Homily for the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time March 2, 2025

Today I want to do something different, mainly because several members of our community have told me about the anxiety they are feeling in light of everything that’s going on in our nation.

We should note that there are several news reports in recent days that are challenging and depressing. Here’s what I mean (from local newspapers this past week):

·      Why have abortions increased despite bans?

·      Donald Trump believes Putin will keep his word, and is quoted as saying, “We had to go through the Russian hoax together.”

·      Tariffs on Canada and Mexico will go into effect Tuesday, and the 10% tariff on goods from China will be doubled. As a result, the “global economy is in turmoil,” and there are concerns about inflation worsening and auto sector possibly hurting

·      HUD proposed budget cuts could be felt here, homeless providers say

·      Measles outbreak totally avoidable

·      Former defense chiefs call for hearting on firing of military leaders

·      USAID (Agency for International Development) … 90% of contracts are being terminated

·      Talks between President Trump and President Zelenskyy end in shouting match

·      Student loans questionable

I want to emphasize that I’m not looking at all of this solely in political terms, but on the human effects of policy, and the moral issues being raised.

Let me focus in depth on one issue by way of example and analysis. The other day my cousin, who lives in rural New Hampshire, told me that immigration authorities went into a local restaurant and took away three Hispanic men who were working there.

I said, “I’ll bet the community is up in arms about that?” “No,” he said, “most people in this area are cheering that it was done.”

I’ve thought a lot about that. I tried to imagine the possible consequences of such an act. I tried to imagine that I was an eight-year-old boy, and that one of those men was my father. Earlier that day he had dropped me off at school. He said, “Study hard, because that’s the way you get ahead in life. I love you.” “Love you, too, dad,” I responded.

Then I tried to imagine what it would feel like to return to my home later that day, and find my mother in tears. “They’ve taken your dad,” she says, “and we have no idea where.”

In last week’s gospel, Jesus taught, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

Well, I want to take another look at that. Certainly, I don’t want to set myself up as judge and jury of what other people are thinking, or why they act as they act. That kind of judgement belongs to God, for God sees the heart, and I only see the appearances.

But what about actions? What about when a man working in a restaurant is suddenly taken away and a family is broken up? What should I say to the man’s eight-year-old son? What should I think about the neighbors, some of whom who are presumably Christians, that they should feel gleeful, and rejoice that three men and three families are impacted, maybe forever?

While I don’t presume to judge someone else’s conscience, I still need to ask questions about actions such as this that are being taken. And I feel that I need to bring the perspective of God, the teaching of Jesus Christ, and the guidance of the Church to bear on how I answer.

A couple of weeks ago, I took a look at the deportation issue, and I shared parts of a very strongly worded letter by Pope Francis to the American bishops. Because of snowstorms, many of you missed that. Here’s a part of Pope Francis’ guidance:

Pope Francis recently sent a strongly worded letter to the Catholic bishops of the United States in which he denounced the mass deportation of migrants…The letter also stated that Francis disagrees with identifying the illegal status of migrants with criminality, and called on the bishops to “walk together” and defend the human dignity of the migrants in their country. He told the bishops that “the rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality…. The act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness…. The act of deportation is not a minor issue.” He emphasized that “an authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve especially the poorest and most marginalized.”

The dignified treatment that all people deserve especially the poorest and most marginalized!

There’s the love God is looking for. There’s the compassion. There’s what Jesus would say and do. He certainly wouldn’t be gleeful with mass deportations and the destruction of families.

I want to be clear. I’m not doing a political analysis. I’m doing a moral appraisal. There are certain things that should not, cannot, be done simply because you have the power to do so. When you watch the news or read the newspaper, be aware of what’s going on. And remember to ask: Where’s the love? Where’s the compassion? Where’s the humanity? That’s what God asks of us. We shouldn’t just go blindly along and support actions that are clearly immoral and inhumane.

One final note. What to do if you are feeling stressed. Many years ago, the great psychiatrist Karl Meninger was asked what to do if you feel a nervous breakdown coming on. He said we should get up, get out of the house, cross the railroad tracks, and find a person worse off than you, and do something to help that person.

In other words, don’t just stew about it. Get your feelings out, talk with others, write down what you are feeling in a journal, contact your congress people, look for demonstrations taking place.

To all of this I would add: do you remember the Gospel story about the disciples in the boat? Jesus is fast asleep after a tough day of teaching and healing. A storm arises, and the disciples are afraid that they will drown. In a panic, they finally remember that Jesus is in the boat with them. They wake him and ask, “Don’t you care that we’re going to perish?” Jesus calmly calms the storm, and asks, “Where is your faith? Why are you terrified?” So… place yourself in that boat. Remember who’s there with you. Talk to him about your fears and listen to what he says. Where is your faith in all this?