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This is Pastor Judy Beaumont, Shayra, Miriam and Deacon Maureen

On Wednesday October 16th Deacon Maureen McGill accompanied women priests Judy Lee and Judy Beaumont in visiting a family in Tampa,Florida.  This is a family that the Good Shepherd Co-Pastors have ministered with for many years. Originally from Puerto Rico, with later residence in Florida, the daughter, Nancy, was  a MSW student of Dr. Lee’s in the University of Connecticut in the mid 1980’s. She became a wonderful social worker and was also a teacher,a poet and an Evangelical Pastoral Associate. She was the mother of twin girls, Shayra and Mia,now 23.  Because of serious Diabetes there were periods of time in which Nancy could not work and she struggled very hard to survive economically and as a single parent . At times she lived with her mother Miriam and she was Miriam’s only child. The family was very close and included an Aunt, Titi Gloria and a niece “Tata” who was raised by Gloria and lived with her in Gloria’s Senior Housing..  This is a family of faith and Nancy was its spiritual leader. She was an inspiration to all who knew her including us. At various times she asked us to pray with her and the family. When Tata was diagnosed with an advanced cancer in 2008 her time was short. The family was in crisis and we all faced this together. I gave dear Tata Holy Anointing and the family prayed with us.When she went home to God, we mourned with the family and helped Nancy to write the funeral liturgy. This loss was especially hard on Titi Gloria. She became especially close to us during this time. On special holidays like Noche Buena, the Christmas celebration, we would join Nancy and her family for a special meal prepared by Nancy and Miriam and for joyful customary singing with friends.

When the girls were 11-12, Nancy was hospitalized for her brittle diabetes and was in a coma for five months. During this time Pastor Judy Beaumont and I would go regularly to Tampa and join Miriam in her bedside vigil,anointing Nancy and praying.  MIraculously, Nancy emerged from the coma and began her life again. She was able to make a very special and wonderful Quincenera for her daughters and she was joyful at their High School graduation. She was delighted at knowing her grandaughter Sadie Belle Marisol for seven months. Yet her lot would be to go in and out of the hospital. In April of 2012 she suddenly fell into a coma and was rushed to the hospital where she lasted only a day. The family was in shock and we went immediately to them. Miriam’s grief was profound and she remained in this state for over a year. It was very hard for the whole family to regroup after this profound loss. My own heart is sad as we all face the world without Nancy in it. Yet we recall her with gladness because of who she was and the gifts of herself that she freely gave. With strong faith the family is sure that they will see her again with the Risen Christ.  Miriam moved back into Senior Housing  and eventually Shayra was able to move in as her caretaker.  They are finally picking up the pieces of their lives and are beginning to have the joy in their lives that Nancy wanted for each of them. Yet, a few months ago Titi Gloria had a stroke. She is now in a Nursing Home and regaining some of her abilities. There is still paralysis on one side but speech and some movement is returning.

Deacon Maureen joined us as she lives about a half our outside of Tampa and she is going to follow up in visiting Miriam and Shayra and Titi Gloria.  This was a joyful visit as Deacon Maureen was welcomed into their lives.

This is Deacon Maureen encouraging Shayra who designs costumes. Shayra was delighted that Maureen understood the kind of designs and costumes she loves to work on.  

When we went together to the Nursing Home Miriam was so happy to bring the surprise visitors to her sister Gloria. Gloria responded first with tears then with great joy.

I read some of Titi Gloria’s favorite Bible passages to her in Spanish and she was able to finish many of the verses. Then we looked at the family history that she kept in her Bible. We learned that this was the same day as her mother’s birthday!

Miriam was happy to see the history so well recorded. Miriam will be ninety in December and Gloria will be 88. Gloria was happy to know that Deacon Maureen would be visiting her and she asked her to call her Titi too-“Aunty”. Maureen said she would be happy to do this.We prayed with Titi and also her roommate. Titi said a loud Amen!

We will be back but we know this wonderful family is in good hands with Deacon Maureen.

