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by Bishop Thomas Gumbleton on Jul. 22, 2010
Bishop Gumbleton delivered this homily July 18 at the National Pax Christi Conference in Chicago. He preached on the gospel text for the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Luke 10:38-42, the story of Mary and Martha. "In today's gospel," he said, "we're being shown Mary as the one who chose the better part because she was living out the role of a disciple ... that and Mary was welcomed.”
The complete text of the homily follows.
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As we try to listen deeply to God's word today, there are a couple of things that stand out immediately as things that we might reflect upon and perhaps listen to in a way that would bring changes in our lives. Of course the first thing that is most obvious is hospitality, welcoming the stranger. You notice how Abraham, with great joy actually, stops the strangers and says, "Stay here, visit with us," and then begins to give all the orders to have everything taken care of, we might say taking on the "male role," and of course inside the tent is Sarah who receives the orders, but that's not my main point; it's hospitality.
This was the culture of the time and remains the culture even now in the Middle East, where hospitality is one of the most important things you can do -- you welcome the stranger. If we wanted to go on with this, we could talk about how we, as individuals, must be hospitable, welcoming people into our homes, our families, into our parish community, into our church, not excluding anyone. We could think about welcoming strangers into our nation, welcoming them instead of building walls to keep them out, but I'm not going to go along that line.
Another thing, though, that is so clear in the lesson is the idea of friendship and how Jesus developed that spirit within himself, to be a friend and to have friends. I'm sure that for Jesus, a passage in one of the Books of Wisdom was something he probably prayed over, "A faithful friend is a secure refuge. Whoever has found a friend has found a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond all price. Hold your friend as priceless. A faithful friend is a lifesaving remedy and those who love God will find one." Friendship is so important, and the need to nurture friends and to develop friendship is so important in order for us to become fully the human person God wants us to be.
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And as I think about this, I think of how different things could be in our church if that charism of celibacy that we still try to hold up as a very important charism in our church, if, in formation of young people -- priesthood, religious life -- were taught a very positive understanding of celibacy instead of what happened when I went through the seminary, even now in seminaries and formation houses, celibacy is taught, if it's taught at all, as something negative. "Don't develop friendships, close yourself off from others."
That wasn't Jesus. He had friends, he cherished his friends. He had intimate relationships and affectionate relationships. Think of the woman kissing his feet. Think of John resting on his breast at the Last Supper. Jesus was affectionate and loving, and knew how to develop friendship in his life. All of us need that, but especially in our church it would be so important -- we would not have lonely priests turning to addictions of one kind or another. Or we wouldn't have the problem, probably, of the terrible sex abuse scandal in our church if we had healthy, celibate priests and religious. But again, that's not something that I'm going to develop. I'll let you think about it.
But what I wanted to concentrate on, and I guess make the main point of our reflection today, is to remind ourselves of something that Jesus said at the Last Supper. This is in chapters 14, 15 and 16 of John's gospel. Jesus has been carrying out a long discourse with his disciples, a very intimate conversation, but at this point he says, "I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot hear them now. But when the spirit of truth comes, the spirit will guide you into the whole truth. The spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you, and in doing this, the spirit will glorify me."
So Jesus was telling his disciples there at the end of his life how he had taught them a lot, but there were so many more things that he could not teach them. It was probably just a matter of time but also how much they could absorb and take in, so he said you need not worry because the spirit will come and teach you those things that I have not been able to teach you. Of course in the early church, one of the first things that happened was when the community of disciples began to have a very, very serious dispute that tore the whole church apart, the small community that was developing, and Jesus had never spoken about this.
What about those whom you invite into the community who are not already Jews? Because Jesus had established a community of disciples that were only Jews. They were following the full Jewish Law. Some people, after Jesus was gone (the leader of them was James, an apostle in Jerusalem), demanded that no one become a Christian unless the person first undergo conversion to Judaism, become a full, practicing Jew, and then become a follower of Jesus. Whereas Paul went out into Asia Minor and began to preach and proclaim the good news to those who weren't Jews, and began to bring many of them into the community, so this dispute began.
