Reflection #29 (Only 1047 to go!): The Common Enemy On Christmas morning, the homily at mass wasn't very inspiring... rather perfunctory. That’s not particularly uncommon, since there are a lot of components that go into giving a good speech. I’m not sure that I could do better. To my credit, I do try to hang in there; it’s not always easy...especially when the design on the wall behind the alter is a parabola. I find myself trying to derive the equation of that parabola based on my estimate of its dimensions. Oops! My mind wandered from my original topic.
The point of the homily was that materialism is the enemy of our spirituality. For the sake of “full disclosure”, I agree that it is too easy to confuse, what we want with what we need. Even in these modern times, many who view themselves as defenders of the faith (not necessarily Catholics) will “buy indulgences” by contributing to their church, while accruing massive wealth, ignoring, and sometimes at the expense, of those who have little.
Father’s homily took me back to “youthful” times, when we were warned about the enemies of the church, usually other religions. I can recall Sister Agnes, a truly lovely lady, telling us that it was sinful to go to the YMCA because it promoted a different religion. Imagine my confusion when I came to Ignatius and Fr. Maurice Meyers would take students swimming at the “Y”. (Oh, those Jesuits do march to their own drummer.) The same motivational device was, and is, used in politics and coaching. Identify, or in some cases create, an common enemy and demonize them...the more the better.
At Loyola U., circa 1957, we were trained in “defending the Faith”, with the reward of going straight to Heaven. Not a bad deal! Unfortunately, we were mostly schooled in how to deal with religions that we didn’t really come in contact with. I can tell you that if I had ever encountered a Zoroastrian proselytizing in my neighborhood, he would have taken a real beating..., verbally of course. We never got to religions like Lutheranism and Mormons; it was only a one semester course.
Politics is too risky to mention, but it’s not hard to spot...especially coming from the party you don’t agree with.
Sports, on the other hand is a hot-bed of this device. During my “innocent” days (1969-72), I had the misfortune to be appointed Athletic Director...a job that I was not trained for, and probably not smart enough for, but that’s another story. I definitely was not smart enough to turn down the job when it was offered. In my defense, when the Fr. John Reilly "offered" you a job, you generally said, “Yes, Father.”
Back to the point. An iconic coach of that time told his athletes that I was one of the many enemies in their life. I wasn’t alone; the previous athletic director was brought to tears by such accusations. I may be exaggerating for dramatic effect but I’m reasonably sure that I was accused of everything from being the cause most serious illnesses to the rise of Communism, all the while being the major obstacle in their journey to being successful. Again, in the interest of full disclosure, I wasn’t responsible for any of those. I really didn’t like being that target, but I guess it came with the job.
See. Father, I do listen to the homilies, but I’m not sure I always get the exact same message that you were trying to impart. Happy New Year!
