January 22, 2016
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
[transcription of delivery]
Well,let me tell you, from this vantage point, you all are a sight for sore eyes, and the teacher in me would like to place a gold star on each one of your foreheads, simply not because you've come here even under the threat of Snowmageddon, but most especially because each one of you is here today to praise God and to do so not only from the words that escape our lips, but from the actions that must be the centerpiece of our own hearts. And, so once again, thank you for being here.
I think it's important for us to remember how we got here today. I'm not talking about the wheels or the wings that may have brought you and me here. I'm talking about those significant people in your life and mine who have made a difference in our lives. Those people who have brought us to know what is in fact the core of our existence: God, who is the Creator and the image and likeness of all that is, especially the human person. During this holy Mass today, I ask all of you, each of you, all of us, to think about who those significant people are in our lives.
I can't help but think about my dear mom this morning. She was the first person who taught me how to pray. She left a deep impression on me from my earliest days to make sure that I dropped to my knees at the sight of my bed, before I crawled into it at night, and that the first thing that I did when I opened my eyes in the morning was to drop to my knees at that same bed, as well. I think about my grandmother, my bubba, who introduced me to our dear Mother Mary, and by her very example, taught me what it means to thoughtfully, devoutly, pray the Holy Rosary. I think of all of those priests whom I have met in the sacrament of penance, since I made my first confession in May of 1958, and to think about how I learned from them what it means to receive the gift of God's mercy and what it means to be aging in God's mercy.
And, especially today do I think of my fifth grade teacher, Sister Mary Richard, a sister who taught me how to be a pro-lifer. And, she did it in an interesting and uncomplicated way. I can still remember the very first class we had as fifth graders. Sister Mary Richard, who was a stern teacher, got up before the class and she said, "Boys and girls, I want to be very clear about something. If you have any hopes of getting to the sixth grade, then besides knowing the Hail Mary, you better know the prepositions: about, above, across, after, against, among, around, at, before, beside, between, by, down, during, except for, from and into, to, toward, under, up, with…"
Needless to say, I made it to the sixth grade, but the important part of the lesson that Sister Mary Richard taught us was that as important as those little words, those prepositions, are to a sentence to complete its meaning, to give its meaning, the spiritual lesson of prepositions points to the image that you and I see in the mirror every day. That each one of us is called by God to be a "preposition" in life, because, as the grammaticians will tell us, little things mean a lot. Even so, isn't that what we celebrate here today? Isn't that what this march is all about?
We come together on this day, January the 22nd, by remembering what happened on this date in 1973, when the Supreme Court of our country opened the doors to legalize abortion. And that tragic event has opened the doors for many other life-taking motives and initiatives in the world in which we live. And, so how important it is for you and me to be here today! To stand up for the cause of our dear God, but not simply to focus only on the evil of abortion and why we do so - to look at all the things that discard life in all of its many forms - is grounded in the passage you and I just heard from the prophet Isaiah.
But, let's not forget the challenge He gives to us through that prophet today, for what the Lord calls us to do in life is to be a people of fasting. Now we need to be very clear about how God understands fasting because I think many of us in our own lives have been tempted to think about fasting as somehow giving up something valuable in life, and, to be honest with you, that kind of action means nothing. If the object of why we fast is not God himself, in the true nature of fasting, it's imperative for us to remember what fasting is all about: to sacrifice. And, it's important for us to go to the etymology of that word: to make holy.
Within the context of all of that -- and in the example of my teacher, Sister Mary Richard -- it's important for us to be able to see how you and I are called to be "prepositions" in life, how we are called to connect the dots and especially with and for the tiniest of people in our world in which we live. No wonder that in that passage from Isaiah, God would speak so boldly to encourage all those who fool him to release those bound unjustly, to untie the thongs of the yoke, to set free those who are oppressed, to break every yoke, to share bread with the hungry, to shelter the oppressed and the homeless, to clothe the naked when you see them, and never turn your back on your own. Clearly, what it means for us to be able to connect the dots in 2016 takes on its own flavor.
God calls us as a people to sacrifice, to make holy all of life by connecting the dots of every single person within the context of life. It means we connect the dots to the unborn and newborn, as well as to the aging and the dying. It means we connect the dots to victims of human trafficking and those exploited through the tragedy of pornography. It means we connect the dots to refugees, hungering not only for a roof over their heads, but for a welcome that is a warmth to the heart. It means that we connect the dots to prisoners thirsty for a treatment that is both human and humane. It means that we connect the dots to the unemployed and the underemployed, looking not so much for a handout but a lift up. It means that we connect the dots to persons of all colors, cultures and creeds, hoping for treatment that is respectful of their being created in the image and likeness of God. It means that, as prepositions of God, we are called to reach out to each other and to see each other as God sees us all.
Because, you see, my sisters and brothers in Christ, when we allow ourselves -- as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta calls us -- to see ourselves as pencils in God's hand, then what we do, things like we do here this day, we let God write the sentences of peace and justice that not only can but will, in fact, transform the world in which we live. Because, you see, my sisters and brothers, the reason we celebrate this Mass, the Mass of Peace and Justice, is that we can understand what justice means to God. But, in our own legal jargon: somebody "gets what they deserve." But, justice in God's eyes is that we seek to grow in his mind and in his heart.
And so, my sisters and brothers in Christ, it is important today that we remember our prepositions: about, above, across, after, against, among, around, at, before, beside, between, by, down, during, except for, from and into, to, toward, under, up, with -- and why we remember those prepositions is so that we may never forget not only how important they are in a sentence, but how we, as God's prepositions, are important for connecting the dots of life to give honor and praise to God and enable us to help each other on the road to salvation.