As for your intention, who could have learnt it, had you not granted Wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from above?
Thus have the paths of those on earth been straightened
and men been taught what pleases you,
and saved, by Wisdom.
Wisdom 9:16 - 18
I am a reader of memoirs and biographies.
Understanding how individuals picked up on the opportunities, learnings and
experiences in their lives helps make sense of my own journey as a child,
father, husband, worker, believer, colleague. One such memoir, is that of John
Shelby Spong, Here I stand. Spong is the retired Episcopal bishop of Newark,
NJ.
From a relatively conventional childhood,
Spong sought ordination. He kept his eyes and ears open to the needs of those
to whom he ministered: gays, feminists and blacks. He questioned the way
religion was practised and the way the scriptures were interpreted. He used
every tool available to him in his study of Christianity - fundamental
theology, christology,
harmartiology, mariology,
biblical
theology, natural
theology, hermeneutics,
theodicy, eschatology and moral theology – and even
these he challenged as not serving the faithful adequately enough. He (still)
proposes the reformation of Christian life and thought. He put forward 12
theses that have brought him vitriolic and bitter criticism from churches,
theologians and believers of every variety.
I couldn’t help but admire this man of the
cloth – for despite the adversity he met, he stood tall. He used his immense
scholarship and intellect against the anger of those he challenged.
Needless to say, his theses would quite
clearly place him in the realm of the unorthodox. Yet the story he tells
explains why he stands where he does. And he stands unapologetically.
In the end, who would know the mind of
God? Is the revelation we have immutable?
Given that we are generous to a fault, at times, to believers and
non-believers of every creed and ‘ism’ it’s a pity the same consideration
cannot and has not been extended to John Selby Spong. The writer of Wisdom
(9:13 – 18) tells us: It is hard enough to work out what is on earth, laborious
to know what lies within our reach; who, then, can discover what is in the
heavens?
Our challenge, then, is to seek to
understand the entire world in which we live, to make sense of it, to discover
its order/disorder, and this must happen in the life, the only life I have and
lead. We may not commit our actions, words and thoughts to paper, but our
living breath becomes our memoir. The attitudes we pass to our children, the
way we engage with those serve us in the shop, they manner in which we treat
our spouses, our neighbours, our fellow journeymen, they will be imprinted in
the minds of those we encounter daily. Will you be satisfied with the way your
life has been written? Will we see your passion for your family, your sport,
your faith, your cooking, your charity for others reflected back at you?
Today is the day to recommit yourself to the
life you should be living. Being a disciple of Jesus requires that we give up
every possession in order to follow him (Luke 14:33). Is there something or
someone in your life that you would do that for?
Peter Douglas
HEAD OF SCHOOL SERVICES, NORTH
Get behind me, Satan
In his homily at the funeral for the
murdered priest, Archbishop Dominique Lebrun of Rouen recalls the last words of
Fr
This is the complete text of the homily
given by Archbishop Lebrune.
Dear Friends,
Father Jacques Hamel no longer has any
reason to fear God. He is presenting himself before Him with a history of
righteous deeds. Though we cannot know for certain what is in our brother’s
heart, so many first-hand accounts of his goodness cannot be wrong! Fr. Jacques
Hamel had a simple heart. He was the same person with his family, his brothers
and sisters, his nephews and nieces as he was with his neighbors in the middle
of his city and with the faithful in his Christian community.
58 years in the priesthood! Fifty-eight
years of serving Jesus as a priest, in other words as the servant of His Word,
His Eucharist and His Charity. I feel very small. When St. Peter spoke of
Jesus, he said “Wherever He went, He went about doing good things.” Jacques,
you were a faithful disciple of Jesus. Wherever you passed, you did good
things.
Last Easter, Jacques, you wrote for your
parishioners: “Christ is risen; it is a mystery, like a secret, which God has
confided to us to share with others.” Perhaps this mystery, this secret told in
confidence about the risen Christ is rooted in the experience of death
encountered in Algeria, an experience of which your family reminds us. Perhaps
this mystery, this secret told in confidence is winning over hearts in this
assembly: yes, Christ is risen. Death is not the last word.
The resurrection of Jesus was not a
catechism lesson for you, Jacques, but a reality, a reality for our hearts and
for our hearts’ secret; at the same time, it is a reality to share with others,
in confidence. And in the face of the reality of your death, as sudden as it
was unjust and horrible, God knows we have to look deep in our hearts for
light.
Brothers and sisters, let us be true to
ourselves. You know the history of Jesus that no historian can call a fable.