Bendiciones y oraciones,

Pastor Judy Lee y Pastor Judy Beaumont

10/17/2013

Today we consider the true power of prayer. To do that we must consider what it means to pray. I am not always sure that I know. When my heart is moved by nature, a person, an animal, a movie or a book, a sunset or a call from someone, and I say “Thank you God!” I know I am praying. When I join our congregation in the prayers of the liturgy on Sundays, or at a Prayer Service, or at a hospital bed side, I am praying. When I call out in desperation, “Help!” I am praying. When I take my morning walk and chant names and faces to God, I am praying. When I sit quietly and look at my lake, I am praying. When I see pain in people and places, I am praying. When I read the Scriptures, I am praying. I am not always praying in words. I am not always praying as Jesus suggests, but I do pray when I am not even conscious of praying. How about you? What is prayer to you?

In Luke 18:1 Jesus tells us to pray always and not lose heart. Jesus is headed toward Jerusalem. He full well knows the path he is on and where it will lead for one who has the courage to confront the powers that be in “church and state”. He also knows the plight of those who accompany him and whom he accompanies- the poor, the dispossessed, the sick and outcast, the stranger and all those without power, including widows. He tells the story of the persistent widow to encourage those who have no power to keep on speaking up, if no one else will hear them, God will and God will deliver justice speedily to those that call upon God (verses 7-8a).  Jesus does not want those who nobody hears to lose heart.  God is with them. God hears and will act.

In choosing the persistent widow as the unlikely heroine of this parable, Jesus once again empowers women. While some, including the corrupt judge, may see her as a pest and a whiner Jesus sees her as a winner. He is teaching here about the relationship of our loving and just God to the “weakest” among us.  He is not comparing his loving Parent to a bad judge who needs to be pestered into doing right. Jesus is saying God is listening to the pain and need expressed to God.

In Jesus’ time, widows, left without a wage earner and the one from whom they derived status, had no power. The word for ‘widow’ in Hebrew means ‘silent one’. Yet this widow needed justice enacted and she spoke up-she wanted “legal protection from an opponent” (verse 3, TIB translation). I think of the many women who seek orders of protection against abusive men in their lives. I think of women who live in places where the law of the land clearly does not protect them.  I think of women here who are still too frightened to get orders of protection and the violence and death that ensues. I think of women who are locked into abusive relationships dependent on a man’s income.  I am thankful for the few housing opportunities we have for women with low or no incomes, especially for those with disabilities. Below is Karen who, at almost fifty years of age, now has her very first independent home through counseling, support, and Goodwill Housing. Karen prayed for her own home.

Happy new home. Hooray for you, Karen!

I think of the young girls who were shot for speaking out for the education of girls in Pakistan and elsewhere. To Malala Yousafzai,16, who survived being shot in the head and neck by the member of the Taliban for her views, and to her friends and classmates, I say, don’t give up, don’t lose heart, God is with you, and so are we.

In the reading from Exodus Moses represents God’s power even in armed battle by holding his arms up. I think of how tired his arms were. And I am so thankful for Aaron and Hur who gave him a seat and stood on each side holding up his arms. I pray that we can find ways of holding up the arms of our sisters in lands where women are shot for wanting education.  Perhaps we do it through public outcry and education, perhaps we do it through donations or diplomacy, but do it we must. A few years back, in Pakistan, some businessmen (Mr. Chapbra and Mr. Ahmad among the leaders) got together and developed TCF, schools for the poorest children in the land. They are trying to get 50% enrollment of girls and are near that goal. They are funded by individual and corporate donations and are making a big difference. (PBS and Undertold Stories, University of St.Mary’s, Minnesota).

I think that addressing the issues of abuse in relationships is one of the hardest things we do pastorally, especially when economic issues reinforce the problems. I think of how tired we in the Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community get in trying to hold up the arms of women and men who face despair, both economic and personal. I am so thankful for our Aarons and “Hers” who stand side by side with us to help our poorest sisters and brothers. When we act in community we can do anything. When we unite ourselves through prayer with the Birther/Father/Mother of the Cosmos we are truly empowered.

That is the essence of prayer-to unite ourselves with the power and love of God.  Scholar of the Aramaic language, Neil Douglas-Klotz in Prayers of the Cosmos translates the beginning of Jesus Prayer, not “our Father, who art in heaven” but from Abwoon d’bwashmaya-

O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos…

Wordless Action, Silent Potency-

Where ears and eyes awaken, there

Heaven comes.

When we pray, make time for communication with God, we tap into God’s power and God’s dream for the world and for us, and we awake. Then we bring God’s kin-dom to this world.

