IN MEMORIAM MSGR. FRANZ GRAEF (1930 – 2016)

IN MEMORIAM

MSGR. FRANZ GRAEF (1930 – 2016)

Rev. Deogratias Ekisa

St. John Berchman's Cathedral, Shreveport - June 29, 2016

Dear Bishop Duca, my brothers and sisters, I count it a great honour, to stand before you, to say a few words about Msgr. Franz Graef, on my behalf and on behalf of Notre Dame Seminary, where he served two wonderful tours of duty.  I am sure that each of us who has known him would have something special to say about his influence on our lives.

In my case, I first met Msgr. Graef, as we called him, in 1994, when I joined Notre Dame Seminary for my theological studies.  Like me, he had an accent, an unusual accent, a German accent; but unlike me, his accent had a gravitas to it, a depth that kept you listening to what he had to say, whether it was about theology or simply his good natured humour.

In preparing my remarks for tonight, I spoke to a few alumni of Notre Dame Seminary to share with me some of their memories of Msgr. Graef.  I would like summarize these memories by speaking about three things which Msgr. Graef passed on to us, not only by his words, but especially by his actions.  And coincidentally, the three things line up exactly with the threefold office of Jesus Christ, as priest, prophet and king.  Msgr. Graef was an astute theologian, a caring pastor and a noble priest.

Msgr. Graef the theologian: Despite his humble and unassuming nature, the theological depth of Msgr. Graef was obvious to anyone who met him.  He was always available he was when called upon to teach theology, whether in the diocese or at the Seminary.  At the seminary, he taught courses in dogmatic and sacramental theology.  As you know, this area of theology is rather abstract, dealing with dry and difficult concepts like the Trinity, Christ's nature, grace, transubstantiation etc.  But he made us love theology; he made us love these abstract concepts.

In his teaching, Msgr. Graef not only taught us orthodox Church doctrine, but he also taught us to explore the various legitimate ways of understanding the faith.  Always drawing from the threefold font of Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium, he also helped us to consider the myriad ways of understanding the same deposit of faith, both throughout history and in our times.  He trained us to receive what mother Church has to teach us, but also how to appropriate it ourselves and make it a part of our lives.  He hoped that this exercise would produce at least one Augustine or a Thomas Aquinas or at least one Karl Rahner.  If I may speak for myself, in this regard, I think that Msgr. Graef was being a little too generous about the intellectual abilities of us his students.

Msgr. Graef the pastor: If reproducing his theological prowess was perhaps a little beyond our ability, emulating his pastoral zeal was well within our reach.  Msgr. Graef always taught theology with a pastoral goal in mind, that is, he intended that we use this theology to shepherd God's people.  In fact, virtually his only assignments tested our ability to teach the faith as pastors, bringing doctrine to a practical level that would apply to the everyday lives of Christians. That is why he gave us take-home exams dealing with concrete pastoral situations.  For the course on the Eucharist, for example, he had us write a homily for the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper; for the sacraments of healing, we had to write a parish presentation tracing the development and history of both the sacraments of penance and anointing of the sick.  And he asked that we ensure that we our work could be used later in our own priestly ministry.  And I can testify that I was able to use these assignments, with only minimal modification during my priestly ministry.

And so when I too began to teach the same courses at Notre Dame Seminary, I followed his model, as my former and current students can testify.  If these students have found these assignments a little demanding (as they once even told Bishop Duca on one of his visits), I hope they now realize that I am not entirely responsible for their having to burn the midnight oil – they have to blame Msgr. Graef.  But if these students, now in ministry, have found those pastorally-oriented assignments of some benefit to their priestly ministry, I cannot take the credit – it is Msgr. Graef they can thank for training us to always have the pastoral heart of Jesus Christ.

Msgr. Graef the priest: Msgr. Graef took his sanctifying role very seriously.  He always celebrated the Eucharist with decorum and composure.  His dignified poise at liturgy was perhaps due to his naturally subdued Teutonic temperament.  Whenever he saw priests who celebrated Mass in an excessively exuberant manner, Msgr. Graef would often remind them that the Mass, which we celebrate daily, is not about us, but about God.  Like all things in the Graef world, his dignified manner of celebrating the liturgy flowed from his theological understanding of the great mystery we celebrate at the liturgy.  He believed that since God was the focus of the liturgy, he should be allowed God to increase and the celebrant to decrease.

