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A message from Pentecost and Fr. Joe Durkin
This Fr. Gerry Creedon homily was delivered at St. Charles on June 8, 2003
"AS SOME of you may know Father Joe Durkin, a friend of St. Charles, was buried this past week. He was a constitutional scholar, a professor of history at Georgetown, and author of 27 books. He had just celebrated his 100th birthday.
About 5 years ago when he was only 95 years old, he visited one of his former students, a graduate of Georgetown, who had landed in Arlington Jail. So much for a Jesuit education! He visited this former graduate and became aware of the St. Charles Jail Ministry led by our lector today, Randy Bender. Fr Durkin decided that he would take on this new avocation, to help us with jail ministry. He celebrated Mass at the jail, counseled, and pardoned. He was a favorite for confession, especially when the prisoners discovered he was stone deaf. He came here for community reconciliation and had long lines here as well. He also reached out to the Jefferson, offering services to the elderly.
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Results so far
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One night, driving him back to Georgetown he thanked me for allowing him to join in my pastorate, "St. Ignatius of Loyola had not meant for the Jesuits to spend all their time in education. I am grateful to return to the original mandate of the Jesuits, pastoral work!"
While celebrating Mass with us here one Sunday, Fr Joe offered remarks at the conclusion of the liturgy that touched me. A television crew was interviewing him as to why he had entered the Jesuit order. That week had been cold with lots of snow and ice. His confreres warned him about walking on the ice, but being a stubborn Irishman he went out anyway. He was falling when a security guard noticed and walked toward him. He took Fr. Durkin by the elbow and led him safely across the parking lot to the building where he was going.
Meanwhile a young girl, a student at Georgetown, turned to one of her friends and exclaimed, "Look, look, at the guard. The priest is arrested and he is taking him off". Fr. Durkin said, "You know I overhead that word 'arrested'. She was prescient beyond what she knew. When I was asked that question, "Why are you a Jesuit?" in the TV interview, I remembered her remark. I answered, "Early on in my life as a teenage boy I was captivated, arrested by the love of Jesus Christ! I have spent all of my life living in love with the Lord and I have no regrets. I was indeed arrested. I could not resist."
All of Us Must Become Followers of Jesus
In some ways at this Feast of Pentecost all of us are called to be Jesuits, followers of Jesus. There was probably a time in your life when you were captivated and fell in love and it affected you and changed your whole life. Similarly in our faith-life there needs to be that spark, that fire, that red passion of love that enlivens our conviction. As a church we are an institution and a bureaucracy. We have canon law, precepts of the church, and commandments. We hold to a set of beliefs and doctrines. All that is part of the church, yet fundamentally the church is a community of people who are followers of Jesus, a community of disciples set aflame by the spirit that empowers, enlivens, and attracts.
That love manifests itself in our lives in a variety of ways. You may not be a constitutional scholar or historian. You may not be involved in jail ministry or outreach to the elderly, but there's a talent, skill and gift given to each one. There are ways in which our love flows out beyond our families to the larger community.
St. Charles enjoys a variety of cultures, languages and ministries. We have volunteers and staff involved in education, others in liturgical ministries, and many participate in social justice and outreach. We also have the Community Life ministries, small group sharing, gatherings, neighborhoods, and of course, stewardship. As well, through our professional lives we use our skills to build up our society. The followers of Jesus bring their concern to a larger world. "Send forth your spirit and renew the face of the earth".
Our work finds its motivation in the impulse of love. All of us are arrested at some stage or another in our lives by the love of Jesus Christ. This Pentecost, we open our hearts anew to the experience of the spirit. May the spark in our hearts become a flame.
Father Durkin used to end all of his Masses at the jail by thumping the table at the dismissal to insist, "Whatever the judge says, the Lord loves each one of you". So let us take to heart the message of Joe Durkin, the message of the gospel, the message of Jesus. Let us fall in love again.