Another Aramaic scholar, Rocco Errico, says “that the word for prayer in Aramaic is slotha. It comes from the root word sla, which literally means ‘to trap’ or ‘to set a trap’. Thus, prayer in its initial sense implies ‘setting your mind like a trap so that you may catch the thoughts of God’-in other words, ‘to trap the inner guidance and impulses that come from your inner spiritual source’…It is an ‘alert sense of total sensitivity and attentiveness’.” (Setting a Trap For God, pp.6-7).  These definitions that come from the language Jesus actually spoke help us to understand how Jesus prayed and how we too can set the stage for being open to God in our praying. I think of the old hymn “In the Garden”-“I come to the garden alone when the dew is still on the roses…and the joys we share as we tarry there none other has ever known”.  Prayer is a time of conversing and communicating with God who is communicating with us and loving us.  Errico suggests that rather than play a recorded tape to God in prayer, that we come to God with a blank tape/DVR and receive the message that God has for us, and the power, love and joy that comes with our prayer relationship with God.  Prayer is attunement. When we are open to all God has for us and gives us, our response is thankfulness. And we are inevitably guided into action.

The story of the persistent widow assures us that God is attentive to us and in turn prayer is us being attentive to God as well. God will deliver justice and enable us to deliver it as well.  In a sense the brave widow “hammered” on the bad judge’s door until he opened up and delivered justice. Our hammering is our speaking up for justice and enacting it with God’s help. The old folk song by Peter, Paul and Mary runs through my mind-“If I Had a Hammer.” The song is prophetic- we sing out “warning and danger and the love of our brothers and sisters all over this land.”  Here is the last verse-through prayer we do have what we need to make noise and act for justice. We will sing this in church on Sunday.

“Well, I’ve got a hammer

And I’ve got a bell

And I’ve got a song to sing

All over this land.

It’s the hammer of justice,

It’s the song of freedom,

It’s a song about love between my

Brothers and sisters

All over this land!”

So, let us set a trap for God by attuning ourselves to our loving and just God.  Let us open ourselves in prayer to hear God’s message and receive God’s gifts of love and power to enact justice. Let us take our hammers, bells and songs and with the help of the community of believers let us hold up our weary arms and enact God’s power for and more importantly with those without power to change their lives.  Then we can not only pray but live

“teytey malkuthakh”- “thy kin(g)dom come”.

“Create your reign of Unity now-

Through our fiery hearts and willing hands”.

(Douglas-Klotz, Prayers of the Cosmos, p.19).

Amen.

Pastor Judy Lee, ARCWP

Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community

Fort Myers, Florida

This entry includes an update on Allan whom we visited again on 10 /18/13  and Shawn who we have been following.

Allan continues to do remarkably well. He is actively engaged in conversation with his visitors. His mind is excellent and witty.  He dealt with some medical issues but is feeling good now. The color on the TV remains great and he enjoys it.  He is also enjoying a Tablet that his daughter got for him though the wireless reception is frustrating. He had Pastor Judy Beaumont give a good try at bringing it in, but no luck yet. His daughter will check it out later. His sense of humor is good and his appetite is even better. He does not overdo, but is happy to have the McDonalds favorites we brought him and to order out from Papa Johns with other company. He enjoyed praying with us and looks forward to a next visit.

Shawn is feeling better after the initial pain from the extractions abated. He is coping with soft foods and shakes and had some requests for food that we will bring for him on Sunday. He is feeling much more hopeful and looks forward to a first fitting in two weeks. We agree that it will be so good to see his smile again.

Summary of the original article:

We began this day with a prayer for grace. As we prepared to visit Allan, who is fifty-six, in Hospice first, we prayed that we might know how to be there for him. We have known Allan since the beginning of our Church in the Park ministry in 2007. He was one who dropped in on his own schedule when we were outside and when we moved to Church in the House too in 2009. Tall and artistic he had painted houses and the fumes had taken its toll on his lungs even then,  Still it was a struggle to help him get SSI Disability as he hated going to Doctors. (Finally with lawyers he was successful and he was proud to own a little trailer of his own).  He is known for his Hawaiian shirts so we brought him one to drape over his bed along with a little bear bearing a heart that said I Love You.

