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Fr. Gerry Creedon's homily delivered at St. Charles on June 9, 2002, 9 AM Mass
The whole world is caught up in a frenzy about the World Cup, except America. We're more interested in Mike Tyson.
Padre Pio: Soccer Hero?
I called home and talked to my mother yesterday morning. She gave me all the details of Ireland's game with Germany. Germans are wonderful soccer players. The Ireland team has had its difficulties and dissension. My mother was telling me how the German team scored early on and how the Irish team dominated the ball but couldn't score - they kicked it everywhere except in the goal. She described the Irish coach, "that long lanky McCarthy with those knobby knees, leaning back with his arms over his eyes in frustration". Since he was of no inspiration, she took it upon herself to help the Irish team. She went to her room and prayed to St. Teresa. That didn't seem to do any good. They still were kicking the ball everywhere but the net. My mother gave up on St. Teresa and turned to Padre Pio, who will be canonized next month. She lit a candle to Padre Pio and two minutes into overtime the Irish scored! A draw! There was great rejoicing. I didn't have the heart to say that I didn't think Padre Pio was into soccer, or if he was, he might be more interested in the Italian team.
Your Love Must Be Constant
My mother saw this as one more vindication of the power of prayer. What it exemplifies to me is her determination. If St. Teresa doesn't work, try someone else. Don't give up. This is the message of the first reading. Your love must be constant, not like the morning dew that quickly passes away in the heat of the sun. We need this faithful love as a Church these days.
Abraham was a hundred years old, his wife was barren, yet he was supposed to be the father of a great nation. He believed against all the odds, hoped beyond hope. And Abraham became our father in faith and father of a nation. All things are possible.
Mercy is Another Dimension of Love
The Gospel reading addresses another dimension of love, mercy. Mercy is a difficult value to believe in and to exhibit. Our bishop has asked all of us to do a novena of prayer for reconciliation and healing for the victims of clergy sex abuse, for the perpetrators and for wisdom for the upcoming meeting of bishops. This coming Friday he asks all of us to fast and abstain, to pray for the church. As well as prayer, our parishioners gave him advice. Over 50 of you took the time to offer your comments in response to my request. There were some very detailed legal and ethical analyses, done very professionally. I brought all of them to the bishop, including a few that I brought to his special attention. Some offered their availability should he need assistance with a panel to review future policy implementation.
All of us need to be involved, somehow or other, in the healing and reconciliation of our church and the response to victims. We pray for the bishops who come together to discern how to lead us out of our current crisis.
In this upheaval the concept of mercy rubs us the wrong way some times. People say we got into trouble with mercy offered too quickly to priests who were considered sinners. They were forgiven too readily instead of being dealt with as criminal offenders. Easy grace, easy forgiveness make people angry. We need justice; we need acknowledgement of responsibility. We need consequences, we need compliance with civil law, we need uniform policies that would protect children. We are suspicious of easy indulgence for priests and bishops as well, who were complicit in some of this easy mercy that hasn't protected the church.
Justice with Mercy
Yet at the end of the day we can't delete this word, mercy, from the Gospel. At the end of the day after we have sent priests to prison for a long time, what do we do with them when they get out? Put them in an ice floe in Alaska? These are hard questions. We need justice, but do we eliminate mercy?
Let us pray for ourselves as a church that somehow we find justice, honesty, transparency, and tough love, but not without mercy.
Let us remember that we are called for a faithful love. Let us love God and His church not just on the good days but on the difficult days. May our love be more constant than the morning dew that quickly passes away.
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or 2002
Homilies
Revised/reviewed June 20, 2002