There were those who said you must first become Jews before you become followers of Jesus and those who said no, that's not necessary; you're not to be bound up with those 613 laws that the Jewish people followed. You're free from that. Follow Jesus and his way. Well, this is one of those times when they had to listen to the spirit speaking to the church. They had to hear, because Jesus had not given them guidance, and so they did. They listened. They gathered together the community in Jerusalem and Paul and Barnabas told what had happened with them and how they, in their experience, understood and could see how God was pouring forth the spirit on those who were not Jews and they were welcomed into the community. James set forth his views. They listened to each other and they came up with a solution. It was kind of a compromise but everyone agreed, "This is how we'll do it."
So now, all of us are members of the community of disciples of Jesus and we did not have to become Jews first. That's obviously the way it's been since the beginning. Well, there were other things that Jesus had not spoken about clearly and given clear direction. Just a couple of them would be, for example, the death penalty. The church itself had an official executioner until almost the 20th century, but the spirit is speaking to the community so now we have a change in our catechism. John Paul deliberately wrote a new item in the catechism that said, "God has been speaking to us, the spirit is guiding us, and it's obvious that we cannot allow for people to be executed, no matter what their crimes. That goes against what the spirit is telling us."
Another way the spirit has spoken to the church through the ages is the issue of slavery. It wasn't until 1965 during the second Vatican Council that the church, official teaching church, for the first time, declared slavery wrong, immoral, contrary to the way of God. The church itself had had slavery. Paul, in his letters, had never spoken out clearly against slavery when Onesimus, the slave of Philemon, ran away. Paul sent him back and bade Philemon to be kind to him. He didn't tell Philemon to stop having slaves, and that went on. Of course, the church, until modern times, itself has had slaves, but now we understand, the spirit has spoken to us; slavery is wrong.
We must never, of course, own another person, have another person as an object, a piece of property. It's so clear to us, but that's because the spirit has spoken. But now I'm convinced the spirit is also speaking to us, and the gospel lesson today shows us clearly that there were differences in the church in the understanding of the role of women, profound differences. Part of the church welcomed women as leaders, and I can cite some different examples. Even in the gospel itself, Jesus had women as his disciples. In the incident in today's gospel, we're being shown Mary as the one who chose the better part because she was living out the role of a disciple ...
Mary was welcomed as one who was a learner, a disciple. In his public life, he had women who carried out roles of service for him. One was kind of an administrative role. The women followed him -- Mary Magdalene, Johanna and Susanna -- they provided for him. They took care of his needs, but then as the church began to grow, we'd find citations of women evangelizers and teachers -- women who had that role in the church: evangelizer, teacher. Prisca, Euodia, Syntyche are mentioned by name. There were women prophets -- the four daughters of Philip mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles.
There were the heads of house churches, women who were the head of a church, a community that gathered in a home, which was the way the first community gathered together, and there were women who were the heads of those churches -- [Nympha], Mary, Lydia, Prisca -- all mentioned in the scriptures. But then there was the other side where the word of Jesus had not been so clear, so at 1 Corinthians, the first letter of Paul to the church at Corinth: "Let women be silent in the assemblies as in all the churches of the saints. They are not allowed to speak. Let them be submissive as the Law commands," see, that was the other side. Or also in the first letter of Paul to his disciple Timothy, you find something along the same lines: "Let a woman quietly receive instruction and be submissive. I allow no woman to teach or to have authority over men. Let them be quiet."
There are the two sides and that's gone on now; it hasn't been resolved. We have the teaching clearly that women were given leadership roles in the church. We have today's gospel, Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus as a disciple would, and in that time, only a man would. We have those other examples of the letters of Paul and also in the Acts of the Apostles especially. So we ask ourselves, as this has gone on now all these centuries, could the spirit be speaking to our church in a way to give us guidance on how to resolve this question? Jesus hadn't told the disciples ahead of time, but he promised them at that Last Supper, "I will send a spirit and the spirit will guide you."
Wouldn't it be a blessing for our church if we would imitate the example of the first community of disciples? When they came upon something where there were the two sides, they came together and they listened to one another. Those who were the leaders of the church at Jerusalem listened to Paul and the other disciples who had gone out into the other parts of the world outside the Holy Land. They listened and they understood what God was saying to them, and they allowed freedom for those who wanted to join the church, become part of the community and not be a Jew. Listening to what is happening in our world today.