Allan was in quiet reverie as his eyes fixed on the TV with a poor and faded picture. He looked up, focused and was so pleased to see us. He loved the bear and gave us a big smile. He liked it even better when we produced the trademark Hawaiian shirt and draped it over him. He began slowly to become animated and was happy to share that his son had come from California to see him and his ex-wife and step daughter were regular visitors along with his best friend, Dan. This meant so much to him.  He liked Hospice better than the hospital, and he was feeling comfortable. He was thankful for being comfortable and having people who care about him. He shared that in addition to the COPD, he also had cancer.  They “got it”  but he was unable to continue with radiation.  He became more and more animated as we talked. He even asked us to fix the TV picture so he could actually see it. We did and he was amazed at the brilliant colors.  He said that he still loves colors. This is Allan sporting his Hawaiian shirt.

When we asked Allan if he would like to be anointed he said “Oh, yes. My Grandma raised me in the church and I would like the rites.” The peace of our God be with you, Allan”. “And also with you” ,he replied. He also knew the reading from James: “Are there people sick among you: Let them send for the priests of the Church,and let the priests pray over them, anointing them with oil…” “That is why I called for you”, Allan interjected. He listened carefully at every word of the rite. My heart was moved as he offered his hands for the anointing as well. He joined Pastor Judy Beaumont and I in the prayer of Jesus and said every word with meaning.  He nodded his head and smiled when we shared the words of the prayer after anointing that end in “and when alone, assure him of the support of your holy people”. He said “That is good!” We assured Allan that we would come again and keep him in our prayers.  We ended with a prayer that he be surrounded by God’s love and protection and Allan said a big “Amen!”

Pastor Judy Beaumont and a peaceful Allan

We were thankful that Allan was so well able to  respond and gain  strength from the healing Rite and our time together.

We then went to visit Mike who is also fifty-six and has COPD. We knew Mike from the beginning of our ministry with the homeless as well. He had lived in our transitional facility and was housed since 2009.  Mike was finally home after three life threatening hospitalizations. We had anointed him at the hospital. We were so glad to see him doing so much better and taking hold of life once again. This is Mike and one of his cats. His love for them motivates him. Our gift to Mike was cat food as well as cookies for himself. He is happy to be able to eat again.

Mike is presently homebound and this is hard for him as he likes to go to church and he likes talking with people. He shared how much he enjoys visits from his friends who are ‘snowbirds’ and will return soon. We shared his health concerns, his recently successful battle with alcohol,his family joys and concerns, and his worries. We helped him fill out paperwork for rides to the Doctor’s office.We also shared his joys at getting better finally.  He was happy to be anointed and participated fully. He likes to pray and was at peace as we left.

C

When we left Michael we met Len at the bus station to buy him a ticket home to another part of Florida. Len has been housed since March 2013 but has recently been struggling with mental health issues that pull him back to the streets. By the grace of God he is now ready to get help for those issues and to return home so he does not lose his housing. He will be going home on his fifty-seventh Birthday. He was thankful for the ticket and for a Birthday card and gifts.

Then we went to visit Shawn and his family. Shawn is a young adult,twenty-two years old, that we knew from our pastoral work before we started the Church. There are now sixteen members of his family that now attend our church as he does. We visited him as,due to gum disease, he is going to have all of his teeth pulled tomorrow and he felt frightened and depressed. As he had trouble eating and felt weak, we also brought him an MD prescribed protein shake and blender so he could survive without chewing.  He had shared his lowering self esteem because of the removal of his teeth as a major source of depression.  We gave him a beautiful new shirt to wear as he felt better and his family told him how handsome he would look in it. This brought the first smiles in days. We prayed with him and promised to be with him throughout this trial.

We then enjoyed some play time with his younger cousins who also attend our church.

Fortified by the love of this wonderful family, we then visited two more families.

We visited Jane and her two adult sons. Jane is an elderly woman who has many painful illnesses. She was feeling better after her new Doctor tried a new medication and she was planning a little vacation. She was nervous about leaving home and shared her hopes and her anxieties. We have known Jane for about thirteen years through our earlier Mission parish work. She was happy to pray with us and asked our blessing on herself and her sons.

We ended the day with visiting Roger who was the first man we had prayed with during our street ministry. He has had some troubles lately and was glad to have us visit. He wanted to assure us that he has to miss church sometimes but he is living as Christ wants him to live.  He is sharing his goods and gifts with his neighbors and is praying always. We blessed Roger and received his blessing and our day of pastoral visits was ended.