Peter tells us the essential truth: Jesus of Nazareth, a just and good man,
“healed those who were under the power of the devil, for God was with him… then
He whom they put to death by hanging Him on a wooden cross of suffering, God
raised Him back to life on the third day and let Him manifest Himself…”
Brothers and sisters, let us be simple and
true to ourselves. It is in our hearts, in the secret of our hearts, that we
have to say “yes” or “no” to Jesus, “yes” or “no” to his way of truth and peace;
“yes” or “no” to the victory of love over hate, “yes” or “no” to his
resurrection.
Jacques Hamel’s death calls me to a say a
resounding “yes,” not or no longer to a lukewarm “yes.” A “yes” for life, like
Jacques’ “yes” at his ordination. Is it possible? It is up to us to answer that
question. God is not forcing us… God is patient… God is merciful. Even when I,
Dominique, say “no” to love… even when I’ve told God, “I’ll worry about it
later”, even when I have forgotten Him, God waits for me because he is
infinitely merciful. But can the world today wait any longer for the chain of
love that will replace the chain of hate?
Will it take other killings to convert us
to love, and to the justice that builds love? Justice and love between persons
and peoples, no matter which side of the Mediterranean they are on. Too many
deaths in the Middle East, too many deaths in Africa, too many deaths in
America! Too many violent deaths. That’s enough!
Evil is a mystery. It reaches the heights
of horror which are beyond the human. Isn’t that what you meant, Jacques, by
your last words? Fallen to the ground after the first knife blows, you tried to
push back your assailant with your feet, and you said: “Get thee behind me,
Satan”; you repeated: “Get thee behind me, Satan.” At that moment you were
expressing your faith in human beings created good that the devil has in his
grip. “Jesus healed all those who were under the power of the devil,” says the
gospel.
This is not to excuse murderers, those who
make a pact with the devil. It is rather to assert, together with Jesus, that
every man and every woman, every human person can have a change of heart
through His grace. Thus we receive the word of Jesus, which may seem beyond our
strength today: “But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you.”
You who are tormented by diabolical
violence, you who are drawn to kill by a demonic, murderous madness, let your
heart, which God has made for love, gain the upper hand; let us remember our
mother who gave us life; pray to God to free you from the devil’s grip. We are
praying for you, we are praying to Jesus “who healed those who were under the
power of evil.”
Roselyne, Chantal, Gérald and your
families: the way is hard. Allow me to tell you how much I and so many others
admire your dignity. Your brother and uncle supported you. He will continue to
do so. It is not for me to proclaim Father Jacques a “martyr.” But how can we
fail to recognize the fecundity of the sacrifice he experienced, in union with
the sacrifice of Jesus that he celebrated faithfully in the Eucharist? The many
words and gestures of our Muslim friends and their visit here mark an important
step forward.
I turn to you, the Catholic community, as
well. We are wounded and horrified, but not annihilated. I turn to you, the
baptized members of our Catholic Church, above all if you do not often come to
church, if you have forgotten the way. With Mgr. Georges Pontier, the president
of the Bishops’ Conference of France, at my side, I am launching an appeal to
you, an appeal as simple, like a first step, as simple as the life of Father
Jacques Hamel.
As a tribute to Father Hamel,
we invite you to visit a church in the
coming days,
to express your rejection of the
defilement of a holy place,
to insist that violence will not gain the
upper hand in your heart,
to ask for God’s grace to make you strong;
we invite you to put a candle in this
church, as a sign of resurrection, to meditate here and open your heart to its
very depths; and if you can, to pray, to implore.
August the 15th would be a propitious day.
The Virgin Mary will welcome you with tenderness. Let us remember our mother.
God, do not be impervious to the distress
of your children who turn to you!
God, continue in our hearts what your Son
Jesus began!
God, thank you for your son Jacques:
console his family and raise up new prophets of Your love among us and among
the young people at World Youth Day! Amen!”
NORTH WEST NETWORK MEETINGS
Peter's Whereabouts for the next two weeks:
Upcoming Events:
From St Patrick's College - Prospect:
From St Finn Barr's - Invermay:
From Our Lady of Lourdes - Devonport:
From St Joseph's - Queenstown:
From Star of the Sea - Georgetown:
Sandra Siebert received the award for Outstanding Contribution as a Friend in Catholic Schools
From St Joseph's - Rosebery:
From Sacred Heart - Ulverstone:
From Larmenier - St Leonards:
From St Anthony's - Riverside:
From St Thomas More's - Newstead:
From St Peter Chanel - Smithton:
From Our Lady of Mercy - Deloraine:
From St Brendan College - Burnie:
