Wednesday, March 31, 2021

HOMILY – Palm Sunday – A Passion story

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What is the measure of greatness in the human character?

Our faith tells us it is to pour out ourselves in the service of others, sacrificing our lives for others (if need be), just as Jesus did. 

Our Church calls us to serve the poor, the weak, the vulnerable.  Not just in our Church, but outside our church in our troubled world.  The homeless.  The prisoner.  The weak and powerless.  The sick and dying.  The poor. 

Saint Teresa got it, too.  She poured out her life in the service of others throughout her own powerful ministry on earth.

          And so did Father William Thomas Cummings. 

Ever heard of him?

I’ll bet you recognize this famous saying: “There are no atheists in foxholes.”  Sound familiar?

This wartime priest delivered this line while serving Mass for American and Filipino troops in Bataan, in the Philippines. 

One of those troops was my Great Uncle Vernon Weldon. 

This is their Passion story. 

Fr. Cummings was running an orphanage in Manila as a Maryknoll missionary when Japanese warplanes attacked the city, destroying his orphanage and killing the children he loved and served there. 

Father Cummings survived and went immediately to the nearby U.S. military base where servicemen were preparing their escape from the city. 

Fr. Cummings met my uncle there for the first time when he asked if he could join the Army as a Chaplain and serve the men as they fled from the expected Japanese invasion. 

The base commander granted his wish. 

Their epic retreat to the Bataan peninsula with General Douglas McArthur lasted months as American and Filipino troops valiantly fought the Japanese Imperial Army. 

MacArthur was under great pressure by FDR to leave the Philippines.  The Army General offered to resign his position and serve as a volunteer to lead his men.

Eventually, MacArthur got a direct order from Roosevelt himself to evacuate now, abandoning his troops, but promising them, “I shall return.” 

Sadly, his promise to return would be delayed for years.  It would come too late for my uncle and his friend the priest.

Father Cummings became an Army legend due to his service.  Before being captured, a nurse at a field hospital undergoing bombardment witnessed Father Cummings in action. 

Nurse Hattie Bradley recounted the experience of Good Friday, 1942, “More piercing screams.  Scores of dead or dying…  She dashed into the orthopedic ward for help.  There, panic was on the verge of erupting.  Then she saw the chaplain… standing on a desk.  Above the roar of airplanes, the explosions and the shrieks of the wounded.  His voice could be heard:  ‘Our Father, who art in heaven…’  Calmed by his prayers, the patients quieted.”

Father Cummings did all of this with one arm broken by shrapnel from a bomb.

When MacArthur fled, the troops left behind were captured and marched by the Japanese after the fall of Bataan on a 60-mile trek “straight out of Dante’s inferno.”  They were given no food or water.   They were subject to random beatings and casual executions especially of the weak and vulnerable. 

Thousands of men would die of starvation, malaria and murder on the Bataan Death March and in Japanese concentration camps.

My uncle and Father Cummings would survive the over two-year ordeal and amazingly were among a few thousand men still alive when the Japanese evacuated the Philippines sending the men in the hull of a Japanese warship to Tokyo to be used as slave labor. 

While in Tokyo harbor, my uncle Vernon died when friendly fire partially destroyed their ship.  Father Cummings would give him his Last Rites.

As the horror continued aboard a vessel dubbed “Hell Ship” by the survivors, Father Cummings again tried to calm the men, by saying the “Our Father.” 

From the book “Give Us This Day” comes this first-hand account from a dark, fiery cargo hold as Sidney helped prop up Father Cummings:

“Faltering, he began to speak.  “Men!  Men, can you hear my voice?  Slowly he began to pray. ‘Our Father Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name… '

The cries of the men became still.  I concentrated on the voice that soothed me and gave me strength and the will to live.  Then I felt his body shiver and tremble in my arms.  He gasped for air and there was a pain written on his face.  He gritted his teeth, sighed and went on.  ‘Thy will be done – on earth – as it is – in Heaven.’ 