In our culture and in much of modern culture throughout the world, women are beginning to have leadership roles in societies where they never did before. In our own nation, of course, women could not even vote until the 20th century and were not allowed full citizenship, but now our culture tells us and we are acting upon it. Is not the spirit speaking through that culture as the spirit spoke through those in the early church who wanted to be Christians without being Jews, or how the spirit has spoken to the church to give up any connection with slavery, how the spirit has spoken to the church saying you may not kill even a terrible criminal? I believe the spirit is speaking to the church and the spirit is telling us that the role of Mary in today's gospel must be honored. The role of those first women in the early communities who were leaders of the church must be honored, and we must try to hear the spirit speaking to us, and at least in our church, allow discussion, allow us to listen to one another and to hear what God is saying.
As we do that, we listen, again, to what Paul said in that letter to the church at Colossae, where he's talking about how God has revealed the mystery that was hidden for centuries, and now God wills to make it known to all of us, the riches and even the glory that God's mysterious plan reserved until now. This mysterious plan that is revealed is that Christ is in you and you are in Christ. This Christ we preach. We warn and teach everyone true wisdom is aiming to make everyone perfect in Christ. For this cause I labor and struggle with the energy of Christ Jesus working powerfully in me. Paul is saying that Jesus lives equally in every one of us. That's the mystery that God has revealed.
And if Jesus is living in every one of us, every one of us has a right to be a full disciple of Jesus, carrying out whatever role of the ministry service God calls us. So we listen to those women in our church who say "I am called." Christ is in them as Christ is in every male member of the church. I hope and pray that all of us will listen deeply to God's word today and that we will hear what the spirit is speaking to the church at this time in history and in our church throughout the world.
They listened. They gathered
They listened. They gathered together the community in Jerusalem and Paul and Barnabas told what had happened with them and how they, in their experience, understood and could see how God was pouring forth the spirit on those who were not Jews and they were welcomed into the community. James set forth his views. They listened to each other and they came up with a solution. It was kind of a compromise but everyone agreed, "This is how we'll do it."
I don't know which Bible he's using, but Acts says that Peter spoke, and then James confirmed what Peter said. But it was Peter's declaration that stopped the discussion, not a compromised consensus.
Historical revisionism and biblical mistranslation: two tools in the Catholyc toolbox.
So why did James have to
So why did James have to confirm it if Peter was the head of the Church?
Saint James confirmed this
Saint James confirmed this because he was the head of the local church in Jerusalem, the place where this council was being held, and seat of the Jewish faith. Further, James was a relative of the Lord, a cousin or stepbrother.
What actually preceeded this confirmation is unknown. Possible St. Peter asked James to confirm his decision so that there would be more easy acceptance on the part of the Jewish followers of Christ in Jerusalem. Possibly Peter was not entirely convinced that he was doing the right thing and needed James to assure him that he was (after all, here he is changing his beliefs based on the words of this new man Paul, a man who used to actively persecute followers of the Lord). Possibly James opposed Paul's ideas and James changed his own opinions after Peter made his decision. The point is, we do not know.
What we do know for a certainty, a certainty confirmed by the Lord and by 20 centuries of Church dogma and tradition, is that the Lord chose Peter to be the head of His Church, and to speak for Him to the world.
and Saint James, "near
and Saint James, "near kinsman of Our Lord" by our tradition, stating in his letter that religion pure and simple is caring for widows and orphans in their distress remains distressingly more urgent and more ignored in our day than ever.
and that the wisdom which comes from above is gentle, peaceful and friendly . . .
James said: "It is my
James said:
"It is my judgment, therefore, that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,"
See: www.usccb.org/nab/bible/acts/acts15.htm. From our own Catholic Bible, we see that James pronounces his own judgment. Therefore, clearly there was a discussion and a consensus was achieved.
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton is saying that there still is room in our Faith for the Spirit to move our Church toward assigning new missions and roles for women. This may not happen in my lifetime, but the Spirit will continue to work for a greater understanding of God’s intentions for all of us, his children.
That also seems to be the case with Vatican II. Pope John XXIII called it, but the Council addressed the issues. If it was only going to be John’s decisions that could change the Church forever, he simply could have written a letter. The last two popes wrote letters, but they have not changed the church for all time.
What a wonderful, lovely, and
What a wonderful, lovely, and lovingly statement. Thank you, Bishop Gumbleton for speaking so eloquently. It gives women hope.
Apostasy at its finest from
Apostasy at its finest from Bp Gumbleton.
God Bless the CDF for that clarification regarding heresy (and those other grave crimes).
