WHO YOU GONNA LOVE?

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C Deacon John McMullen

From a personal point of view, if anyone wants to know the secret to our marriage, here’s what works for us.

Once a week we take time to go to a nice restaurant where we can be alone: a Candlelight dinner, soft music, and a slow drive home. (pause). I go on Tuesdays, MG goes on Thursdays.

Last year I asked MG, "Where do you want to go for our anniversary?"
She said, "Somewhere I haven’t been in a while."
I answered, "How about the kitchen?"
I wound up in the emergency room.

During our engagement Mary Grace and I got into a tiff on our way to Cincinnati about her driving skills. I was being helpful and she thought otherwise. We had gone about 100 miles and neither one of us had said a word. As we passed a farm I saw some pigs, and I asked her, "Are those relatives of yours?" "Yes," she replied. "I’m marrying into the family."]

Seriously, this weekend we are given plenty to reflect upon on how we live our lives; how we love; what we love; who we love, and who we are going to love.
For those of us old enough to remember Telly Salvales’ character in the old TV show KOJAK, you will recall that he used to say, “Who loves ya, baby?”
Well, today I ask all of you, “Who do you love?”

Our scripture readings this week make it clear there are really only two ways to live your life: a blessing of life to others or a woe-full curse of death unto oneself.

In two of the earliest Christian writings, called The Didache, the teachings of the Twelve Apostles, and The Epistle of Barnabas, both writers begin their texts much in the same way of today’s first reading and psalm.

The Didache begins: There are two ways, one of life and one of death, but a great difference between the two ways.

The way of death consists of: greediness, arrogance; persecuting the good, hating truth… Those on this path lack meekness, patience, and kindness and pursue revenge;
Barnabas adds that: the way of death is crooked, and full of cursing; for it is the way of eternal death… and especially evil are those who do not attend to the needs of the widow and orphan, who do not care for the needy and do not pity the poor, who oppress the afflicted, who are only advocates of the rich, who are unjust, failing to come to the aid of the heavily-burdened and turn away those in want of necessities, and who are in every respect utterly sunk in sin. This is the way of Death.

Yet the way of Life leads to eternal life. The Didache reads: The way of life, then, is this: First, you shall love God who made you; second, love your neighbor as yourself, and do not do to another what you would not want done to you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for your enemies, and fast for those who persecute you. Love those who hate you, and you shall not have an enemy.

If someone takes from you what is yours, ask it not back, for indeed it was never yours in the first place. Give to everyone who asks you, and ask it not back; for the Father wills that all should be given of our blessings. Happy are they who give according to this commandment.

You shall bear no grudge. You shall not hate anyone…and do not murmur. Be patient, compassionate, gentle, and good. And in all prayer you shall acknowledge your sins, and you shall not come near to God in prayer or to the altar as long as you bear ill will in your conscience.

Barnabas reiterates this theme. You shall be simple in heart, and rich in spirit. You shall be meek and peaceable. Love your neighbor more than yourself.
Thou shall share in all things with your neighbor; you shall not call things your own; for if we all partake of the incorruptible, eternal things in common, then how much more should we share in earthly things which are corruptible!

Be always ready to stretch forth your hands to give. Do not hesitate to give, nor murmur when you give. "Give to every one that ask of you," and great shall be your reward. Do not be the cause of a rift among believers or be the cause of schism. This is the way of light.

Wow! Talk about a strange way to live Christianity! Or is it the way things ought to be? What does the Gospel teach us? Better yet, what does Jesus command? Today’s Beatitudes from Luke are often called the Sermon on the Plain….Plain and simple – the gospel is meant to lift the lowly and bring down the high and mighty arrogant.

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One of my favorite Saints is Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. In his marvelous Spiritual Exercises –which he wrote while dwelling among the Benedictine Monastery at Montserrat - in the second week of meditations he asks the retreatant to ponder the two ways of the Kingdom and calls them the TWO STANDARDS.
The one is Christ, our Commander-in-chief and Lord; the other is Lucifer, the mortal enemy of our human nature.

Christ calls and wants all under His standard, his flag of allegiance; and Lucifer, on the contrary, wants us under his.

Ignatius has us imagine seeing the place; a great field of all that region of Jerusalem, where the supreme Commander-in-chief of the good is Christ our Lord; another field in the region of Babylon, where the chief of the enemy is Lucifer. (if we have ever been on a high mountain or even a great hillside one can see the valley below for miles in either direction . This is the idea.