Thanks be to God for this day of blessings!

Pastor Judy Lee, ARCWP

Co-Pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd

Fort Myers, Florida

10/9/13

Readers who are interested in peace and justice work will enjoy the Reflections of Chava Redonnet, RCWP, Priest of St. Romero Community in Rochester, New York. Chava serves the migrant worker community there with compassion and models the equality of the renewed priesthood of all believers. Thank you for sharing ,Chava, we look forward to other reflections and Bulletins from you and Rachel Morlock. 

Oscar Romero Inclusive Catholic Church
Bulletin for Sunday, October 6, 2013
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Friends,

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from a young man named Geoffrey Alan Boyce, who is a graduate student doing research about immigration policing on the northern border. He asked if he could talk with me about St Romero’s. I’m always happy to tell the stories of our little church, so of course I said yes.

He listened very patiently to my stories, then asked a question I wasn’t expecting: “What sustains you in your work? How do you keep going?” It’s a really good question, and actually a very important one for any of us who are in this work of doing the kindom of God down on the ground, whether as Catholic Workers, or in Migrant ministry, prison ministry, nursing homes and hospital work, teaching – all the myriad ways we find to be the hands and feet of God in the world, bringing that love day after day. It can get exhausting, especially when there is a lot of negative energy around, and when we are confronted by injustice day after day and, well – just reading the newspaper!  So the question of how one does this for the long haul is crucial.

When I was ordained a number of people gave me the same piece of advice: Have a daily prayer time. I’ve never been very good at meditation, and my prayer time is simple: journaling, drawing, reading, and sitting in silence. Sometimes I lean heavily on poetry in my reading: Hafiz and Mary Oliver being my favorites. But recently I picked up Barbara Brown Taylor’s book, “An Altar in the World,” which is so nourishing it’s like going on retreat.

Having people to talk to is important, and nourishing close relationships. For me that means not only my significant other, Santiago, but other friends, as well. I am blessed with friendships that go back thirty years and more, a great gift in my life.

Something else that is sustaining is the joy I find in my ministry. Last night we had a Mass – getting down to the last few Migrant Masses of the season – and I noticed how free people feel to put in their two cents’ worth during the homily, to ask questions, to have a homily that is part conversation. I revel in times like last week when we had two babies, three grandparents, lots of friends and two dogs at Mass. Or last night when I accidentally smashed all the cookies while leaving the house, and everyone gamely ate the little broken pieces, drinking the hot chocolate that one young couple brought, while sitting and talking after Mass. Those things make my heart very, very glad. I am overwhelmed with gratitude.

And finally, people like Geoffrey are sustaining in this ministry, as well as Librada, Lory, Peter, the BEOC folks in Brockport, so many others who are serving the same folks, asking the same questions, patiently or impatiently chipping away at the injustice that keeps our friends imprisoned in fear and overwork. And you folks, too, reading this – your support, your caring, your messages, just knowing that you are reading the bulletin – that, too, keeps me going.

Then there is the basic self care of exercise, healthy eating, and rest.…so this is a good moment to tell you that I’m taking a week off, and there will be no bulletin next week. There will, however, be Mass on Sunday at 11, and the Migrant Mass on Thursday at 8. With so few left I didn’t want to cancel it.

MSNBC- Food Aid in jeopardy as shutdown drags on

Adam Serwer  @adamserwer

Federal food aid for low-income Americans could dwindle if the government shutdown drags into the next month–leaving the states in charge of deciding to cut off benefits altogether or to dig into local coffers to feed the needy.

The USDA has said it will fund the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)–which helps feed about 45 million Americans a year, most of whom are children or elderly–through the end of October.

“This is the means by one in seven people in this country put food on the table,” said Stacy Dean, vice president for food assistance policy at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The USDA’s shutdown plan says it has about $2 billion in “contingency funding” that could be used to help states, but based on numbers from the Congressional Budget office, the SNAP program costs about $6.1 billion a month.

The program was already set to face substantial cuts in November as increased funding from the 2009 stimulus bill ran out. But that cut wasn’t nearly deep enough for House Republicans, who voted to cut $39 billion from the program in September, while still maintaining lavish farm subsidies.

State cuts could go even deeper.