Hopefully a few people have sent Cardinal Levada Bishop Gumbleton's speech. We need to get a formal censure for Gumbleton's heresy.
While were at it, lets get a censure for Dowling also.
the "best" !!!!!
the "best" !!!!!
The "best" in a long long
The "best" in a long long TIME !!
Thank you, Bishop, for
Thank you, Bishop, for affirming the women who follow Christ in this day and age - all of us, old and young, married and single, and especially those who have dedicated their lives to the Lord and to their fellow man. Would that your words, written in the Spirit who lives in and among us, open the hearts and minds of those male leaders who pronounce the 'law'. They seem to have lost or misplaced the words of Christ - the words that should be the basis of how we all live our lives here in this world. Bless you, sir.
Thank you Bishop for being
Thank you Bishop for being attentive to the voice of the Spirit who is moving this community toward deeper discipleship. Blessing to you!
God bless you, Bishop
God bless you, Bishop Gumbleton...
The Bishop was wrong. Have a
The Bishop was wrong. Have a look at the following article:
SLAVERY AND THE CHURCH
Sir, Chris Knollys (Letters from correspondents of 12th September), claims to recall authoritative church statements from the past, such as that slavery is morally acceptable. This is to neglect papal condemnations of unjust slavery in Africa and the Americas.
Pope Eugene lV, in Sicut Dudum in 1435, prohibited the enslavement of the inhabitants of the Canary Islands and required, under penalty of excommunication, the restoration to freedom of those enslaved.
Pope Pius ll in 1462 wrote of the enslavement of black people who were neophytes in Guinea in West Africa as an “enormous crime, the magnum scelus”, which he penalised with ecclesiastical censures. And in 1476 Sixtus lV excommunicated those who enslaved the black neophytes of “Western Africa or Guinea and other yet unknown African countries”.
In 1537 Paul lll issued a Bull, Veritas Ipsa, in which he forbade the enslavement of the Indians and all other peoples yet to be discovered by Christians, even though they were outside the faith of Christ. This prohibition and the terms of its formulation as a global principle are a vindication of the freedom from enslavement of all blacks as well as of all “Indians”.
Other papal documents forbidding the enslavement of Indians and “other peoples” are Paul lll’s Sublimis Deus and Pastorale Officium of 1537. In a Bull of 1591, Cum Sicuti, Pope Gregory XlV required freedom to be restored to the enslaved native “Indians” of the Philippines. In the Bull Commissum Nobis of 1639, Urban Vlll penalised with excom-munication those who enslaved the “Indians” of South America.
In the reign of Innocent Xl the Holy Office issued an Instruction which forbade capturing blacks and buying, selling or possessing them as slaves. Those who were thus obliged to free their slaves were also obliged to compensate them.
Gregory XVl, in In Supremo of 1839, renewed the many papal condemnations (including Benedict XlV’s Immensa Pastorum of 1741) of the enslavement of Indians and blacks. Leo Xlll in Catholicae Ecclesiae, 1890, added the unity of human origins to reasons of the faith for condemning slavery.
(Mgr John Quinn, St Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers, New York, 1704.)
The Tablet, 5/12/1998
Too bad igd0708 chooses to
Too bad igd0708 chooses to remain anonymous. "Consensus" is considered to be "General agreement among the members of a given group or community, each of which exercises some discretion in decision-making and follow-up action; Average projected value, as in the finance term consensus forecast; A process of decision-making that maintains the continued consent of group."
Seems to me that Peter finally had to give in to the views of Paul and Barnabas, not only because their positions were convincing to others, but also because Peter was acting like a hypocrite when he ate with the "goy' or pagans who were not Jews? To eat with them, as Peter did, was a definite "no no" in the Jewish culture. Peter's "declaration" as igd0708 phrases it, was more of an admission that he was on the wrong side of a discussion. His capitulation is what stopped the discussion. It was an admission of his mistake and was not a "declaration " or a "papal decree", igd0708. And, by the way, igd0708, I know Bishop Gumbleton from my days as a parishioner at St. Leo's Parish, which he pastored for many years before his retirement. I know he always uses a Bible that is approved by the Church!
Joe - he may use a
Joe - he may use a Church-approved Bible, but that doesn't mean he's interpreting it correctly. And the way he (and you) have interpreted the Council of Jerusalem in the book of Acts is not in line with Church teaching. It also makes absolutely no sense.