I felt him tremble again as if he wanted to cough.  His hands fluttered and his eyelids almost closed. Then with superhuman effort he spoke again.  ‘Give Us This Day…’

I felt his body go tense all over.  He relaxed and his hand fell by his side… I knew he was dead… I cradled his head against my shoulder.  I didn’t want to lay him down.  I couldn’t bear to face the fact that he was gone.”

Father Cummings gave up his life in the service of others. He followed the will of the Father, climbed the hill to Golgotha, and experienced his Passion. 


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¿Cuál es la medida de la grandeza del carácter humano?

Nuestra fe nos dice que es el derramarnos al servicio de los demás, sacrificando nuestra vida por los demás (si es necesario), tal como Jesús lo hizo.

Nuestra Iglesia nos llama a servir a los pobres, a los débiles, a los vulnerables .  No sólo en nuestra Iglesia, sino fuera de nuestra iglesia en nuestro mundo convulsionado.  Las personas sin casa.  El prisionero.  Los débiles e impotentes.  Los enfermos y moribundos.  Los pobres.

Santa Teresa de Calcuta también lo logró.  Ella derramó su vida al servicio de los demás a lo largo de su propio y poderoso ministerio en la tierra.

Y también el Padre Guillermo Thomas Cummings.

¿Has oído hablar de él?

Apuesto a que reconoces el famoso dicho: "No hay ateos en las trincheras".  ¿Te suena familiar?

Este sacerdote en tiempos de guerra pronunció esta línea mientras servía misa para las tropas estadounidenses y filipinas en Bataan, Filipinas.

En una de esas tropas estaba mi tío abuelo Vernon Weldon.

Esta es su historia de Pasión.

El padre Cummings dirigía un orfanato en Manila como misionero Maryknoll cuando aviones de guerra japoneses atacaron la ciudad, destruyendo su orfanato y matando a los niños que él amaba y servía allí.

El padre Cummings sobrevivió y fue inmediatamente a la cercana base militar estadounidense, donde los militares estaban preparando su huida de la ciudad.

El Padre Cummings conoció a mi tío allí por primera vez cuando le preguntó si podía unirse al Ejército como capellán y servir a los hombres mientras huían de la esperada invasión japonesa.

El comandante de la base le concedió su deseo.

Su épico retiro a la península de Bataan con el general Douglas McArthur duró meses mientras las tropas estadounidenses y filipinas luchaban valienemente contra el Ejército Imperial Japonés.

MacArthur estaba bajo la gran presión del Presidente Roosevelt para salir de Filipinas.  El General del Ejército ofreció renunciar a su cargo y servir como voluntario para dirigir a sus hombres.

Finalmente, MacArthur recibió una orden directa del propio Presidente Roosevelt de evacuar en ese momento, abandonando sus tropas, pero prometiéndoles: "Regresaré".

Lamentablemente, su promesa de regresar se retrasaría durante años.  Llegaría demasiado tarde para mi tío y su amigo el sacerdote.

El padre Cummings se convirtió en una leyenda del ejército debido a su servicio.  Antes de ser capturado, una enfermera de un hospital de campaña que estaba siendo bombardeado presenció al padre Cummings en acción.

La enfermera relató la experiencia del Viernes Santo de 1942: "Gritos penetrantes.  Decenas de muertos y moribundos... Ella corrió hacia el pabellón ortopédico en busca de ayuda.  Allí, el pánico estaba a punto de estallar.  Luego vio al capellán ... de pie en un escritorio.  Por encima del rugido de los aviones, las explosiones y los gritos de los heridos.  Su voz podía ser escuchada: 'Padre nuestro, que estás en el cielo. Santificado sea tu nombre. Venga tu reino…"

El padre Cummings hizo todo esto con un brazo roto por las esquirlas de una bomba.

Cuando MacArthur huyó, las tropas que se quedaron atrás fueron capturadas y marcharon con los japoneses después de la caída de Bataan en una caminata de 60 millas "directamente del infierno de Dante".  No les dieron comida ni agua.   Fueron objeto de palizas aleatorias y ejecuciones casuales, especialmente a los débiles y vulnerables.