On one side we can see the chief of the enemy army seated in that great field of Babylon, as in a great chair of fire and smoke, horrible and terrifying.

He then issues a summons to innumerable demons and scatters them, some to one city and others to another, and so through all the world, not omitting any places, states, or any person.

He tells them to cast out nets and chains; that they have first to tempt with a longing for riches - as he is accustomed to do in most cases -that humans may more easily come to vain honor of the world, and then to vast pride. So that the first step shall be that of riches and worldly goods; the second, that of honor and fame; the third, that of power and pride; and from these three steps he draws on to all the other vices.

Then we behold the supreme and true Captain, Who is Christ our Lord at the other end of the valley. Our Lord puts Himself in a great field of that region of Jerusalem, in lowly place, beautiful and attractive. He then chooses so many persons - Apostles, Disciples, teachers, care-givers, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, children – and sends them through all the world spreading His sacred doctrine through all states and conditions of persons.

Christ our Lord then asks all of His servants and friends whom He sends on this expedition, to want to help all people.

By having them embrace spiritual poverty, disregard for worldly honor, and humility against pride. And from these three all the other virtues flow.

We are in that valley. The battle is raging – who standard will we choose?

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Finally, in the Book of Revelation, the Lord speaks to the Church Community at Ephesus: "I know your works, your labor, and your endurance, and that you cannot tolerate the wicked; you have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and discovered that they are impostors. Moreover, you have endurance and have suffered for my name, and you have not grown weary.”

In other words, the church community of Ephesus knows the truth of God, they know the faith, they understand the doctrine, they have it clear in their minds, and they have suffered for being faithful to the gospel message and the truths of the faith, BUT – and this is an important conjunction - after praising them for their faith, he then says: “Yet I hold this against you: you have lost your first love!”
And who is the first love? Is it not Christ Jesus Himself?! And not only must we love truth in the mind, but we must love with the heart. We must love the truth with our minds, but love the Person of Christ with all of our heart, and serve Christ by serving one another with our hands.

We still read letters today written by St. Paul to the Ephesians, but sadly, the Church community at Ephesus faltered in its faith and did not hearken to the words of Christ or of Saint Paul, for there is no church at Ephesus today.

We are about to embark upon the Penitential Season of Lent, the desert of abandonment when we fast and pray. What will we learn to fast from? Whatever keeps us away from God and serving – and communicating with – our neighbor. TV, I-pod, cell phone, halo, guitar hero? Whatever it is –whatever we spend most of our time and money on can become our god.

Yet the greatest commandment is the same yesterday, today, and forever: Love God with all our mind, all our heart, all our soul, and with all our strength; and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

* * * * *

May we, the Church of Nativity, aye, the Church of the Diocese of Evansville, and indeed all Catholics and Christians everywhere, never forget our first love.
And take the path of Light, Life, and Blessing!

[Who are you going to love?]

Who ya gonna love?

WHERE IS THE LOVE?

4th Sunday of Ordinary Time Deacon McMullen Jan 30-31, 2010

Where is the Love?

[The homily begins with me hitting a trash can lid with a ball bat. After which I ask:

Where’s the love? [pause]

Imagine that week after week at Mass, the preacher, in order to not offend anyone, really says nothing of substance. He doesn’t proclaim the Word of God and allow it to challenge the congregation to grow in faith or develop a more personal relationship with the Lord nor does he call the people to look within themselves and see where God is calling them to share their time and talents.

Instead, the preacher continually encourages the people to keep their religion to themselves, reinforcing the old saw that only Catholics go to heaven, women shouldn’t be allowed in the sanctuary, and that everyone ought to focus on their sinfulness and faults, and never stop repeating to themselves how unworthy they are of God’s love!

Unfortunately, there are those who have embraced a warped, frustrated view of Catholicism that I have just described.

But what a completely upside down disturbing view of the gospel message! Yet that is sort of the kind of a mentality Jesus was confronted with when he returned to his hometown of Nazareth.

Jesus proclaims a passage of the prophet Isaiah and announces: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

The Nazareth crowd initially responds positively to him and his words. But then they begin to question him and his authority. Isn’t this the son of Joseph? He was a stonecutter, a mere carpenter. Who does he think he is? Once again, there is no room at the inn for Jesus, even in his hometown!