And it's "L"gd not "i"gd in my ID, just so you know. And it's not as anonymous as you claim - my ID is a hyperlink to my blog.
Bp Gumbleton espouses heretical ideas - women priests being one of them - so regardless of how much good he has done for people around the world and in Detroit, the mere fact that he teaches and preaches error puts his soul in jeopardy. Yours too, if you agree with his heretical ideas.
Thank you Bishop Gumbleton
Thank you Bishop Gumbleton for continuing to be a prophet in our own time.
What a beautiful last
What a beautiful last paragraph! I think that the good bishop was preaching to the choir. His beautiful and theologically sound homily would be better preached to his brother bishops and the Holy Father. Bless you, Bishop, for following the Word of God!
Thank you, Bishop Gumbleton,
Thank you, Bishop Gumbleton, for this wonderful homily. Thank you NCR for publishing it. We have Hope!
Now, if only Bishop
Now, if only Bishop Gumbleton's fellow priests and bishops, who feel the same, would be brave enough to speak out for the equal treatment of women in our church!
When the Anglican church allowed women to be ordained, 500 priests joined the Catholic Church, but 5000 women were ordained! If we allowed women to be ordained, it would certainly solve the problem of the shortage of priests in our church!I'm sure the Vatican officials are aware of that, but their misogynistic attitude toward women will probably not let that fact persuade them to allow women to be ordained. How sad and how unfair!
Thank you bishop Thomas
Thank you bishop Thomas Gumbleton for your openess to the Holy Spirit at work in dismantling the sexism and gender apartheid in our church. Mary of Magdala,whose feast day is today,must greatly rejoice, not to mention Mary of Nazareth and all our women saints who suffered restrictions because of their gender. Magnificat!
Bishop Gumbleton you say it
Bishop Gumbleton you say it so well. I do think the Spirit is speaking for women. They have served us so well over the years, yet shunned. The Women Priests have a calling and I pray the church will be open to the Spirit and finally accept them as I do. To save our church we know and love, we must demand a change and our leaders must respond to the Holy Spirit before all the pews are empty! I am also a firm believer celibacy should be an option. With both, the church will flourish again.
Bishop Gumbleton, in his
Bishop Gumbleton, in his sermon, shows himself to be a true pastor. He allows for the fact that we, members of the church, don’t always “know it all”, that we often have to search for the truth, with the guidance of the Spirit. Contrast this with the attitude of so many hierarchs who are mostly obsessed with “being right and having the whole truth” (Richard Rohr, in another article in today’s NCR). Could it be that this is one of the reasons why so many of these many self-appointed “infallible” hierarchs are becoming more and more irrelevant to more and more members of the church? We need pastors, not hair-splitters who always want to be right, who always want to appear as “infallibly” knowing all of God’s ways and mysteries.
About 20 years ago I attended
About 20 years ago I attended an Anglican mass with a woman priest officiating. I still remember the awe and joy I felt to see a woman on the altar. I thought about how black people must have felt when they saw Jackie Robinson break the colour bar back in 1947 to play in the major leagues. I hope I live long enough to see this happen in the Catholic Church. We will be much richer when it does. Thank you Bishop Gumbleton - may your tribe increase.
A few years ago, I was going
A few years ago, I was going through my own crisis of faith and was actually discerning leaving the Church. I love the Church's liturgy and decided that I simply could not attend a church that was nothing more than preaching and singing and arm waving, as most Protestant denominations are. So, I took at look at the Episcopal Church. I drove to the local parish and walked in to speak to the priest. It was a woman. The assistant priest was also a woman. That was all I needed. I got back in my car, and drove to the first Catholic parish I found and went to confession. My faith has never been stronger.
So, in a negative way, my faith was strengthened by these women priests. I found that a denomination that would so dishonor 2000 years of dogma and tradition by ordaining women could not be a denomination that holds any reverence toward the faith. Thanks be to God that He slapped me in the face as He did.
