Hello. I am George Martin, and I again welcome you to selected homilies among senior Joseph Bernard McAllister, this being a disc number 10 of 12. As some of you have probably noted, I've been using the words homily and sermon interchangeably without discerning whether the word was appropriate for the occasion. In the Roman Catholic church, a homily is an address based on the scripture of the day, whereas a sermon is a talk on a religious or moral subject by a member of the clergy. Having recently recorded for a number of months the daily gospels for the benefit of a priest born and raised in a non English speaking community, I was struck with a relatively small number of gospels available.
I found the daily readings repeating every few months. We have no record of Christ ever writing anything, and I regret that we have such a small number of Christ's recorded words through his disciples. But I am reminded of Monsignor's oft repeated words that we, as Catholic Christians, do not rest our belief on a book alone. We rest our faith on the living church. We must remember well Christ's admonition.
Quote, that you are Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church. Close quote. Given that Christ left to a group of simple men the task of spreading the words that he had spoken, the role of the Holy Spirit guiding them in the first century through today is, for me, an easy article of faith to accept. How else could those frightened apostles preach courageously without some extraordinary power guiding their mission? Recognizing that every one of Monsignor's addresses was a teachable moment, you can bet that he would weigh the value of the lesson to be drawn from scriptures of the day against an issue which he felt compelled to relate.
As to sermons, it would either be a review of the life of the saint of that particular day or a current issue which he felt needed to be addressed. When reviewing a saint's life, it would generally be one who had lived within the last few hundred years, such as John Vianney, Elizabeth Ann Seton, or John Neumann, who were chosen for the purpose of pointing out their lives as examples, and that we were one with them, or should aspire to be one with them. When he addressed issues of contemporary moral matters, it would be analyzed from every angle, and how it would relate to the mores of our times. In my introduction to CD number nine, I related to you my thoughts of always picturing Monsignor as teacher while preaching from the pulpit, but he was really more a student than a teacher. Being retired, he was always surrounded by books in his study, preparing for the next task at hand, be it a sermon, the next seminar, or the need to answer a question posed by someone seeking his advice.
His study routine was particularly valuable when he would research Greek origins of numerous words in the Gospels. This was very helpful, as I would often find myself thinking, was that really what Christ meant? As I previously mentioned, Monsignor had little regard for poets and theologians. I have to add to that list, translators. So now we are up to three professions with whom Monsignor had problems.
Being a rather thorough person at whatever he chose to do, Monsignor did not like expressing an opinion on such matters. So, be it a sermon or homily, Monsignor brought to bear all his ability as preacher and professor, polyglot and pupil on the task at hand, and from this, we have all benefited greatly. And now, we continue with the selected homilies among senior Joseph Bernard McAllister.