Miles de hombres murieron de hambre, malaria y fueron asesinados en la Marcha de la Muerte de Bataan y en los campos de concentración japoneses.

Mi tío y el padre Cummings sobrevivieron al calvario de más de dos años y sorprendentemente estaban entre unos pocos miles de hombres aún vivos cuando los japoneses evacuaron Filipinas enviando a los hombres en el casco de un buque de guerra japonés a Tokio para ser utilizados como mano de obra esclava.

Mientras estaba en el puerto de Tokio, mi tío Vernon murió cuando un fuego destruyó parcialmente su nave.  El padre Cummings le daría los últimos ritos.

Mientras el horror continuaba a bordo de una embarcación llamada "Barco del Infierno" por los sobrevivientes, el Padre Cummings volvió a tratar de calmar a los hombres, rezando el "Padre Nuestro".

Del libro "Danos este día" sale este relato de primera mano desde una bodega de carga oscura y ardiente mientras ayudaba apoyando al Padre Cummings:

"Vacilando, comenzó a hablar.  "Hombres!  Hombres, ¿pueden oír mi voz?’  Poco a poco comenzó a orar. 'Padre nuestro. Que estás en el cielo, santificado sea tu nombre... '

Los gritos de los hombres se silenciaron.  Me concentré en la voz que me calmó y me dio fuerza y voluntad de vivir.  Entonces sentí que su cuerpo temblaba y titiritaba en mis brazos.  Respiraba con dificultad y había un dolor escrito en su cara.  Apretó los dientes, suspiró y continuó.  'Hágase tu voluntad – en la tierra – así como – en el Cielo."

Lo sentí temblar de nuevo como si quisiera toser.  Sus manos se movieron ligeramente y sus párpados estaban casi cerrados. Luego, con un esfuerzo sobrehumano, volvió a hablar.  'Danos hoy...'

Sentí que su cuerpo se puso tenso por todas partes.  Se relajó y su mano cayó a su lado... Sabía que estaba muerto... Acuné su cabeza contra mi hombro.  No quería acostarlo.  No podía soportar enfrentar el hecho de que se había ido.

El padre Cummings renunció a su vida por el servicio a sus hermanos pobres, débiles y vulnerables. Siguió la voluntad del Padre, subió la colina hasta el Gólgota y experimentó su Pasión.

 




Friday, March 12, 2021

HOMILY – Fourth Sunday of Lent – Safety Bubble

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Jesus is using a blind man to open our eyes to our own blindness in how we see the world and in how we see ourselves.

In a way, Jesus is bursting the safety bubble we all tend to live in – especially here in the United States.  I am forever grateful to Maryknoll for curing me of my blindness and popping my safety bubble through several years of formation and mission.     

           Remember the story years ago about the Boy who lived in the Bubble? He became known as Bubble Boy to many Americans.

Young David Vetter suffered from a severe immunodeficiency disease, requiring him to live inside a bubble, a sterile chamber where his parents could only touch him through the use of plastic gloves attached to the chamber walls. 

Bubble boy was such an intriguing news story that he was featured in a memorable 70’s movie starring John Travolta, in a popular 80s song by musician Paul Simon, and was even part of a popular episode on the TV show Seinfeld in the 90s.

            Isn’t it true that we all tend to live inside our own safety bubbles?  These are physical, psychological, and spiritual bubbles of security. Sometimes they make us blind to the problems of the world.

Jesus is here today to pop our bubbles.

For some, our safety bubble is the size of our 401K or retirement pension. For others, our safety bubble is our nice home or fancy car. For others, our safety bubble is our circle of like-minded friends or our political persuasion.

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus performs a miracle on the man born blind. The beauty of the story is that this man comes to see the truth and then shares with others his faith in Christ Jesus, while those who might consider themselves faithful to the Law of Moses prove themselves to be blind and faithless.

As Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see and those who do see might become blind.”

In Jesus’ day, blindness was seen as a curse from God’s, a sign of a person out of a right relation with God due to something they or their parents did to offend God.

His own disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned to make this man blind?”

 Do we sometimes think the same thing of others? Are we blind to their pain, their misery, their challenges? Does our judgment of how they live their lives impact our response (those experiencing homelessness, those living on welfare, the undocumented crossing our borders)? Or has Jesus opened our eyes to see their humanity?

           Jesus is the light of the world. He wants to pop our safety bubbles, and shine a light into our souls so we might see the world through his eyes, especially see the poor and marginalized. And feel the call to enter into God's mission of love. 

            I was reminded of these bubbles we tend to live in during a Maryknoll mission immersion trip to Jamaica a few years back. For most Americans, Montego Bay, Jamaica, is a place of white sandy beaches and all-inclusive luxury resorts. This is the safety bubble most live in when visiting Jamaica.

            But this is not where the real beauty of Jamaica is found.

            We found that beauty working with a group of Korean nuns, serving in the barrios of Montego Bay, handing out bags of groceries and school supplies to those living in shacks in the poorest part of town. The smiles on the faces of the adults and children were a just glimpse at the expected smiles to be found in Heaven.

            We found that beauty spending the day with physically and intellectually disabled young people at a place called Blessed Assurance located in a mountainous area just outside town. There we experienced joy and laughter like never before.  Our presence was met with an abundance of happiness and love, as we helped these young people with their art projects, told jokes, played, and at lunchtime helped to feed those who could not feed themselves.   
     
          We found that beauty visiting a Catholic hospice where we met a man named Renville.  He fell out of a bread fruit tree years ago and was permanently confined to a bed due to a broken back. He lost the use of his lower body and has only partial use of his upper body. But Renville proceeded to share with us his own love of Jesus, a joy for living, and proclaimed a homily that would put any homily to shame.  We spoke for a long time, and at the end of our chat, he drew me in close for a big hug, and whispered in my ear, “If I get to heaven first, I’ll save you a seat for you next to me. I’ll be the first to welcome you home.”

My brothers and sisters, this is the real beauty of the Kingdom of God. This was the real beauty on our mission trip to Jamaica. Not the artificial beauty found at luxury resorts, behind locked security gates and all-you-can-eat gourmet restaurants. 

When Jesus pops our safety bubbles, we see the Kingdom clearly. And in these sacred encounters on the peripheries, we find more beauty than is found at any beach resort.

The bubbles we live in extend to how we see the world.

           Catholic blogger Elizabeth Scalia wrote on Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire website, “Informationally, the world is ever-broadening, but our interests continue to shrink as we close in on ourselves. In our reading, our entertainment, our news venues, our social media, our political involvements, we seek out echo chambers we may depend upon to repeat US back to ourselves in a reassuring loop, with dissenting ideas continually pruned away for the sake of purity. Settled within virtual enclaves of the like-minded, we bask in an illusion that most sensible people think as we do, and when we are forced to venture out beyond our unsullied orthodoxies and ideologies the world feels increasingly dangerous and disordered. We cannot wait to get back to our ‘safe zones’ which are really just aspects of ourselves reflected back to US.”

            She goes on to say, “We used to read about ‘the boy in the bubble’ and feel sorry for him. He was trapped within a limited world free of exposure to even the ‘good’ germs and bacteria that keep our immune systems adept, functional, and ready to withstand and beat back infection. Now, we have become him. Though our bodies may wander freely, we keep our minds and spirits tethered to what is comfortable, unchallenging, and pristine, until our mental and spiritual immune systems become so weakened that a mere difference of opinion feels like an assault.”

          These are just a sampling of safety bubbles Jesus wants to pop in our lives.

          So, what bubble do you need Jesus to pop in your life? 

          Jesus is calling us out of our comfort zone, our echo chamber, our bubble. This is the miracle he wants to perform in our lives to cure us of our blindness. And allow us to see as he sees.