Using the Pulpit Bullishly

After hearing the Gospel reading at Mass last Saturday I sat back in anticipation of an intellectually stimulating and thought provoking homily. I was not disappointed. The reading was from Matthew 22: 15-21 (KJV) in which the Pharisees attempt to entrap Jesus by asking him whether it was acceptable to pay taxes to the Romans or not. Jesus replied with the well known "Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." quote which has been oft used to explain relations between the church and state.

Our priest started his homily with a little background on the Gospel reading and then went into a history of opinion on the acceptable church and state relationship focusing on Saint Augustine's view that humans were essentially animals and needed government to control society and the more benevolent beliefs of Saint Thomas Aquinas in the good that government could do for people. He also spoke of the fallacy of separation of church and state as in commonly understood in the United States today by explaining the original motives of the founders in establishing limitations on the interaction between church and state. Next he spoke of the responsibility that Christians had to get involved to make their government the best it could be and capped it off by stating that not voting was a SIN. Now this the sort of stuff I want to hear from my priest. He went on to explain that he wasn't about to tell people how to vote but that they had a duty to be informed and active. Amen padre.

This is the same priest who has previously delivered homilies in which he explained why George Washington was a personal hero of his, justified a U.S. military response after 9/11 through the doctrine of self defense, and expressed his personal anguish on the Church's sexual abuse problem. He is the reason that I attend the church I do. If you think about it the homily is the really the only thing that distinguishes one mass from another. Sure the readings are different week to week but if you have been a Catholic as long as I have, including many years in Catholic schools, you've heard em' all more than once. I want a priest who takes his role seriously and prepares and delivers a homily that both reflects upon the week's Gospel and also speaks to my life in today's world. This guy is my guy.