Celebration of Feast of St. Mary Magdala 2013 in Columbus, Ohio/Call To Action/Bridget Mary Meehan/ Homilist, Presider/Homily Attached

Bridget Mary Meehan with Call to Action Community in Columbus, Ohio

Sharon Izzi dances Gifts at Presentation of Gifts/Offertory

St. Mary Magdalene Liturgy, July 17, 2013, Columbus CTA

St. Mary Magdalene Liturgy/Columbus, Ohio/July 17,2013

 

 

 

CTA Board/Columbus, Ohio

 

 
Homily: St.  Mary Magdala Celebration in Columbus, Ohio

 By Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP

In an article in the National Catholic Reporter, Phyllis Zagano, author of Women and Catholicism, writes: “Once a pope trashes you, it's pretty much downhill from there. So once Pope Gregory the Great in 591 declared that the "sinful" woman in Luke's Gospel who anointed Jesus' feet was Mary Magdalene, a whole industry developed to discredit her. That's big stuff. I mean, she is the one who announced the Resurrection. There's a zinger for everyone: sisters, nuns, married women, working women. OK, not quite everyone, just the female everyones. You know the litany: the LCWR thing, the birth control thing, the "radical feminist" thing. From here, it looks like half the church has been labeled reborn Magdalenes, locked out of papal offices with no way to respond, no way to react, no way out… "

http://ncronline.org/blogs/just-catholic/what-would-mary-magdalene-do

Oh yes, there is! 

My Sisters and brothers, like Mary of Magdala, the Risen Christ is calling us to be apostles to the apostles. As we live Gospel equality and partnership in inclusive, vibrant faith communities, our church is being reformed and renewed! We don’t have to wait for the Vatican to act. Mary of Magdala did not wait for Peter’s approval. The good news is: justice, like a river is rising up in the Catholic Church today!

In Luke 8:1-3, we learn that Jesus had male and female disciples including Mary of Magdala, Joanna , Suzanna, and many more who contributed to the support of Jesus with their own funds. Now how many sermons have you heard about the many women who bankrolled Jesus’ ministry?   Imagine a church today that honored the gifts of women as spiritual equals! This is the church of our dreams that we are birthing today.

The Gospel of John portrays a close relationship between Mary of Magdala and Jesus. When the other disciples come and go, Mary stays nearby, weeping, searching for clues of Jesus whereabouts.   Her grief is real. She has listened to his teaching and experienced his healing love.  This type of deep friendship suggests a break with the social conventions of the time.   Jesus treats Mary of Magdala as an equal among the male disciples. In an age where a woman’s word was suspect, the Risen Christ calls her to be the apostle to the apostles to proclaim the good news of the Resurrection, the central belief of Christianity.  

 In an ancient Coptic Christian Scripture, “Pistis Sophia”, written in the Second Century, Jesus chooses Mary of Magdala and John to “be on my right and on my left.” Mary’s prominence is reflected throughout the document. She asks 39 out of 46 questions and participates in providing interpretation of this document. Peter expresses resentment toward her throughout the work: “My Lord we shall not be able to endure this woman, for she takes our opportunity and she has not let any of us speak and takes all the time herself.” Mary objects to Peter’s efforts to intimidate her and charges that “he hates the female race.”  

History is repeating itself today in the present spiritual revolution, that is taking place in our church over the role of women.  I call it a “welcome holy shakeup!” From the first ordination on the Danube of seven women, our international Roman Catholic Women Priests’ Movement has grown to over 150.  According to a recent CBS/Gallup poll, 70% of Catholics support women’s ordination. In addition, 400 Austrian priests, 300 German theologians  and 800 Irish priests who have endorsed women priests. This clerical rebellion really is getting everyone’s attention with major media articles! 

 On Holy Thursday, Pope Francis washed the feet of young women and men in a juvenile detention center in Rome.  This act of loving service is a spark of hope that change is in the air. Appointing women to top jobs in the Vatican would be an important step. There is certainly a long list of competent nuns and women priests who are more than willing to serve as leaders in our church! Did you see the photo of Pope Francis placing his papal skull cap on a little girl’s head in Vatican Square! A delightful encounter!

In the Gospel of Mary, written early in the Second Century, Jesus warns the disciples against following a “set of rules and laws not given by him.” Mary tells the disciples to proclaim the Gospel without fear. She assures them of the Savior’s presence. In the second part, she shares a vision she has received. Andrew and Peter react with scorn to her revelations but Levi defends her: “Peter , thou has ever been of hasty temper. Now I see that thou dost exercise thyself against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior has made her worthy, who then art thou to reject her?”

Amen, Levi, and amen to all our contemporary male priests and supporters who challenge sexism in the church. No more “tippy- toeing” around the elephant in our own living room! 

Roy Bourgeois and now Msgr. Helmut Schueller from Austria are proudly challenging the old boys' club as they proclaim an agenda of church reform, including support for women priests, to large crowds in cities across the U.S. and Europe!  Perhaps, we are on our way to a tipping point! Can’t you just see one day, a Vatican spokeswoman, will say: "Today we announce good news. The Church is reclaiming Jesus example and the early church tradition of women as apostles  and leaders, all sacraments and all roles will be open to all the baptized! "

This would come as no surprise to the early Church Fathers and Mothers!