I’m sure Jesus could have asked: Where’s the love? Where’s the love!

Jesus recognizes that he is being rejected – but he knew it would be this way – you and I know that the good news of the gospel is often shunned in favor of the bad news of gossip, people’s personal failures, and the latest scandal.

Jesus jogs their memory and rekindles the story of Elijah who went to the widow of Zarapheth rather than any of the widows of Israel; he also recalls the story of Naaman the Syrian who was the only leper cleansed by the Prophet Elisha. God will not be outdone in generosity nor will he be confined to our ridiculous boundary lines. But the people did not want to hear how God loved their enemies, so Jesus is rejected! Jesus’ God was bigger than what they were used to, greater than what they could accept, so he is rejected!
They wanted a god who was only on their side, so he is rejected!

And by his rejection he is letting us know that we can expect rejection as well. In fact, it seems to be a calling card for Catholics and Christians around the world, even now.

We too will encounter opposition and a lack of faith – even among our fellow believers – people with preconceived notions of God that limit grace - but we must not allow their cynicism and doubt to crush our faith!

The Nazareth crowd was filled with religious intolerance and holy anger – often the worst kind! And they sought to kill Jesus by throwing him off a cliff headfirst!

But Jesus passed through their midst and went away. He went away!!! He went away. Where did he go?

He went to those who have open hearts and willing minds to embrace his vision of the kingdom! Do we see him in our midst? What are going to do with Jesus and his message, his mission, and his vision of the kingdom?

Should we beat a trash can lid, telling people what great Christians we are? Where is the Love in that? Or should we live the love?

Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, and Jesus all knew their God to be bigger than any of our ridiculous categories or boxes in which we want to keep God. But God cannot be contained. God cannot be limited. God’s love is overflowing.

Being sent to your own people and telling them something that might be hard for them to accept can get you into hot water just like the kind of trouble Jesus got into! Those who think they know all there is to know about the faith are often the scariest people to deal with. Those who should know that we are forever on a journey with and to the Lord are often the least interested in truly hearing the Word of God!

Yet if we take the gospel seriously, we are also called to be prophets! Not to foretell the future, but to speak and do God’s Word in our World! Jesus calls us all to be prophets, speaking the Word of God in and out of season and putting it into action!

As prophets, you and I have business outside these walls of worship. These walls are never to confine God’s Word or action in the world!

So, how can we be prophets today? Saint Paul describes our role very well in today’s epistle. We are to love. And what does love look like?

“Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, love is not pompous…” and all that…

We are the love in the world. And if we are not love to the world, then we are hypocrites, actors dressed as Christians.

Paraphrasing Saint Paul, if I have the tongues of angels and human and have no love, then I am nothing more than a trash can lid being hammered with a ball bat.

If I had the faith to move a mountain but do not put that faith into practice through acts of love and mercy, then I am as useless as an earthmover without a shovel!

These are strong words. Yet the gospel is strong medicine for a disease ridden world!

Therefore what should move us more than anything is what happens to us when we hear the Word proclaimed and then gather around this altar! When we comprehend the Word of God with our minds and receive the Word into our hearts, we are transformed; then as we approach the altar and receive the Body of Christ, the Eucharist, then we become the very Body of Christ, the Church!

So what happens to us once we hear the words, “Mass is ended, go in peace to love and serve the Lord!”?
Are those merely words? Or do we not realize that we are given a command! We are to boldly go forth as prophets to the nations! We become the sanctuary to the world! We are the Church and we take Christ to the world! We are God’s bread given as manna to the needy! We are God’s love poured out to a thirsty world!

What would the world be like if we practiced the virtues of patience, kindness, hope & love?!

[Ball bat on trash can lid again.] Where’s the love? Where is the Love? Where is our love? Where is the Lord?

EPIPHANY ANYONE?

There is a fairly forgettable film with Will Farrell called Talladega Nights, - trust me, I am not recommending the film – though I am sure many of you have already seen it – but four years ago one of my freshmen students placed the DVD box in my hand, so I watched it. It took me three nights to get all the way through the banal attempt at humor.

However there was one very telling scene where Will Farrell’s character Ricky decides to lead a prayer before a meal and he prays to the Baby Jesus because, in his words, “I like the Baby Jesus best.”