And so, if I may speak for hundreds of priests who received their theological training at the feet of Msgr. Graef and for thousands of other students that he taught throughout his priestly ministry, I must say that we truly won the powerball lottery of theology.  We must admit that in having Msgr. Graef for a pastor and mentor, it is like we had Pete Sampras for a tennis coach or Diana Ross teaching us how to sing.

May the memory of Msgr. Graef continue to be perpetuated in the way we carry out our various ministries, both as clergy and as lay people.

• May we always start what we do from a deep knowledge and keen understanding of our faith.
• May we continue to apply that knowledge and understanding to the concrete realities of our Christian lives and lives of other people.
• May we always celebrate the liturgy in a manner befitting the Father whom we adore, the Son who charges us to offer with him and the Holy Spirit who empowers us to offer worthy worship.

The saying goes that you can bring a horse to the water, but you cannot make it drink.  Msgr. Graef has brought us to the water, let us continue drinking and sharing that water with others.

Thank you.

Burning ships to follow Christ

Homily for 13^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2016

1 Kings 19:16b,19-21; Galatians 5:1,13-18; Luke 9:51-62

Introduction

The story is told of Hernando Cortés.  He was the Spanish Conquistador, who attempted to conquer and colonize the Aztec empire, what is now much of Mexico.  But compared to the Aztecs his army was rather small.

And so, legend has it that after his men got ashore, Cortés ordered them to burn all the ships that brought them from Spain. He did this so that his men would understand fully that their only options were to win or to die – there would be no retreat, no plan B, no fall-back position. And so, knowing that their options were now limited, the Spanish army would fight harder and with more commitment.

Today's readings teach us the same message, that when Jesus calls people to follow him, they must do so without any reservation, they must completely cut ties with their former lives, they must burn their ships.

Scripture and Theology

The gospel passage presents three candidates who want to follow Jesus.  But they all three lack something of the commitment that Jesus wants in a disciple.

One says: "Lord, [I want to follow you but] let me go first and bury my father." This seems like quite a reasonable request.  The man wants to fulfil his duties as a son, to bury his father.  Perhaps the father was quite ill and needed care in his last days.  Perhaps the father of this man was in good health, but still needed him to help around the house.

To this man Jesus says in quite stern terms: "Let the dead bury their dead.  But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."  Is Jesus suggesting that we must abandon our family obligations?  No.  But he is asking the disciple to reflect seriously on where his priorities lie.  Do his priorities lie with family or with Jesus?  Sometimes, in fact, often, the disciple will have to choose Jesus over the family.

Another candidate says: "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." And we would again agree that this is also a fair request.  Today, if a young man or woman were to enlist in the army, he or she would not just take off without first saying goodbye to mom and dad first, perhaps even to seek their blessing.  That would be like eloping.

But Jesus once again uncompromisingly says: "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”  Again he is using this hyperbole to teach that commitment to him trumps all other commitments.  He demands that his followers burn the ships of their former lives, even of their family ties.

While these two candidate-disciples seem to lack full commitment because they were hesitant, another candidate-disciple lacks commitment in a different way.  This is the one who says: "I will follow you wherever you go."  This man or woman is rather enthusiastic about the mission of Jesus, willing to go anywhere, do anything for Jesus.  But Jesus seem to discourage him by saying: "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."  Why?

Jesus speaks this way because enthusiasm alone does not a disciple make.  The potential disciple must know the realities of what following Jesus means.  That is why Jesus tells him that while wild animals have a place to stay, Jesus is essentially homeless.  This disciple must learn that committing himself to Jesus means also committing himself to the difficult life, the suffering of Jesus.  Jesus is going to Jerusalem to be arrested, crucified and killed; the disciple needs to know this.  The television commercials emphasize only the benefits of their product in glowing colours, clear words and large print, but hide the downside in small print.  Jesus places everything on the table for the disciple to make an informed choice.

Christian Life

Christians have lived out this radical message of the gospel in various ways.

In the Early Church, those who became Christians had to give up a lot: they had to give up ordinary jobs, social status and sometimes even their lives for Christ.  Later this radical commitment was also lived out by some in what we now call religious life.  The hermits, like St. Anthony, left the world to go into the desert.  The monks and nuns like St. Benedict and St. Rita went to a monastery.  The friars like St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic lived on the street.  All these men and women cut ties with family and the world, and chose to focus entirely on Jesus Christ and his way, living in poverty, obedience and chastity.  They burnt their ships of family security, material security and personal security.

