“Let’s Try Something New”
August 28, 2011, 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 20:7-9 Romans 13:13-14; Matthew 16:21-27
Second reading from Romans
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord.
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord.
Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to You.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then He will repay all according to his conduct.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
22nd Sunday and also feast of St. Augustine
Today August 28 is not only the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time but also the feast day of great St. Augustine of Hippo in North Africa (b. Nov. 13, 354 - d. Aug. 28, 430). As a young man he was a `rounder’ who begot a son out of wedlock. His love-child was named Adeodatus. Augustine’s mother, St. Monica (whose feast day was yesterday, August 27) continually prayed for her son’s conversion. She pursued him from North Africa into Italy and up to Milan. There she visited St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, and with many tears begged him to pray for her son’s conversion. Ambrose impatiently told her to stop her weeping, assuring her that “the son of so many tears surely will not perish.” Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Introduction
22nd Sunday and also feast of St. Augustine
Ambrose’s prediction came true. In his Confessions (Bk. VIII, Ch. 12) Augustine relates the very powerful moment of his conversion. One day in the garden of his villa he heard a voice coming from the other side of the wall. The voice kept saying in a singsong sort of way, “Tolle et lege! Tolle et lege!” (Augustine wrote in Latin.) “Take and read! Take and read!” At first he thought it was the voice of some kid playing a game. Then suddenly seized with a strange impulse, he picked up the Scriptures which lay near at hand. They fell open to Paul’s letter to the Romans: “Let us conduct ourselves properly, as people who live in the light of day; no orgies or drunkenness, no immorality and debauchery, no fighting or jealousy. Rather, let us take up the weapons of the Lord Jesus Christ, and let us stop concentrating on the flesh and gratifying its desires.” (Rom 13:13-14)
That experience converted Augustine. St. Ambrose, Monica’s close friend, baptized him on Easter night between the 24th and 25th of April, 387. To make his joy complete, Augustine’s love-child Adeodatus, along with some very close friends, were baptized with him that same blessed night. Then Augustine went on to become the great Bishop of Hippo. By his voluminous writings he theologically ruled the Universal Church from the 5th to the 13th century, when the equally voluminous St. Thomas Aquinas appeared upon the scene to theologically rule the Church until Vatican II (1962-1965).
Because of his enormous literary output, Augustine has been declared the Patron Saint of Printers. He has also been declared Patron Saint of Brewers, because of his former life of wild partying and heavy drinking. Augustine’s complete turnaround is an inspiration to those who struggle with similar Demons of their own.
“Get behind me, Satan!”
Like Augustine, Peter, too, was no saint. He lacked faith when he walked on the water toward Jesus and began to sink. (Mt 14:28–31) He was a violent man when he cut off the ear of Malchus, the High Priest’s slave. (Jn 18:11) Worst of all, after the Last Supper, Peter went out and three times denied knowing Jesus. (Mt 26:69-75) And in today’s gospel Peter condescendingly takes Jesus off to the side and scolds Him for suggesting that He would have to suffer, and that makes Jesus angry: “Get behind Me, Satan!” Just five short verses before, Jesus blesses Simon bar Jonah for his wonderful confession of Him as the Christ, and in reward He gives Simon a new name:“Peter” – “Rock,” for upon him Jesus will build His Church. (Mt 16:18) How quickly the scene changes; now Jesus is calling Peter “Satan!” “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” (Mt 16:23)
“Get behind Me, Satan!” Is Jesus angrily telling Peter to get out of His sight? Or is He simply telling him to get out of His way? Or is He telling Peter to get behind Him and follow Him, as a disciple follows his master? This last is an interesting insight, though it’s not often heard. It makes good sense, however, for in the very next verse 24 Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my follower must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.”
Fr. Boulad summons the institution to deny itself
Fr. Henri Boulad S. J. is an Egyptian-Lebanese Jesuit of the Melkite rite, rector of the Jesuit College in Cairo, superior of the Jesuits in Alexandria, regional superior of all the Jesuits in Egypt, professor of theology in Cairo, etc. So greatly qualified Fr. Boulad cannot be easily dismissed, as he writes a lengthy, personal and poignant S.O.S. letter to Peter’s successor, Benedict XVI. The opening paragraph of his letter shows how conflicted Boulad is:
Dear Holy Father,
I am adddressing you directly because my heart bleeds at the of the abyss into which our Church is sinking today. Please excuse my that is filial and dictated both by the "freedom of the children of God" to which St. Paul has called us, as well as by my passionate love for the Church. Perhaps you will excuse the alarmist tone of this letter, for I believe that it is already the eleventh hour and that confronting the present situation must not be further delayed.
