are for community and for the common good. 

Preaching this attitude might be the royal road for reaching and reaching out to those who have problems with Church if they see it as self serving and insular and protecting itself - and lording it over others. “Oh,” they might realize, “the Pope is called to be the Servant of the Servants of God. Oh that’s what Jesus meant when he said, ‘I have come to serve and not be served.’” 

People with this attitude might like the 2nd Eucharistic Prayer for Reconciliation where the words are, “May he make your Church a sign of unity and an instrument of your peace among all peoples….” Then in the next section - where there are prayers for those who have died, we pray for our brothers and sisters and those of every race and tongue who have died in your friendship. Listen to the words, “Bring us to share with the them the unending banquet of unity in a new heaven and a new earth, where the fullness of your peace will shine forth in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

CONCLUSION 

Would this be seen as an exercise in futility? 

Would this be seen as a silly children’s game? 

Would it get everyone to remain in the middle and talk to each other? 

Would we begin to see what Father Avery Dulles, another Jesuit, discovered with his classic study that there are different Models of the Church - and we need to listen to understand each other? I once witnessed a parish group studying Dulles' 5 Models of the Church - and then being asked to stand in one of 5 places in a big room. I don't remember if they were given a 6th option - to stand still in a neutral place. [2]

Would all this challenge us to get off our sedentary thinking to see what we’re thinking - to get us to see where our faith and hope and charity are resting - that we might love the Lord our God with our all our heart, soul, mind and strength - and love our neighbor as ourselves - as we heard in today’s gospel - so that we might help our Church help make “Thy Kingdom Come” on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.



NOTES

[1]  Check out Values Clarifications - A Handbook of Practical Strategies for Teachers and Students by Sidney B. Simon, Leland W. Howe, Howard Kirschenbaum, Hart Publishing Company, Inc. New York, 1972

[2] Avery Dulles, Models of the Church, Doubleday, 1974

COUNSELING

March  16,  2012

Quote for Today

"When people seek counseling, they don't really want advice as much as for you to listen."

Anonymous

PREACHING

March  15,  2012

Quote for Today - Feast of St. Clement Hofbauer

"Today I'll preach a sermon so simple that even the most stupid of you and even little children can understand."

St. Clement Hofbauer - according to a policeman who sat in the benches whose job it was to report what Clement said in his sermons. A police report also said, "It is absolutely frightening the way people are running after Hofbauer."

You Tube on top: Archbishop Joseph Tobin - former Redemptorist Superior General - and now Archbishop and Secretary of the Congregation of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life - Rome.

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