But the challenging message of Jesus is not just for nuns and priests; it is a call for every Christian.  Day in and day out, Catholic men and women live out this radical commitment to Christ, especially in their families.

I know a couple, Francisco and Maria, who have been married for 57 years.  Whenever I visit them I see how much love they have for each other.  He is 92 and she cares for him every day.  Have things always been smooth sailing? No.  Have they had difficulties?  Yes.  But they never gave up.  They weathered the difficult times because they believe what Jesus teaches about a man and woman becoming one in marriage for ever – they believe that when they said, "I do, in sickness and in health" they were burning the ships that could take them to other relationships; they were committing themselves to each other forever in God.

I also know their adult children, who are just as committed to their parents as the parents are to each other.  I suspect that the children picked up this commitment from their upbringing in the faith, in the Catholics schools they went to, going to Church with mom and dad, but especially in the example set by the parents at home. There is no better school in which to learn about commitment, but the school of mom and dad, who work hard at their jobs to put food on the table, who love and respect each other, who pray with the family.

And yet, you and I sometimes struggle with being totally committed to Jesus:

• Sometimes we are like the disciple whose only possession is enthusiasm, an emotional high, but does not do the heavy lifting that Jesus demands of his followers, like those corporal works of mercy, and the seven spiritual works of mercy.  Jesus reminds us that while the Christian way can be a bed of roses, those roses also have thorns that prick.
• Sometimes we are like the two disciples who hesitate to put their toe in the water, because they are being pulled by other engagements, even of family or work.  Perhaps God is calling you to consider becoming a priest, a deacon, a sister or brother, but you are holding back.  Many of our students at the seminary tell us that they thought about becoming priests for many years, but feared to take the plunge.  Finally one day they heard the radical call of Jesus to leave all behind and follow him, and they decided to come to the seminary and try it out.

Conclusion

And so, as disciples, sometimes with his grace we are fully committed to Jesus, at other times we are only partially committed because we accept only the easier parts of his message, and at other times still we are not committed at all.

Let us turn to Elisha the prophet we heard about in the first reading.  Enthusiastic at first, he asked Elijah to let him first go and bid farewell to his father and mother.  But fortunately, he thought better of it, and like Cortes' men, literally burnt his ships: he slaughtered the oxen and used the ploughing equipment to cook the meat.  Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his assistant.

What ships do you and I have to burn, so as to follow Jesus with full and unreserved commitment?

Three dimensions of God’s mercy

Homily for 11^th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2016

2 Samuel 12:7-10,13; Galatians 2:16,19-21; Luke 7:36-8:3

Introduction

This is the Jubilee Year of Mercy.  Pope Francis designated this year of Mercy, to remind the Church and the world, that mercy is an important aspect of God.  And he picked this year 2016, probably because during this year, the third in the cycle of readings, we read from the gospel of Luke, a gospel that has plenty to say about God’s mercy.  Today’s readings are an example of the gospel teaching on mercy.

That is why in today’s homily, I would like to focus on three dimensions or directions in which mercy moves: downwards, upwards and sideways.

Scripture and Theology

We say that mercy moves downwards because mercy always starts from God; it is always the initiative of God.

•  Did you notice that it is God who sent the Prophet Nathan to King David who had sinned?  God showed mercy to him first by pointing out his sin to him, and then again by offering him mercy when King David repented.
•  Or if you look at the three parables of mercy in Luke Chapter 15, you notice that the person representing God in those parables, is the one who takes the initiative: The woman goes to look for the lost coin; the shepherd goes out to look for the lost sheep; and the Father is the one who is anxiously waiting for the return of his son, and indeed runs to him when he sees him a distance.

But even in a broader sense, God started the process of mercy, not only when he created us, but also when he redeemed us.

Think of a young man in high school, let's call him Michael.  He is unremarkable, not particularly athletic, not very smart in class either, and scores average or lower on all the kinds of things young ladies would look for in a potential date.  Then out of the blue, Monica begins to show him some attention.  She is not only really beautiful, she’s also the head cheerleader and valedictorian of her class, to say nothing about all the good work she does at Church.  She is the kind of daughter every parent wants to have.  True to her kind nature, she asks our nondescript Michael to be her date for the Prom.  Now perhaps most of the guys here are probably thinking “no way this could never happen in real life.”