If the shutdown lasts into November, Americans reliant on SNAP could find themselves without aid, depending on the fiscal health of the state or the priorities of state leadership. A spokesperson for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration told MSNBC that “If the shutdown continues beyond October, the State of Indiana will assess its resources and consider its options for continuing to provide SNAP benefits.” Similarly, a spokesperson for Mississippi’s Department of Human Services said they would look to the USDA for guidance.

Some states are already cutting back on assistance for the poor. Arizona has stopped paying Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits entirely for the duration of the shutdown. Children are being turned away from Head Start programs closed because of the shutdown. The USDA has said it can fund the Women, Infants and Children food aid program through October, but as with SNAP states could be on their own if the shutdown drags into November.

Dean says that USDA hasn’t yet issued guidance for what would happen in November, but that she believes the USDA has authority to keep paying these benefits regardless of whether the government is shut down, much as it does with Social Security and Medicaid.

A Mississippi spokesperson forwarded a statement from the USDA suggesting it the federal agency had not yet decided: “We understand that states may be concerned about future operations and whether November benefits will be paid. If we were to face that situation, the USDA would evaluate available options, seek legal determinations, and make a final decision about a course of action closer to that time.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to clarify that Dean believes USDA can continue to pay benefits in November and it has simply not issued guidance to that effect. 

Women are key to pope’s reforms

By James Carroll |  Globe Columnist     September 30, 2013

REUTERS/file

Roman Catholics celebrated the election of the new pope in Buenos Aires in March.

The positive reception to Pope Francis from all quarters is itself almost as astounding as the man himself. A kind of global sigh of relief has greeted his humane and kindly manner, a signal that the human family, even in a secular age, longs for a rescue of transcendent value. The Catholic Church, for all of its problems, and if only because of its history as a pillar of Western culture, remains a universal object of fascination. When James Joyce described Catholicism as “here comes everybody,” he forecast the way everybody seems relieved to have such a man at the pinnacle of religious influence.

The most recent surge of interest was sparked by the extensive interview Francis gave to international Jesuit publications. Headlines in the broader press emphasized his turning away from culture war issues like gay marriage, contraception, and abortion. He said that not all moral teachings are equivalent, and called for “a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards.” The world, too, has a stake in avoiding that collapse.

Yet some say the new pope represents only an adjustment in style. For all of his availability, and refusal to reiterate the old Catholic condemnations, he is still a man of the tradition. Conservatives insist that he has not altered any doctrine. Liberals regret that he seems content to let stand the Catholic limits on the role of women. He has yet to advance the accountability of bishops in the priest sex abuse crisis, including in his own Argentina, where the scandal festers. This week he is convening a select committee of eight cardinals to begin discussions of reform, but will their focus be more on the Vatican’s considerable management problems than on the crying need for deeper change throughout the church?

Actually, Pope Francis gave several signals in his interview that such profound currents of moral transformation have already been unleashed. He spoke of laying “the foundations for real, effective change,” but said that “the first reform must be the attitude.” And Catholic attitude is what this pope has so quickly and so unexpectedly remade. Affirmation, not judgment; humility, not pomposity; openness, not an obsession with boundaries. Against the so-called “Benedict option,” a vision of the church as a shrunken remnant of the doctrinally pure, Francis spoke of “a home for all, not a small chapel that can hold only a small group of selected people.”

Falling back on what might be called Jesuitical abstractions, the pope defined a first principle of the reform he wants. “Time initiates processes, and space crystallizes them. God is in history, in the processes. We must not focus on occupying spaces where power is exercised, but rather on starting long-run, historical processes.” The dynamism of this vision, opposed to the static old assumption that real change is impossible, is itself the change. The pope’s open attitude is generating an open process, which is trustworthy because it is God’s.

The church of justice for the poor must be the church of equality for women — inside the church as well as out.

The largest single example of this comes from Francis’ insistence on the centrality of global poverty as the overriding moral issue of our age. The pope aims to start “a long-run, historical process” on behalf of the poor. No one denies his seriousness on this issue — from the choice of his name, to the place where he lives, to his witness in Brazil. But the pope knows as well as anyone that the single most powerful engine drawing people out of poverty is improvement in the economic status of women, which can only occur within a larger cultural transformation. Education. Participation. Power. Reproductive freedom. Yes, women’s liberation. There can be no other strategy for ending poverty.