Pope Hippolytus who lived from 170 to 236 AD, addressed the role of women in early Christianity: “Lest the female apostles doubt the angels, Christ himself came to them so that the women would be apostles of Christ… Christ showed himself to the male apostles and said to them…’It is I who appeared to the women and I who wanted to send them to you as apostles.’” (Brock, Ann Graham, Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle The Struggle for Authority, 2003 (quotes Hippolytus (DeCantico 24-26, CSCO 264) pp. 43-49)

 Gregory of Antioch (d. 593) portrays Jesus as appearing to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary at the tomb and saying to them: “Be the first teachers to the teachers. So that Peter who denied me learns that I can also choose women as apostles.”   (Brock, p. 15)

 In Romans 16, St. Paul praises Junia and Andronicus, as “outstanding apostles” who were in Christ before he was. Since Paul, Junia and Andronicus were apostles, there were more than 12 apostles.  The “twelve” was a symbolic number referring to the twelve tribes of Israel. And, of course, in spite of what the hierarchy in the Roman Catholic church states, Jesus did not ordain anyone at the last supper

So let’s be clear, women were apostles- according to the Risen Christ, St. Paul, Church Fathers and a pope. Women apostles are affirmed in the bible and in our church’s tradition!
Therefore, the church should follow the example of  Jesus and treat women as equals.

Scholars, like Gary Macy, in The Hidden History of Women's Ordination, present scholarly evidence of women in Holy Orders during the first twelve hundred years of the church's history.  Women and men were ordained to a specific service role within the community. It was not a “magic fingers” understanding of sacraments that emerged in Middle Ages.

One could say that the fact that women were ordained in our church tradition is the church's best kept secret, but NO MORE!!

One of the top stories that has grabbed the headlines since April 2012 is the Nunjustice Project and the Nuns on the Bus. The Vatican’s investigation of religious orders in the United States and their hostile “take-over” of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious  focused on hot button issues such as women’s ordination, reproductive healthcare and gay marriage. In response to the Vatican’s rebuke the Sisters embarked on a bus trip to nine states to showcase their ministry to the poor and disenfranchised. The nuns on the bus were greeted like rock stars everywhere they went.  Most people recognize Sister Simone Campbell as one of the courageous leaders of this endeavor.

According to recent reports, Pope Francis has accepted the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s (commonly referred to as the CDF) take-over of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. However, in response to a question by the Latin American religious about a possible CDF investigation of their Orders, he gave this advice: answer the CDF’s questions, but continue your ministries. Was our new pope sending a mixed message or was his response a deliberate signal that neutralizes the contemporary inquisition wing of the Catholic Church?

The Vatican’s treatment of its most loyal work force is a cause near and dear to my heart.

When I was 18 years old I entered a teaching order the Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters, also known as the “Mighty Macs.” In 1995, I became a  Sister for Christian Community in an independent religious order with about 500 women. We are not under Vatican control, and our mission is to live Jesus prayer, “that all may be one” by building Christian community wherever we are and with whomever we are near.

I pray that one day soon, nun priests in canonical communities will bless our church! There are several Sisters for Christian Community who are Roman Catholic Women Priests. Thank God!

In 1969, Pope Paul VI officially corrected Pope Gregory’s error, mis-identifying Mary of Magdala with the sinful woman in Luke 7. Can’t you just see Mary, apostle to the apostles, applauding and giving a thumbs up in heaven?

As Phyllis Zagano concludes: “We are all Magdalenes. “

Amen!

Now I would like to give you an update on the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests known as ARCWP. You can find us at www.arcwp.org

In 2013, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests will have six ordinations: April: Louisville, KY, May:Cincinnati, Ohio, June: Falls Church, VA, Sept. Albany, New York, Oct. St. Petersburg, Fl and Dec. Louisville, Ky. Who says there is a priest shortage? Our projected number of ordinands is 14 in 2013. In the United States, there are two branches of our movement. Together we serve over 60 faith communities and  we are in 30 states in U.S. Women Priests also serve inclusive communities in Europe, Canada, and South America.

As part of an international Roman Catholic Women Priests Movement, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests is a renewed priestly ministry in a community of equals. Our specific charism within the broader RCWP movement is to live Gospel equality and justice for all in the church and in society now. We work in solidarity with the poor and marginalized for transformative justice in partnership with all believers. We proudly wave our ARCWP banner at demonstrations for peace and justice. Our vision is to live as a community of equals in decision making as an organization and within all our faith communities. In solidarity with other reform organizations, we are working to transform a hierarchical institutional church into a circular, community of equals model that reflects Jesus example of non-violence, compassion and justice in the Gospels.
Homily: Bridget Mary Meehan, ARCWP, www.arcwp.org

Let us share our hopes and dreams  in a dialogue homily now. Take a few moments for prayerful reflection on the following question:

How can we, like St. Mary of Magdala, promote the Good News of Gospel justice, equality, and partnership rising up in our church and world?