{"id":252,"date":"2009-08-29T18:49:00","date_gmt":"2009-08-29T18:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/homily-for-august-30-2009-22nd-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html"},"modified":"2009-08-29T18:49:00","modified_gmt":"2009-08-29T18:49:00","slug":"homily-for-august-30-2009-22nd-sunday-in-ordinary-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/deaconsbench\/2009\/08\/homily-for-august-30-2009-22nd-sunday-in-ordinary-time.html","title":{"rendered":"Homily for August 30, 2009: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Years ago, Rose Kennedy said that she used to dream that her youngest son would grow up to be a priest. <\/p>\n

Well, it didn\u2019t quite work out that way. Not by a long shot. <\/p>\n

Over the past few days, we\u2019ve heard a lot about the life of her youngest child, Ted Kennedy \u2013 the good, the bad and the ugly. <\/p>\n

But what has been most interesting to me is to learn about his faith, particularly in the final years of his life \u2013 stories of his daily trips to church to pray for his daughter, masses held at his home, his final days spent with a priest by his bedside. <\/p>\n

Whatever the breadth of his belief, it had very deep roots. Kennedy often credited whatever faith he had to just one person: his mother. And her faith was, indeed, remarkable. This weekend, when we’re hearing so much about Senator Kennedy, I’d like to turn some attention, instead, to another<\/span> Kennedy, one many may not know. <\/p>\n

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to see part of a TV interview that Rose Kennedy did in 1974 with Robert McNeil. Near the end, he asked her how she coped with all the tragedies in her life. And, let\u2019s remember: they were enormous. She had nine children. Four of them died young. A fifth child, a daughter who was named for her, was born mentally handicapped, underwent a lobotomy, and spent the rest of her life in an institution. <\/p>\n

Looking back on all that, McNeil asked Mrs. Kennedy: how do you cope? How can you possibly say \u2013 as you do in your autobiography — that your life has been happy?<\/p>\n

And Rose Kennedy, without even taking a breath, replied, \u201cIt\u2019s my faith.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIf I only had one gift,\u201d she explained\u2026\u201dif I lost my wealth or my looks or my health\u2026and just had faith, I could still accept the trials which God has sent me.\u201d And she added: \u201cI trust him. He will never give me a cross heavier than I can bear. He will always give me graces to bear them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Then, she brought it all home. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I think of all the great tragedies of my life,\u201d she said, \u201cI think of the Blessed Mother. She watched her son being crucified and reviled, and still she trusted in God.\u201d Rose Kennedy continued: \u201cI\u2019ve thought of her so often at the crucifixion\u2026 When I saw Jack in the Capitol rotunda, and Bobby in New York.\u201d <\/p>\n

I can\u2019t think of the last time I heard a public figure speak like that. <\/p>\n

Yet, Rose Kennedy held onto that — through the bloodshed, and the tears, and the scandals and all the flag-draped coffins.<\/p>\n

It was extraordinary. And it was a reminder, I think, of God\u2019s grace. <\/p>\n

Of course, that wasn\u2019t just Rose Kennedy\u2019s personal theology. All of that \u2013 the abiding faith, the trust, the reliance on God through impossible challenges \u2013 all of that also characterized the life of the Blessed Mother. That is where Rose Kennedy got her strength, and her inspiration. From Mary. <\/p>\n

And now, I think, is a very good time to keep Mary in mind. We just celebrated the Assumption, and her Queenship, and soon will mark her birthday. All these feasts culminate with our parish feast day, which falls on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows \u2013 a feast that must have had special meaning for Rose Kennedy. She knew in a particular way the weight of the cross, the sharpness of the sword. <\/p>\n

And yet she endured them all with a deep and unshakable faith. <\/p>\n

Could any of us do as much? <\/p>\n

Well, these weeks offer us an opportunity to look at our own faith, and to pray that it deepens and grows. <\/p>\n

And this Sunday’s scripture offers some advice. The letter from James today assures us that \u201call good giving, and every perfect gift, is from above. \u201c <\/p>\n

That is the place to start. <\/p>\n

From above…we are given the gift of hope. <\/p>\n

From above…we are given courage. <\/p>\n

From above…God offers us the gift that sustains all who seek His face. <\/p>\n

The gift of faith. <\/p>\n

Part of that faith, I think, involves surrender \u2013 letting God use us as He sees fit. <\/p>\n

That included Mary, the handmaid of the Lord. And it includes, as well, the rest of us, even the most broken. <\/p>\n

A writer this week recalled Dorothy Day, a former atheist and anarchist who is now a candidate for sainthood. He wondered what would have happened if Dorothy had decided she wasn\u2019t good enough. What if she just gave up and asked the question: \u201cWhat can God do with a poor sinner like me?\u201d <\/p>\n

God, it turns out, can do anything, if we are willing to cooperate with Him. And that is the key. <\/p>\n

In his letter, James exhorts the early Christians to be \u201cdoers of the word, not just hearers.\u201d <\/p>\n

In other words: cooperate with God. Put faith into action. Find ways for God to use us. <\/p>\n

To paraphrase St. Teresa of Avila: we are now His hands, His legs, and His body. What will we shape with those hands? Where will go with these legs? What will be bear on our shoulders? <\/p>\n

What will we do? <\/p>\n

What will we do<\/span> for Him<\/span>? <\/p>\n

For it is in the doing<\/span> \u2013 in the living of the gospel, day by day, moment by moment, choice by choice \u2013 it is in the doing<\/span><\/u> that we make Christ present in the world today. <\/p>\n

It is in the doing that we are redeemed. <\/p>\n

And it is in the doing that we can help, in some small way, to redeem the world. <\/p>\n

Rose Kennedy, I think, did her part, with quiet prayer and perseverance. Here was a modern mother, dealing with modern problems that the mother from Nazareth would never have imagined \u2013 but coping in a way that she certainly would have understood. Rose, like Mary, never gave up, or gave in. In spite of everything, she never lost her trust in God.<\/p>\n

Of course, with Mary as her model, Rose Kennedy learned from the best. <\/p>\n

And I think we can, too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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