Such a recognition has obvious implications for the organization, discipline, and doctrine of the Catholic Church. “It is necessary to broaden the opportunities for a stronger presence of women in the church,” the pope told his interviewer. “We have to work harder to develop a profound theology of the woman.” The church of justice for the poor must be the church of equality for women — inside the church as well as out. There is no other way. Thus, it matters less whether Pope Francis at present favors the ordination of women than that he has already launched a historical process that makes it all but certain. Other reforms will follow. Style influences substance, and attitude influences everything.

James Carroll writes regularly for the Globe.! 

Keep the Faith: Fan it into Flame-Homily 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time 10/6/13.

{ This is  Rev. Melvin G. Williams and his wife Deaconess Virginia Maniti Williams with a Bethany Methodist Church Youth Group Member in 1957. They are my spiritual parents in the faith who,along with my grandmother Ella  and mother Anne,  encouraged me to fan my faith and gifts into flame. The picture is from a book of poetry I wrote entitled The Flame Keeper and Other Poems (PublishAmerica.com, 2007.}

This is Keep the Faith Sunday. The readings are rich and meaningful to those who experience disillusion, need, injustice and pain and to those who stand in solidarity with them. In the world I came of age in and in the church I now pastor people understand when I say “keep the faith” when parting.  Poor folks and people of color know that keeping the faith has more to do with the way life is lived, and living for justice than mouthing words of belief, though they do that as well.

In the first reading from the book of Habakkuk we see the unusual prophet, one who not only decried oppression and exploitation of the poor and of God’s people, but one who told God exactly what he thought about God for “ making or letting this happen” (his viewpoint). Habakkuk lived during the beginning of the Seventh Century (BCE) when the treacherous King Nebuchadnezzar ruled and the terrorizing Babylonian (Chaldean) oppression of the Hebrew people was just beginning.  Habakkuk could not believe what was happening.

According to Eugene Peterson (The Message) Habakkuk spoke God’s word to us AND our word to God. Now this is a prophet I can understand. I can understand complaining to God and trying to talk with God about how bad things are and how they “shouldn’t be that way”, especially for God’s people. My heart breaks for the 800,000 Government workers who are furloughed in this immoral Government Shutdown forced by a minority of Tea Party Representatives in the House who cannot accept the law of the land regarding health care, disparagingly called Obamacare by them.  What kind of a world is this when the tail is wagging the dog? Many of those furloughed people will not be able to pay their bills and feed their families. Yet those Representatives still get paid. And when churches are bombed in Syria and Egypt killing those worshiping because they are Christian, I hurt. When U.S. Drones attempting to “take out” enemies also kill children and families even as Dictators who use nerve gas wipe out whole innocent communities, I want to say “God, when will this stop? When people go berserk and assassinate people in movie theaters, workplaces and public spaces because the mental health system is so bad that most fall through the gaping cracks in it, I want to scream.

I understand Habakkuk who said to God: “”So why don’t you do something about this? Why are you silent now….You stand around and watch! “(Hab 1:13 MSG). And, “God, how long do I have to cry out for help before you listen? …Why do you force me to look at evil, stare trouble in the face day after day: Anarchy and violence break out…Law and order fall to pieces.  Justice is a joke. The wicked have the righteous hamstrung and stand justice on its head”. (1:1-4 MSG).

Now, my guess is that you understand Habakkuk too.  And you understand the prophet’s meanings not only on the wider scene, but in your own lives. “How can that saint suffer so? How can this young father of two have incurable cancer?” “How come I struggle with such pain in my back or head or how can I deal with the insecurities of cancer or heart trouble?” “Why did I lose my job when I have mouths to feed and rent to pay?” “Why don’t I have somewhere to live?” “Do something, God.” We long to have Divine intervention to make things right and we don’t want “pie in the sky bye and bye”. We don’t want to wait for heaven for it to be right. Well, neither does God. And that is why God asks for us to be steadfast in practicing, in exercising, our faith.  “Faith is the assurance concerning things that we hope for (expect), as it was the substance of things now in existence.  And it is the appearance (revelation) of things not seen”. (Heb. 11:1 P’Shitta Text- Aramaic text.) Faith IS the substance we can hold on to, especially in troubled times.   The Aramaic word for faith is haymanootha.   Its meanings include confidence, firmness, faithfulness and being trustworthy.  The Semitic root of that word is amen which means “to make firm” “true” “lasting” and “enduring”.  According to Aramaic scholar Rocco Errico in And There Was Light (1998:230) “it is a quality or attitude of perseverance”.  We are to persevere in practicing and living our faith. We are to be trustworthy and faithful in our covenant with God.  We are the answer to prayers for justice and peace and we are the answers to someone else’s prayer. God is not silent unless our mouths are silent. And, maybe it is we who are standing around and watching.