A very tiny part of his lengthy S.O.S. letter reads:
In the matter of morality and ethics, the injunctions of the Magisterium , repeated ad nauseam on marriage, contraception, abortion, euthanasia, homosexuality, clerical celibacy, divorce and remarriage, etc. touch nobody and only engender weariness and indifference. All these moral and pastoral problems deserve more than preemptory declarations. They deserve an approach that is pastoral, sociological, psychological and humane. They deserve an approach more in keeping with the Gospel.
“Whoever wants to be my follower must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” That injunction, Fr. Boulad believes, pertains first and foremost to the ecclesiastical institution. It must first deny itself and take up the cross, before it can plausibly and effectively summon us, the People of God, to do the same.
Fr. Bourgeois summons the institution to deny itself
On July 27, 2011, Fr.. Edward Dougherty, Superior General of Maryknoll and (also a canon lawyer) sent a “Second Canonical Warning” to Fr. Roy L. Bourgeois, M.M., stating he must recant his belief and public statements that support the ordination of women, or he will be dismissed from Maryknoll. In part, his warning read:
On August 8, 2011 Fr. Roy Bourgeois in a letter utterly devoid of canonical perspicuity and wizardry, and brimming over with conscience and courage responded to his superior and his Maryknoll Community. In part the letter reads:Your public statements are directly opposed to the definitive letter of John Paul in the Apostolic Letter Ordinatio Sacerdotalis #4, and in a response to a “dubium” on the matter, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that this Apostolic Letter “is to be understood as pertaining to the deposit of faith.” (cf AAS 87, 1995; Cn. 750:2; Cn. 1371) Your numerous public statements and appearances in support of the ordination of women continue to create in the minds of the faithful the view that your position is acceptable to our Church. Your position is contrary to Church teachings. (Cn. 1399; Cn. 696:1)
Here I remind you of the words of our former Superior General, Father John Sivalon in his letter to you on October 21, 2008. “I must remind you, Roy, that if you do not recant within thirty (30) canonical days, you will be automatically excommunicated (C. 1331), and this will have ramifications for your membership in the Society.”
I have been a Catholic priest for 39 years and Maryknoll has been my faith community, my family. So it was with great sadness that I received your letter of July 27, 2011 (Second Canonical Warning), stating I must recant my belief and public statements that support the ordination of women, or I will be dismissed from Maryknoll.
After much reflection, study, and prayer, I believe that our Church's teaching that excludes women from the priesthood defies both faith and reason and cannot stand up to scrutiny. This teaching has nothing to do with God, but with men, and is rooted in sexism. Sexism, like racism, is a sin. And no matter how hard we may try to justify discrimination against women, in the end, it is not the way of God, but of men who want to hold on to their power
As people of faith we believe in the primacy of conscience. What you are asking me to do in your letter is not possible without betraying my conscience. In essence, you are telling me to lie and say I do not believe that God calls both men and women to the priesthood. This I cannot do. Therefore I will not recant.
“Whoever wants to be my follower must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” That injunction, Fr. Bourgeois believes, pertains first and foremost to the ecclesiastical institution. It must first deny itself and take up the cross, before it can plausibly and effectively summon us, the People of God, to do the same.
Conclusion
“Let’s try something new!”
“Let’s try something new!”
When Good Pope John was at the helm of the institution, he summoned his Church to the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965.) In preparation for it, various working documents were presented to him for his review. One day John approached a Cardinal and said, “My dear son, look at this document here! It uses up 30 inches condemning the world! We’ve been down that path for a very long time, and it hasn’t worked.” Then he added, “Let’s try something new.”
Fr. Henri Boulad S. J. who speaks of the institution’s “repetition ad nauseam,“ and Fr. Roy Bourgeois M. M. who rejects the much repeated stance that women can’t be ordained, and a whole host of other people -- they all beseech the institution to “try something new.”
