My friends, our world these past few weeks has swirled with stories from Church and State about abuses of power, lack of accountability, lives of privilege, and within this milieu, the sense, in both areas that, “We are better than all of humanity beneath us,” whether it be in a Jesuit prep school or within the hierarchy of the Catholic church.

The interesting thing to realize is that this abuse has been with us, in Church and State for many, many years, only now; we are at a pivotal time because of the presence of the #MeToo Movement and the advancement of women in many areas of our world.  Through education and the realization, to a certain extent, within our Church and more so in our world at large, that women are equal to men and must be treated with the respect that equality demands; there has been some improvement, but much is yet needed.

And, before I get too far, one further comment on the culture out of which these abuses flow, whether in Church or State, because they work hand in hand.  As a country/state, or Church, when all the voices are not heard; there is always danger to become elitist, to feel privileged, to be above others and the longer such systems continue, the effects become insidious.

This condition exists, as we know within our country, our political systems, where women are still trying to break the “glass ceiling” of the presidency, where just the other day a woman’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee was spoken of by one male as “attractive” and “pleasing” and no one but women called attention to it.

This condition exists within our Catholic church and many other denominations as well in the form of patriarchy that clearly names God as male and routinely places women second, certainly not worthy to serve at the altar!

For these reasons and many more, women must be willing to demand that their rights to fair consideration for jobs, for pay, and for respect in this world be uplifted.  Men who love women must do the same whether it be in State or Church matters and it must be done now!

The time has come that misogyny must simply not be tolerated wherever it is found, whether that be in Catholic high schools, colleges, Congress, the presidency, the general public, wherever—it must not be tolerated and we all must say so!

Our Scriptures for today are reflective for us in many ways.  Beginning in the first reading from Numbers; we heard the clarion call from Moses, “If only all of God’s people were prophets.”  When we speak about “prophets” and “being a prophet;” we are talking about proclaiming the truth, given to one, against all odds.

James is speaking to the people that he is called to prophesy to—in his words, “To the twelve tribes of Israel.”  He is calling them to equality in their lives—it’s a rich versus poor kind of thing—treating others basically as they themselves would want to be treated.  That has always struck me as quite a basic concept, yet hard, it would seem, for some to do.  James states rather pointedly, “It was you who condemned the innocent and killed them; they offered no resistance.”

The same can be said my friends for those who are victims of any kind of abuse of power—many in these situations often feel there is no one they can turn to. Our nation saw this very thing in the proceedings this past week in Washington—women often have to work very hard to have their stories of abuse first, listened to, and then have any action taken against perpetrators of these crimes.

In the Gospel for today; we hear our brother, Jesus, speak quite inclusively when he answers the apostle John’s question about whether they should allow someone, not of their group, “to expel demons in Jesus’ name.  They hadn’t quite got his message yet, it would seem, that his, “way, truth and life” was for everyone.  He answers simply, “Anyone who is not against us is with us!”

Jesus goes on to spell out what they and all others (including those not in their group) are called to:  giving drink to the thirsty, and we can assume, food and clothing to those in need.  He states that the greatest evil would be that we would cause a little one to stumble and the penalty for that minces no words!

So, my friends, how do we talk about our life as we find it today, without seemingly coming down on one side or another, especially when it comes to politics?  All I can do is to keep my eyes on Jesus, his actions and his words and act accordingly making it clear that what I will try and do is not about making a political statement, but a heart statement.  Misogyny, a basic hatred of women that causes men to disrespect and use them for their own pleasure is wrong no matter who does it, Democrat or Republican. Religious groups that advocate for life in the womb must carry that concern through to care for those children once here and through every aspect of their lives—life is life, birth to death and again, not a political, but a “heart” or moral decision.

Miriam Williams, a Kentucky writer who lives in Philadelphia and writes for the National Catholic Reporter penned a piece recently entitled, A Strong Faith Can Handle the Test of Startling Questions.  She is responding primarily to religious evangelicals and other conservatives who want to have their faith all laid out for them—do this, do that and you’re saved! Williams writes that [she] “believes a strong faith can handle the test of ‘tough meat’ when it comes in the form of startling questions.  What if God sees nothing wrong with women delivering the Gospel?  What if homosexuality isn’t a sin? What if it is, but God has enough grace to cover it? What if the Bible is literary, but not literal?”   She goes on, “I chew, I listen for God in the bites.  I digest.  I am energized and satisfied, even as I wonder how much longer so many people will feel full on theology that starves them.”

So, my friends, this may sound like I am swirling around, not getting to the point, but my intent here was actually not to step on any “political toes” but “to go deeper” as mystic, Hildegard of Bingen is known for encouraging.

We must move beyond the political, the seemingly religious, the pious, the law, in all its coldness and respond from our hearts as Jesus did.  We must look for the truth in these troubling times, not in rhetoric, but in actions of goodness, kindness, compassion—devoid of arrogance and self-centeredness—deep enough to realize that when I look into the face of another, suffering due to something that I believe or have done; I can see my own face, and in all of that, the face of God.

Looking this deeply my friends will hopefully assist us to find the most inclusive and heartfelt decision for all of God’s people.  Amen? Amen!

My friends, first on behalf of the All Are One Catholic parish here; I wish to publicly welcome members of the graduating class of Cotter High School, 1968!  Back then, we were on the cusp of our lives—everything was ahead of us, everything was seemingly possible.  And now with the passage of 50 years—incredible when you think about it,  and the reality that these years have brought; we are more seasoned. There have been ups and downs and hopefully, more ups than downs! Our lives have grown beyond us through spouses and children and grandchildren and growth in other ways—in hopes and dreams, marked by our lives’ work.