On this solemn feast of Epiphany and as we continue to celebrate the Christmas Season - while the rest of the world forgot about Christ 10 days ago – we savor the sweetness of the Savior’s birth.

However, we do not remain fixated upon the infant in the manger. We cannot. In fact, in Matthew’s gospel the Magi do not visit Jesus in a manger. Mary and Joseph and the child Jesus are dwelling in a house by the time the magi arrive. Jesus does not stay in one place for long. So if we only recognize Christ in the manger, then our faith would never grow beyond that of the likes of a Ricky Bobby.

Could it be that the reason some people may be more comfortable with the Baby Jesus is because they only come to Mass on Christmas? Then the next time these folks show up for church is on Easter Sunday after all the hard work has been done and the tomb is empty! But Catholics or Christians who treat their faith that way miss the whole story!

Many people do want Jesus in their own image… and for Ricky Bobby, Jesus is a little 8lb 6 oz., perfect newborn baby Jesus, in perfect golden-fleece diapers…”

He is the Jesus of his own imagination. He fashions Jesus according to an image that he prefers and is comfortable with and then pictures Jesus showering him with money, success, and power. But is this the true Jesus?

Ricky Bobby was so immature that the only way he could relate to Jesus was on the level of baby and God was the great gumball machine in the sky ready to grant his every desire.

We know that Jesus grew to manhood and began his public ministry. But even in the midst of Christmas we sing: “What child is this, who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping? The king of kings salvation brings, let loving hearts enthrone him. And then the next verse reads: Nails, spear, shall pierce him through, the cross be borne for me, for you; Hail, hail, the Word made flesh, the Babe, the Son of Mary!”


So even in the manger the shadow of the cross is there. Jesus is born in Bethlehem which means “little house of bread” and is placed in a manger – a wooden feeding trough for animals; then in his ministry he proclaims that he is “The Bread of Life” and gives his flesh as “our daily bread” and is eventually placed on the wood of the cross, nailed to it and lifted on high.

Therefore , note that the feast of epiphany is threefold – yes, we recall the Magi, the strange visitors from the east who come to worship the Christ child and offer gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh;

But we also recall the adult Jesus’ baptism where he begins his public ministry where God the Father announces, “This is my Beloved Son with whom I am well pleased.

And thirdly we recall Jesus first public miracle where he changes the water into wine at the wedding at Cana.

No child stays a child forever. Ask any parent or grandparent and they will all agree – they grow up so fast. So it was with Jesus! He didn’t just come as a sweet baby but as a sweet Savior!

He grows up and in his public ministry he challenges us in many ways.

Being a Christian is not for wimps. Jesus calls us to show mercy even when no one else is showing mercy; he calls us to be peacemakers even in the midst of war and oppression; he calls us to forgive one another if we desire God to forgive us. He calls us to love others as God loves each of us. This is an epiphany for many – perhaps even some of us here this morning.

Epiphany is a moveable feast – in more ways than one. Every day we are called to experience epiphany.

May we experience the epiphany of recognition that Christ comes to transform our ordinary existence into extraordinary grace-filled lives; that the same Father calls to us in the silence of our hearts that we are God’s Beloved Sons and Daughters!

May our celebration of epiphany leads us to the epiphany that we are God’s beloved children and we are to be Christ to one another.

Now imagine how glorious, how awesome our celebration of Christmas will be now that we know the rest of the story?!!!

GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY

"In the fullness of time, chosen in the unfathomable depths of God's wisdom, the Son of God took for himself our common humanity in order to reconcile it with its creator. He came to overthrow the devil, the origin of death, in that very nature by which he had overthrown mankind. And so at the birth of our Lord the ang...els sing in joy: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth!

"So good Christian, remember your dignity, that you share in God's own nature; through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ." - Pope Leo the Great (Pope from 440-461 A.D.)

Blessed Are We Who Believe What Is Spoken To Us By The Lord Will Be Fulfilled!

How Odd for God to choose the Jews…. So wrote Hilary Belloc.

It just doesn’t make any sense! Why would God do thing this way? I mean – really – Bethlehem? You’ve got to be kidding? Okay, I’ll admit that King David was born in Bethlehem, but come on; lightning does not strike twice in the same place, at least not in the Middle East. What are the odds?

The evangelist Luke begins his gospel with pregnant women and unborn babies. Women in those days had nothing of significance to say and children had no say whatsoever!

