29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Oct 17-18, 2015)

There is a story told that during the Revolutionary War a company of American soldiers were constructing a fort using very large, heavy logs. While the soldiers were sweating and groaning in the effort to raise the biggest log that would serve as the dentil, the captain with his hands on his hips kept yelling “higher, higher.” Just then a stranger came riding a horse. When he dismounted he said to the captain, “how come you are not helping them?” The captain responded, “I am an official.” With that the stranger joined the soldiers and helped them get the log in place. As he was leaving he said to the captain, “the next time that you need help, just call me. The name is Washington, George Washington. Story or history I don’t know, but it goes well with today’s Gospel which is a story about division and authority in the Church.

Our Church has often been wounded by divisions. That’s because all of us in the Church are human beings. The first division may have been caused by James and John, but division has continued to happen throughout church history. In the first century division came in the form of doctrinal issues concerning the Trinity and Jesus’ nature. In the eleventh Century the Eastern Church was separated from the Church in the West and still is. In the fifteen Century Protestants and Catholics were separated. Jesus foresaw all this and it grieved Him. But he created a unique kind of authority in the Church which would serve as a rock that while it may not prevent all divisions would keep the church from completely falling apart and die. That rock is the special kind of authority that we know as the Papacy first given to Peter and which is possessed today by Pope Francis..

As last week’s bulletin noted many people consider Francis as a celebrity or star. But for us Catholics he is first and foremost the one who has been given the unique authority to serve and preserve unity in the Church. The ministry of the Pope is a ministry of unity; a unity that is essential in order that the Gospel the Church preaches is credible. Jesus made this evident when He prayed: “that they may be one, Father, as we are one, I in them and you in me that they may be one in us that the world may believe that you sent me.”

All of us should be aware that at this moment Cardinals from many different countries are meeting in Rome at the Synod on Families that was called by Pope Francis. Family is a crucial issue in the church and in the state because the strength of those two institutions depends on its families. There are also many very important issues that are connected with family. The Synod will close next Sunday. If you watched TV during Francis’ visit, you noticed that wherever he went he never left a crowd without saying “pray for me.” It is important that we do not see this just as a churchy or polite way of saying good-bye. He is dead serious in that request just as he was dead serious about it the night he first stepped out on the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. He realized then and more so now the responsibility he carries in a church in which there exist deep differences. He does not want them to erupt and inflict a new wound on the Body of Christ. He is a great leader, but he cannot do the impossible and satisfy all the calls that the Synod is making. Many people are anxious to move full speed ahead. Many others are fearful and want to safeguard Tradition. We can be sure that Pope Francis will do what is best for the church now. My point today is that for our part we have to prepare our minds and hearts to be faithful to his leadership, to be one with him in all his decisions whether it meets our expectations or not.

At this very moment we here are engaged in the Church’s greatest act and sacrament of unity, the Eucharist. We thank God for today for Pope Francis. We pray also that we may be united today in Communion not only with Jesus, but with all those who throughout the world are united with us in this great act of worship no matter how different from us they may be. Finally, we pray that the unity of our Church will be strengthen as a result of the Synod on the Family and that it will in no way lead anyone to separate themselves from our family table.