| (First Sunday of Lent (B): This homily was given on
March 9, 2003 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read Mark 1:
12-15.) "The Bishop’s Message to the Governor: ‘Repent, and believe!’" "Repent, and believe in the gospel!" That was the Lord’s message to us in today’s gospel text from Mark 1; and it was also the message given to Governor Gray Davis of California on January 22nd of this year by Bishop William Weigand of Sacramento. Governor Davis, like many other public figures in this country, calls himself a Catholic, and yet he publicly and vigorously supports legalized abortion. Bishop Weigand decided to address this type of dissent in a pro-life homily he gave on January 22nd, and, not surprisingly, it caused quite a stir in the liberal media. Imagine, a bishop daring to challenge a politically-correct politician! (That was the liberal media’s basic message.) In an interview he gave to the National Catholic Register a couple of weeks ago, Bishop Weigand explained why he did what he did:
"[Governor] Davis made widely quoted comments that many Catholics hold his pro-abortion views, leaving the impression that such is acceptable. Because of the real possibility of confusion in the minds of some about what is the authentic Catholic teaching on the gospel of life, I felt obligated to set the record straight. I used the opportunity of January 22nd to do so. As diocesan bishop, I was speaking to our Catholic people, doing so in our Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament from my cathedra, or teaching chair. No media were known to be present. When the media contacted me later that day, I assured them that it was not my intention to ‘take on’ the governor, but to teach and clarify the faith. That is an important part of my charge as bishop of the diocese. I mentioned the governor specifically only because he has chosen to make his Catholic credentials a public matter on a number of occasions in the context of the abortion issue. Among other things, I said: ‘As your bishop, I have to say that anyone—politician or otherwise—who thinks it acceptable for a Catholic to be pro-abortion is in very great error, puts his or her soul at risk, and is not in good standing with the Church. Such a person should have the integrity to acknowledge this and choose of his own volition to abstain from receiving Holy Communion until he has a change of heart.’ The Holy Spirit was present and my message touched hearts. There were people crying in the pews." Believe me, those tearful men and women were good Catholics who were weeping for joy at a bishop who had the guts to do what every bishop is supposed to do: teach the truth and admonish the unruly in his flock. This, by the way, is what could have prevented many if not most of the priest sex-abuse scandals, which became public knowledge last year. I hope you realize, my brothers and sisters, that many of these abusing priests were men who openly defied Catholic teaching—especially in matters of sexual morality. And it many cases their bishops knew about their defiance and did nothing about it! They tolerated the dissent. People wonder why someone like Fr. Paul Shanley wasn’t "defrocked" years ago. This is why! You see, if you’re not teaching chastity, you’re probably not living it either. That’s the obvious conclusion that many bishops missed. We need more prelates with the courage of a Bishop Weigand: bishops who will say to everyone—priests and laity alike—"’Repent, and believe in the gospel’—not just the part about social justice, but rather the whole gospel, including the part concerning personal morality!" Governor Davis and other dissenters in the Church have made the fatal mistake of separating morality from belief—two ideas which Jesus Christ never, ever separated. Notice that Jesus said, "Repent, and believe." Morality and belief—the two are designed to go together. Let me now point out some of the ways in which they’re connected:
First of all, repentance (which is supposed to well up in your heart whenever you break a moral law) flows from belief: "I believe that Jesus is my Savior. But what has he saved me from? My sins, of course—the sins I need to repent of!" Repentance flows from belief in this way. Furthermore, repentance strengthens belief! When I repent, confess, and receive absolution, my faith gets stronger. That’s one reason I go to Confession regularly!
Without repentance, belief is shallow and weak—or non existent! That’s what Bishop Weigand was reminding Governor Davis: "Governor, you say you’re Catholic and that you "believe"; but you won’t repent of the sin you’re committing in supporting the destruction of innocent human life. So you don’t really "believe" at all, Mr. Davis! If you did, you’d admit that what you’re doing is wrong and you’d repent!" Belief without repentance is shallow and weak—or non-existent.
On the other hand, repentance without belief is also bad, because it can easily lead to despair! And the perfect example of this is found in Judas Iscariot. The Bible tells us that Judas deeply regretted his betrayal of Jesus. In that sense, he repented. But he didn’t believe, did he? He didn’t believe Jesus could (or would) forgive him for his terrible sin. That was his problem. And so he went out and hung himself. But, of course, Jesus would have forgiven him—just like he forgave Simon Peter for denying him 3 times on Holy Thursday night. We often think of Lent as a time for repentance—and it is! But it’s also a time to seek the face of God and to be strengthened in our belief. (That’s one reason we have a parish mission every year.) "Repent, and believe!" Lent is a holy season in which the Lord wants to help us repent more completely and believe more deeply. May the Lord accomplish that in each of us during these 40 days. |