All of this it is nonsense to a world that is ever so sophisticated!

Mary has just received the incredible news that the Archangel Gabriel delivers to her. She is to be the Mother of our Savior, the Mother of the Son of God, the Mother of the Eternal Word of the Father, the Word who made the universe! She will bear the King of Israel and the King of Peace!

Mary- young Mary – a teenage girl – consents to God the Holy Spirit and now carries within her womb Jesus the fetus! She is no more than a few days pregnant and yet she dares to risk all and make haste to visit her relative Elizabeth in Judea, far south of Galilee in Judea.

This was not an easy journey nor is it safe by any imagining!. Mary had to travel down into unfriendly Samaria before likely crossing the Jordan River into gentile territory before crossing again to enter Judea n the south.

Imagine the questions Mary had as she journeyed south, yet imagine with what faith and expectation she traveled in the joy of the Holy Spirit!

So it is with us – once we get it, once we get the word of God in our souls, once we get pregnant with the Word of God, there is no stopping us! We must proceed in haste to announce the good news and do the works of faith!

When Mary finally arrived at the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth, her mere greeting, her simple hello to Elizabeth causes a paradigm shift and history is changed forever.

For when Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb - the infant, of course, was the baby John the Baptizer, and then Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit – all at the word of Mary – and it was because of whom Mary was carrying within her womb!

Elizabeth cried out, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.”

BUT – and this is an important conjunction – Elizabeth says “BUT how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

Here we are literally days – or if you are a child – you are counting the hours – 120hours or less- until we celebrate Christmas!

What can we learn from these two pregnant women and these two unborn baby boys?

Imagine the joy! Think about it - if so much joy was shared and expressed before Jesus’ birth, before his teachings, his miracles, and his resurrection from the dead, then how glorious, how awesome will our own celebration of Christmas be now that we know the rest of the story!?

For this infant Jesus is the refulgence of the Father’s glory; the one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times! The same Jesus that will fully mature, accept Baptism, and begin his public ministry to teach us, to heal us, to save us and to redeem us, for He Is the Eternal Word of the Father come down to earth!

Blessed are we who believe what is spoken to us by the Lord will be fulfilled!

Let us set out in haste to come to the altar! Let us set out in haste to our community and families to fulfill the Word of God! Let us set out in haste to love and serve our Lord and our neighbor!

And wouldn’t it be a wonderful Christmas gift if those we care for and visit and work with said to us:

“But who am I that the servant of the Lord should come to me? For the moment you first came into my life, my soul rejoiced in the love of God, for your mere presence brought peace and joy into my life!

Blessed are we who believe what is spoken to us by the Lord will be fulfilled!

Living the Gospel of Life in a Culture of Death

Mark 3: 1-6
[Jesus] entered the synagogue. There was a man there who had a withered hand. They watched him closely to see if he would cure him on the sabbath so that they might accuse him. He said to the man with the withered hand, "Come up here before us." Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?" But they remained silent. Looking around at them with anger and grieved at their hardness of heart, he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately took counsel with the Herodians against him to put him to death.

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Respect for Human Life and Human Dignity

The man with the withered hand could have been content to remain that way for the rest of his life, but he heard the word of Christ and risked persecution by stepping forward.

Being a person of life, promoting a culture of life and civility in our culture of death, is undeniably countercultural. We too must stretch forth our withered hands in prayer and compassion to our neighbors.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a "Gospel of life." It invites all persons to a new life lived abundantly in respect for human dignity. We proclaim that human life is a precious gift from God; and that society, must protect and nurture human life at every stage of its existence.

A culture of life begins with our refusal to destroy someone through gossip, ridicule, discrimination, deceit, disrespect, or any type of violence; and being pro-life requires a personal decision to respect the dignity of others, seeking to affirm and safeguard the gift of human sexuality and the gift of procreation; and to uphold the dignity of marriage.

But being pro-life means standing in solidarity with all of human life, not simply opposing abortion. As Christians, Jesus challenges us with these words: “Whatsover you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me.”

We are called to be neighbors to everyone, and to "show special favor to those who are poorest, most alone, and most in need of mercy. In helping the hungry, the thirsty, the foreigner, the homeless, the sick, the unwanted, or the imprisoned, we serve Christ Jesus.