But this is exactly what God did when he created us.  He had no need of human beings, but still he created us and shared with us human beings more than we deserve – he gave us life, his life.  We probably don’t think of God creating us as a form of divine mercy; but do we realize that we didn’t have to exist?  Like Michael was out of Rachel's league, we too as human beings are out of God's league.  But in his mercy, he creates us and invites us be like him.

If the first form of God's mercy has to do with our lower nature, the second has to do with our sinful nature.  Let’s return to our high school friends Rachel and Michael.  They actually go to the Prom together.  And then even better, they eventually fall in love, begin dating and get married a few years later.  We would all agree that Michael has won the jackpot.  Unfortunately, after they have been married for a couple of years, he begins to take her for granted; he begins to forget how lucky he is.  And then this knucklehead cheats on his wife.

Fortunately for Michael, after she does some tearful agonizing and serious praying, Rachel forgives him and takes him back.  Being the truly good woman that she is, she treats him better than he deserves.  If dating him in the first place was an act of mercy because he was out of her league, now forgiving him is an act of mercy because she does not punish him as he deserves.

In the same way God is not only merciful in creating us, he is merciful in forgiving us.  Yes, he punished the Jewish people sometimes; but he was quite lenient.  The punishment for sinning against God, who is all good, is eternal separation from God.  But that is not the punishment that God meted out to Adam and Eve, to Cain, to the children of Israel and subsequent generations.  In his mercy he not only forgave them, but he also sent them prophets, priests and kings, to help them get back on the right track.  Moreover, he sent his Son to be the final and lasting instrument of forgiveness and mercy.

Christian Life

But in response to the downward dimension of mercy, from God to us, there must be an upward one from us to God.  That upward dimension takes various forms:

•  Like King David in the first reading, our response to God’s mercy should be, “I am sorry, forgive me.”
•  Like the woman in the gospel, our response to God’s mercy should be one of gratitude, devotion, adoration, veneration of God.

Some of us are carrying heavy burdens; some of us are oppressed by the sins of our past lives.  We must go to the fountain of God's mercy, especially the sacrament of confession and the other sacraments as well.  During this year of mercy, let us make use of all the tools that God gives us through the Church, to drink from his bottomless spring of mercy, both in sorrow and in gratitude.

There is no better example of a worthy response than the act of contrition which we say during confessions.  There are many versions, but let me read the traditional one:

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins because of Thy just punishments, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all-good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.

That is why in the gospel, Jesus praised the woman, who having been forgiven greatly by God, also loved much.

There is still one more dimension of mercy: we have seen the downward from God to us, the upward of sorrow and gratitude from us to God.  The third dimension is sideways, from us to each other.  In Luke Jesus tells his disciples: “Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful” (Lk. 6:36), Jesus says.  We must share God's mercy.  It would be unfortunate for Michael, if after he had been forgiven so much by Rachel, he himself does not forgive others who sin against him: his children, his co-workers, even his relatives.  If he did that, he would be acting like the steward in Matthew’s gospel (18:21-35), who is forgiven a great debt by his master, but refuses to do the same for a fellow servant who owes him even less.  That is why we pray in the Our Father, “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

During this Jubilee Year of Mercy, as we ourselves take a bite out of God's mercy, we must share it with others.

·        Are there people who have hurt us that we must forgive as Jesus teaches, not seven times, but seventy-seven times?

·        How many of the seven corporal works of mercy have I carried out, so that I can share God’s mercy with others?

·        How many of the seven spiritual works of mercy have I carried out so that I can share God’s mercy with others?

Conclusion

Let me end by encouraging you to read a small book by Pope Francis, called “The name of God is mercy.” You can find it on Amazon or any religious bookstore.  I am not an agent for Pope Francis, trying to sell books for him, but I really want you to read how in very simple and straightforward language, the Pope gives us examples of God’s mercy in his own life and in the lives of those to whom has ministered.

Dionne Warwick told us that “What the world needs now, is love sweet love.”  With all due respect to the great musician, I think Pope Francis might slightly change the lyrics of her song and say: “What the world needs now, is mercy.”

May we seek this mercy for ourselves; but may we also share it with those who need it, the poor, the forgotten, the downtrodden and especially the sinners, who are all of us.