Editor’s note: This Bishop’s homily from August 25, the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sisters and brothers, whether you or I like it … now that both major political parties have presented their nominees for this year’s presidential election year, we have a decision to make! For some, I am sure the rationale is simply, “What decision? It’s obvious, isn’t it?” For others of us, it may not be so cut and dried. The Bishops of the Catholic Church in the United States recognize this readily and that is why our conference publishes a reflection guide as a means to aid parishioners in making such an important decision. It is entitled, “Forming Consciences for Faithful Discipleship” and is readily available on the web.
A key argument the bishops make in this publication is that: “Participation in political life also requires judgments about concrete circumstances. While the bishops help form the laity in accordance with basic principles, they do not tell the laity to vote for particular candidates. On these often complex matters, it is the laity’s responsibility to form their consciences and grow in the virtue of prudence to approach the many and varied issues of the day with the mind of Christ.
[According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1778)] Conscience is ‘a judgment of reason’ by which one determines whether an action is right or wrong. It does not allow us to justify doing whatever we want, nor is it a mere ‘feeling.’ Conscience — properly formed according to God’s revelation and the teaching of the Church — is a means by which one listens to God and discerns how to act in accordance with the truth. The truth is something we receive, not something we make. We can only judge using the conscience we have, but our judgments do not make things true.
It is our responsibility to learn more of Catholic teaching and tradition, to participate in Church life, to learn from trustworthy sources about the issues facing our communities and to do our best to make wise judgments about candidates and government actions.
Now, sisters and brothers, you may be a bit surprised that I would venture into an area which is forbidden to be mentioned at most family gatherings and cocktail parties. But what gave me the guts to do so is that it so clearly sets the scene for you and me regarding this Sunday’s readings. Using common parlance, there is quite a bit of “stirring the pot” in our first reading from Joshua where one is being invited to make a decision on what “god” a family will serve. It continues in our second reading, as St. Paul calls church members to be “subordinate” to one another — a word whose synonyms are: inferior, lesser, smaller, junior, lower, less, minor. Many of us would consider those fighting words! And finally, our gospel has us confronting some tough talk and asking the question, “To whom shall we go?”
As one Scripture commentary notes about this Sunday’s gospel reading: “This was a decisive moment for Jesus’ disciples. They had seen him perform miracles, bring people to conversion and contend with suspicious religious leaders. It seemed as if he could do nothing wrong! But now they had to make a hard decision: Would they keep following Jesus when he had something they didn’t understand? How about when they didn’t like what they heard? He had just told them that he had come down from heaven and that, like God, he had the authority to grant eternal life. Then he said that anyone who wanted to follow him had to eat his body and drink his blood. It was all too much, and most of them ‘no longer accompanied him’ (Jn 6:66).”
The commentary then goes on: “But Peter, speaking for himself and the rest of the Twelve, cut through the confusion with one simple question: ‘Master, to whom shall we go?’ (Jn 6:68). There was no one like Jesus. He truly was the ‘Holy One of God’ (Jn 6:69). Peter couldn’t let his lack of understanding derail him. He trusted that if he stayed close to Jesus, asked questions, listened carefully, and kept an open heart, he would one day get the answers he sought.”
Sisters and brothers, do some of Jesus’ words or the teachings of His Church confuse you (and me) or even scandalize us? We are not alone! And it doesn’t mean that in such moments that we should doubt his love for you and me or for others, nor does it mean that we should walk away! In fact, in such moments of wavering, Jesus is inviting us to draw closer to him (like he did to the Apostle Thomas – remember he even invited him to put his finger into the nail wounds on his body and his hand into his side). Pope Francis last August at World Youth Day in Portugal proclaimed to all gathered — that the Church is open to everyone, and it is meant to be a place of encounter with God as He presents himself to us!
Having said this, like Joshua in our first reading, I believe more than ever in the importance of parents leading their children to God by the example that is set in the home. I left the family home in 1981, but some 43 years later I can look back and see how my parents’ living of the faith had its effect on me. This does not mean that we were always in church or that my parish was actually an active one. Truth be told – it wasn’t; and sometimes I have asked myself how come I and my siblings persevered in the practice of the Catholic faith?
Really, it came down to some things my parents insisted upon while we were under their roof: Mass on Sundays and holydays, our weekly tithe from our allowance for our children’s envelopes, confession at least a couple times each year (and when needed), religious education through grade 12, as a family we ran one of the food booths for the parish festival, and when we were asked to be altar servers, it was to be until we graduated high school. In addition, there was religious art such as crucifixes, statues and pictures in the family home. We each were given a rosary and taught how to pray with it. Sunday was a family day as much as possible. And Lent and Advent had family customs. That was it. That is how we were taught to serve the Lord. It has nothing to do with my academic degrees!
This leads me to a final story for you and me to reflect upon this week and on our decision to follow Jesus: During World War II, Nazi soldiers entered a town and killed some of its Jewish citizens and buried them in a mass grave. One 12-year-old boy was still alive. He dug his way out of the shallow dirt and went around the neighborhood seeking shelter in homes. The people knew what had happened and, when they saw the boy caked with dirt, they hurriedly shut the door in his face. One woman was about to do the same when the boy said: “Lady, don’t you recognize me? I am the Jesus you Christians say you love.“ The lady broke into tears and received the boy into her home. She had made her decision for Jesus. Brother and sisters, the Eucharist calls us to decide: Are we for Jesus or not?
Editor’s note: For guidance in “deciding’ as Bishop suggests, visit Forming Faith Consciences: https://www.usccb.org/offices/justice-and-peace/forming-consciences-faithful-citizenship.
