Feast of Holy Family - Homily 1

Homily 1 - 2008 

The Pope has come under fire in some sectors of the media over these past few days.  He has been criticised by certain loud voices in the Western world because he criticised what he calls the blurring of the important reality of gender difference.  He has been accused of homophobia.

It is a sad fact that today it is so difficult to carry on an intelligent conversation, given the nature of the modern media.  If you can’t state your position in ten seconds flat, even on quite complex issues, no one is prepared to listen to you.  Nuance and dialogue are replaced by slogans and sound-bites.  People don’t search together to understand and perhaps discover “common ground”.  It’s argument, contradiction and fighting that maintain interest and ensure the ratings.

Even the priest’s homily at Mass is not a good medium for nuanced discussion and adult education.  It is better geared for the three-quarter time pep talk than the pre-game strategy planning – for motivation and reminder, perhaps for personal witness, than for the making of clear distinctions and in-depth exploring of the truth.

All this is à propos of today’s Feast of the Holy Family.  I think there is a real need for us to think clearly about family – its strengths and weaknesses, its opportunities, its difficulties and its complexities in today’s world.  We need to think clearly about sexuality.  Is it a good thing? or isn’t it?  or must answers be more nuanced than plain Yes or No?  What about gender difference? gender equality? homosexuality? And what defines family? and who says so? and how do you carry on when the voting public don’t agree? What light do the Gospels, and the Scriptures generally, throw on these questions? Slogans and sound-bites won’t do.  It’s not a case of what side we barrack for, or who can shout the loudest.

So I am not going to say anything today in my homily about these issues.  What then? It’s easy for me, seeing that I’ll be gone in four weeks time.  But … might it be a good idea, for those of you who are  interested, to seek some way of pursuing the issues together at some real depth? It would take time.  It would call for real thought.  And a guide would be helpful.  But in our present world, these will be issues that won’t go away, certainly not in the short term.