The Christian disciple therefore not only avoids evil, he or she does not even think or wish another person any harm – even the most wretched or vicious, for "The measure of forgiveness that you measure out to others will be measured out to you." Christ's words of mercy are clear: "Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy," and the prophet Ezekiel spoke God’s word: "God does not desire the death of the sinner."

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There are those who criticize the Church for her pro-life stance just as there were those who criticized Jesus for eating with sinners and forgiving sin. Jesus lived the pro-life gospel by insisting that no person should be abandoned or regarded as hopeless.

We are all lost sheep from time to time; our hands are at times clenched tight, withered shut, keeping God’s mercy only for ourselves. Yet there are no lost sheep in God’s Kingdom! There are no expendable children – born or unborn! There are no worthless human beings! There are no useless persons! There is no one beyond the reach of God’s mercy! For every drop of blood that Christ Jesus shed was shed for you and me and every other sinner.

We are all called to be prophets that stand on the side of life and witness to the burning love of God in an often cold, cruel world, through our forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. In one of the Catholic prayers associated with the rosary, we pray, “...lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most in need of mercy.”

If we love God and long for God, then we will truly come to love the things that God loves, and love the people God loves. And if we long for union with Christ, then we must have the mind and the heart of Christ! And to practice what he taught! How impossible this seems - yet it is possible with God’s grace, and so we pray for his Grace – even now in the eleventh hour.

The Church holds a belief in the unique worth and dignity of each person from the moment of conception, made in the image and likeness of God - even those who have taken life must be treated with dignity – yes, even those who may show no sign of remorse or contrition. As St. Paul wrote, “While we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5.8). Christ’s blood was shed even for the sins of murderers.

“Our witness to respect for life shines most brightly when we demand respect for each and every human life, including the lives of those who fail to show that respect for others”! (Living the Gospel of Life, no. 22).

Christ taught us that we must love our enemies, not that it would be a good idea, but that we must love them. The gospel message is this: “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.” (Lk. 19.10) Is it not our task to carry on the work of the Lord? Christ did not give us an exception to the rule ‘love thy neighbor.’ Otherwise, the Good Shepherd would have remained with the loyal ninety-nine sheep and let the lost sheep plummet over the edge of the cliff to its death.

Therefore, let us cast away our fear of loving the unlovable and step forward like the man in the gospel. Let us abandon ourselves to mercy and seek to love as God loves by stretching forth our withered hands.

We are here tonight to pray for an increased respect for human life due to a tragedy that occurred in 1994: the killing of three beautiful people: Debra Jean Wrinkles, Mark "Tony" Fulkerson, and Natalie "Chris" Fulkerson. But those who seek vengeance against the perpetrator of the crime only reduce themselves to the very thing they seek to destroy and merely perpetuate the culture of killing.

Capital Punishment can neither restore the victims’ lives nor uplift the survivors or lessen their grief and pain. Only mercy, love, and forgiveness can do that.
We must stand with victims of crime –including the children of those who are incarcerated, but State-sanctioned killing affects us all because it diminishes the value of all human life.

Bishop Gettelfinger wrote of Mary Winnecke (the mother of Natalie Fulkerson) as “an extraordinary example who lives up to the pro-life ideal. Her daughter, her daughter’s husband and her husband’s sister were wantonly slaughtered by Eric Wrinkles. Mary continues to grieve the loss of her family. Nonetheless, Mary has not only forgiven Eric Wrinkles, she urges that the State of Indiana not kill him. It solves nothing nor will it bring peace to her or others suffering from his heinous crimes. She prays for Eric Wrinkles.”

And from her example, so do we.

Yet we here tonight also pray for Mary and all the family and survivors who were victims of this unspeakable crime and have experienced great anguish and pain.

Yet St. Paul wrote: “Where sin abounds, God’s grace more and more abounds.” We have faith that no matter how horrible the sin or the tragedy of sin, God’s grace is even greater. God creates each of us as his children. God never abandons us. Human beings may believe the worst about other human beings, but God is LOVE. Humans may hate; but God is love. This is our hope and hope does not disappoint. Our sins cannot overshadow God’s love; nothing can separate us from the love of God!

*****

There are two stories I want to share with you.

The year is 1375. A particular Italian Dominican Sister was asked to visit Nicolo di Toldo, an angry prisoner, who refused to see a priest and would not reconcile himself to Christ. He was going to be executed for committing a capital crime while under the influence of alcohol. The woman listened to him in his pain and fear, gently assuring him of Jesus' great love for him. When her attempts to commute his sentence to imprisonment failed, Niccolo asked her to accompany him to his execution.

She wrote: "I waited for him at the place of execution, and I kept praying…Before he arrived, I lay down and stretched out my head on the block, and begged the Blessed Virgin Mary for the grace I wanted, namely, that I might give him light and peace of heart at the moment of death…Then he arrived, like a meek lamb, and when he saw me he asked me to make the sign of the cross over him…

She caressed his head as it lay on the block and bent down to him, reminding him of the blood of the Lamb. His lips kept murmuring only "Jesus," and he was still murmuring when she received his head into her hands, the executioner fulfilling his function.

She wrote: “My soul rested in peace and quiet, in such a way that I couldn’t bear to wash away his blood that had splashed upon me.”

Through her, Christ was present to Niccolo, assuring him, “You are not alone. I am with you.” This woman knew that we love God by loving our neighbor.

The woman was Saint Catherine of Siena – a doctor of the Church. Catherine of Siena was like the merchant in search of a pearl of great price. She sought the pearl of Niccolo di Toldo among the slimy oysters of her day and was left with his blood smeared upon her religious habit.

*****

Another young woman was moved by God’s Grace. The year was 1888. She was fourteen years old at the time. She heard of an unrepentant murderer name Henri Pranzini. He had murdered three people and was to be put to death by guillotine in France. She determined to try to save him through her prayer.

She wrote: "I heard talk of a great criminal condemned to death for some horrible crimes; everything pointed to the fact that he would die unrepentant. I felt in the depths of my heart the desire to pray for all sinners. I told God I was sure He would pardon the poor, unfortunate Pranzini; that I'd believe this even if he went to his death without any signs of repentance or without having gone to confession. I was absolutely confident in the mercy of Jesus.”

She prayed and sacrificed for Pranzini, desiring his complete conversion to Jesus, even though he was judged guilty and condemned to death.

“The day after his execution I found the newspaper,” she wrote. “I opened it quickly and what did I see? Ah! Pranzini had not gone to confession, but he had mounted the scaffold and was preparing to place his head in the opening, when suddenly he turned, took hold of the crucifix the priest was holding out to him and kissed the sacred wounds three times!

“My prayer was answered." Though she would never be a mother physically, she called him her first child, and dedicated herself even more to praying for souls. Today she is one of the most popular saints and some people may be surprised to know that this young woman was St. Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, and that her first spiritual child was a murderer.

No one is beyond the mercy of God.

No One.

For who are we to dictate to God who should be saved or damned?

Therese stumbled upon the news story of Henri Pranzini. How often when we stumble across a story of a criminal in the news is our first thought to pray for his conversion or his salvation?

*****

These stories teach us respect for life. These saints challenge us and call us to ask ourselves the question: Do we love others the way God loves us? God’s mercy is boundless, and no sinner, no matter how great his offenses, should have reason to despair of mercy!

Just as Jesus called the man to stretch forth his withered hand, we too are called to stretch forth our hands in prayer and compassion to all. Who knows whom we may snatch up from the depths of despair?

So tonight we may be chastised for praying for a condemned murderer. Tomorrow we may be ridiculed for ministering to those with AIDS. Next week we may be ignored because we passed up a cocktail party to work the soup kitchen . Next month we may be snubbed because of our stance against abortion. But we are in the good company of Christ and the Saints.

“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you all because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” Mt 5

It is time to abolish the use of the death penalty.

It is time to cast away our fear of loving the unlovable and abandon ourselves to God’s mercy and love as God loves.

Let us pursue justice without vengeance or violence and build a culture of life, indeed a civilization of love, where we will be so committed to the dignity of human life that as a people, we will no longer sanction the killing of any human person for any reason, be they unborn, newborn, deformed, handicapped, elderly, terminally ill, or imprisoned – even those on death row.

May God, through our witness to the dignity of human life, change us and through us change the world so that the gift of human life will be cherished as the greatest of gifts.

Amen.

*****************
[Two other stories excluded from the actual homily due to time constraints follow:

Father Stephen Theodore Badin – a priest who escaped the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror (which employed the guillotine without restraint) was the first priest ordained in the United States by Archbishop Carroll. Badin served in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan for most of his life and told this story that took place in the years 1830-1840.

