I retired as a Roman Catholic Deacon in June of 2011 after 27 years serving the Church, mostly in Clinton, IA, but also for about five years in Thailand. About three years before retiring, I was eliminated from the preaching schedule because of a homily I had given on the Feast of the Holy Family. [A homily is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture.]
I had been anticipating that the Iowa Supreme Court would rule that outlawing gay marriage would be a violation of the equal protection of the laws clause in the Constitution. I asked people married for 25 years or longer if “gay marriage” would hurt their marriages or their families. Most thought it was a stupid question, and everyone answered, “No, of course not!”
So I feel really good about [current] Pope Francis ordering the bishops to consult with the people–especially since bishops are not married and have no families of their own.
Based on the information I had received from our parish married couples, my homily stated that gay marriage was not a threat to marriage nor to our family life. I stated that the real threats to marriage and family were war, poverty and infidelity, and I explained why. Two people complained, although I learned of this indirectly, and, therefore, I was no longer “needed” to preach.
Fearing that our bishops would go on a crusade against gay marriage–only to have it blow up in their faces–I wrote an article pointing out that every church has a right to define the marriage rules for its own organization, but not for society as a whole. I sent it to my bishop. In response, he forbade me to write on any matters of faith and morals.
That’s a churchy way of silencing dissent. I was just trying to keep them from “shooting themselves in the foot” over the issue of gay marriage. They did it anyway.
Perhaps the bishop regards me as the enemy. That’s okay. I love the bishop anyway. Jesus admonished us to love our enemies; to return good for ill.
Isn’t this what makes Christmas so special? When we see the baby Jesus in the manger it should remind us why He came in the first place–to bring reconciliation to all. The manger is a feed bunk for animals, so what is the Gospel writer telling us? Jesus has come to feed all? Good or bad; rich or poor; healthy or sick?
Nelson Mandela understood the message and the need for reconciliation. I t is what made him a great leader and the father of his country. So when President Barack Obama shook hands with Cuba’s Raul Castro at Mandela’s funeral, it showed that Obama and Castro got the message. Too bad a number of our U. S. Senators haven’t gotten the message yet.
After 60 years of sanctions against Cuba, isn’t it time we realized we shouldn’t force our economic system–which doesn’t work wonderfully well for us–on everyone else? After 40 years of sanctions, isn’t it about time we apologized for our Government’s role in overthrowing the democratically-elected leader of Iran, Mahammad Mossadegh, and installing a dictator, Shaw Palavi?
I am hoping that our Congress will get the real spirit of Christmas. It’s not about toys and parties. It is about letting go of our petty grudges. It is about reconciliation and forgiveness.
May the baby Jesus in the manger remind us of the reason He came.