You misinterpreted the slap…
You misinterpreted the slap…
2000 years is like a moment
2000 years is like a moment in the mind of God. The Church also thinks and moves very slowly over centuries and millennia. But things are moving faster all the time in the world the Church lives in. I have no doubt the Church has needed 500 or so years to think about this, even with the prodding of Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila and a whole bunch of others. Perhaps it's about time for change to start to appear. There are already many priests and bishops who believe that women ought to be ordained and some of them are brave enough to say so. I still tell people this will happen in my lifetime (I'm 71). It's hard to wait up for the cardinals and the pope to catch up, but I'm very grateful to the women who dare to go ahead of us on the path. Their example will shine out like that of Mary Magdalen and Martha's sister Mary, and one of these days the rest of the Church will see the light. The Spirit works through us, so we need to keep supporting the idea however we can. I believe we're living on the edge of a very exciting time of growth in the Church. It's not surprising that it took 2000 years of dogma and tradition to work us up to this for so long countercultural step. But it's time now.
I find that nothing in the Church has stayed the same forever. Probably the only thing that's still here from the beginning is Jesus' commandment to love God and love our neighbor as ourself. Tradition has changed constantly, and has always been different in different cultures and places. Even dogma has changed over the years as things were added. Of course change is not usually explicitly announced by the Church. Simply the new idea starts being referred to as if it has always been there. They'd like you to believe it was, but that's not historically accurate. We honor what we have in our own time, but don't think things have always been this way. The Church has always changed and it can change again.
Br. Joseph, your post
Br. Joseph, your post troubles me. Yes, the liturgy in the RC Church is quite beautiful, but to dismiss most Protestant denominations as "nothing more than preaching and singing and arm waving" seems liked a very shallow view. And to respond so strongly to the sight of a women being in the position of a priest as an indication that the church does not hold "any reverence toward the faith", again seems so limited.
I see the mystical body of Christ as being much broader than you seem to. I rejoice in the "many mansions" of those who follow Christ. I think that it is a mistake to dismiss other ways just because your interactions with our Lord may be best expressed and experienced within the traditions of the RC Church.
None-the-less, I am glad that you have found your faith to be renewed and alive.
So much to do, so little
So much to do, so little time, so much trivia deemed as hugely important getting in the way and even legislated on. Jesus spoke to the woman at the well-a Samarian, so definitely not a Jew but definitely a woman and maybe even one of ill repute. He seemed to know all about her--was her reputation such a scandalous one that even the Jews knew about her? He told her to tell her own people what she had just heard or better still who she had just met. She clearly couldn't get over him knowing all about her and accepting her anyhow--no --not just accepting her but charging her with the ministry of bringing others to Him!!
Was she not a disciple? Once again the people apparently investigated for themselves as they didn't really believe her but it seems on encountering Him they believed for themselves. What we think of each other regarding judgments of gender, lifestyle, ethnic origin, and all the other concerns we deem important are really insignificant if God chooses to work thro' us. Why on earth does it still matter to us if we have an institution's approval? Why do we give these sheltered old men such power over our lives and our ministries? What is it about emotional clinging that makes us so willing to shut out our own experience of the Holy Spirit visiting each one of us?
There is much to do. Our neighbours, our planet-our stewardship! Perhaps stewardship is a word we should have a closer look at. Then the ridiculous divisions might become less important as we recognise how late the hour is!!
In concurrence with Joe
In concurrence with Joe Walker and wonderment for the reasoning behind lgd0708's comment of Jul. 22, Please Note this quote from a CATHOLIC bible as James said:
"It is my judgment, therefore, that we ought to stop troubling the Gentiles who turn to God,"
See: http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/acts/acts15.htm. From our own Catholic Bible, we see that James pronounces his own judgment. Therefore, clearly there was a discussion and a consensus was achieved.
Bishop Thomas Gumbleton is saying that there still is room in our Faith for the Spirit to move our Church toward assigning new missions and roles for women. This may not happen in my lifetime, but the Spirit will continue to work for a greater understanding of God’s intentions for all of us, his children.
That also seems to be the case with Vatican II. Pope John XXIII called it, but the Council addressed the issues. If it was only going to be John’s decisions that could change the Church forever, he simply could have written a letter. The last two popes wrote letters, but they have not changed the church for all time.
We seek forgivness from God, As We Forgive others.
Thank you Bishop Gumbleton.
Thank you Bishop Gumbleton. We have received so many encouragements from bishops, theologians and enlighten laity in these last few weeks. An example is the marvelous speech from Bishop Dowling.
Our local deacon gave a sermon not so long ago which boiled down to this.
We do not find it easy to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit as it speaks to us. It is hard to listen to that which frightens us. We are scared for various reasons. The Liberals are afraid to listen because they might hear that the bishops may be right about many issues. The Conservatives are frightened because hearing the Spirit always means change.
Somehow all must open their ears.
Dear Lord, give us the Grace to live in Hope that our Faith will be strengthened even as others turn from the great commandment of Jesus; Love thy neighbor as thy self.
Dear Bishop Gumbleton, What
Dear Bishop Gumbleton,
What about Martha? She too, as the hostess, was welcomed by Jesus.
As it happens, my husband, a pastor emeritus of the United Protestant Church
of Belgium and of the Waldensian-Methodist Church in Italy (both of which have women among their leadership), preached on the same text last Sunday.
A number of women in the congregation, some of whom have theological training, appreciated the reference to Martha, in that without the quiet service of women, the church would be nowhere. After all, to quote Milton: "We also serve who only stand and waite".
Thank you for all you have done over the years.
Irene A Bouman
God bless you, Bishop
God bless you, Bishop Gumbleton, and may your words be a blessing to many!
Br. Joseph, the slap in the
Br. Joseph, the slap in the face you got was not the same as the one you got when you were confirmed. This one was a call to wake up to the truth that was standing before you. Not that these women priests had dishonored tradition, but that they were a sign of the living Church, called by God to serve.
If you say that only men were apostles you would likely be mistaken, but even if they were, they were all Jews. Interesting how the Catholic Church does not require one to be a Jew in order to be a priest. Don't you think they should? We are certainly breaking with tradition with that one.
Thank you, Bishop Gumbleton,
Thank you, Bishop Gumbleton, for your courage and insight!
Blessings on you, dear Bishop
Blessings on you, dear Bishop Gumbleton, for your courage in speaking out on this issue among many where others are silent. if only your fellow bishops could, and would, hear your prophetic words and heed them!
I am ready Bishop. As a woman
I am ready Bishop. As a woman in the church I am ready to sit down and talk. Unfortunately, it is your brothers who are not, including my own Bishop. Thank you for sharing your insight. I hope a reflection like yours, and others that will follow, are important steps to getting us at the table.
I was told women cannot be
I was told women cannot be priests/ordained because the men become a vessel for Christ during the Mass.
Mother Mary was the original, physical, biological and spiritual vessel for Christ. She was a woman.
And Mary Magdalene was as surely a learner and disciple as any of the historically named "apostles." (And we know which gender wrote the history.)
Dear Bishop Gumbleton. Best
Dear Bishop Gumbleton. Best that you follow the rules of the Magisterium and quit politicking for something that will not happen. By the way, when is your mandatory retirement age so that you can be replaced with someone who honors the rules and decisions of the Holy See in word and action? Your public adversarial advocacy seems to meet the criterion for the sin of scandal as described in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
Anonymous: You definitely
Anonymous:
You definitely have a strong negative opinion of Bishop Gumbleton's homily. Why did you post it anonymously? From whom are you hiding?
Women should be allowed to have leadership positions and to be priests. Not only that, priests should be able to marry.
Thank you Bishop Gumbleton.
Thank you Bishop Gumbleton. The pope and many of the hierarchy continue to bring great scandal on the church.
You speak the words of Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Spirit. Mary Magdala, Junia, Samaria woman and other women were indeed apostles and disciples of Lord Jesus Christ, just as much as the men were. Yes women do have genuine apostolic succession just as the male apostles do. Jesus got women to anoint him while he was alive, in front of witnesses, lavishly praising the women. Jesus also happily praised the Samaria woman as being a better apostle to the gentiles of Samaria than the men were. It is the pope and many of the hierarchy who scandalize the church when they shun women from ordination and when they continue to cover-up and not have accountability and any transparency in the sex scandal of the church. New child molestation priests/bishops predators scandal cover-ups constantly come up even now.
A wonderful discussion of the
A wonderful discussion of the possibilities for growth and renewal in the Church. I have appreciated Bishop Gumbleton's thoughts and teachings for many years and still he provides guidance to us all. Let us hope that the Church leadership and heirarchy divines its own mission for inclusion and renewal, especially in dealing with the recent darkness and immorality among a few. As for the comment from 'Anonymous' - why is that those with such judgemental and self-certain opinions are so unwilling to make themselves publicly accountable for such divisive views . . . 'cannot see the plank in their own eye.'
Thank you Bishop Thomas
Thank you Bishop Thomas Gumbleton for keeping the spirit holy and alive in (all of) our church. Your words are like a new green shoot in this old tree.
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