“A young farmer killed another man in a fight over a barmaid at a Bardstown, Kentucky tavern. At his trial, he was found guilty and condemned to death. I spent the night in jail with him before he was put to death. He wasn’t pious by any means, and he wasn’t Catholic, so I couldn’t hear his confession, but when the hangman came for him in the morning, he began to express remorse over his mortal sin as I accompanied him to the gallows.

“When the hangman placed the rope around his neck, he asked God to forgive him. Those were his last words. I went down and stood at the foot of the platform, holding his mother and praying with her as the trap door was sprung, killing her son.

“The whole affair illustrates the uselessness of killing a murderer. The Lord Jesus said, did he not, ‘Forgive as I have forgiven you. If you do not forgive others their offenses committed against you, I will not forgive you your offenses against me’? No man, by killing another, can restore the deceased to life, nor bring about any happiness in this world or the next; only an injustice and an assault upon the law of charity is done by adding sorrow to sorrow and tears upon tears.”

*****

Another tale that occurred in southern Michigan north of South Bend involved Father Badin and his catechist Angelique Campeau, a half Canadian and half Algonquin woman . In June of 1832, Topenebe, a twenty-five-year-old Potawatomi chief under the influence of alcohol, killed a young brave Nananko at Chief Pokagon’s village.

A council was held where Topenebe surrendered himself. The family of the murdered man produced their knives and tomahawks and, according to tribal custom, Topenebe fell prostrate in their presence and waited for death.

Chief Pokagon delivered a speech hoping to spare the tribe of another death, but those ready to avenge Nananko heard nothing. As they were about to execute justice, the female interpreter,

Angelique Campeau, stepped forward and said in their native tongue, “Kill me instead and be satisfied.”

All were shocked. None of the Indians expected such an offer, especially an offer from a woman.

Father Badin rose in response to his companion’s offer. He stepped forward and spoke in the Potawatomi tongue.

“To all the chiefs, indeed all my children of the Potawatomi Nation, my brethren in Christ, I am your father, the old French priest, one of the last blackrobes. You know how we French blackrobes have always been the friends of the Indians. Listen to me. I wish for all of you to be happy. What I say I say in truth. Love one another, and forgive, if you wish God to forgive you, who has often been offended by your drinking whiskey and in many other ways.

“If you do not forgive others their offenses against you, God will not forgive your offenses against Him. My children, Jesus, the Son of God, became man and was put to death by wicked men. When they were crucifying him he was praying to God for them. He did not wish for revenge and their deaths. He said, ‘Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.’ If we do as Jesus has done, we will be happy with him and with God, the Father of all men—red and white.

“My children, I speak to you as a father speaks to his beloved children. What I tell you is truth. God has sent me to instruct you; he has commanded me to teach you what His son Jesus Christ taught. Be assured that my heart cherishes you all equally, the least no less than the great. God shows no partiality. I have already spoken too long, but I must say one word more. Open your ears. Open your hearts. No man, by killing Chief Topenebe, can restore Nananko to life nor give happiness to his soul in the other world; only great harm would be done by adding sorrow to sorrow and tears to tears.

“My Potawatomi children, I, as your father, am confident that all wise men among you—indeed all men—will agree that what I have said to you is right and true.”

According to reports, Father Badin sighed and looked around at the assemblage before taking his seat again. His eyes were still on Angelique Campeau, standing in the center of the circle next to Topenebe. Topenebe had remained prostrate before the mother, brothers, and friends of the victim, Nananko.

Finally the mother of Nananko stood and called for the elders of the tribe. In their conference, the Indians conceded that it would be best to spare Topenebe’s life and refuse Angelique’s offer.]

ODD NUMBERS by M. Grace Bernardin

Evansville native M. Grace Bernardin's novel is set in the southern Indiana town of Lamasco, with a metaphysical twist and the innate longing for belonging.

Mike Whicker, author of the bestseller, Invitation to Valhalla, says of ODD NUMBERS: “Touching, clever, and at times delightfully off the wall, Odd Numbers is a gulp of fresh air... Readers will be hard pressed to remain at arm’s length from Vicky, Allison, and Frank, because, after all, they are like us—flawed but hopeful. Odd Numbers is a finely crafted story of the human heart.”