Twelfth Sunday C
Fortnight for Freedom Homily
June 22-23, 2013
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The Central Questions
Dear Friends, Who do you, say that I am? This question of Jesus remains the fundamental question for His disciples more than 2,000 years later. Who is Jesus for you? This is indeed the crucial question for every Catholic.
When Jesus asked the disciples, who do the crowds say that I am, it was easy for them to report the talk on the streets of Palestine. Some say: John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others one of the prophets.
When Jesus poses the much more personal and much more important question: “But who do you say that I am?” it is Peter who responds: “The Christ of God!” This is one of Peter’s shining moments. However, while Peter gets the answer correct, he does not have a clue about its implications.
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Take Up the Cross
After Peter’s response, Jesus “rebuked” the disciples, instructing them not to tell anyone that He is the Messiah. The reason Jesus did not want the disciples promoting him as the Messiah becomes apparent in the next verses. Jesus tells His disciples in no uncertain terms that He will suffer greatly, be rejected, falsely accused by the leaders of His own people and eventually brutally killed. Jesus also makes clear what this means for His disciples. If they are going to follow Our Lord, they must deny themselves and take up the cross. They thus must be prepared to lose their life as they now know it
Like Peter each of us must come to understand, if we are going to truly follow Jesus, we have to be prepared to follow Him all the way to Calvary. Following Jesus faithfully will require us to deny ourselves and to take up the cross.
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Blessings of the Year of Faith
I have been edified and gratified by the way that so many in the Archdiocese have embraced this Year of Faith. In response to our archdiocesan initiative: Faith – Love it, Learn it, Live it many of you have sought to grow in your friendship with Jesus Christ and your knowledge of not only what we believe as Catholics, but why we believe it.
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Fortnight for Freedom
I speak to you today, because once again I along with all the other American Catholic Bishops, are asking you – beginning this weekend – to join us in observing a Fortnight for Freedom.
I invite you to join with your fellow Catholics, as we prepare to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of our nation, by entering into two weeks of prayer for renewed vigilance in our country for the protection of religious liberty and conscience rights. Historically, the United States has been for the world the beacon of hope for freedom. America has been a place where people of different faiths or no faith have successfully lived side by side in harmony, respecting one another’s beliefs and moral convictions.
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HHS Mandates & Other Threats
Today, however, we – as Catholics along with many of other Faith traditions -- are experiencing unprecedented threats to religious freedom and conscience rights. In Boston, San Francisco, the State of Illinois and the District of Columbia Catholic Charities are no longer able to provide adoption and foster care services, because of their refusal to place children into the custody of same-sex couples. States have passed laws that threaten to prosecute Churches for providing charity and pastoral care to undocumented immigrants. Catholic agencies are no longer able to receive federal grants to provide care for victims of human trafficking, because of their refusal to provide or refer for contraception or abortion.
However, the most immediate and pressing concern is the Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandates that are part of the Affordable Care Act. The Mandates, which have already taken effect for private business owners, force Catholic employers to provide in their health plans, abortifacient drugs, contraceptives, and sterilizations. Beginning on August 1st this year, some Catholic ministries and institutions will also be required to provide these so-called “services” that are in direct contradiction to Catholic moral teaching. The Catholic Church has always supported expanding access to quality health care for everyone. Historically, our Catholic hospitals and clinics have provided enormous amounts of charity care to the uninsured.
Fertility and pregnancy are not diseases to be prevented. The use of contraceptives is a lifestyle choice that is readily available to all Americans without compelling them to be included in every health plan. Abortifacient drugs destroy a human life at its earliest stages. This can never be considered health care.
The HHS mandates have nothing to do with authentic health care, but are rather an attempt to make everyone conform to an ideological point of view; even if it violates their religious convictions. It is ironic that the same groups who promoted abortion, as a matter of choice, now want to use the government to coerce those who morally object to be involved in the provision of abortion. Those same groups, who have championed the right of privacy as a means of keeping the government out of bedrooms, now want the government to determine the moral teachings of Churches.
The Administration has promised for two years to come up with an acceptable accommodation, but all of their proposals thus far have failed to solve the fundamental problem. Without relief from the Courts, private Catholic employers and some Catholic institutions and ministries are going to be forced to either violate their conscience by providing immoral services under the guise of health care or face fines and penalties that will be financially crippling imperiling their survival.
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Time of Prayer
During the coming two weeks, I ask every Catholic to pray daily for our nation. Pray for wisdom for judges and justices that their decisions will protect religious freedom and conscience rights. Pray also for all those in elective office that they will support legislative efforts to preserve among our most cherished freedoms -- religious liberty.
In addition to your personal prayer, I invite you to join me for one of three Eucharistic holy hours that I will lead at Holy Spirit Parish in Overland Park on Thursday, June 27 or at St. Matthew Parish in Topeka on Monday, July 1st or at St. Francis Xavier Parish in Burlington on Tuesday, July 2. Each of these Holy Hours begins at 7 p.m. Finally, I also invite you to join me on Thursday, July 4th for a 9 a.m. Mass at Nativity Church in Leawood that will conclude our archdiocesan observance of the Fortnight for Freedom. For more information, please visit our archdiocesan website.
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Time of Education
The Fortnight is also intended to be a time for education. I encourage you to study carefully the inforrmation about the current threats to religious liberty and conscience rights found in your parish bulletin as well as in The Leaven. I also urge you to visit the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops that contains a wealth of information with specific suggestions of what individual Catholics can do to help promote religious freedom.
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Reconsidering the Church’s Teaching
One of the arguments that the Administration has employed in defense of the Mandates is that many Catholics do not live the Church’s teaching regarding contraception. This is an irrelevant argument. Whether some, many or most Catholics fail to live the Church’s teaching does not give the government the right to coerce ministries of the Church or individual Catholics to violate their deeply held convictions.
One good that could come forth from this tragic situation would be for many Catholics to re-examine what the Church teaches about contraception and why. Our Marriage and Family Life Office is sponsoring several opportunities this summer and fall at a variety of locations to spend an evening with Dr. Laurie Heap and participate in her presentation entitledA Prescription for a Long and a Happy Life.
I encourage couples to give just one evening to reflect more carefully upon this crucial and controversial teaching of our Church. I promise you will not be bored. You will receive some information that I bet you have not heard before. It is a night that may well change your life and enrich your marriage in ways that you never dreamed possible. For information check your parish bulletin or visit the Marriage and Family Life Office on our archdiocesan website.
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Not Easy – Abundant Life
As we heard in the Gospel today, Jesus never promised His disciples that following him would be easy. In fact, just the opposite, Our Lord told His disciples then and now, if we want to follow Him we must take up the cross. However, Jesus also tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Why? Because Our Lord carries it with us! Even more, Jesus promises, despite all of the challenges and hardships we may face, following Him leads to Abundant Life in this world and Eternal life with Him forever. Not a bad deal!
I pray that the remaining months of this Year of Faith will be time of grace and blessing for each of you. Thank you for your love for Jesus and His Church. May God bless our nation! In my prayer I echo the sentiments of St. Paul: May you comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of God for you revealed in His Son, Jesus – the Christ! Amen.
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