In the beginning of the second chapter of Habakkuk, God, who is in dialogue with the prophet, says that the time will come when “those who steadfastly uphold justice will live” (Hab 2: 4(b) TIB (The Inclusive Bible).  The Message says (same verse) “The person in right standing before God…is fully alive, really alive”. God is telling Habakkuk –keep the faith-keep doing what God wants you to do, enact justice, preach justice, live justice-live the faith, keep our covenant (to love God and love your neighbors as yourself) and you and the people will live, even in the midst of ALL that is wrong.  By the end of Habakkuk’s vision his song, his tune, changes. And it changes because he is in dialogue with God and he is listening. God did not chastise Habakkuk for taking God on, God entered into dialogue with Habakkuk.  If we are speaking with God, God is speaking to us as well. By the end of his song the prophet says,(paraphrased) we are still living in devastation, we are still in big trouble, and I wait for disaster on our attackers but I believe that it is going to be okay as God saved Israel in Moses time, God will do it again.  “I’m singing joyful praise to God…counting on God’s rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength…” (Hab 3:18-19a MSG).  Habakkuk kept the faith and gave the people hope.  Let us take heart and gain strength in the midst of our troubles.

In Paul’s letter to Timothy, after remembering Timothy’s sincere faith which was passed on to him from his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (1: 5),  Paul, Timothy’s spiritual parent, encourages Timothy to “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (1:6). He does not want Timothy to be shy with God’s gifts in leading his community of faith but bold (powerful) loving and self- disciplined.  It is because of Timothy’s strong faith that Paul can encourage his gifts. Indeed that faith can be Timothy’s best gift.  It is interesting to note that Paul begins his encouragement of Timothy’s gifts by reminding him of the faith of his grandmother and mother and saying “that is why I want to remind you to fan into flame the gift of God…” Yet, whoever chooses the Sunday readings in the Roman Missal chose to leave out the reference to Timothy’s mothers in faith. The reading omits verse 5 and begins with verse 6 even though the phrase “that is why…” has no referent.  It is critically important for us to remember our mothers and fathers in faith and to build on and pass on that legacy.  To keep the faith Paul is saying that Timothy needs to pass it on-boldly. I remember well the faith of my grandmother Ella and my mother Anne. I would not be writing this now if they had not passed that faith on to me. And they did it in the midst of much trouble and turmoil. We were poor economically and my mother was our sole wage earner though she was sometimes too ill to work. We knew hard times and yet I learned to live by faith. That faith was reinforced by my strong faith community and its Pastors.  We were rich in faith and the flame was lighted within my heart and nothing could extinguish it. Fan the flame of faith and God’s gifts to you into a blaze!  Turn the fading embers into a flame of passion for God and God’s work for you.

In the Gospel, (Luke 17:5-10) the apostles, upon hearing Jesus tell them to forgive those who sin against you endlessly with endless forgiveness, plea “increase our faith!” They thought that MORE was better.  Jesus told them: “There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake’ and it would do it” (17:6 MSG).  Jesus is saying if you have faith you have power-all kinds of power-use it.  For Jesus, faith is also a relational concept. When people expressed faith in him they were healed, made whole, transformed. He was often moved by the plight of the other person who had faith in him. Having faith is a two way street. As the Aramaic definition tells us, it involves trust and trustworthiness, confidence in one another, and perseverance. Let us be the trustworthy, steadfast followers that Christ can have confidence in even as we have confidence in the love of Christ for us and for all. Let us fan the often dying embers of our faith that is both weakened and strengthened by troubles and doubt, into a flame, a blaze that burns bright, clears the underbrush and makes the way for new life.

Amen.

Rev. Dr. Judith Lee, ARCWP

Co-Pastor The Good Shepherd Inclusive Catholic Community