The Wisdom writer in today’s first reading speaks indeed with wisdom about the struggles that can befall us in life—how we may have suffered “at the hands of enemies,” but also about how we may have triumphed by doing the right thing—not just for ourselves, but for others.

Reunions of any kind, whether family or school reunions are always times to look back, assess what was, both the good and the not-so-good and be conscious of what we learned and experienced then, but more importantly, all that we have learned and experienced since that has made us the people we are today.

Recently, a friend and family member of ours completed her life’s journey here as she succumbed to cancer.  Those who knew and loved her gathered for a celebration of her life.  The celebration was complete with what makes such celebrations memorable: hugs and kisses, tears, laughter, sadness, joy shared—memories, pictures from the past and the present, prayers for the family left behind, the meeting of old friends not seen for a while, remembering together all the good and fun stories, promises of getting together sooner, rather than later, because none of us knows how much time we have left.  I remember a few years back realizing that I had lived the greater portion of my life and of having a sense that I wanted to do the best with whatever I had left!

I have been struck these last few days with how the gathering of old classmates or the celebration of a loved one’s life is quite similar. How many times have we all said, “We only get together or see each other at weddings and funerals,” and then lament that we don’t do it oftener.

Such times often allow us to see life more clearly, the goodness of it, and of how we don’t want to waste it.  With regard to a high school reunion, we realize that we have all grown, have all changed in many ways and often times for the better—we have been “tested and proven,” so to speak, by life—hopefully become and did what our life called forth from us.

In James’ letter, our second reading today; he speaks about how jealousy and ambition can get in the way of peacemaking and that these two can bring about disharmony and all sorts of other evils.  I think with the passage of 50 years; we can see how jealousy and ambition probably played a part as we all struggled with our teen years.  James is writing to the early followers of Jesus and they could probably be likened to a high school class in its early days.

Back in our earlier years, 1964-68; we as students were struggling with growth changes in body, mind and soul much like the early Christians struggled with new ideas that Jesus shared with them. The personal changes that we struggled with as teenagers were part of our becoming who we were meant to be.

Father Paul Nelson, our principal, one who most in our class looked up to as a model of the way to go in life was constantly reminding us to “have the intestinal fortitude to be men and women!” Most of us probably strove to become that woman, that man that he asked us to be to please and make him proud of us and in the end we actually became the mature peacemakers that James talked of today, “sowing seeds that will bear fruit.”

My friends, today, it would seem, even more than at any other time, our country and Church are in need of people “who have the intestinal fortitude to be men and women.”  Within our country there seems to be an exclusive nature that pits those with means against those without, rather than a sense that we are all equal, endowed by our Creator and worthy of having those things that make life worth living—a home, food, clothing, a sense of safety in this world.

Within our Church, much reform is needed to curb “the jealousy and ambition” that James talks about today.  Our hierarchy needs to become good listeners of their people so that the Spirit of Jesus can instruct them through the People of God as to the way to proceed. A male priest in good standing recently said that what is happening in our Church at present is comparable to the Lutheran Reformation.

In other words, the struggles brought on by the clergy sex abuse crisis that were made possible because of the clerical system are very serious. The structure of the Church needs to be looked at from top to bottom and the changes needed must come from all the People of God and all the voices must be heard and listened to for the changes to make a real difference.

Jesus gets at the tone that should be taken in the gospel from Mark today.  He tells the apostles and others that they must welcome a little child as they would welcome him.  Now for us to get his meaning we must remember that in Jesus’ time, children had absolutely no status, so he is saying, for our purposes here that all the voices must be heard—we as Jesus’ followers must uplift the rights of all for our Church to reform and become something that Jesus would recognize.

Recently, I have been working my way through Richard Rohr’s book, The Divine Dance: The Trinity and Your Transformation.  Rohr, a Franciscan order priest has spent his life trying through teaching and writing to help people see that we can’t just be hearers of the Word, but must somehow, take that Word and incorporate it into our lives.  He challenges the powers-that-be too within our Church to make Jesus’ message understandable in today’s world—it isn’t and never was about law, but love. In so many words, he really is saying, “Keep your eyes on Jesus and if you do, you can’t go wrong. Jesus always moved past the law when it didn’t include love, mercy and understanding.

Now if we were to apply that thought to the clergy sex abuse crisis; we would never expect our so-called leaders to show that preserving their power was more important than protecting our children, which is what they did.

But, as I said in the bulletin; we want to hold onto our hope and in that light, I share a letter from a priest friend in response to letters that I originally wrote to the Winona bishop, John Quinn and to Pope Francis asking for reform within our Church, stressing that they both needed to be real leaders in this effort.  I then shared my letters with seven priests that I know in this diocese and across the country.  The priest in question wrote the following:

    “Kathy, thanks for your note. I appreciate your words to Bishop Quinn and Francis—well said.  We are planning listening sessions here. Please keep us in your prayers.” 

So, my friends, there is hope and we must hold onto that! Additionally, we must do our part, whatever that is to make our voices heard. We must decide what kind of Church we want, what kind of country we want and do our part to secure that.  The Spirit of our Loving God lives within each of us to help us to be all that we were meant to be—let us pray and ask for all that we need! Amen? Amen!